Women's Winter Week 2017

There’s a great chance this winter for women to share their passion for the mountains and mountaineering.

Women’s Winter Week will be held over two centres in early March, based at Ballachulish on 5-9 March, and led by Plas y Brenin, and at Glenmore Lodge on 11-12 March, led by staff there.

Both venues offer opportunities at three levels – intro skills, mountaineering, and climbing – all staffed by highly qualified and experienced female instructors.

Samantha Leary, one of the Glenmore Lodge instructors, who is helping to organise the week, said: “Some people are opposed to the very idea of ‘women specific’ courses, and until a couple of years ago I had never felt the need for women-only courses and had actively avoided them both personally and professionally.
“But for all that, there is something subtly different and thoroughly enjoyable about climbing with women in summer or winter – it’s not the same as tying onto a rope with my husband. I have also seen the huge benefit of single gender moments in mixed gender courses. So when a friend asked me to go to the Women's Climbing Symposium in Glasgow in 2014, I decided adopt a more mature approach and go and see for myself.
“Wow! What an eye opener. There was huge diversity of women there, all with masses of positive energy and the insatiable drive to learn and improve. It was amazing and totally changed my opinion of these things. There was no bra burning or men hating, it was all about a group of like-minded individuals sharing a passion and enthusiasm for their sport.
“So this is what we are trying to do with the women's winter week. It is absolutely not an exercise in extreme feminism but most definitely an attempt to get women to engage with an awesome environment, learn some new skills and have a great time while doing it. We are trying to start something which we hope will run each year and grow as it does.

“So I’d love for women to come and try? We are going to work as hard as we can to make this an event and not just a course.”

There is a choice of programs, venues and dates: a five-day course in the stunning west highlands with Plas Y Brenin, based at Ballachulish near Glen Coe; or a weekend in the spectacular scenery of the Cairngorms, at Glenmore Lodge, near Aviemore. Each centre is offering three levels of courses.

1) Winter Hill Walking.

An opportunity to explore the hills and learn the specific skill set you need to feel confident and stay safe above the snowline.

2) Winter Mountaineering.

If you have already had crampons on and would like to confirm what you are doing is right and have the opportunity to tackle some more challenging terrain.

3) Winter Climbing.

If you are happy on steeper ground and have done some winter mountaineering then this is the next exciting step.

You can find out more about the Glenmore Lodge courses here, and about the Plas y Brenin courses at Ballachulish here.