The Scottish mountains were made for Ski Touring and at times they can rival the Alps and Scandinavia, offering an amazing variety of terrain, making them the perfect choice for a quick 2 day hit.
This course has been designed to showcase the very best ski touring Scotland has to offer. You will get to explore the remoteness of the mountains and many hidden gems. Our staff have extensive knowledge enabling them to find the best snow and descents.
Glenmore Lodge have been guiding ski touring in Scotland for longer than any other provider and it is this massive body of shared knowledge that makes us the only choice if you want to experience the real ‘Scottish vibe’ – go on put us to the test!
The aim of this course is to showcase what Scottish skiing has to offer, ensuring your skinning efforts are rewarded with the best skiing to be found!
This is primarily a guided experience, but our ski staff love to share their knowledge and help to make you better skiers, so top tips and coaching points will be part of the daily routine.
Please click on the grading system symbols above for more details.
This guided course is for those that have ski touring and off-piste experience and are looking to get the most out of their ski days.
Off-piste is a normal part of a day’s skiing where you can link rounded turns and ski with control on lower angled slopes (around 20 degrees) in a variety snow conditions.
You should be capable of consecutive 6-8-hour days with up to 1000m of height gain.
The programme is very flexible, and we will make the most of the weather and conditions available to try to fulfil all your ambitions. Below is a sample 2-day programme to give you a flavour of what to expect.
Day 1
After a quick equipment check we make the very short drive up to the Cairngorm ski centre. With the proximity of the lifts on Cairngorm Mountain a circuit of the Northern Corries is a must and a great place to start your love affair with East coast skiing. Ride the Ridge and M1 pomas to the Ptarmigan lift station before skinning to the summit of Cairngorm. From the summit a ribbon of snow usually allows you to ski first South and then South West into Coire Raibert. On with the skins and a gentle passing Coire Domhain, a good spot for lunch before the final skin onto the summit of Coire Lochan. Off with the skins and first a gentle ski West before turning North West all the way down to the top of Lurchers gully, quite possibly the most reliable and skied patch of snow in Scotland. Gentle wide slopes transform into easy spring snow late season making this the perfect GS turn, hero territory. A cup of tea and cake on the terrace at the Lodge is a perfect way to unwind and plans tomorrow’s adventure.
Day 2
Having done the classic Cairngorm circuit, we are going to head away from the crowds and explore an area famous for its solitude. A drive to the Pass of Drumochter, and some truly, ‘made for the job’ ski touring mountains. From the van we can go left or right, almost too much choice. We go right, crossing the railway line, we skin gently uphill towards the Munro top of Geal Charn and take our ‘little something at eleven’ surrounded by a spectacular vista of snowy mountains. Now for the secret bit, most tourers head home or go on to another summit, but we’re going to ski North West towards the shores of Loch Ericht. These slopes give some incredible skiing at just about every angle you want. They are so good we’ll skin up and do them again! All good things come to an end, and we will have to eventually ski the long descent back to the van and home to the Lodge. If you’ve booked on to a 2-day course, we will feed you up on cake and wave you off with some truly memorable ski tours, but if you are with us for 5 days then we will start again tomorrow morning.
Instruction
In course transportation
Packed lunches
Afternoon tea and cake
Uplifts costs are not included in the course price. Students are required to purchase their own tickets. Adventure ski guiding may well make use of single uplift to maximise learning as well as allowing us to get further into the mountains.
The key to happiness and enjoyment in ski touring is having the right equipment so you can cope with whatever the environment throws at you. At Glenmore Lodge we are extremely fortunate to be partnered with Atomic skis and Scarpa ski boots. These partnerships allow us to maintain a modern range of ski touring boots and skis in our purpose-built ski store.
* Starred Items are available to borrow from GL Stores
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
• *Skis with touring bindings, skins and ski crampons
• *Ski Poles – ideally fixed length
• *Ski Mountaineering Boots – for example Scarpa Maestrale 2 or Maestrale RS2
• *Helmet
• *Avalanche Transceiver – for example Pieps DSP Sport or Pro
• *3m Probe and Shovel
PERSONAL CLOTHING
• Waterproof Jacket – breathable, Goretex Proshell is ideal.
• Waterproof Ski Trousers
• Thermal Bottoms, thermal Tops – long sleeves
• Mid Layers – Fleece or synthetic
• Soft Shell or fleece Jacket
• *Lightweight Belay Jacket
• Sun hut and Warm Hat
• Sunglasses
• Ski Goggles
• Warm Gloves: Thick and Thin
• Ski Socks
• *Compass and whistle – your Guide will have all the necessary maps and guidebooks
• Headtorch
• *Rucksack – 35 – 45 litres.
• Waterbottle or Flask.
• Suncream and Lip Salve – SPF 30 minimum
• Personal first aid – some tape, Compeed, plaster for blisters and your own pain relief (ibuprofen, paracetamol)
• Camera
Can't find exactly what you are looking for? We are happy to create it for you. You can hire one of our instructors or guides from as little as £280 a day, including any equipment. If you’re a group, all of our courses are available on a date that suits you or if you would prefer we can tailor a course to your requirements. Simply get in touch to discuss your requirements.