The Cairngorms are ‘a little piece of the arctic in Scotland’ according to the SMC Munros Guide and the area contains many of the tallest peaks in the East Highlands. Ben Macdui (1309m), Cairn Gorm (1244m) and Braeriach (1296) are probably three of the better known and the whole area is full of steep corries and high plateaux. Access to the mountains is typically from Aviemore or Braemar.
As part of the winter skills course at Liverpool John Moores University, I spent a week learning different winter skills including, walking in crampons, how to perform an ice axe arrest, rutsch block test, building snow shelters, winter navigational techniques, introduction to winter climbing and skiing. We used a variety of venues in the Cairngorms and had a mixture of weather from good to poor.
