Mountain guiding and climbing instruction on Skye and across the Highlands
I’m Aidan, a qualified Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and Winter Mountain Leader based in Broadford on the Isle of Skye. Cuillin days, rock and scrambling, winter skills — small groups, dates to suit you.
Skye and the Cuillin in summer, Lochaber, Glencoe and the Cairngorms in winter.
Technical equipment is provided. Dates, objectives and pace are yours to set – tell me what you are after and I will tell you honestly whether it is realistic.
Rock climbing
Single and multi-pitch, from a first day on real rock through to leading your own routes. Skills days, classic routes, or coaching on movement and ropework.
Max 1:2
Scrambling
Grade 1 to 3 ridges and buttresses. Guided days on classic routes, or a course covering rope management, short-pitching and moving confidently on exposed ground.
Max 1:2
Summer mountain days
Guided hill days and Munro rounds, including the harder and more exposed summits. Navigation and hill skills taught along the way if that is what you are after.
Max 1:8
Winter skills
Ice axe and crampon technique, self-arrest, winter navigation, snowpack and avalanche awareness, emergency shelters. Run over one day or several, wherever the conditions are best.
Max 1:6
Winter hill days
Guided winter walking on the higher hills. Full winter conditions, at a pace that suits the party, with the skills covered as we go.
Max 1:6
Self Rescue course
Improving your own safety margin on multi-pitch routes: escaping the system, abseil retreat, assisted hoists, prusiking, and problem-solving on the ground before you need it on the crag. For leaders who want to know they can sort things out themselves.
Max 1:2
Wherever the conditions are best
I live on Skye, so the Cuillin is home ground — the Inaccessible Pinnacle, Pinnacle Ridge, or the full traverse over several days. Through the summer I work across the west coast and the islands too: Torridon, Glencoe, Ben Nevis. Come winter I move to wherever the snow and the freeze are best, usually Lochaber, Glencoe or the Cairngorms.
If you have a particular hill or route in mind, ask. I’ll tell you honestly whether it suits your experience, whether the conditions are likely to allow it, and what the travel adds to the cost — before you commit to anything.
