Low Port Centre

Mountaineering

Based in the central lowlands we are ideally situated for easy access to a wide variety of locations for walking and mountaineering such as the Pentlands, the Ochils or Callander area and for those willing to travel that bit further, Glencoe and the Cairngorms are also possible.

In summer the trip could simply be a guided walk where there is no responsibility for you except to enjoy the day. Alternatively you may wish to have an input and manage the day yourself safe in the knowledge that there is an experienced person on hand to monitor safety.

In addition the trips can vary from a gentle walk through tranquil and beautiful but undemanding terrain with the emphasis on being outdoors, ranging through non technical climbing to a substantial summit and on to a challenging day with technical scrambling such as the Aonach Eagach ridge.

In winter we run a number of winter skills weekends and winter hill walk days.  These course range from instruction in the use of an ice axe and crampons to simple led walks in winter conditions.

Junior Courses

Each year, during the school holidays, we offer a number of multi-activity courses for two different age groups, 8-12 and 12 -16; hill walking is one of the activities that may be offered as part of that programme.

Adult Courses

Winter Mountaineering Skills

This course is an introduction to winter skills and is appropriate for an experienced summer hillwalker or someone wishing to start winter hillwalking.
It will cover equipment selection, ice-axe arrest, step cutting, crampon techniques and snow shelters. We will also discuss weather forecasts, avalanche awareness and the personal equipment used on  a winter hillwalk.

A good standard of fitness is required for this course and some regular hillwalking or aerobic activity before the course would be appropriate.

Winter Hillwalk Days

These are flexible day walks that can be adapted to the needs of the group. We will plan to go up a hill but the plans are flexible and we can format the day to suit the need of the group. We can also practice, if the conditions allow, navigation or other winter skills, again depending on conditions and timings for the day.

These walks are ideal for a summer hillwalker wishing to experience winter walking under the supervision of an instructor.  Ideally, people coming on this walk will be a regular hillwalkers or be doing some form of regular aerobic activity.

Winter Navigation for Hillwalkers

This course will take your summer navigation and sharpen it up for winter conditions. So we expect you to understand the basics of navigation so that on the course we can focus on timing, pacing and contour interpretation. We will also look at the navigation techniques of attack points, slope aspect, aiming off, hand-railing and collecting features.  This course will be based outside, on the hill.

Summer Navigation for Hillwalkers

This course provides participants with a foundation in the necessary techniques to keep on track when out in wild country. The course is a combination of theory and practical; however, the emphasis is very much on the latter.

In fact participants will spend two days in the field practising the core skills and attributes to be a successful navigator. Using the nearby Pentlands ensures that travel time is kept to a minimum and the practical time is maximised.  All that we ask is that you have a reasonable level of fitness to cope with a day on the hill.

High Peaks Classic Walk

During this course we would expect to tackle some of Scotland classic winter hills or more challenging winter mountains.  The walks will be guided by an instructor but could be adapted to meet the needs of the group.  A good standard of fitness is required for these courses and we would expect you to be a recent or regular summer hillwalker or to be doing some form of regular aerobic activity.