Our Courses:

Winter Skills Courses
2 & 5 day schedules looking at ice axe and crampon use, winter weather, avalanche avoidance and more.

Navigation & Hill Skills Courses in Snowdonia One, Two & Five day courses looking at mountain navigation and the shills required in the summer mountains. Includes NNAS Bronze & Silver Awards.

Rock Climbing Courses in Snowdonia
From "learn to climb" for complete beginners to multi pitch climbing and learn to lead courses we offer instruction in Snowdonia and rock climbing trips in Spain and across the UK.

Scrambling Courses in Snowdonia
From an intro to grade 1 scrambles through to grade 2 and 3 scrambles with Rob Johnson, qualified Mountain Instructor

Isle of Skye
Guiding and instruction on the Cuillin Ridge on Skye every May/June with options including scrambling on Skye and the Skye Ridge Traverse.

Alpine Trekking
A 5 day trek from Arolla to the Matterhorn through the Swiss Alps.

Mountain Leader & SPA Training & Assessment Courses
Training for outdoor professionals.  
 

Family Courses
Fun for all the family, courses that suit all age types held at weekends and school holidays.

Site Specific Training
Site specific training for staff at climbing walls.

Whats the problem with ticks?
Tick borne diseases are on the rise in most of our favourite walking and climbing areas so its worth knowing how to remove the little blighters properly if they do attach themsleves to your skin. They are second only to mosquitoes for carrying diseases to humans, and in the UK can carry such pleasures as Lymes disease, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis and Bartonella.

What are they?
They look like the one in the picture above and are parasites that live off the blood of birds and mammals – including you.

Where will I find them?
They live in thick soil and climb long grass, shrubs, bushes and even tree branches to attach themselves to passing animals. You won’t feel a thing, as the tick injects a toxin to anaesthetise the bite area and once embedded they will steadily engorge as they feed on your blood.

Lymes Disease
Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi (Bb), and many popular UK and European climbing and walking areas have Bb-infected ticks. But don’t panic, simply being bitten by a tick doesn’t mean you’ll contract Lyme disease - many believe that an infected tick has to be on you for over 24 hours to transmit the bacteria in their saliva.

The most famous symptom of Lyme disease is a bull’s eye rash (erythema migrans), consisting of a red ring-shaped rash which gradually spreads from the site of the tick bite, usually with a fading centre. Kind of like a browny-red or pink expanding polo mint. It appears 2 - 40 days after infection and is the only sure-fire symptom of Lyme disease - so if you develop one take a photo immediately to show your doctor in case it disappears. Less than 50% of people with Lyme get this rash, and if left untreated a whole range of symptoms can develop, including a flu-like illness, facial palsy, viral-type meningitis, arthritic-like joint pains, nerve inflammation, disturbance of sensation or clumsiness of movement and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).

If you suspect you have Lyme disease then head straight to your GP. There is a blood test for Lyme but it’s acknowledged to have a very high rate of false negatives, so if your GP suspects Lyme, they should begin antibiotic treatment right away, without waiting on the results. Medical opinion is fiercely divided on the best antibiotics and dosages needed to eradicate symptoms, so it’s impossible to make recommendations. However taking antibiotics prophylactically (‘just in case’) is a bad idea: the risk of catching a nasty from a single tick bite is very small.

TBE
Another treat carried by some ticks in Europe is Tick Borne Encephalitis (TBE) - a viral disease that attacks the nervous system and can result in serious meningitis, brain inflammation and death. TBE incubation time is 6-14 days and at first it can cause increased temperature, headaches, fever, a cough and sniffles. The second phase can lead to neck stiffness, severe headaches, photophobia, delirium and paralysis. There is no specific treatment for TBE.

Prevention
Avoid unnecessary bushwacking and walk in the middle of paths.
Keep your arms and legs covered. Light coloured fabrics are useful since the ticks stand out.
Check clothes and skin frequently. They’re large enough to be easily spotted in summer, but you need to look carefully in spring: Check that ticks are not brought home on clothes, pets and bouldering mats.