Some images from the recent British Mountain Guides Alpine Training Course. The course is 6 days long and covers a wide syllabus including via ferrata, alpine rock, snow and ice climbing as well as glacial travel and rescue. We were based in Chamonix where the weather for the first half of the week was mixed to say the least (reminiscent of a bad day in Cairngorm) but improved when we moved to Saas Grund. Saas is a great area for classic mountaineering but also has some great rock routes and ridges. We climbed the Jeggigrat from the Hosaas hut.

That's it now for the formal training on the BMG scheme, though it's only the start of a two year (or two summer seasons) alpine apprenticeship. I now have to complete a minimum (and it's likely to be double) 30 quality guided days in the company of another Guide.