Mountain Climbing for beginners - Advice!

[ashdlawson23]

Hey guys!
So I'm not much of an outdoor person but am slowly trying to do my best to improve strength and stamina. I've always wanted to try mountain climbing and I think I just might go ahead with it around next year.
I was scared initially cause the closest I've come to doing anything outdoors was a quad bike safari.
Any advice/tips would be really helpful!

[Sspaterson]

Start easy. Don’t try anything too advanced. Watch the weather and go for a really good day so you enjoy the experience rather than wishing you were back home coz the mist and rain have closed in and your getting eaten alive by midges

Go for a smaller or easy hill like Ben Aan or everyone’s first Munro - Ben Lomond. Since you’re new to it, these ones have excellent paths up them.

Wear decent footwear. Comfy walking boots are best but a sturdy pair of walking shoes with decent grips will be fine on a fair weather day. Boots provide better ankle support.

Wear decent walking sock, with a cushion loop interior in a merino wool blend. They really do make all the difference. Don’t be put off thinking your feet will be too hot, better that than blisters and sores. But take some compeed blister plasters just in case though.

Should go without saying to be equipped properly. Take a rucksack with hat, gloves and a waterproof jacket at the very least.

Make sure you take a bottle of water and have a packed lunch and some snacks.

A map and a compass are also bare minimums so learn how to use them. On the busiest of hills with well trodden paths like the ones I mentioned you’ll likely never need to consult them, especially if the weather is clear. But I would still always pack my map and compass coz it’s good to practice using them.

A torch is also useful if you think you’ll be running out of daylight but if you’d be best making sure you’ve plenty daylight if you’re a beginner.

Read the Walk reports on this web page to get an idea of the route and how long you’ll take which will depend on your fitness. I’m a pretty fit female in my 50s so if a walk says 6-8 hours I’m usually nearer 6 than 8.

If you love it (you most likely will), just keep building on your experience.

Always have a plan B.

Enjoy!

[matt_outandabout]

^ That's good advice there.
Where do you stay? We could perhaps suggest a few wanders in your area.

[al78]

Climb at a pace that you could sustain a conversation, and that usually means going slower than you think you can. Don't be tempted to power up the hill to get the view before the cloud rolls in, you will end up breathless and probably give up. It is more efficient to go at a slower but sustained pace than to power walk for 100 meters then have to stop and catch your breath.

Wear footware with decent ankle support. Even tourist paths can be uneven, and it is easy to twist an ankle.

If conditions deteriorate to the point you feel out of your depth, turn back. The hill will be there for another day.

Don't be complacent when descending, that is when slips and falls can be more likely (especially on steep/loose stuff).

Poles can be useful for extra stability and for taking some of the load off your knees.

Expect delayed onset muscle soreness for the next day or three. In my experience sustained moderate descents where you have to use your legs to resist gravity are the worst for causing this.

[jmarkb]

Lots of useful advice for getting started here: https://www.mountaineering.scot/activities/hillwalking/getting-started

[Mal Grey]

Great advice above.

There's also some good info here: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/safety/

Basically, take it steady within your fitness limits, know your navigation, don't push it in poor weather and always be willing to turn around. You don't need to start with the most expensive gear, put the money into things like good footwear that FITS well.

[Caberfeidh]

Hiking up glens rather than attempting big hills helps get you started and helps the enthusiasm glands get going. The Cairngorms are good for this, Braemar in the east and Aviemore on the west side. If you drive and have a car this helps, otherwise you need to go places which have links to public transport. Practising with an ice axe and crampons is fun, particularly if you do so where a fee-paying group are being taught by an instructor. They really hate it when you go sliding past laughing and making "Wheeee!" noises.

[MusicalHiker]

My first hill was Ben Nevis, 20 years ago- I didn't know what it was, I just woke up in the tent at the bottom (Glen Nevis campsite) and watched the tiny people coming down this amazing looking hill, and said 'I HAVE TO DO THAT!' I did it the next day and was lucky, with a superb view. I was living in the mountain-free Northern Isles until recently, which made it hard to reach the hills very often, but I'm in a better location now.
I always take far too much stuff, but it's better to be over-prepared than missing something vital - for (non snowy) hikes in the gentler seasons (I don't do winter conditions) I normally take the following (waiting to people to laugh)

good boots/socks (number one!!)
stretchy trousers or leggings NOT jeans
hat (I have a Tilley with a big brim)
a few layers on top
waterproof jacket
wooly hat, gloves, scarf (even in summer)
more water than you think you'll need, unless there are water sources you're happy with
food
map/compass (and know how to use them)
walking poles (helps me a lot especially coming down)
torch
a mirror (in case you get a midge in your eye!)
midge repellant (don't put it in your eyes!)
tick removal card (never needed yet)
sunglasses/sunscreen (once forgot sunscreen and had a tan stripe across my head from my headband ALL SUMMER)
crocs if I'm expecting a river crossing
phone, fully charged
camera (sometimes just use the phone)
seat pad thing for lunch time in case of soggy ground
aspirin in case of a headache, which I sometimes get in hot weather
Bea, my bee who comes up hills with me

I'm also not keen on climbing hills if it isn't fine weather, as I take loads of photos, and being soaked and battered and getting no view isn't my idea of fun, so pick a good day - it's worth waiting for!

[al78]

I'm also not keen on climbing hills if it isn't fine weather, as I take loads of photos, and being soaked and battered and getting no view isn't my idea of fun, so pick a good day - it's worth waiting for!

I'm the same, but at the same time climbing hills in foul weather is what brings experience and the confidence to be able to deal with such conditions. I think I am too risk averse and am too willing to turn back when conditions deteriorate, and if you only get to Scotland for a week or two every year and only climb hills when there is going to be a view, that inevitably means few decent climbs and little skill progression. I need to discipline myself if the cloud comes down to not give up on the now absent view, but to treat it as navigational practice. Could I navigate off the summit of Ben Avon in thick mist? I think so, but I'll never find out until I put myself in that position.

[madprof]

I just realised I don't have my own bee and I've been going up Munros for a while now. I need to remedy this or I could be in real trouble on the next hill.

[AJ01]

[Edited to save space]
...
I normally take the following (waiting to people to laugh)
...
a mirror (in case you get a midge in your eye!)
...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes a small mirror with me. Something in your eye which makes it painful and run can be at least as disabling as a bad blister.

Angus

[Caberfeidh]

[Edited to save space]
... I normally take the following (waiting to people to laugh)
...a mirror (in case you get a midge in your eye!)
...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes a small mirror with me. Something in your eye which makes it painful and run can be at least as disabling as a bad blister.
Angus

I have one of those posh compasses with a mirror on it. I always thought it was for signalling, but now of course I realise it's for getting midgies out of my eyes! I have had the same, even a whole fly. in the Northern Territory of Australia I had an insect in my ear for days, driving me mad before I could get it flushed out at a doctor's surgery in Darwin.

[MusicalHiker]

I'm also not keen on climbing hills if it isn't fine weather, as I take loads of photos, and being soaked and battered and getting no view isn't my idea of fun, so pick a good day - it's worth waiting for!

I'm the same, but at the same time climbing hills in foul weather is what brings experience and the confidence to be able to deal with such conditions. I think I am too risk averse and am too willing to turn back when conditions deteriorate, and if you only get to Scotland for a week or two every year and only climb hills when there is going to be a view, that inevitably means few decent climbs and little skill progression. I need to discipline myself if the cloud comes down to not give up on the now absent view, but to treat it as navigational practice. Could I navigate off the summit of Ben Avon in thick mist? I think so, but I'll never find out until I put myself in that position.

Yes- I agree- I hope to improve skills by going with more experienced friends in bad visibility sometime!

I just realised I don't have my own bee and I've been going up Munros for a while now. I need to remedy this or I could be in real trouble on the next hill.

Bea came from a bush on the shores of Loch an Eilean… she was damp and lost and I rescued her…. Just saw some yellow fur and there she was!

[Caberfeidh]

I found a cuddly toy in similar circumstances, on the shore at North Ballachulish...

My First Fiend