Expert Insights: Emma Holgate on Ski Mountaineering in Scotland
To celebrate the launch of Ski Mountaineering in Scotland, this month our editor, Deziree Wilson, interviewed ski mountaineering expert Emma Holgate.
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When conditions align, ski mountaineering in Scotland is quite simply sublime – there is nowhere like it.
For those of us who relish time in the mountains, winter is a sensory feast. Air crackles with ozone; alpenglow ignites cathedrals of rock in distant corries; the rhythmic squeak of skis on snow is a distraction from frozen fingers and burning muscles as you skin upwards.
Then you get your reward. Skate across plateaux under big skies, carve turns through glittering hoar frost, schuss into deep, wide glens …
In this feature article, ski mountaineering expert Emma Holgate shares her experiences and offers her thoughts on how to get into the sport, hone your skills and expand your horizons. Emma is a ski mountaineering instructor at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre, in the Cairngorms. She’s also been active on the Skimo race scene since these events started over 10 years ago.
How did you get into skiing?
I’ve skied since I could walk, and some of my earliest family holiday memories are of getting off the chairlift at the Cairngorm ski resort and being blown uphill.
I grew up in Yorkshire, though, so I skied on dry slopes in England through my teens, with a little bit of racing. Once a year, my dad, a teacher, took a school group to Cairngorm for a week, and my mum often tagged along with me in tow. After much nagging, my parents took me to the Alps when I was 15, and the vastness of the mountains and the ski areas blew my mind.
What was your first proper ski mountaineering experience? Were you immediately hooked?
Well, it wasn’t the usual way to do things! I rocked up in Chamonix when I was 21, worked in a bar for a season so I could ski as much as possible, and made friends with some French ski tech guys who gave me a steep learning curve in off-piste skiing and general ‘shredding’ – as well as après-ski partying!
They did me a sweet deal on a set of light Trab skis that one of them had drilled wrong for a customer so they couldn’t sell them in the store. They mounted some Fritichi bindings on for me and sold me a transceiver, shovel and probe. They thought I was mad for wanting to skin uphill!
I then used what is now probably thought of as the ‘old skool’ book in the Mountain Guide’s office in the centre of Chamonix, where you could leave a note to find others who needed partners to climb or ski with. I knew about this as it was also where people logged what routes they’d been doing, and I’d used it during summers I’d spent climbing in the area as a student. So, I already had a bit of climbing and mountaineering experience, with some, albeit basic, avalanche awareness.
And sure enough, someone was looking for ski touring partners. I nervously got in touch but didn’t admit I hadn’t a clue how to go uphill; he, in turn, didn’t ask about my experience.
We arranged to meet for a day’s tour from Les Houches, and I just followed him up the hills, copying exactly what he did. He appeared very skilled. All I remember is that he was a British guy in his 40s (so old—oh, wait, that’s me now!). Kick turns I somehow survived, how I’ve no idea. I probably looked awful. What I could do well, though, was ski downhill, so I think my confidence to blag it came from that. And the day was a success; I had the best time, and to this day, I doubt that guy knows the opportunity he gave me and what it started. This, though, is a way into the sport I would not advise! Good communication is one of the most important skills for staying safe in the mountains.
Later that season, I found others in a hostel where I was staying who were as mad with as little knowledge as me, but full of psyche, and as soon as the huts opened that season for the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt, we were off. I didn’t have enough money to stay in the huts, so I bivvied outside and cooked instant noodles, and my friends sneaked me out leftovers. We had some crazy powder conditions, breaking trail most days, as it was so early in the season. Looking back at photos, with what I know now, there’s an element of luck involved in us being here today! It was adventure in its rawest form for me at this point in my life, and it just made me so excited to do more.
On returning to the UK, I started the trainee scheme at Glenmore Lodge. The next winter, I went on as many ski mountaineering courses as possible, with Ian Sherrington kicking me into shape with what I needed to know to stay safe and inspiring me to go exploring in Scotland and elsewhere in the world. Recent destinations include northern Norway and an expedition to Nepal, where we enjoyed some brilliant ski pitches with 6,000m peaks surrounding us. Incredible.
What makes ski mountaineering in Scotland so special? How does it compare with, say, the Alps?
Ski mountaineering in Scotland brings with it so many variable snow conditions, or lack of snow, which means you have to be on your toes and creative with route ideas. I love the creativity that comes with having a great day in the Scottish mountains; it’s a fine art to find the best snow, and this comes from years of getting it wrong as well as right, all of which creates brilliant memories. It sometimes feels too easy in the Alps, if there’s a skin track already in place and an obvious bowl to ski – like, why not, it’s right there? It’s rarely that simple in Scotland, which is part of why I love it.
Tell us about some of your most memorable days out.
One of my earliest, most memorable days was when I skied Number Four Gully on Ben Nevis with Gillian Parker. The mountaineers and climbers on the Ben that day thought we were utterly mad, and we sent a few shockwaves through the climbing scene; there was chatter about us. I’m sure we were seen as irresponsible, rogue, too inexperienced to make a decision to ski that line or not. Anyway, we had a great day. It was before it was a popular thing in Scotland, and it was especially unusual to see women ski steep stuff like this. It makes me laugh now as it wasn’t that long ago, and we were oblivious to the fact that it might turn heads at all; we were just out to have a brill day on skis. It was the first descent of Number Four on skis for both of us. A full-on adventure on our doorstep, but calculated, and we made good decisions.
Another standout day was traversing An Teallach and then skiing Hayfork Gully in the most pristine snow and blue-sky conditions. It was incredible. And when we checked our phones at the end of the day, we saw that the whole country was shutting down for COVID. It felt surreal to have had a day like this, only to suddenly hit lockdown. It added to the memory.
But, for me, it’s not all about big gullies. A more recent memorable day was doing a traverse of the Loch Laggan hills on the north side. I’d driven past them for years and previously only skied them as individual peaks. I just felt the need to link them, and I convinced a friend, Murdoch Jamieson, to join me – someone new to skiing but who loves an esoteric idea, a challenge, and doesn’t give up easily.
We shuttled cars and started up the East Ridge of Beinn a’ Chaorainn, and finished off heather-bashing down Carn Dubh, dropping to Garva Bridge. (You should get the map out to take a look at the summits that we’ll have obviously taken!) This was about a day of endurance in the mountains, trying to travel efficiently, and I wanted skiing to be the way to do it. Snow conditions could have been better, but I had waited so long for this, and what made it special was not only completing it, but also doing it in conditions that made it hard work and way slower than I had imagined. The snow was sinky, crusty and very wind-affected. We laughed and agreed it would have probably been faster to walk that day. So it will have to be repeated for a different experience. And that is why Scotland is addictive!
How easy is it to make the transition from piste to off-piste skiing?
It takes time, practice, fitness and determination to succeed at anything new. If off-piste is new to you, give yourself time to learn, as it is different and requires different skills from piste skiing. And I’d always advise finding some good coaching or instruction, after which it’s very much achievable for everyone.
It’s such a variable thing, off-piste; some days the snow can be way better than on other days, so you can be selective to make it easier for yourself. For example, choosing a hill with heather under the snow can be safer and easier than, say, a scoured hill with rock showing.
Scotland’s mountains vary wildly in character. How does this influence the skills needed?
Scotland’s mountains do vary wildly in character, agreed. This can be in terms of the weather and snow conditions, as well as the topography, all of which massively influence the skills required, which in turn need to be adaptable. This, to me, is the standout word – you need to be adaptable in so many ways. Your ski technique must be ready to change from one patch of snow to another on the same day. You might be carving one great pitch and then step-turning another to deal with the wind-affected snow.
The plans you’ve made to try to match the forecasts need to be dynamic. You need good skills to create fun routes, find the best snow, and read slopes to make sure they’re safe to ski, keeping avalanche safety in mind.
The weather in our mountains can change fast, and it’s part of what creates their character. For example, your hill admin skills in blizzard conditions need to be on point so your googles are clear and free from snow on the inside, and you don’t lose stuff to the wind.
The terrain in Scotland’s mountains is also really variable. For many areas, such as those in North-West Scotland or Glen Coe, ski skills for steep, exposed ground are crucial.
What would you say to someone keen to expand their horizons on different terrain or in a new area of Scotland?
Go and explore, and have fun expanding your experience on skis, but always with a ‘get out of jail’ plan. Don’t limit yourself to one idea. Have multiple plans for your day. Be ready to change course if you feel it’s beyond your skill set or if the conditions aren’t safe to continue. Play in the snow, find steep but safe, short sections to practice and improve your ski technique. Find courses to gain a thorough understanding of avalanche safety, route planning and navigation.
There have been many days when my ambition and enthusiasm have been more than the mountains allowed us to achieve, leading us to back off. On those days, sometimes we learn much more than on days when we cover more distance or time.
Flicking through a detailed guidebook like Ski Mountaineering in Scotland is such a valuable way to gain ideas for how you can explore what Scotland has to offer and make the best use of any ski time you have. I’m excited to see people use this book to expand where they take their Scottish skiing.
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Images
Emma Holgate on Braeriach. © Huw Oliver
Emma Holgate and Murdoch Jamieson on Braeriach. © Huw Oliver
Sgùrr a’ Chaorachain with Skye visible in the distance. © Al Todd