As part of the Club's ongoing centenary celebrations, we are delighted to invite members and guests to a two-day ski mountaineering symposium at the Duke of Gordon Hotel, Kingussie, over the weekend of 14th, 15th, 16th November 2025.
It's a chance to participate in an informative and inspirational weekend to guide your future ski touring, as well as an opportunity to celebrate the club's heritage and centenary. With exclusive use of a Highland hotel and a Saturday evening dinner and ceilidh, there will be plenty of opportunity to socialise, catch up with old ski touring friends, and make new ones.
Kingussie, near Aviemore lies in the heart of Cairngorms National Park, and offers an ideal base to explore Speyside and the surrounding hills. The slopes of Cairngorm are nearby, and with luck, there may even be early-season snow to enjoy.
Programme Overview
The two-day programme will feature a balance of inspirational talks and practical workshops. Mornings will focus on lectures, while afternoons will offer a choice of workshops and training sessions. Saturday's theme is 'Safety and Skills' and Sunday's is 'Adventure and Planning'. Reflecting the centenary, we will look to both the club's history and the future of ski touring.
Saturday highlights include sessions on avalanche awareness with SAIS's Graham Moss, mountain weather insights from MWIS's Mehmet Karatay, and discussions on human factors and team dynamics led by Heather Morning. Sunday will shift focus to adventure, featuring talks from Alan Sloan on Scottish ski touring, Finlay Wild on fast-and-light approaches, and Susie Amann on stepping up to more adventurous trips.
The symposium will also see the launch of the new edition of Ski Mountaineering in Scotland from Scottish Mountaineering Press, with copies available for sale throughout the weekend.
The ESC AGM will take place on Saturday afternoon with information and details to follow separately.
| Saturday 15th Nov 'Safety and Skills' | Sunday 16th Nov 'Adventure and Planning' |
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- Avalanche awareness – SAIS - Interpreting avalanche forecasts, with a detailed review of general avalanche problems as a framework for good decision making in avalanche terrain - Graham Moss. - Mountain Weather – MWIS - overview of safety implications of mountain weather with emphasis on winter weather patterns and their impact on ski touring - Mehmet Karatay. - Human Factors, Heuristics and Team dynamics –an insight into the multiple human that influence our decision making in the mountains - Heather Morning. - Strategies for safe ski touring - an overview of safety strategies for unguided ski touring groups - speaker tbc |
- Making the most of your Scottish Ski touring – history, variety and challenges of Scottish Ski touring and how to make the most of opportunities - Alan Sloan. - Fast and Light – lightweight approaches to some big Scottish ski rounds and skiing the Grand Alpine Arc - Finlay Wild. - Bike to Ski Mont Blanc and redefining the nature of adventure in the age of climate change - Howard Pollitt & Mostyn Brown. - Getting in to more adventurous trips – planning, logistics and practicalities - Susie Amann. |
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Workshops and Training Sessions Full afternoon Training session - Ropework for Ski Mountaineering – Hannah Burrows-Smith - Introduction to ropework Saturday, and for the more experienced Intermediate ropework on Sunday - Winter navigation on Skis – a session to identify a set of 'go to' essential tools to aid good decision making in challenging navigation conditions - Heather Morning - available both days, Saturday and Sunday. One hour workshops - Avalanche forecasting with SAIS - practical exercises in extrapolating what happens to avalanche risk with evolution in weather - Graham Moss - Saturday only. - Mountain Weather with MWIS - Dig deeper into mountain weather through synoptic charts – Mehmet Karatay - Saturday only - 'Prehab' - injury prevention for ski tourers through strength and conditioning approaches – Lesley McKenna - Saturday only. - Ski Maintenance – practical session covering DIY maintenance and repair of ski touring equipment - Kiefer Wyllie Ellis Brigham ski tech - Saturday only. - First Aid for Hypothermia –a review of the current science and working through a scenario-based approach for the prevention and management of hypothermia on a ski tour – Declan Phelan – available both days, Saturday and Sunday. - First Aid of the Avalanche victim – a review of the key science and strategy to deliver effective companion first aid/resuscitation of the avalanche victim– Declan Phelan available both days, Saturday and Sunday. - Off Piste Performance - using a combination of video analysis, off-snow drills and a Q & A session to coach different aspects of off-piste -Alison Thacker - available both days, Saturday and Sunday. - Expedition Food – preparing your own Dehydrated food – Chris Watkins - available both days, Saturday and Sunday - Adventurous trip planning - a deeper dive into the planning, gear selection and practicalities of adventurous trips and expeditions – Susie Amann - Sunday only. - Avalanche transceiver workshops – Transceivers, searching practice and getting a uniform approach. Companion and Leader transceiver workshops - Ken Marsden - Sunday only. - Fast and Light Q+A - skimo racing (kit, planning and training) or longer ski journeys (logistics, planning, or even aesthetics) - Finlay Wild - Sunday only. - Ski Edge and Base servicing – a practical session covering tools and tips for DIY maintenance and repair of your skis. Torquil Chapman |
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More detailed lecture and workshop descriptions together with speaker profiles are available on the Programme Detail Page.
Additional Training Opportunity - Hannah Burrows-Smith will offer a two-day 'Mountaineering Skills for Ski Tourers' course on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 November. This winter skills course may be particularly appealing to members looking to extend their trip north. Expressions of interest to Hannah at hannahbs74@hotmail.com with booking later via Eventbrite form at launch of Scottish meets/training.
Venue
The Duke of Gordon Hotel, a traditional Highland hotel in Kingussie, will be our base. We have exclusive use of the hotel, including its large ballroom and breakout spaces for workshops. We have booked the whole hotel for the weekend with exclusive B & B rates for the symposium for up to 120 guests, offering a relaxed environment for both training and socialising.
Registration and Pricing
We encourage everyone to join us for the full weekend, but flexible options are available for accommodation and delegate fees. Please note that delegate pricing differs for hotel residents and non-residents to reflect costs of conferencing facilities. The club is subsidising costs for younger members (under 30 yrs) and for training elements.
- Hotel Delegate Fee (Duke of Gordon resident): £50 per day, £100 for 2 days
- Day Delegate Fee (own accommodation): £60 per day, £120 for 2 days
- Young Members: £30 per day, £60 for 2 days
- Saturday Night Dinner & Ceilidh: £35
To register, please complete the Booking Form and rank your workshop preferences. For both afternoons there is a menu of 1 hour workshops and whole afternoon training sessions. Please rank your training/workshop preferences and we will try to accommodate choice according to capacity and on a first come, first served basis. Delegate capacity is limited to 130 in the first instance, after which we will manage a wait list - so book early to avoid disappointment!
Booking Form - Tally Form Hyperlink
Once you have paid, you will receive two confirmation emails: one acknowledging your initial registration and another providing you with a payment receipt. Refunds (minus £5 Stripe fee) will be considered if other club members are able to substitute the vacant place.
Accommodation Rates
Please note that accommodation at the Duke of Gordon Hotel needs to be booked and paid for separately. We have negotiated exclusive use and discounted B&B rates at the Duke of Gordon Hotel:
- £65 per person (double occupancy)
- £90 per person (double room for sole use)
- £55 per person (triple room)
- £50 per person (quad room)
These rates apply for Friday and/or Saturday nights and can be extended for longer stays. Double or single rooms can be booked online at the Duke of Gordon Duke Of Gordon Hotel - Powered By Hop [Duke of Gordon Link] using the code ESC25. For triple or quad rooms, please call the hotel directly on +44 1540 661302 and mention Eagle Ski Club. If you would like to share hotel accommodation but are on your own, we can try to match you up with someone of the same gender. To facilitate this send an email to Chris Watkins Chris@cwatkins.force9.co.uk, indicating which nights you wish to stay at the hotel and providing your name, gender, phone number and email address. Chris will put you in touch with each other so you can go ahead and book accordingly.
Alternative Accommodation
Additional accommodation options in Kingussie are available, including club huts and a motorhome aire. Further details will be provided soon.
Travel and Logistics
Kingussie is easily accessible via the A9 and has strong public transport links. The hotel is just 100 metres from the railway station, with direct trains from London including the overnight Caledonian Sleeper service. We will facilitate car sharing through an ESC Symposium WhatsApp group.
Recap of How to Book
- Register for the symposium (and dinner/ceilidh if applicable) and rank your workshop preferences using the Booking form
- Book your accommodation at the Duke of Gordon Hotel or make your own arrangements.
Planning is being handled by a small group of volunteers led by Declan Phelan - contactable on symposium25@eagleskiclub.org.uk.
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Symposium AV facilities will be set up by an external events company, but we are looking for a volunteer with experience in this area who would be prepared to take a dedicated handover on Friday 14 November and manage the system over the weekend. Interested volunteers can contact symposium25@eagleskiclub.org.uk for further discussion and a free symposium place!