Snow Factor

Went ice-​climbing on 3^rd Jan (conversion course for rock climbers, £30, 3 hours on wall includes all gear). Really super, and can now return for £15 inc axe/​boot/​crampon hire (take own harness and helmet) or £18 inc all gear. An inexpensive alternative to eg Ratho, for a change, or if fingers are sore. Exercises core, shoulders, arms, etc, without overloading fingers, snd it’s such a laugh. Ta Hames for enthusiastic instruction.
Because we were there, tried snowboarding beginner lesson (skills 1 £39). Bever planned to start snowboarding, but y’know! Have time, if not money, to learn a new skill so have now had 5 lessons, which is enough to ve allowed on main slope on your own — that’s important, as slope plus gear can be as cheap as £15 for 2 – 3 hours if you go at clever times, exprnsive otherwise!
5 lessons ain’t the cheapest, however, all gear is included (get there REALLY early in case they don’t have your size, or you get broken gear by mistake. Some gear is a little shabby, many helmets are just plain broken, but you can choose those yourself from the shelves, so check all buckles, adjusters, etc. INSTRUCTORS ARE ALL EXCELLENT, can’t praise highly enough for care, enthusiasm, differentiation, safety, honesty. Almost all staff will give you lots of gear advice… I suggest a couple of chats before you think of buying. My friend took her bew board along and got lots of setup advice including loan of tools. Super!
Thanks Alan, Nic, Marty, Justin!
You do need 4, maybe 5 lessons. It’s tough after about lesson 2 – 3. But hang in there, and go with a friend at your level!
My only caveat is check how busy the beginner slope will be — most of our lessons were great, but one was so busy, we couldn’t practise without tangling with others. Check in advance! We spoke to the manager about this, positively, and I have to say he listened to us and as a result this is definitely still a 5 star rating.
Oh, the bar is quite good too, cheapish food, good place to dump non-​boarders. Decathlon across the road sells «impact shorts» for £24 to protect lower back, much better quality than my cheap ebay obe which wasn’t quite thick enough!