From a WAAC first timer (Scotland Winter Meets)

Beccy joined us on our Scottish Winter Meets in March 2024 and writes about her experience…read on to hear her thoughts on the course and reflections on the weekends.

With a heady mix of trepidation and excitement as the dates got closer, I packed my Winter kit and headed to Scotland for a two days Winter Journey weekend - a step up from Winter skills and my first adventure with WAAC. Excitement for the adventure, the nerves about being with a big group of people I didn’t know, but mostly that I would struggle and hold others back. I was conscious of being older than most on the meet and I wasn’t in the shape I’d have liked to have been in. I’d looked at the fitness guidelines but still felt I was going to slow others down and impact on their learning. 

From the start of the weekend the vibe was lovely - relaxed, friendly, welcoming, and fun - lots of women doing different courses but sharing dorms, stories, gear tips, supplies, snacks, worries, reassurances and a lot of laughter.
There was an awesome buzz at the cafe meet point in Aviemore on the morning of the first day - the room humming with excitement, chat and the sound of coffee cups chinking as we were welcomed then split in to our smaller groups to plan with our instructor. The days were planned collaboratively and shaped as far as possible to everyone’s individual aspirations. Some talking, planning, finishing off coffees, gear faff and then out in to the mountains to make the most of the day adventuring!

It needs to be mentioned here that the instruction is amazing. WAAC work with instructors who seriously know their stuff and who are honed to keeping you super safe whilst pushing you to challenge your comfort zone - which is after all where the magic happens! Learning new skills in a mountain environment is going to be testing sometimes but what you can be sure of is that you will be in an environment where it’s okay to say if you’re feeling anxious about something. You’ll be supported and encouraged by instructors who will have well assessed what you are capable of and who are adept at facilitating everyone getting as much out of the experience as possible. 

The whole meet felt seamlessly organised to bring the best experience to all. There is, I realised, an incredible amount of work that goes on behind the scenes - organising, responding to myriad queries, logistics, lift running, gear sorting, welcoming - all to make sure the meets maximise the learning and that the atmosphere is supportive.

After two days of the journeying weekend I was lucky enough to snag a cancellation spot on the Intro to Mountaineering weekend the following week, which took my learning to a new level and made me realise how much I’d already progressed. Through the two weekends I really felt that I was moving towards being able to access different mountain environments safely and more confidently. Something was being unlocked at last.

WAAC meets are a brilliant place to expand your mountain knowledge and skills. You’ll get stacks of encouragement in testing limits, all the time knowing you are in supremely experienced hands, and you’ll gain top level learning to build confidence - all with an awesome bunch of women adventurers!

And as for the anxieties - on the walk out on one of the days a younger, fitter and more experienced group member told me she felt all of these things too! We are pretty hard on ourselves as women, and no more so than when we are comparing ourselves to others. Turns out I really needn’t have worried and my experiences on the meets connected me again to what I’m really capable of.