Festival Workshops - Bùthan-obrach na Fèise

Our popular Mountain Skills Workshops give you the chance to develop your skills and confidence in winter conditions. Choose from Avalanche Awareness, Winter Walking Skills and Winter Climbing workshops.

The Ice Factor brings you great taster sessions on the rock and on their amazing indoor ice wall throughout the festival.

If you're an aspiring author, join writer and poet Susan Richardson on a Writer's Walk & Workshop in the inspirational setting of Glen Nevis.

4-MALITY percussion quartet workshop - Rock and Rhythm

Brand new for 2009, the amazing percussion quartet 4-MALITY, will work with local school pupils and young people to produce a piece of mountain music inspired by the Nevis landscape. The workshop will introduce youngsters to a huge range of percussion instuments with hands-on opportunities to develop a performance piece to be played at the Nevis Connections evening.

4-MALITY is one of the world's most compelling and innovative percussion quartets. It was formed by Adrian Spillett, the first percussionist to win the prestigious BBC Young Musicians Competition.

The 4-MALITY artists have command of over eighty drums, gongs, cymbals and tuned percussion. The music and performance is unique. Defying categorisation, it is visually spectacular, physically demanding and presented with the skill and artistry of dedicated chamber musicians.

The influences in the music are so diverse that 4-MALITY concerts always appeal to a wide audience. Comparisons with the music of Japan, Africa, the Caribbean and the minimalism of Steve Reich are common, providing the audience with a sense of familiarity amidst the excitement of experiencing something new.

4-MALITY have performed in many prominent venues and at world renowned festivals including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The Berlin Philharmonie, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, The Snape Proms, Rhythm Sticks, The Cheltenham Festival, The Bath Festival and The Edinburgh Fringe. International tours have taken the group to Australia, Taiwan, Turkey, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Finland.

Commissioned works are at the heart of 4-MALITY's originality. Composers who write for the group are Jan Bradley, Ian Vine, Benjamin Wallfisch, Russel Du Plessis, Julian Warburton, Eric Sammut, Dinuk Wijeratne and Geir Rafnsson.

As a member of 4-MALITY, Jan Bradley's compositions play a vital role in the quartet. His works embody the 4-MALITY ethos, demanding high energy, great dexterity and showcasing some unorthodox percussion instruments! The result is virtuosic, flamboyant and an experience not to be missed!

You can come along to this workshop as a participant or as an audience member.

Wednesday 11th March | Nevis Centre Festival Theatre | 3-5.30pm | FREE

Booking essential: For further information or to book places, please contact The Nevis Partnership by email or on 01397 701088.

Suitability (participants): best suited to those aged 11 upwards.

Suitability (audience): All ages, school groups especially welcome.

Mountain Skills Workshops

Our Mountain Skills Workshops are run in conjunction with Nevis Range and Abacus Mountaineering. This is a unique opportunity for you to come along and experience the adventure and satisfaction of Scottish Winter Mountaineering. All workshops are run by highly experienced and fully qualified mountaineering instructors. If you've always wanted to get out onto the mountains in winter, now's your chance!

Choose from:

• Avalanche Awareness (full day course) £40
• Winter Walking Skills (full day course) £40
• Winter Climbing (full day course) £75

Winter Climbing Workshops will be available on request for those with prior winter walking experience.

Saturday 7th March	Winter Walking Skills Avalanche Awareness
Sunday 8th March	Winter Walking Skills Avalanche Awareness
Monday 9th March	Winter Walking Skills
Tuesday 10th March	Winter Walking Skills
Wednesday 11th March	Winter Walking Skills
Thursday 12th March	Winter Walking Skills
Friday 13th March	Winter Walking Skills
Saturday 14th March	Winter Walking Skills Avalanche Awareness

The prices include instruction and use of the Nevis Range Gondola. You need to provide your own equipment which can be hired at Ellis Brigham or Nevisport in Fort William and personal accident insurance which you can get through The B.M.C.

To book your place on a workshop please e-mail mike@abacusmountaineering.com with your name, address and telephone number and the workshop you would like to attend, or phone 01397 772466.

Ice Factor Workshops

Give rock or ice climbing a go with taster sessions at the Ice Factor indoor climbing centre in Kinlochleven.

Taste the Rock

One and a half hour open sessions for adult (age 16+) and young (age 7-15) beginners. Your chance to try rock climbing on indoor walls (up to 50ft high). You'll look at movement on rock, tying on and belaying. Maximum 6 people per instructor.

Sessions every day from Saturday 7th - Saturday 14th March. Adult beginners: 12.30-2pm. Young beginners: 4-5.30pm.

Price: £20 or £15 for Mountain Festival ticket-holders and £15 for ages 7-15. (Price includes hire of rock shoes, harness and helmet.)

Hit the Ice

Fancy giving ice climbing a try? There's no better place to try than on the world's biggest indoor ice wall! This is a two and a half hour open session for adult beginners (age 16+), no climbing expereince needed! You'll look at footwork, balancing on steep ice and use of ice tools. Move from easy slopes onto vertical ice. A great way to get a feel for what's involved in this exciting sport, with the security and supervision of expert staff. Always popular so book in advance.

Sessions every day from Saturday 7th to Saturday 14th March, at 2.45-5.15pm.

Cost: £45 or £40 for Film Festival ticket holders. Price includes hire of all equipment (boots, crampons, harness, helmet, axes and gloves).

Taste the Rock AND Hit the Ice

Why not make a day of it and try both? Combine both workshops for a fantastic introduction to indoor rock and ice climbing. Learn movement skills and basic ropework on the rock, then develop and apply them on the ice.

Suitable for adult beginners (age 16+), no experience necessary (but it won't hurt if you do have). Times as above.

Price: £65 or £55 for Mountain Festival ticket-holders.

Advance booking is recommended on all sessions. Workshops are subject to availability.

Contact The Ice Factor direct for more info on all workshops and to book or call 01855 831100.

Bouldering Masterclasses with Dave MacLeod

You'll have to be quick with this one - world renowned climber Dave MacLeod is offering free masterclasses for one day only! There will be two classes, each with a maximum of 4 participants. Advance bookings only. To book your place, please contact Calluna direct on 01397 700451 or email alan@westcoast-mountainguides.co.uk

Thursday 12th March | Calluna Bunkhouse Bouldering Wall, Fort William | 11am - 1pm, 2pm - 4pm | Masterclass FREE + £4 entry to wall

Writing Workshop

Have you been inspired by an outdoor expereince and want to write about it? Presented by the John Muir Trust and The Nevis Partnership, this workshop will help you explore your ideas in our wonderful landscape. Writer and poet Susan Richardson will take us on a journey to explore different ways of capturing those expereinces on paper. To conclude the owrkshop, Susan will read from her collectin of poetry, 'Creatures of the Intertidal Zone' (Cinnamon Press), inspired by her journey through Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.

Bring warm clothes, waterproofs, sturdy outdoor footwear and a notebook suitable for use on the go and, of course, something to write with!

Sunday 8th March | 1 - 5pm | Glen Nevis Visitor Centre, | £6

Booking essential | Please call 01397 705049 or email nevis@jmt.org

Nevis Range Workshops

Skiing and Boarding lessons

Never skied or snowboarded before? Then take time out from the festival to head up to Nevis Range for your first lesson. You can hire everything you need up there. One-day beginner packages, including two hours' instruction, equipment hire and ski ticket.

Daily all week | Adults £45, children £33 | Advance booking advisable 01397 705825 | All lessons are weather and snow-dependent

Explore the Back Corries

Only for the experienced, the back corries at Nevis Range offer some of the best off-piste skiing and boarding in Scotland. If you've never been before, join one of the back corrie tours during festival week.

Tuesday 10th & Thursday 12th March | Adults £5 | Call 01397 705825 for more info | All operations weather and snow permitting.

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