LOCATION

The Meet will be based from Hotel Pineta in the village of Ponte di Legno in the Adamello Alps. It is a quiet alpine village but also the access point for some of the most spectacular walking, and alpine climbing in Italy. Access to the village from the airport, and from the village to the mountains couldn't be easier as there's an efficient bus service from Milan (Malpensa and Bergamo) to Ponte di Legno. From the area there's a shuttle bus that runs throughout the winter as well as a network of ski lifts (walker/climber specific lift tickets at vastly reduced rates available).

The area is strewn with remnants from the 1915-1918 war between Italy and Austria; ruined trenches on the side of hills, tunnels carved through Gendarmes, and rusted Cannons improbably perched on jaw dropping peaks. The area boasts some awesome alpine climbing, winter or summer, with many peaks above 3000m e.g. Mt Adamello 3020m, Cima Lavedole 3072m, Cima di Salimmo 3104m. The scope in the area for alpine ascents of varying difficulty is also justifiably impressive, with routes from UIAA F through to TD-

All in all, we believe that this area has something to offer any keen walker or mountaineer, be they first time snowshoers, experienced winter mountaineers, or those looking to explore the alpine terrain in all its winter glory.

TRAINING COURSES

For 2010 we are adopting a new approach to the Winter Alpine Meet. We will be keeping the focus of the meet as a forum for improving current winter skills, but we have developed and incorporated a wider range of disciplines in order to make the Meet a more inclusive and organic event. All courses will be run by professional mountain guides or international mountain leaders.

A detailed breakdown of the course timetable is given below. A new element for this year’s Meet will be a mandatory one-day course for all participants on Monday 15 March which will cover avalanche awareness and transceiver skills. The registration fee for the Winter Meet is built into the €120 cost of this course.

For an overview of the Winter Meet course timetable please click here

·  Mandatory Avalanche Awareness Course (Monday 15 March): Avalanche awareness, transceiver skills, safe travel in winter Alpine terrain and avalanche assessment course for all participants (walking and climbing). Course fee includes: Winter Meet registration, course, 6 day hire of Avalanche transceiver, and 1 day walkers lift pass. €120

WINTER WALKING

·  Snowshoe Skills & Winter Navigation (1 day. 8:1 ratio). €40 (16 March; 17 March)

·  Winter Walking/Snowshoe Trip with overnight in Hut & ascent of Cima Verde (2 days. 8:1 ratio). €100 (16-17 March; 18-19 March). Course fee includes dinner and Hut B&B.

·  Winter Snowshoe Trip with overnight in snowhole, including snowhole building skills, emergency shelters, and backcountry cooking skills (2 days. 6:1 ratio) €100. (18-19 March). Course fee includes hire of -15⁰C down sleeping bag & food.

·  Winter snowshoe/walking trip to Cima Presena (1 day, 8:1 ratio). Free (20 March)

For participants wanting to undertake one-day self-guided snowshoe walks, detailed maps and route suggestions will be provided free of charge.

WINTER MOUNTAINEERING

·  Introduction to Ice Climbing (1 day. 2:1 ratio). €150 (16 March; 18 March)

·  Winter Alpine Climbing (1 day. 2:1 ratio) €150 (17 March; 19 March)

SKI TOURING

·  Introduction to Ski Touring (1 day. 3:1 ratio) €130 (18 March). Hire of equipment not included in course fee.

LOGISTICS

·  Accommodation

The Winter Meet will be based from Hotel Pineta, situated in Ponte Di Legno. A number of rooms have been reserved for Winter Meet participants at this hotel. An en-suite twin room, half-board (including dinner) will cost €315pp (based on two sharing) for the entire week. If you would like to avail of this offer, please contact Hotel Pineta direct (details below) and quote the reference ‘Mountaineering Ireland’. This offer is strictly on a first-come-first-served basis.  Deposit/payment is to be arranged direct with the hotel.

Hotel Pineta

web: www.paginegialle.it/albepineta     email: pinetahotel@libero.it

tel: 0039036491259

Other accommodation options in the area are available. Please visit Ponte di Legno’s Tourism website for further details: http://www.comune.ponte-di-legno.bs.it/

·  Travel

RyanAir flies direct from Dublin to Milan Bergamo. From the airport you can either catch a bus or a train direct to Ponte Di Legno. The bus is the easier and faster option: buses leave from outside the airport and take approximately two and a half hours to reach Ponte di Legno (€15 each way). The bus stop in Ponte Di Legno is near the ski lifts, and the Hotel Pineta is about 100m from the ski lifts.

DATES TO REMEMBER

20 January 2010 – information evening Great Outdoors (Dublin) 7pm

1 February 2010 – deadline for submission of booking forms

14 March 2010 – Winter Meet starts

17 March 2010 - St Patrick's Day!

To have a chat about the 2010 Winter Meet, contact Kate in the Mountaineering Ireland office - 01 6251115 or kate@mountaineering.ie