If you’d like to gain a little winter mountaineering experience but are put off by the cost, we have a bargain for you.

The Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust (JCMT) is offering places on subsidised courses in the Cairngorms next January. The two-day training events will include use of crampons and ice axes, belaying and rope work, avalanche assessment and other topics related to winter mountains. They provide an introduction for those wanting to learn how to tackle Scottish and Alpine winter mountains safely.

And the good news is: the cost is only £45. Don’t hang about: applications for the courses, run by Jonathan Preston at the Ardenbeg Outdoor Centre in Grantown-on-Spey, need to be in by next Monday, 30 October. You can download a form from the British Mountaineering Council’s (BMC) website.

grough has been on winter skills courses in Scotland and can recommend them. They’re great fun and, take it from us, these subsidised courses are fantastic value.

The JCMT was set up by the family of Jonathan Conville after his death at the age of 27 on the Matterhorn in the winter of 1979-80. The Trust's aims are to encourage and assist individuals to train for and pursue outdoor adventure in the spirit which Jonathan followed during his life.

The cost of the courses includes accommodation, food, gear hire and transport while on the course. Six different dates are available, with the first course starting on 11 January. The JCMT subsidises the cost jointly with the BMC and the Scottish Mountain Trust.