Welcome to West Coast Mountain Guides. Based in Fort William in the dramatic Highlands of Scotland, we offer quality mountain guiding services to all those wishing to improve their mountaincraft skills. West Coast Mountain Guides is run by professional mountain guide Alan Kimber, who has 38 years' experience of mountain guiding and instruction in Scotland and abroad. We offer a range of courses and private guiding, covering a wide variety of activities. These range from summer scrambling, ideal for those wishing to find their feet in the mountains, building up to advanced winter climbing courses and alpine experience. West Coast Mountain Guides aim to help people interested in visiting mountainous regions do so with confidence. Help is given by advice, instruction and guiding. Everyone can extend their horizons by investing in proper tuition, given with sensible and friendly encouragement.

The courses and private guiding are organised by Alan Kimber. Alan is a fully qualified Mountaineering Instructor and International Mountain Guide with thirty eight years' experience of instructing mountain based skills to a wide variety of people, both young and not so young! The work has been spread amongst local education authorities, Sports Council centres, charitable groups and since 1988, programmes tailored for his own mountaineering company as shown on his web site. Visits to the Alps (22 seasons), Mt McKinley, Mt Kenya, Baffin Island, The Atlas Mountains, The Andes, Labrador, The N.W. Territories, Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Himalayas add breadth to the experience on which the activities are based.

Alan's wife Sue is another essential part of the team and organises the accommodation at Calluna, Fort William, Scotland, which is home base for West Coast Mountain Guides. Between us we hope to make your visit, safe, enjoyable and memorable.

Closer to home Alan has written a guide-book to Winter Climbs Ben Nevis & Glen Coe and took the part of Norman Collie in 'The Edge', a BBC series portraying a history of Scottish mountaineering

A brand new bouldering wall in Fort William. Over the winter and spring of 2008 we have added a small high quality bouldering wall to the facilities at Calluna. Check out what Dave Macleod has to say below.

....."I'm pretty psyched to announce that Fort William has a new indoor bouldering facility at Calluna (Alan Kimber's place). Alan's built a brand new building with accommodation for climbers and excellent bouldering walls. The wall was constructed over the winter by Scott Muir. Since late February, I have been setting the whole wall with over 60 problems from V0 to V11. It's got a main area with a large steep wall (37degrees over) and vertical and slabbed walls with an excellent campus board and fingerboard. Upstairs there is a superb little circuits cave with surprisingly long circuit problems on walls and roofs to get fit on".....

CHECK OUT Dave Macleod at Calluna, Bunkhouse Bouldering

Also in the building are small areas to practice belaying and prussiking and a small lecture room for watching DVD's. Instructors visiting the area can rent the facility for a few hours to offer indoor talks. There is no requirement to actually stay at the accommodation in order to be able to use the facilities. The bouldering area is supplied with a sound system for your own music. Don't forget to bring your iPOD.

We also sell chalk, finger-tape and chalk bags as well as offering equipment and boot hire, summer and winter.