Mountain House News

Greetings from Mountain House Holidays

Peak Navigation Courses       &   Sierra Nevada Guides

It has been great to meet lots of you over the summer, which saw us spending time in Spain, Scotland, Swaziland and Slovenia.  Now we are back in Derbyshire and the nights are drawing in, we are working on our programme for 2015, and wanted to share a few of our ideas with our friends and customers.

Mt. Olympus, "home of the Gods"

 New for Next Year:

A 5 Day mini break 

"Mt. Olympus, home of the Gods" 

the highest mountain in Greece. This is a walking itinerary but with some “exposed” paths. If you are interested in joining us, we’d really like to hear from you.

Munro bagging in Torridon, some of the more difficult mountains in Scotland. Six days of guided walking.

Navigation Course, October

We are trying out a new navigation course, designed for more 'mature' walkers, who are available during the week, and would appreciate learning in a smaller group or at a slower pace.  If you know anyone who might be interested in Map Reading for Mature Walkers, do pass on the information.

Don’t forget: All our navigation courses can be bought as gifts, so why not choose one (or 2) for friends and family this Christmas.

Sierra Nevada Guides are once again hosting a week of winter skills training in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains. This year we plan to spend most of the week at the Poqueira Refuge, high in the mountains where we can put the new skills to good use.

Winter Skills Training Course in The Sierra Nevada in February

Next spring and summer we will be spending more time in Spain, so if you are interested in joining us during April, May, June, July & early August we can offer daily guided walks from the wonderful base of the hotel Alcadima starting and finishing at a date of your choice. (We were fortunate to spend a few days in September as guests at the Alcadima and really enjoyed the experience.) Our programme of daily walks cost 40 Euro's per day.

We always appreciate hearing from you with feedback, suggestions and requests for trips. If you are part of a group we can offer special rates on our holidays, or design a map reading, navigation or GPS course specially for you, so let us know what you would like.

Best wishes

Mike & Jane

Walking in The Alpujarra

Good Walking Straight From The Door!

Being enthusiastic hill walkers ourselves we have always been keen to walk straight out from Finca Montaña rather than getting in the car and driving to get to the start of a walk.  Sure, there are great walks elsewhere in the Alpujarra but here at Finca Montaña there are our own great circuits.

The latest walk!

The problem with planning a route and exploring around here is the fact that although a path or track might be shown on the map, it either may not exist or be over private land and you have no way of knowing until you arrive at a chain across the track half way around your walk.

Earlier this week we pieced together another amazing circuit from the house.  Even after living here for 10 years, it’s such a joy for us to discover something new. Passing mountain farmsteads like our own and seeing what’s growing, old mines, acequia’s, abandoned farms and terraces and never seeing another sole except for a farmer pruning some almond trees. The spectacular views, geology, and wildlife are a wonder too. On this latest circuit we saw a juvenile Golden Eagle, Iberian Ibex and Kestrels.

In addition to a host of shorter walks, we now have 4 superb day walks straight from the front door. All of them circuits of around 10 miles and with 600m to 1000m of ascent. Quite strenuous days but the good thing is there is always a mug of tea or beer / wine to reward yourself with at the end of the walk. There’s nothing like your favourite tipple when you’ve earned it and the views from here are truly stunning.

Evening Views from Finca Montaña

 Finca Montaña is a great, reasonably priced, base for walkers to enjoy the spectacular hill and mountain walking that the Alpujarra and Sierra Nevada have to offer. Walking is possible throughout the year in The Alpujarra though it’s a good idea to miss the heat of August. Even in January and February it is often possible to walk wearing a T shirt. Walking in the High Sierra Nevada is cooler! The best months are June, July, September and October though if you fancy some snowshoeing (possibly combined with some warmer walking in the Alpujarra), February is a good time to visit.

At Finca Montaña you can have a flexible accommodation option, B & B, Half Board or Full Board at reasonable prices. We also offer airport pick ups from either Malaga (2 hours) or Granada (75 minutes).

Mike and Jane the owners of Finca Montaña are both qualified International Mountain Leaders with an extensive knowledge of walking in The Alpujarra and Sierra Nevada. They work together at Sierra Nevada Guides.