Here's the thing nobody tells you when you first pick up an ice axe: the snow that makes Scotland's winter so good is the same snow that can bury you. Beginners head onto Ben Nevis and Skye with shiny new axes and a head full of ice-climbing hype, and avalanche awareness for beginner winter climbers in Scotland gets pushed to the back of the queue. That's the wrong order. You don't need to be a ski tourer to need this stuff. If you're swinging into a gully with snow piled abo