Blog

We’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of our loyal customers for their patience and understanding during this uncertain time. From the 9th of October, we are officially open and are delighted to welcome you all back. Nonetheless, the safety of our team, our visitors and our community will be our first priority

We have introduced some new rules and procedures to keep our team, our visitors and our community safe. We have been following the industry news and guidance and are proud to have met or exceeded these throughout the centre. As such we have been awarded the ‘Good To Go’ mark by Visit Scotland and ask

Reopening after lockdown Our new Procedures Only sit at a table with a menu. This is to ensure your table has been sanitised before you sit at it Our capacity is the number of tables available on the ground floor and mezzanine, if there are no tables please wait for one to become available, we

Keeping you safe – changes in place GroupsYou may book in a ‘Social Bubble’. We define a social bubble as being up to 6 people from up to 2 households as per the government guidance.Children under 18 are exempt from this rule and organised groups can book up to 30 people per session if required

Kev Shields – from Ayrshire to the top of the climbing world Kev is one of our team here at Ice Factor, he sets our routes on the climbing walls and instructs with the centre. He is also one of the best climbers in the UK and the first disabled person to enter the UIAA

Scale vertical rock and ice, test mettle on an outdoor aerial adventure course or sit back with a coffee and enjoy the west highland views! For the past 15 years, Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility has been a year-round magnet for seasoned climbers, ‘weekend warriors’ and curious spectators alike. Yet

Last week (3rd May) saw Ice Factor Group celebrate its latest significant achievement as a finalist in the category of Digital Business of the Year in the Federation of Small Businesses National Final Awards in London. Ice Factor Group, that incorporates Ice Factor Kinlochleven in the West Highlands and Snow Factor Braehead was among twelve

PRE ’65 Scottish Trial kicks off on Friday 4th May! Kinlochleven and Ice Factor will host the the 2-day Pre 65 Scottish Trial for another year and it all kicks off in 2 weeks! ABOUT THE PRE ’65: In association with the Scottish Six Days Trial, Edinburgh & District Motor Club also run a Pre-’65

Ice Factor Group, that incorporates Snow Factor Braehead and Ice Factor Kinlochleven in the West Highlands, is celebrating further business success after winning the Business Growth of the Year Award at the Scottish SME Business Awards 2018 held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow. Over 250 guests attended the black tie event on Tuesday

Fabric and Waterproofness The Latok jacket is Rab’s premium climbing and mountaineering jacket and as such it is designed to be capable of handling all the weather the Scottish winter can throw at it. It is constructed from Event’s 3 layer DV Expedition fabric which feels both tougher and lighter than other Event fabrics I

Professor Brian Cox posted an image of local snow capped mountains yesterday and it has sparked a challenge to see if hill walkers and climbers can name them with out referring to a guide book… Here’s the original image he posted… and here’s the answers…   Images from Professor Brian Cox and BBC news.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural awards ceremony, the finalists for this year’s Scottish SME Business Awards have been announced after nominations surged in from across Scotland. The Ice Factor Group has been shortlisted in the Business Growth of the Year category. The Ice Factor Group will find out if they will be named

Life in the FSB is always varied, fascinating and rewarding, but there is no doubt that last Tuesday will prove to be one of the highlights of 2018: the Scottish final of FSB’s inaugural Celebrating Small Business Awards in Edinburgh University’s Playfair Library. On that day the word “entrepreneur” was made flesh, and the room

Our Facilities Rock: We have over 156 routes for lead climbing and top roping on our rock walls, with 18 climbing lines on our indoor ice climbing walls. Our main rock climbing lead wall is over 15m high with 5 recently installed belay ledges. It remains the highest articulated lead wall in the UK, and can be

Get 30% off our Rock Climbing Multipass this Black Friday weekend! The Rock Climbing Multipass is 6 All Day Rock Climbing passes, which if you’re super keen, is up to 78 hours of indoor rock climbing and bouldering! The multipass is normally £47.50. This Black Friday weekend you’ll get it for just £33.25. This offer

We are delighted to confirm that Salomon Skyline Scotland™ will host the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) 2018 Skyrunning World Championships on the 13-15th September from Ice Factor Kinlochleven, Scotland in which a total of eight Skyrunning World Champions will be determined. Donnie Campbell, Salomon athlete and 2017 Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra winner ©Guillem Casanova After four World Championships held

The annual open day (24 June) at Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice-climbing facility and a 5-star Visit Scotland adventure tourism centre in the west highlands has helped raise £726 for a number of local and national charities, including Down’s Syndrome Scotland. Time for an adventure? ? #climbing #adventure #bouldering #climbinglife #scotland #glencoe

Whether you are in Kinlochleven for a few hours or a few days, we highly recommend going on either of these local walks to soak in the beautiful vistas the area has to offer.  We also recommend rewarding yourself with a ice of Cake at the Ice Factor cafe after either walk….  Walk # 1

We asked instructor Mark about a few of his favourite local spots for climbing and camping.  Favourite Climb  So my favourite easy climb locally is one of the Classic Rock climbs on Buchaille Etive Mor. January Jigsaw goes at the grade of severe and is high up on the Rannoch Wall it is everything an easy

AWARD WINNING HIGHLAND ATTRACTION PLANS A N’ICE OPEN DAY OF ADVENTUROUS FUN FOR ALL Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice-climbing facility and a 5-star VisitScotland adventure tourism centre is inviting families and ‘weekend warriors’ alike to experience the thrill of ice and rock climbing as part of its annual Ice Factor Open Day.

Yesterday Jane , Steve and myself headed out to Lochailort. Steve was ultra keen to get on Skyfall (a very bold E6 6b which I climbed 2 years ago after a drawn out mental battle) and I had my sights set on a new route. We both knew if it all went to plan it would

Kev shared his latest blog with us. Check out how he found taking on The Short Straw [E4 6a] in Glen Nevis. The Short Straw Last April I had a quick look at The Short Straw E4 6a on Scimitar Ridge in Glen Nevis. It was a very different style to what I usually go

The owner of Scotland’s only indoor snow sports facility has further underlined its expertise in the adventure tourism market after winning a bid to operate a new £30 million indoor snow dome planned for Middlesbrough in NE England. Ice Factor Group, the independent owner of Snow Factor Braehead to the west of Glasgow and also

Today (Monday 9th January) sees entries open to all four races at the hugely anticipated 2017 Salomon Skyline Scotland™. The event weekend includes the all new Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra™ 110km race and is now the only Skyrunning event in the world to feature a race in each of the 2017 Skyrunner® World Series disciplines,

From all of us at Ice Factor and Chillers Bar & Grill, we wish you the merriest of Christmases! Take note of our festive opening hours so you can pop by say Merry Christmas or indeed Happy New year this festive season! Festive Opening Hours 2016/ 17 Date Open Close Friday 23rd December 09:00 18:00

Did you see Kev on the Scottish news on Saturday? If not, you can watch it below. Kev shares his inspiring story proving that, with determination and ambition, a disability will not hold you back from pursuing your passions. In Kev’s case, his passions are rock climbing and ice climbing.  

  Up to sixty of the UK’s top ice and rock climbers are expected to compete at Ice Factor Kinlochleven on Saturday 17th December when the Scottish Mixed Masters (the final round of the British Tooling Series – BTS) is staged within the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility. It’s the first major rock and

Sometimes a good recommendation is better than any advert. We asked Mike and Joe to select an item of clothing or a product that we sell in the Ice Factor Shop that they use and love. Joe’s Pick Salewa Ortles Hybrid 2 Jacket – Red So Joe, Why is this jacket so great? “I bought

We caught up with Kev Shields and Mike to find out that all-important question climbers want to know: Whit’s in yer bag? As autumn slowly disappears and we head into winter, both Kev and Mike are spending their free time doing one of two types of outdoor activities; Outdoor Winter Climbing or New routing on

Don’t talk to Kevin (Kev) Shields about tales of triumph over adversity.  Born with no fingers on his left hand and later diagnosed with epilepsy, the 37 year-old climber from North Ayrshire (Dalry) could easily have dwelled on the physical and mental challenges meted out to him from an early age. But Kev Shields isn’t

The hill-running extravaganza of the Salomon Glen Coe Skyline, Ring of Steall Skyrace and Vertical Kilometre races is almost upon us. And while most of us will wonder whether to leave the Glen Coe and Mamore hills until a quieter weekend, contestants will be hard in training for their chosen race out of the three

Enterprising young Adventurer caches in on the ‘selfie’ phenomenon! PolePod was devised as an alternative to a selfie stick as I was wanting to film myself skiing, and didn’t see the point in carrying a flimsy extendable pole when I already had two stirdy ones in my hands. It went through multiple iterations until I got

inthesnow.com is reporting that British mum, Masha Gordon, is on course to enter the world record books by becoming the fastest woman to complete the Explorers’ Grand Slam challenge. This ultimate adventure challenge involves climbing the world’s highest peaks on each of the seven continents as well as trekking to the geographic North and South

We saw this and couldn’t help but think it was pretty cool. Combining Bouldering with Twister. Looks like great fun, and an awesome “twist” on conventional bouldering!

Ok, Someone needs to have words with Uli Emanuele. The views are breathtaking enough never mind the breathlessness we get when we see just how tight this 2m gap is! Blimey. He’s got some cajones.  

What work opportunities does climbing have to offer? The BMC interviewed six people who work in the industries to find out more. There’s a number of different areas you could go into, for example Instructing and Coaching. Working for yourself, at climbing walls or outdoor centres, leading on mountains and much more. Or maybe Industrial Access

Why would anyone climb Everest? With such danger surrounding Everest,  what is it about these daredevils that make them so fearless? Healthonline discussed the traits which make up a climber who likes to take risks, and the psychology behind it.

Sometimes when you hit the great outdoors, some of the things you see are stunning. Great sunsets, rolling hills, awesome plant life and breathtaking views. But sometimes, just sometimes you might get more than you bargained for. (Credit : http://m.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=11658263)

 It’s Scottish Tourism Week and Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility and one of Scotland’s top adventure tourism attractions will finally reopen its doors tomorrow (Friday 18 March). The west highland attraction that annually attracts an average of 130,000 visitors had been closed since 29 July last year due to

We are very pleased to announce that Ice Factor will reopen on Friday 18th March 2016. THE world’s largest indoor ice climbing centre – based in the Highlands of Scotland – is set to reopen after being damaged in a blaze last year. The £3.4 million facility, sited at Kinlochleven, near Fort William, has been

REOPENING OF WORLD’S LARGEST INDOOR ICE CLIMBING FACILITY EXPECTED SOON The owner of Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility has advised that the west highland, multi-million pound indoor adventure attraction will not reopen this month (January 2016). The £3.4 million facility, that includes the National Ice-Climbing Centre and is one of Scotland’s major

The Ice Factor Group have teamed up with Highland View B&B to offer all of our customers a special discount on accommodation in February. Prices 3 nights @ £25 per person, per night, midweek (Monday – Thursday inclusive)* – a saving of more than 40% off standard rates 2 nights @ £30 per person, per

WORLD’S LARGEST INDOOR ICE CLIMBING FACILITY AIMS TO REOPEN BEFORE NEW YEAR The owner of Ice Factor Kinlochleven, the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility has today (9 October) expressed his confidence that the west highland, multi-million pound indoor adventure attraction will reopen this year. The £3.4million facility, that includes the National Ice-Climbing Centre and

Extensive fire damage forces operator of Ice Factor Kinlochleven to delay reopening… The owner of Ice Factor Kinlochleven, opened in 2003 as the world’s largest indoor ice climbing facility has today (3 August) confirmed that the £3.4 million facility will remain closed until at least the end of August as a result of a fire

Due to a fire within Ice Factor on Wednesday afternoon (29th July), the facility is currently closed until at least Monday 3 August.  Customers affected by this temporary closure are being offered rescheduled dates to visit. Fire investigators are expected to visit Ice Factor today (Thursday) to determine the cause of the fire that was

There are plenty of activities in and around the Glenoce area that will get your blood pumping and give you a massive adrenaline boost! You’ll start off your day at the home of the world’s largest Ice wall and the UK’s highest articulated rock wall! You can hack your way up a 12m ice wall

1. It’s great fun. Physically and mentally challenging and gives a great adrenaline rush, a full body work out and is so much more fun than bashing a gym. 2. It’s incredibly social. Rock climbers usually work in partnerships – with one person belaying (controlling the rope) which means you are never alone. Other climbers

Residents in a picturesque Lochaber village are celebrating climbing to new heights of connectivity with the arrival of superfast broadband for Kinlochleven. The latest broadband boost takes the total number of premises with access to the new fibre networks in the Highlands and Islands to more than 100,000. Community representatives joined Digital Scotland partners at

“Whichever Caledonian Challenge you choose to take, it’ll be harder than you think but more rewarding than you can imagine. Start a journey you’ll never forget.”  Caledonian Challenge The Caledonian Challenge kicks off at Galrlochy on Saturday 13th of June. 24 miles – Saturday 13th June 50 miles – Saturday 13th – Sunday 14th June

For over 30 years Asolo’s high performance footwear has been trusted by leading mountaineers, alpinists and ice climbers scaling many of the world’s most challenging peaks. Now a new sponsorship deal announced today (29 January) by the Ice Factor Group (IFG) and AMG – the Greenock based UK distributor of Asolo footwear – will ensure

On Monday Dave and I [Kev Shields] headed up The Ben again to get on the Curtain, one party in front of us on the last pitch meant we didn’t need to queue or avoid debris which was good. One day like this on Ben Nevis is worth the weeks of miserable weather we get. Hotaches, ouch

Yesterday Dave and myself headed up Ben Nevis with no definite plans. After a few thoughts were ruled out to avoid crowds,queues and avalanche risk  we decided to link 2 pitches of ice/snow between the Curtain (which was getting climbed) and Ledge Route which gave some nice climbing. Ice was great for axe placements but not great

Yesterday saw what is hopefully the start of our winter climbing season… So Steve and I headed up to the Ciste on Ben Nevis to have a look at a route, it wasn’t in condition so we settled for The Gift, usually a III/IV ice route but was a bit harder in mixed conditions. Steve

In keeping with the winter climbing and mountaineering we’ve got another ice axe which is a favourite among our staff. Black Diamond Fusion 2 comes in slightly heavier than our other favourite at 680g and notably, the new fusion 2 is four ounces lighter than it’s older sister ,it’s Black Diamond’s premier mixed climbing tool with

As per November is a busy month for me between work, sponsor stuff, family obligations, training, partying and of course trying to climb. It started with our comp at the Ice Factor which went well and we raised around £600 for the Glencoe MRT. The following Friday was helping set at GCC for their comp

My first outdoor lead fall was only a couple of years ago, [Mark Warner]. I was out at Poll Dubh crags in Glen Nevis climbing with my brother Graham and my colleague Max who was working with the Ice Factor for the summer. We had been climbing nice easy routes all day it was Grahams second ever experience

I’ve been spending an increasing amount of time on the Ben this past fortnight, some good, some not. It started the other weekend with another clean up but this time we approached from the CMD direction with some local students, good to see some of them getting involved to help out. The stuff we collected

Autumn, when summer begins to wind down, the colours start to change and most importantly of all winter is only weeks away. This Halloween however with temperatures well into the double figures it seemed a very distant dream. For winter climbers patiently waiting for those early season routes all was not lost though. The competition