In my opinion many of Scotland's winter routes are comparable with the big faces of the Alps, if not in scale then certainly in effort required to climb them.

There's no getting the first telephrique up and skiing down to do your route, toping out, rapping back to your skis and being back in the bar for dinner and drinks!

Scottish routes require strength, both physical and of character if you're to succeed, along with a pair of strong legs to carry you repeatedly to its remote crags until conditions are right.

The skills required are extensive, everything from winter driving, navigation, weather and avalanche forecasting, plus the ability to survive some hellish weather, and on top of that climb onsight and ground-up in the worst onsighting and ground up conditions you could ask for.

Self-reliance gives an edge not found on many alpine routes these days, after all there are no red rescue choppers buzzing us looking for business in Scotland - yet!

Throw into this the oldest winter climbing history, the characters, fatty food, and you have one of the wildest red-blooded climbing locations on the planet - our very own Patagonia.

So here is a very small selection of routes that I feel give that big alpine flavor. But remember that any route that you might not climb is an big adventure climb, whether the summit is almost within your grasp or a mile away.