Difficulty grading levels explained

In order to maximise everyone's experience on an OutBreak Adventure walking holiday and to ensure everyone gets the level of challenge they expect, we offer holidays in a variety of different difficulty levels, which are given a Peaks grading and which are described below.

2 Peaks
Our 2 Peaks holidays are for people with a keen interest in the unique mountain environment, whether it be its flora, fauna, geology, or culture. The focus is on observation and discussion and the pace is leisurely. As we walk for between five and seven hours each day, with an ascent of up to 900 vertical meters (3,000ft), you need to be reasonably fit and used to walking for a full day. There may be some scrambling but very limited exposure to heights.

3 Peaks
Our 3 Peaks holidays are for fit and regular walkers with a flair for adventure and a challenge in mind. Although the focus is more on summits and adventure than our 2 Peaks walks, we still take plenty of time to observe and discuss the mountain environment. We walk up to nine hours each day, meaning there may be some early starts or late finishes. We may ascend up to 1,200 metres (4,000ft) in one day. As some of the walks involve some scrambling and walking in difficult terrain - scree, blocks, snowfields, etc - including passages equipped with chains and cables, you need to have a reasonably good head for heights.

4 Peaks
Our 4 Peaks treks are for real mountain junkies. Here, we take advantage of our ability to spend very long days on the mountain to venture much further and higher than on our other trips. As a result, we access wilder and lesser know territories and the wildlife is often spectacular. On the longest day, expect to be walking for up to a maximum of eleven hours, including up to 1,500 metres (5,000ft) of vertical ascent. This may involve considerable scrambling, walking in difficult terrain, snow encounters and sustained exposure to height. As we usually spend up to six days continually on the mountain, spending the nights in mountain huts, we carry slightly more weight than on our lower graded holidays. You need to be a very fit and regular walker to enjoy these holidays and pre-holiday fitness training is highly recommended.

Making sure everyone is happy
In the event that any guests prove to be significantly less fit and able than the majority of the group, we reserve the right to either move the guest(s) into a lower graded group, if available, or offer self-guided walks on two or three of the days. This will ensure that everyone gets at least two challenging days on the mountain.

Don't hesitate to contact us to discuss these grades in detail.