The Unusual World of Ice Climbing

It doesn't have to be fun to be fun

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

As the week continues on… so do we… ice climbing until our forearms feel permanently pumped. This afternoon after a morning of low visibility, the cloud lifted and we walked into a route called Tuvfossen WI5. The first pitch was in enjoyable condition while the second pitch was unfortunately rotten ice! Even with the slightly poor conditions on the top of the route, it was a worthwhile climb in a beautiful location with eye catching views of the surrounding scenery. It’s our last day tomorrow which is a shame as I have really enjoyed being in Norway and wish my stay would be for longer. Psyched to already be making plans with @frejashannon_ for our next ice climbing trip 💪 #iceclimbing #climbinggirls #climbinglife #climbingice #climbinginspiration #iceicebaby #climbingismypassion #womeninoutdoors #stellarequipment #iceclimbinggirl #norway #hemsedal #climbinglovers

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Today we climbed the waterfall called Hydnefossen. We picked the line called Østlinja which is one of Norways classics and is a multi pitch WI5. The conditions were enjoyable for climbing, the feet and ice axes felt steady, but at times the ice screw placements felt a bit unnerving! With no belays or in situ abalakov’s (very unlike what I am used to in my familiar ground of the alps) we had to make all our own for the ascent and descent. Somehow, even though it was just a wall of ice, it still felt like a real adventure. The cold, the exposure and the unknown of what was ahead of us. In the warmth of the morning we saw some icicles crashing down beside us and all this made quite an intense atmosphere before we started our quest alone on this side of the wall! On our next trip we will come back for the middle line called Midtlinja but today this line was taken by two parties and we wanted to be alone and avoid falling ice chunks! Thanks to my equally psyched climbing partner @frejashannon_ for swinging leads on the steep sections 💪 #climbinggirls #climbingtrip #norway #hemsedal #iceicebaby #iceclimbing #climbinglife #climbingchickas #stellarequipment #climbing_is_my_passion #climbingmountains #womenoutdoors

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

We are very happy to have arrived and climbed in Hemsedal today!

The climbing is much quieter here and the ice falls are dramatically less travelled! We climbed a beautiful route called Storesvullen and finished in time to watch a colourful sunset.

A special way to spend international womens day. Thank you to @frejashannon_ for sharing it with me

#climbinggirls #iceclimbing #climbinglife #internationalwomensday #norway #hemsedal #climbingchickas #climbinginspiration #climbingice #stellarequipment

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Today @frejashannon_ and I didn’t find what we planned to climb! We wanted to climb a multi pitch route that you abseil from above in Gausta area called frihetssoyla but after trudging around in knee deep snow for a very long time we couldn’t locate the climb. If anyone has climbed this route please 🙏 comment below on the beta of how to find this mystery waterfall that can be seen perfectly from the road but not from the power lines above!

After much frustration, we retreated back to the Gaustatoppfossene for a go in the close by single pitch area! We climbed the nicest looking line there and the great thing about it was it felt more remote and had spectacular views. Also it wasn’t so stepped out, so it actually felt like ice climbing! However, the wind made it quite unbearable to belay so we then went over to the Ozzimosis area to see what that was all about. Conclusion was that it was not very inspiring but we climbed a route there anyway to finish off the day! #norway #rjukan #iceclimbing #climbinggirls #climbinglife #iceicebaby #rjukaniceclimbing #norwayiceclimbing #climbingtrip

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

We are very happy to have arrived and climbed in Hemsedal today!

The climbing is much quieter here and the ice falls are dramatically less travelled! We climbed a beautiful route called Storesvullen and finished in time to watch a colourful sunset.

A special way to spend international womens day. Thank you to @frejashannon_ for sharing it with me

#climbinggirls #iceclimbing #climbinglife #internationalwomensday #norway #hemsedal #climbingchickas #climbinginspiration #climbingice #stellarequipment

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Multi pitch ice climbing today in the Rjukan gorge with @frejashannon_

It felt surreal walking past the empty vemork heavy water plant on route back to the car. Imagining during the war, the Nazi’s occupying this facility in an effort to collect large amounts of heavy water to support their development of the atomic bomb!

We climbed the two most classic routes in the upper gorge. Rjukanfossen and Sabotorfossen. We climbed Rjukanfossen early in the morning and with the wind it felt baltic cold… maybe I am too soft… only used to the sunshine alps! Throwing my ice axes into the ice I saw some big parallel cracks form as the ice was hard and the temperature was cold. The third pitch felt like a little adventure as you have to weave through a little hole and climb up a slabby boulder.

Later in the afternoon it warmed up and Sabotorfossen felt less fragile, although it was fun, the top pitch was extremely stepped out! The more fun pitch was actually the second, it had a short lived thin section and involved a some traditional gear placements.

After climbing we had hot chocolate and cookies with our new friend @garryveitch #climbinggirls #climbinglife #iceclimbing #climbingice #climbinglovers #climbingismypassion #norway #rjukaniceclimbing #rjukan

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Arrival in Norway has so far been a success. @frejashannon_ met me at Oslo airport in her little van and drove us up to our cosy little cabin in Rjukan where we are staying for the weekend. We have no water and are making fires to keep warm but it feels romantic sleeping next to the Tinnsja lake. With little time to prepare ourselves we thought a day at a single pitch crag called Krokan would be a nice first day. We predicted it would be crowded with guided groups there but actually it was quiet and we had the freedom of choice for any route as they were all available. Not all routes were in condition but there was enough for a short day. Some of the routes had the biggest hooks I have seen in my life so it’s obviously a well travelled area… and I suppose it’s March so end of the season means a lot of traffic until now! Tomorrow we look forward to exploring some classic multi pitches nearby and having a bit more of an adventure 🏔 🤘#climbinggirls #iceicebaby #climbinglife #climbingismypassion #climbingice #norway #norwayiceclimbing #rjukan #rjukaniceclimbing #iceclimbinggirl #iceclimbingadventures #iceclimbingadventure

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

With high winds in the weather forecast and snow coming tonight I wanted a more chilled day out so I could save some energy for powder skiing tomorrow! Choice : Cascade de la Stassaz WI5, a single pitch ice climb in Megeve. It is a beautiful Cauliflower style line that is in a quiet location and doesn’t see too much traffic. It was a little on the thin side so I took my time to delicately climb it, not wanting to smash off big bits of ice while climbing! I could see running water very clearly underneath so I had to be very careful when choosing my route up the ice #iceclimbing #climbinggirl #patagonia #iceicebaby #megeve #climbinglife #climbinginspiration #restday #climbingismypassion #climbinglovers #climbingislife #climbingice #chamonix #chamonixmontblanc🇫🇷 #sundayfunday

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Selection of nice ice climbing pictures Aleks took from a singe pitch area in Italy

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Douglas Boulder again today but this time Jacknife! The 10m crux is short lived but fun. The first picture is of me climbing this pitch. The route is only two pitches (and the first pitch is just powder on slabs!) but after it joins the south west ridge which provides some interesting 3D climbing. We had a good view of all the people climbing up the various snow gullies to the summit of Ben Nevis today and actually the wind wasn’t so bad in the afternoon. Tomorrow I fly back to Chamonix as unfortunately my Scotland trip has come to an end. It is the sort of place I need to come back and visit for a month as a few days doesn’t quite give you enough time to suss out the conditions and make the right decisions based on the weather #byebyescotland #bennevis #douglasboulder #searchingbetterweather #goodbyewind #exfoliateyourskinwiththewind #mixedclimbing #scottishwinter #scottishwinterclimbing #scotland #climbinginscotland #scottishwintermountaineering

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Less snow and wind today in Scotland! We had a blue sky powder day... and went climbing! We walked to Ben Nevis and choose to climb a route on the Douglas Boulder. The avalanche risk was high and a storm was coming in towards the end of the day so we decided to play it safe and a short route. There were really only two pitches to this route - one that was a v groove, and then the pitch after which was a tiered corner. We climbed the East Ridge... with the snow covering everything and the topos being quite vague for this side of the Boulder, the line was quite hard to identify. All the terrain looked the same! As we were walking out the weather was coming in strong and I could see people still climbing on tower ridge... I hope they make it down safely today! #climbing #climbinggirls #scotland #scottishwinter #scottishwinterclimbing #scottishwintermountaineering #mixedclimbing #winterwonderland #bennevis 🙏 thank you to @synergy_guides for helping me figure out the line we did

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

This is Scottish winter climbing! Swimming up snow, the feeling of constantly being damp, so much spin drift you can barely see.... but also... the unique combination of frozen turf and torqued axes in cracks offers an experience which is hard to find anywhere else in the world! We arrived late last night and had a late start this morning. We went up to Stob Coire nan Lochan and climbed as a team of 3 up the 3* classic ordinary route @rhysmacallister #climbing #thisisscotland #scottishwinterclimbing #scottishwintermountaineering #climbingullys #shouldbeskiing

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Cogne - Valnontey : Erfaulet with @minnamaki yesterday 💪 Cogne is definitely in need of some snow as the gullies were pretty dry and some of the ice in the first and last pitch was awfully thin! It was pretty warm there as I only had a t shirt under my gortex! We could see all the crowds lining up for Repentance on the opposite side of the valley and were glad to be alone! A chilled day out and a pleasure to share a route with a strong chamonix chicka 💪 🧗‍♀️ #climbinggirls #climbing_is_my_passion #iceclimbing #climbinglife #climbinginspiration #strongwomen #climbingmountains #womenoutdoors #climbinglovers

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Kandersteg - Oeschinenwald : Arbonium.

This is a well travelled sector as it’s quick access (only 15 minutes walk from the car park) but all the lines are interesting and a good length! The Swiss guide scheme were on their training course here this week so the morning was a bit overcrowded but luckily we had this route to ourselves. The picture is me on the first pitch which is the most beautiful of the route 🍀 the other pitches were a little disappointing and got thinner as we climbed higher but a nice day out #iceclimbing #iceicebaby #climbinggirls #strongwomen #climbinginspiration #climbinglife #climbinglovers #climbingismypassion #alwaysclimbing #climbingstrength #coldfear #coldday #climbingawesome #kandersteg #coldpump

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

My birthday 🥳 ice climbing gift 🎁 on le tube at Cervières. A grade 5+/6 single pitch beautiful line in a quiet location away from the wind with no spin drift!

What more could a mountain girl ask for on her special day?

Thank you for the picture @eduard_baro 📸 #climbing #iceicebaby #iceclimbing #holidayfromaholiday #climbinglife #climbinginspiration #climbinglovers #climbinggirl #alwaysclimbing #climbingtrip #climbingmountains #girlswhoclimb #stellarequipment #patagonia

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Vallon du Fournel - Baiser de lune : Beating the retreat! 300m of grade 4 climbing. It is super quiet here especially during the week days, we were alone on the route. The ice is in great condition, the only downside was the spin drift as there was a lot of wind today #climbing #iceicebaby #iceclimbing #holidayfromaholiday #climbinglife #climbinginspiration #climbinglovers #climbinggirl #alwaysclimbing #climbingtrip #climbingmountains #girlswhoclimb

[theunusualworldoficeclimbing]

Drove to Vallon du Fournel today for some ice climbing as it’s my birthday this week. Climbed a route called Capitaine Courageux which had a steep cauliflower top section 🥰 🧗‍♀️ 🪓 🧊 psyched for a week of peanut butter chocolate cheesecake and cold climbing. A holiday from the holiday life! #climbing #iceclimbing #VallonduFournel #climbinglife #climbinginspiration #climbinggirls #climbingtrip #climbingmountains #climbinglovers #climbingismypassion