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The Euro Ice Revolution - by Rich Cross
It’s an arduous, yet ultimately rewarding mission and it goes something like this: 1. Take 4 climbers with rucksacks, sharp pointy things and assorted bags of shopping and insert into a 10 year old van/Fiat Uno. 2. Drive through the rain drenched night for 8 hours (Techno and Iron Bru obligatoire) to the (hopefully) icy wastelands of the frozen North. 3. Sleep in a suitably dry, tramp free spot for three hours - trying to ignore the rain. 4. Throw yourself at as much climbable snow/ice/rock/grass as you can, interspersed with fish and chip suppers, pints of Heavy, deep-fried Mars Bars and the occasional once in a lifetime experience. 5. Repeat stages one and two (in reverse). For myself, and many others, this is the essence of the Scottish winter experience - providing an endless amount of adventure and hilarity, all accessible in a weekend away from work. But must you suffer so for the sport you love? Is there another option…? Yes! 1. Clamber aboard your cheap flight to Geneva or Lyon (very cheap if you book early). 2. Take a ski transfer bus to your resort of choice and book into a comfortable hotel. 3. Walk for 20 minutes to the nearest frozen waterfall and climb several pitches of immaculate chewy ice, under deep blue alpine skies. 4. Retire for cold Stella, red wine and local cuisine, while the stars come out and the cold night air frosts the windows of your bar. 5.Repeat until your arms fall off. The European icefall climbing scene is becoming more popular with Brits on account of cheap flights, reliable conditions and more accessible information. The average trip from London to the Continent is faster than the drive to Scotland, so opportunities for fun in the sun even over a long weekend are endless! Most of this climbing takes place on accessible icefalls draining the sides of alpine valleys in fantastic settings, but this alpine arena and the qualities of the routes themselves present unfamiliar challenges to climbers used to the Scottish winter scene. This article aims to provide an overview of the European Ice experience for the first time visitor: Where can you go? In winter the Alps are riddled with frozen waterfalls - not surprisingly - and there are many excellent climbing areas. Several have gained popularity and worldwide acclaim due to a combination of quality climbing and ease of access. Geneva is served by a wide range of low budget airlines, and can be used as a springboard for Chamonix, Cogne (through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy), and Kandersteg (just up the Rhone valley and through the Kandersteg tunnel). La Grave and the Argetiere La Besse region both lie on the fringes of the Ecrins National Park in the southern French Alps, and can be reached on cheap flights via Lyon, Grenoble or Torino. All these areas offer world-class ice climbing, are cheap to visit (especially Italy) and are covered by a range of quality guidebooks available in the UK. And then there’s Canada…! When should you go? In very good years the season can start in November, but normally December, whilst the most reliable conditions are usually found in January/February. Towards the end of Feb into March the longer sunny days and increasing temps can turn icefalls into mush, and you really don’t want to be there. But choose a high north facing slope in a good season and you can climb safely right into April. Just as we have Scottish conditions websites, so the Alps have their own for icefalls, alpinism and ski-mountaineering. The following are all quite useful, depending on how many language degrees you have:
How does it compare to Scotland? Its tricky to use this as a bench mark, as there are few routes in Scotland to compare to the sustained flows of water ice found overseas and the quality of the ice is often very different. Scottish ice in an average season is predominantly snow ice, whilst waterfall ice is often harder and more brittle resulting in hard won placements. Temperature plays a big part in this however, and warmer days can result in chewy first time placements that make you feel like an Ice God! European water ice grades range from 1-7 and are offset from Scottish grades by roughly one notch, hence a solid technical 5 in Scotland equates roughly to grade 4. On easier routes good weather and chewy ice make life feel great, but as soon as you hit French 5 you’re on Scottish 6 terrain and need a cool head plus total confidence in your tools.What do you need? The ice gear revolution has brought the barriers of steep ice climbing crashing down (!). Technology exists to make life easier and to give us greater security in more impressive situations - and that’s what it’s all about. The modern ice fall climber will wear stiff yet comfortable leather boots (Scarpa Freneys, La Sportiva Nepal Extremes), or lightweight plastics (Scarpa Omegas), to reduce weight and increase sensitivity, and lashed to these a pair of crampons with long vertically orientated front points (Grivel G14s, DMM Terminators etc) for deeper, more secure penetration.Hands are kept warm by dextrous gloves, for easy screw placement and firm grip, with padding to protect the knuckles from hard ice bulges and shoddy technique. At the business end two well sharpened technical tools with curved shafts offer a comfortable grip position, and give clearance on bulging or cauliflowered ice for more secure placements (DMM Rebel/Anarchist, Petzl Charlet Quark, Grivel Taa-k-oon etc). For protection modern screws are now stronger and easier to place than ever thanks to precision-engineered teeth and crank handles (Charlet Laser Sonics, Black Diamond Express etc). Modern skinny ropes complete the set-up by providing very low impact forces in a fall, reducing the shock load on screws placed in poor ice. Your Scottish winter helmet and clothing system is fine, and of course your old Scottish hardware is also up to the job, you just won’t have quite as much fun! Looking after yourself The alpine arena presents its own special challenges - and that wonderful sunshine can also be your worst enemy. Late in the season, especially on south facing routes, the sun can transform ice from the brittle cold of early morning, through brilliant and chewy, to waterfall hell all within a few hours. This conditions awareness becomes even more important later in the season when the sun causes entire routes to collapse, so chose the aspect of your climb carefully! Early starts are essential not only for conditions, but also to be first on your route as falling ice from parties above can be more than unpleasant, especially on gully type routes. Belaying well out of the firing line at the side of the route will give some protection from debris (including your mates), but its best to avoid climbing under other teams if possible. Most routes are fed by springs, streams, snowmelt or a combination of each - so it’s no surprise that the catchment area can be avalanche prone. Large snow bowls above climbs are quite common and can create huge avalanches after bad weather. In north facing bowls that see little sun these conditions can persist for a while, so seek local info on avalanche conditions and weather history. If in doubt chose a different route. Going up For Euro Ice cragging a few specifics are useful, so imagine…...your belayer is snuggled in a belay jacket, well out of the firing line to the side of the flow. You start the pitch and climb smoothly with accurate kicks, using features on the steep ice like a rock climber to ease your calves and keep the weight off your arms. Holding your tools at the very bottom, you swing back from the shoulder and with a well-aimed flick of the wrist, get first time sticks in hollows of softer white ice. Lost in concentration, the ground recedes; time to place a screw.
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