Ice and Mixed Climbing
Five days developing movement, technique and confidence on Norway’s frozen waterfalls.
Difficulty
Endurance
Equipment list:
Upon registration we will send you a complete equipment list.
Boots: You will need your own mountaineering boots that can take crampons. If in doubt send us a picture of your boots so we can give the thumbs up. Boots_summer
In the rucksack: As a general guide the following is recommended In the rucksack
Mountaineering equipment (All this can be borrowed from us): Equipment to courses
Accommodation
The Mountain Cottage is include in the price.
Flights, train and getting there
From the Oslo Gardermoen Airport, you can take the “flytoget” which is an express train to Oslo central station. From there it is a short walk to the bus station. You can take the Valdres Express bus or VY-Buss From Oslo central to Fagernes Skysstasjon which is about 20min from my house. The bus is comfortable, has free wifi and takes about 3 hours. I like taking the bus to Oslo as I can look out the window and see all the waterfalls and dream about ice climbing 🙂
Nearly all participants on previous courses have travelled by the above method, and they have described it as straightforward and easy.
Equipment hire
If you need to rent equipment, that is no problem, just let us known in advance. You will receive a list of required items upon booking.
A typical week — Foundation
Every course is slightly different. The weather, mountain conditions and the experience and progress of the group all influence what we do and when we do it. However, a typical Foundation week might look something like this:
Day 1 — Understanding ice & movement
We’ll start by looking at how ice forms and how to recognise good ice for axe and crampon placements.
Most of the day is spent climbing and developing the fundamentals of efficient movement — body position, footwork and axe placement.
We’ll also introduce ice screws and V-threads and look at where, when and why we use them.
Day 2 — Developing technique
More climbing!
We’ll build on the first day’s movement skills and experiment with different techniques on different angles and types of ice.
We’ll also practise placing ice screws while climbing as a second, allowing you to develop protection skills without the additional pressure of leading.
Day 3 — Snow & avalanche awareness
A chance to give the arms a rest and look at the wider winter environment.
We’ll explore snow, avalanche terrain and decision-making, as well as practising avalanche companion rescue.
Understanding the terrain surrounding an ice climb can be every bit as important as understanding the ice itself.
Day 4 — Multi-pitch & progression
Depending on the experience and progress of the group, we’ll start putting the week’s skills into a bigger climbing context.
That might mean a multi-pitch ice route, developing lead-climbing skills or continuing to work on movement and protection.
There is no pressure to lead. The day is adapted to where you are in your climbing.
Day 5 — Seeing the progression
We often return to the same crag that we climbed on Day 1.
It’s a simple idea, but one of my favourite parts of the course.
Climbing the same ice again gives you an opportunity to feel how much your movement has changed during the week — usually climbing more smoothly, efficiently and confidently than you did five days earlier.
We’ll use the rest of the day to consolidate the skills that are most useful to you and discuss where you might take your ice climbing next.
Already have ice-climbing experience?
You don’t need to start with Foundation.
If you’re already comfortable climbing ice, we can build the course around the areas you want to develop — whether that’s improving technique, leading, protection, multi-pitch climbing, mixed climbing or becoming more independent.
Talk to me about your experience and what you’d like to achieve, and we’ll work out the right approach.
