Winter Climbing
ice and mixed routes in the uk and scandinavia
Winter climbing is a unique experience, where the fun of swinging axes and climbing ephemeral features are balanced by a healthy amount of suffering (normally).
The winter environment that allows for formation of ice and mixed is often a more serious place than it’s summer equivalent and requires careful reading of the conditions and weather to get the most out of the climbing. However, when all goes to plan and the hardships pay off, climbing in winter can provide some of the very best days out!
Scottish Winter climbing
Scotland has some of the most unique winter climbing in the world, with many foreign climbers making the pilgrimage each year. With it’s strong traditional ethics, history and unique (if not fickle) conditions due to being so close to sea level, when all goes right, the climbs here can be really special. Consequently, it also requires a good knowledge of how the weather systems and the mountains work here to get the most out of trip and despite their small scale, the often bad, weather can make these mountains serious affairs where it’s not uncommon for day lengths to be similar to far bigger mountains in the Alps.
Our trips aim to get the most of the time we have in the Highlands whether doing classic ridges like Dorsal Arete or climbing stellar ice on Ben Nevis or rocky mixed in the Cairngorms, making the most of conditions and having a fun time learning (and suffering).
Below are some venues and ideas for inspiration:
- West Coast: Fort William and Glencoe are the main valley bases here and provide a range of different venues from the ever reliable classic snow ice climbs of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor to the rocky mixed of Stob Coire nan Lochnan to the mountain classics on the Buachaille – just expect to walk a fair bit too! With the Ben being the highest winter crag in Scotland, it its rare for there not to be climbing here in some form or another in the winter months.
- Cairngorms: The Northern Cairngorms outside Aviemore are another exceptionally reliable venue with high, north facing climbs that don’t require much build up. The climbs here are mostly rock based and have quick approaches (for Scotland). Outside the Northern Cairngorms things get a bit more remote in Lochnagar, Loch Avon and Beinn a Bhuird…
- The North West: The mountains around Torridon and Applecross hold a bit of a mysticism. Remote and often considered pretty fickle, these mountains are often ‘in’ a lot more than people think and are some of the most beautiful in all the Highlands with fantastic vistas that don’t feel like the UK. The classic venues here are the massive bastion of Beinn Eighe and Liathach but when the snow line is low and temperatures are cold there is much more to offer.
If interested in a Scottish Winter Climbing trip, please get in contact and we talk through options.
Available Dec-March
Norwegian Ice Climbing
Unlike Scotland where the winter climbing typical involves big walk ins, bad weather and elements of mountaineering on a day to day basis, water ice climbing in Norway can be a bit more type 1 fun. We still have the cold temps and risks but easy, quick approaches and generally pretty reliable ice conditions can make life a lot easier. Water ice forms more steeply than mountain snow-ice and so the climbing is often more physical and can requires athletic movements but is immensely fun and is deeply rewarding to climb the unique formations it creates.
The venue we use for this is Rjukan in southern Norway not too far from Oslo in the region of Telemark. It is a famous military site from WW2 and has hundreds of icefalls all close to the town which is situated in a deep valley, plenty to go at for multiple trips!
If this sounds like something you would like to do, then please get in contact and we can make it happen.
Available Dec - February
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