Ice Climbing Europe

Submitted by ExtraBlue on Tue, 11/07/2006 - 10:17
I find myself living in Southern Germany for the year, and with no idea where to find decent ice on this continent. I hear vague rumors of the norway and the alps, but lack the funding and vehicle to track stuff down on my own. And my german is not yet up to following comprehensibly what is said in message boards here. I know that there are a few people with international climbing experiance on this site, and thought it might be worth a shot asking if anyone knows of good ice that can be accsessed without a car or sled in southern Germany... or really anywhere i could find on a long weekend. Thanks Keese Lane

Greetings, There is tons of ice in the Alps. Check at the local shop for some beta. If you are in the Innsbruck area visit the Piztal - plenty of ice in all grades. Garmisch isn't too far from Munich. As for sleds? Wrong continent. You can take trains to most of the locations and then thumb a ride. Let us know how it pans out and post some pics.javascript:emoticon(':roll:') Best, Conrad

I've spent some time in the Eastern Alps and there is excellent ice climbing at high and low elevations. There is a valley south of Innsbruck near the Stubiatal called Pinistal that has excellent Ice. You ride the Elferbahn and walk 1/2 hour check the hut for lodging and possible partners. In the Bregenz Wald in the Vorarlberg provence of Austria there is some long moderate ice routes. They come in only when it is really cold and may only be around for six weeks. They are less than an hour from the German border. More excellent water ice in Switzerland near Davos. Check out the Oesterreich Alperverein (Austrian Alpine Club) office in Innsbruck for a great selection of guide books and information. Oh and don't forget the alpine routes!! Tim Seipel[/img]

There is tons of ice in Europe. I caught the addiction there myself in France. Chamonix has excellent early season ice and there is tons of alpine ice in the Mt. Blanc Massif. The foot of the Argentiere glacier has a bunch of routes (even topropes) it is an easy walk from the Grands Montets ski area parking lots. Nearby Val de Bagnes? in Switzerland has lots of big routes as well. Between Chamonix and Trient off of the Highway. You can get early season lodging discounts in Chamonix before the snow has really flown (pre december). Just google Chamonix Ice. Let us know what you find. Good luck. JC

Get at it Keese! Good luck on the ice/alpine there in Germany. Keep us posted with photos. You going to climb with Jake? Have you found some other partners there? Good luck man.

thanks for all the help i couldnt get from the german climbing stores... I'll keep the montana posted when i do get out though right now its in the mid 50s and there isnt much of ice in my area... though Austria will definatley happen once i can convince my partner to drop the change on a train ticket
Spray