UKC

Scottish Style Winter Climbing outside of Scotland?

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Is there anywhere else that people do/can practice the same ethics of winter climbing as here in Scotland? By this I mean climbing snowed up rock, where conditions are similar to Scotland, placing all your own gear.

I understand that you could basically do this anywhere if you wanted to, but is it similar? Sorry this might not be the best worded question but its worth a shot.
 Chris Beck 20 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

The Tatra mountains have a very similar style to Scotland.
Lots of trad turfy mixed , long walk ins and bad weather.
 RBK 20 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

The Lofoten Islands.
In reply to martinmckenna:

The only non-Brits I've met who knew what a warthog was were Polish. Seems like a good place to start.
 a crap climber 20 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

The Lakes
monaco 20 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:
''Alpi Apaune'': a small range of mountain close to the Mediterranean sea and to the leaning tower of Pisa.
Not high (1900m), not at high-latitudes...but gifted by Iuppiter (being in Tuscany it is not Zeus ) with damp snow, rime and questionable limestone.
Locals adopt the same Scottish bold ethics...and warthogs are well-known...

please note...the most part of their wall is in the 200m-400m range...but the best wall (in winter conditions) is 650m high with the easiest route comparable to the Croz spur in winter conditions...not too bad for a Mediterranean wall ))

exiting a 20-pitch north-wall (that offer you less than 30m of snow slope)
and seeing the sunset on the sea is priceless...
Post edited at 22:42
 Robert Durran 20 May 2014
In reply to a crap climber:

> The Lakes

Don't be ridiculous.

I'll second Lofoten. Ice and vegetated mixed lines wherever you look.
 TobyA 20 May 2014
In reply to RBK:

Basically lots of places in Norway might work. Senja is pretty well known now - the hills there are low enough and close enough to the sea for there to be some freeze thaw, and the faces up around the northern fjords look amazing.
 Null 21 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

Piccole Dolomiti
Alpi Orobie
Val di Sea

Should get you started
 HeMa 21 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

The alps might be a safe bet...

Basically anywhere, where you have big enough rock faces worth climbing and cold enough conditions to warrant snow and such.
 Hannes 21 May 2014
In reply to Bob_the_Builder:

I met some slovenians who knew how to use one as well
 David Rose 22 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

Newfoundland.
 Robert Durran 22 May 2014
In reply to HeMa:

> The alps might be a safe bet...

But the alps lack what makes "Scottish Style "winter climbing distinctive - most importantly vegetation and perhaps less importantly a maritime climate resulting in snow-ice build up.
 HeMa 22 May 2014
In reply to Robert Durran:

I've climbed quite a few lines in the Alps (and Pyrenees) that felt the same as what I've climbed this winter in Northern Corries, SCNL, Ben Eighe and Ben Nevis.

Didn't encounter that much vegetation in Scotland either.

The snow-ice might be a valid point, and for that I can't comment as it was mainly snow in Jan... too much snow in fact.
 Null 22 May 2014
In reply to Robert Durran:

The whole southern fringe of the Alps is a bit lower that the frontier ridge and "enjoys" the interaction of milder air from the Med with plenty of plant life, wet snowfall, and freeze thaw. This applies for the entire Appennino range that runs from the Alps down to Sicilly with quite a few areas offering Scottish-like gully climbing even right down towards the toe of the Italian boot.

However, it is also true that climbing frozen vegetation is not what most continental climbers aspire to and it is considered rather esoteric, so you don't find many glossy guidebooks filled with hundreds of tiny 250 m vegetated winter routes. A few such guides have popped up over the years, showing what is possible. Hit this link for a few scans from the old Piccolo Dolomiti book (now in two big fat volumes with hundreds of routes, some climbable right now).
http://www.guidedolomitibrenta.com/down/Carega.zip
 HeMa 22 May 2014
In reply to Erstwhile:


Indeed... Austrian alps are also lower...

http://www.david-lama.com/en/news.html?tx_coonews_newsdetail%5Bnewsitem%5D=...

And this stuff looks highly similar to what the VI upwards routes in Scotland looked like.
In reply to martinmckenna:
Thanks for the replys so far. The David Lama stuff looks brilliant!

Anyone know if the conditions are right at all over in British Columbia, or just any information on that area for winter climbing would be great. If possible near Vancouver.
Post edited at 18:22
 Smelly Fox 22 May 2014
In reply to martinmckenna:

The mountains around Monte Cavallo in Tuscany provide some turfy and icy mixed climbing in winter, according to an Italian gentleman I used to work with. Warthogs and bulldogs are the norm, very similar style to Scottish winter apparently.




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