UKC

Say you had a week or two free in January to go ice climbing and you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Canmore immediately springs to mind. I've already been to Rjukan, and would prefer something a bit more adventurous.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Tromsø region. A couple of hours west you have Senja and Spansdalen (and those massive massive things south of Spansdalen); 10 minutes west you have Kvaløya with both some ice and brilliant mountaineering possibilities. A couple of hours east you have endless possibilities on Lyngen (plus plenty of option on the drive round to Lyngen), just south of Lyngen in Tamokdalen - reliable good ice climbing, and just east of it around Kåfjord there are dozens more big falls. Two weeks would be great, but you could do longer easily, plus you have endless ski touring possibilities (everywhere) and even some lift serviced (although maybe not pisted) skiing in Tromsø and Narvik for other alternatives.

In reply to TobyA:

I like the sound of that. Canmore would be expensive, so definitely interested in something closer to home.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Norway is never cheap though! It seems flying to Kiruna in arctic Sweden and hiring a car there is one way people are doing it at the moment and saving money.

In reply to TobyA:


Yup, that might be cheaper.

And there's actually quite a bit of nice ice available "near" Kiruna.

Stora Sjöfallet (~3h or so from Kiruna) might offer a different climate to what's available in Norway. For bigger stuff, Sördalen has some big lines (East, not south of Spansdalen).

And there's quite a bit of ice climbing further south of Narvik as well.

In reply to planetmarshall: I'm totally biased because I have apartments 5 minutes away, but have you thought of the Dolomites? http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=7253

The serrai is about as unadventurous as it gets with a 5-20 minute walk in. But having said that there are also loads of other crags, Val Corpassa, Val di Gares Torcol, Digonera and Laste, Civetta, Torre Innerkofler, Marmolada, Gran Vernel and Vallunga which have amazing ice climbing not far away. Plus the flights are cheap to Venice or Treviso and the drive up is only 2 hours from the airport.

Toby - you didn't link me! For shame...
http://northnorwayice.blogspot.co.uk/

In reply to TobyA:


At 12.6nok to 1 pound the exchange rate is through the roof so perfect for brits

In reply to planetmarshall:

i went to iceland at easter this year and it was certainly adventurous, very little in the way of guides so it was basically drive around, spot ice, go and climb it, although obviously conditions can be pretty fickle

In reply to TobyA:

Isn't January in Arctic Norway a bit early though ideally? Not much light. I have limited experience but was in Alta during mid-February last year. Ice was very brittle and looked as though it just needed a little freeze-thaw in order to fill everything better. Sensed we were still too early for optimal conditions.

Another suggestion would be Hemsedal and Valdres. They are close enough to combine. There's a lot of South facing classics that are best climbed in January before the sun begins to damage. Eg Grønndalen, Grøtenutbekken, Stavadalen, Skogshorn. I haven't visited Lærdal yet but that also looks to have some seriously impressive lines in the WI5 grade.

I haven't climbed in Romsdal in winter but it looks to have some monster ice lines if in condition. I've seen the lines during spring and summer and look an ice climbers wet dream potentially. If there were poor conditions in Romsdal then you could easily switch to Oppdal. Drivdalen is high altitude and a reliable plan B.

Isklatring.no is a really good website to look at. Quite a few free pdf guides.