UKC

hi all, looking for a good reliable ice climbing destination for early feb next year, have ice climbed in rjukan & colorado(i know its not europe)
any recommendations, would like a good mix of routes from easy single pitch (be a few novice in the group) to harder multi pitch, would also like some piste skiing & cross country/nordic skiing.
been looking at dolomites & cogne.
all advice wether good or plain insulting/ridiculing(as is ukc norm) will be greatly accepted.

skara.

ps, i`ll even throw in a speling mistake for the ukc pedants/grammar police for free.

In reply to skarabrae: There is not a lot of piste skiing around Cogne. The best place for downhill skiing and single pitch ice climbing is probably Chamonix. Cogne is an hour and a half away and quite often when Cham is out of condition, Cogne is in and visa versa. There are also pistes and ice climbing in the Ecrin but you would have to be prepared to travel around a bit.

Al

In reply to skarabrae: if you are ok travelling around destination then ecrins or aosta is good areas

In reply to gear boy: Ceillac has downhill & XC skiing plus ice climbing all in one place but none are very extensive. But combined with other nearby places in the Ecrins & the Queyras would be worth while. Staying somewhere like Vallouise would give access to both clmibing & skiing but not quite both on the doorstep

In reply to skarabrae: loads of skiing and ice destinations around briancon...

In reply to skarabrae:

plenty of skiing, single pitch and multi pitch (max about 3 pitches) at Alpe D'Huez.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=8414

good easy stuff for beginners and bigger lines for the competent. its high altitude, around 2100m so pretty reliable.
walk in is 15mins from the gondola (where the bar is also located), with skis you'll be there in 5mins and can ski back down the hill to town. happy days.

In reply to skarabrae: A bump, for the evening crowd.

In reply to skarabrae: Click on the insulin challenge and visit jerry's site alpbase. Been going there over ten years now and have always had good conditions and skiing.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to skarabrae: Cogne is great for climbing but i cant comment on the skiing, not far from Aosta where i believe theres plenty of skiing to be had though.

In reply to skarabrae: hi i cant remember the nsme at moment but we went the next valley or so down from cogne this jan just gone and they have fabulous climbing and the skiing is fantastic it is possible to ski 3 resorts and it has hhe best off piste free ride area in the aalps ill get back to u with the name. It is really quiet and a guy is writing a guide book on oonit

In reply to stuart58: hi im a pillock its called chessoneny spell something like that sits underthe italian side of monta rosa

Queyras and the Ecrins offer what you want. Some info here:

http://www.alpineaccomodation.com/#/skiing/4532428454

http://www.alpineaccomodation.com/#/ice-climbing/4545021428

In reply to skarabrae: The dolomites are cracking. Maybe not the most well known area for ice climbing but what there is is awesome - 400m cascade ice in places! If you're happy to drive a bit there is lots to do. XC skiing - there is Alpi di Suisi which is some of the best XC in europe, downhill there is more than you can shake a stick at and ice is spread but excellent. Take a look at James Rushforth's article on here about it. Info is hard to come by but it's all there if you look long enough....

In reply to stuart58: I'd second stuart58's creatively spelt recommendation. Gressoney has some good ice and great skiing with access to the wonderful Alagna. Plus Cogne is just up the valley - you could do a day trip there from a Gressoney base.

In reply to skarabrae: Julian Alps, Slovenia

Setesdal in Norway would fit the bill... Similar to Rjukan but you're unlikely to meet any other climbers out there and the Cross-Country skiing is excellent. There's also still scope for first-ascents, or for some good easy ski-mountaineering.
New guidebook out soon - http://www.climb-setesdal.com

In reply to steve broadbent: Looks like a great book. I think I have a pdf guide to this area all ready though; has much of this info been online previously?

In reply to skarabrae

Austria! Come on people France, Italy and Norway are not the only destinations. Some many routes! I almost never seen any other climbers. Great skiing on days of or touring. Climbing is fantastic. Yes you need a car but you would anyway whereever you go. Almost every valley has climbing. Pitztal, Otztal, Kannertal, Saltzburgerland: Bad Gastein, Grunsee, Tanklam to name a few. Very Alpine, easy to find B&B. I my view costs are reasonable for food and lodge but very good quality.

Austria and Southern Bavaria are laced with good ice with almost no one there to climb it

In reply to steve broadbent: that looks VERY interesting! cheers.

In reply to TobyA:
A pdf by guidebook-writer Geoff Hornby was available online some years ago - it listed a lot of the main icefalls, but there's been quite a lot more development since then. The new guidebook also covers the Aseral region to the west of Setesdal, and fills in a lot of the gaps in the old pdf guide.

In reply to steve broadbent: if anyone still has the pdf guide, could they pass it onto me please?

regards, davey.