Extreme Photo of the Week: Ice Climber Chad Peele on First Ascents in Norway's Fjord Country

Photograph by Celin Serbo, see more in our Extreme Photo of the Week

Adventure: Where were you climbing in Norway?
Chad Peele: This shot was in a valley outside of Eidfjord.

A: Norway is pretty sweet for ice climbing (or so we hear from Will Gadd who put this area on our Adventure Bucket List). Would you agree?
CP: Yeah, Norway is awesome for ice climbing! The glaciers of past carved such a labyrinth of fjords which hold plenty of water and just the right temperatures to form long flows of ice.

A: What were you thinking in this moment?
CP: I'm sooo cold!

A: Why does the ice look golden like that?
CP: I'm not exactly sure why this ice had that golden color, but typically frozen waterfalls will change colors depending on the minerals and sediment in the water.

A: Tell us about this route?
CP: We climbed this route in three pitches, probably totaling around 500 to 600 feet. By most standards, it was not an incredibly difficult route with a rating around WI4-4+, but it was so cold that day that everything felt so much harder! We thought that calling it "Goldmember" after the Austin Powers movie was a fitting and humorous name.

A: How do you scout first ascents? Both in terms of finding them and planning your route?
CP: Scouting and researching for first ascents relies on a lot of local word of mouth concerning where people have been climbing and where people have not travelled to. To be honest, it takes a lot of walking around with binoculars in the cold and can be quite tricky sometimes.

A: How long have you been ice climbing? How'd you get started?
CP: I first learned to ice climb in Alaska with St. Elias Alpine Guides in 1997 and have kept it as a winter sport/winter work ever since then.

A: What's next for you?
CP: Right now I'm ice guiding in the San Juans of Colorado while waiting for more snow and planning my upcoming Alaska and Washington state mountain guiding season.

Top Five Adventures: Will Gadd's Favorite Ice Climbing Spots

Ice climbing in Ouray, Colorado; courtesy Robert Turner, My Shot

Champion ice climber and paraglider Will Gadd knows ice pretty much better than anyone. He's searched the world over—from frozen falls in British Columbia (he's just back from Helmcken Falls) to icebergs cruising the North Atlantic (very dangerous, not recommended)—to find the best places to enjoy his sport. Here's his list of the top five ice climbing spots that you should consider.

Will Gadd's Five Favorite Ice Climbing Spots

1. Canmore, Alberta
I can live anywhere in the world, and I choose to live here for the ice. That says it all, really.

2. Ouray, Colorado
The most accessible, fun, and user-friendly place to get really good at vertical ice climbing.

3. Rjukan, Norway
Andreas Spak and his team at Rjukan Adventure have helped turn Rjukan in the Euro version of Ouray. So many routes, so much unexplored terrain, it's a must-visit on any ice climber's list.

4. Kanderstag, Switzerland
Not as reliable as the above three destinations, but when it's on it's EPIC. Very much worth visiting even if the ice is junk, it's all Swiss and nice.

5. Helmcken Falls Spray Cave, British Columbia, Canada
Getting here requires a little more work, but this is the best ice climbing in the world—if you like it steep, hard, and super fun. There are even a couple of easier routes there now too! Helmcken Falls Lodge offers a killer winter deal (I paid, no kickbacks or other relationships) of a room with two beds, including breakfast and a good dinner, for a total fo $120 per night. It is the future....

20-Year-Old Slovenian Phenom Twins Explain Competitive Ice Climbing

By Tetsuhiko Endo; Photograph by Rožle Bregar

Climbers are the academics of the action sports world: Although they constantly behave like their minds are occupied by loftier notions, they are mostly just concerned with one-upping one another. Ergo, the climbing competition. Such competitions don’t always produce the most beautiful lines in the most scenic outdoor settings, but they do tend to unite international groups of wall scaling mutants in raucous brawls for supremacy.

Just such a gathering happened this past weekend in Cheongsong, Korea, with the kick off of the 2011 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup, which will make further stops in Switzerland, Romania, and Russia. Ice climbing as a competition is a relatively new institution which began during the long, cold winters in the former USSR in the 1970s. This weekend marked the first time a UIAA World Cup event had taken place in Asia, and while it was Europeans who took top honors—Austrian Markus Bendler won the men’s lead climbing category, while Russian Maria Tolokonina won the women’s—Koreans placed second in both categories, which contained athletes representing 20 different countries.

Adventure caught up with two of the competitors, twin Slovenian ice climbing phenoms Matevž and Jernej Vukotič (pronounced “Matevz” and “Yur-nay” respectively) to get the low-down on what competitive ice climbing is all about. At 20 years old, the two hold a host of speed and lead climbing titles in their home country and on the world stage. 

Best American Adventures: Ice Climb Hyalite Canyon

 

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.

By Doug Schnitzspahn; Photograph by Boone Speed, Getty Images

The ice of Hyalite Canyon, just south of Bozeman, has gained fame as the proving ground of legendary Himalaya climbers Conrad Anker and Alex Lowe, as well as a spot for the locals to just get out and swing their picks. Filled with countless waterfalls in the summer, Hyalite sets up with a smorgasbord of ice climbs in the winter. Routes range from popular, consistent classics to ephemeral wisps of ice that have only have been climbed one season.

The Genesis area is the center of most action, since it requires only a scramble from the parking lot to access and offers standards like Sleeping Giant Falls (WI 4) and Genesis II (WI 3 ). More daunting is a rare climb like Black Magic (WI 5). Starting in 2007 there was some controversy about keeping the Hyalite Canyon Road plowed in winter, but the Southwest Montana Climbers Coalition has worked with the Gallatin National Forest to ensure access remains open to one of the best natural ice climbing playgrounds in the country.

Need to Know: An extensive online climbing guide to the Hyalites can be found at Montana Ice and Alpine Recreation (www.montanaice.com). Barrel Mountaineering in Bozeman has information and equipment and can set you up with guides (www.barrelmountaineering.com).

The Ice Vikings: How to Climb Icebergs in the North Atlantic

By Tom Prigg; Photographs by Ben McMillen

Five friends and I decided to drive 40 hours each way from Pittsburgh to Newfoundland, Canada, to climb icebergs. So we loaded up a short school bus bought and modified by our teammate Ryan Hostetter and headed out, complete with a jet ski in tow. The destination was the fishing village L'anse aux Meadows, population of 110, and the site of Leif Ericson's viking settlement.

Icebergs present many dangers that normal ice climbing does not. These huge, floating ice chunks can literally roll in the water due to changes in the center of gravity. Our first task was to evaluate the stability of the icebergs based on their shape.