Introduction to ice climbing

Discover the joys of winter other than through skiing ❄️ Here a proposal unusual activity original, sporty, demanding and so captivating: the icefall. Admiring them is already exceptional, but climbing them safely is even better! 🧗🏼‍♀️

Warm-up

Friends who know me well decided to offer me a gift voucher for an Ice Waterfall initiation with the Ariégeois guides office. Since November I have been waiting for the snow and the cold to be able to enjoy this great gift. During January, as the snow and cold set in in Ariège, I contacted the Pyrenees Ariège guides office to take advantage of my gift voucher. This is very good, an outing is planned for the last weekend of January.  

🗓️ D-day arrives, while my alarm shows 6:45 a.m., I am fully awake and very excited at the idea of ​​discovering this new practice. The appointment is set at Tarascon-sur-Ariege to carpool together at the start of our day. I discover the 4 other people who will do the initiation with me: Tristan, Florentin, Camille and Julien. Morgan, our guide, welcomes us with a smile and the adventure can begin 😊

The spot

Our initiation will therefore take place at the Soulcem pond above the town of Auzat located southwest of Tarascon-sur-Ariège. It is a so-called “school” waterfall site, ideal for beginners. 
The ice waterfall is worth it: you don't get to the waterfall directly by car, an approach walk of around 1 hour is necessary. We all planned touring skis to go up to the waterfall. Access is also possible snowshoeing but our guide clearly presented to us the positive aspects of the skis: the return will be faster #toutschuss! ⛷️

We arrive at the waterfall and I am struck by the beauty of this blue and frozen ice 😍

ICE: AN Ephemeral AND CHANGING WORLD 

The scene having been set, I would still like to return to this activity which is nonetheless a miracle: usually lively and tumultuous, these masses of water freeze ephemerally in winter to the great joy of the mountaineers who will try to tame these giant sculptures. 🧊 Even if the masses of water are frozen, the practice is changing and ephemeral: in the environment, between practitioners, we try to find out if the waterfall is “in condition”: to translate as: is the ice is strong enough to try to tame this white lady. The ice is not always white, it is sometimes gray, sometimes light blue. It changes color and appearance depending on the weather, sometimes hard like stone, sometimes brittle or soft like sorbet. It is the waterfall which imposes its conditions of practice which can therefore vary within the same day. 

Photo credit: © Clémence Chevaux

our guide

A few words about our guide: Morgan Perisse is passionate about mountains and has been working in Ariège for several years. High mountain guide it also supervises mountaineering, snowshoeing and even long-pitch climbing, via ferrata, outings. It is part of the Ariège guides office based in Ax-Les-Thermes. Throughout our initiation he takes care to ensure that each participant feels comfortable, is completely safe and has all the personalized advice according to their level and expectations 😊

THE PRACTICE OF THE ACTIVITYé 

Concerning the activity, here are some practical details. Ice climbing requiresbe equipped with some equipment : rope, harness, pins, quickdraws, belaying equipment, helmet, crampons that are added to mountaineering shoes that can accommodate crampons to grip the ice and an ice ax in each hand to pull yourself up. During initiation, all equipment is loaned by the guides office and the climb is done by top-rope belaying in complete safety.  It is not necessarily necessary to have knowledge of climbing before initiation since the guide explains everything well.  
Let's not forget warm clothes et two pairs of gloves. 🧤 Yes, for the ice to remain “in condition” you need rather cold weather conditions ❄️ So we tame the equipment: tightening the crampons, discovering the ice axes. We evolve in pairs one after the other when one climbs, the other secures it.  

🧗‍♀️ That’s it I'm going for my first try. Morgan explained to us how to properly plant the ice axes, I quickly understood the importance of reading the ice and the route to take, the ice axes are not easily planted everywhere, you have to look for a small unevenness, a passage in this ice and position it well your feet and press your pelvis against the wall to move forward more easily. We do several attempts in turn and the activity being quite physical, these belay times allow the arms and calves to rest. I find the activity very fun and pleasant.  

What joy when I arrive after several attempts at the top of the waterfall. The view of the pond is magnificent and I realize how lucky I am to be able to climb this ephemeral frozen waterfall! 😍

Morgan has laid several lines which allows us to test different lengths, difficulties and types of ice. I had some apprehensions about the cold but I was quickly reassured because when we climb we are very active so I didn't feel cold. Of course, you have to leave well covered, a small thermos of tea is always welcome ☕

WELL DESERVED REST !

At the beginning of the afternoon, the initiation ends, it is the ideal timing because fatigue is starting to be felt. After storing the equipment, a short meal break, we put on our skis for the descent to the cars. 🎿