If you compared ice-climbing in Cogne to the popular ‘Tinder’
dating-app, you could be picky and ‘swipe left’ for hours before finding the ‘perfect
match’. A ‘perfect match’ would reflect preferences in ice conditions, level of
gnarly-ness, number of pitches etc. By
‘swiping right’, you would be given the option to explore the route further and
check out photographs to decide whether the route is worth pursuing and whether
or not to add to a growing list of ‘potentials’. Unfortunately, with no
significant snowfall to date (no pun intended) and a season marked by relatively
warm temperatures, this year Cogne was having a ‘dry-spell’ (literally) and it was
going to be a logistical challenge to celebrate the Cogne Ice Opening festival
in traditional style… In short, there would be a minimal amount of ‘swiping
right’.
Based out of Cogne, Aosta Italy, professional ice climbers Matthias Scherer, Tanja Schmitt and Heike Schmitt, organisers of the third annual Cogne Ice Opening Festival met the challenge with a passion. Leveraging their
creativity, energy and a contagious passion for the many disciplines of
climbing we soon forgot that there was a shortage of ice and took the
opportunity to embrace and refine new skills including mixed climbing,
dry-tooling, and ski-touring… and learn one of the fundamental lessons of
alpinism… you can’t do anything about the weather.
I attended the Cogne Ice Opening Festival last year when,
through perfect weather conditions leading up to the event, we were spoiled for choice with short approaches
and a plethora of routes suited to all levels of ability. The festival, one of
the first key social events of the winter in Cogne, is an opportunity to learn,
have fun, meet new people and share experiences. The event is sponsored by
Arc’teryx, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Suunto, Sterling Rope, Gloryfy and
Chimpanzee who are all on-hand to answer questions, sharpen tools and ensure
that even if you were to show up in a pair of Bermuda shorts you could be fully
kitted out, cramponed up and walking to a frozen waterfall in about 5 minutes.
Despite the lack of ice this year, the first sip of hot
mulled-wine (Italian style) in the bar at the ‘Apero’ on Friday night indicated
that the festival had well and truly begun – ice or no ice, the atmosphere was
buzzing and a growing group of participants were chatting about the new options
available. I signed up for mixed- climbing which means climbing on a mix of
rock and ice – something I had only done previously in Nepal so very excited
about the weekend ahead..!
The next morning we broke out into our groups under a blue
sky and temperatures hovering just above zero.
Led by IFMGA guide Patrick, our group headed off to do some roadside
crag-climbing to take advantage of the mixed conditions. After scrambling down
into a small ravine, we stumbled up on a rock face dotted with patches of ice,
rock and frozen clumps of grass where Patrick set up three routes– a one pitch
ice climb route over some fragile ice waterfall sections, a one pitch mixed
route offering a challenging mix of rock and ice, and a one pitch route of very
thin and fragile ice over a rapidly flowing waterfall. We took turns climbing
and belaying between the routes and the day passed quickly. As much as I enjoy
ice climbing, I find mixed-climbing tremendously satisfying and enjoy the
different ways that the earths’ natural ‘ingredients’ provides the ballast to
support a body inching its way up a steep face.
We had an absolutely brilliant day out - I learned plenty of new techniques and certainly gave my arms a workout. It was fantastic to share the day with friends, both old and new. By around 3pm the ice on the waterfall had begun to melt and the mud began to thaw so we all piled back into our cars and headed back to the bar for some liquid refreshments and the opportunity to share stories with other groups coming back from their own adventures.
In the evening we headed to the Sala Grivola in Cogne for an
‘All about the Ice’ movie night. With rosy cheeks, pumped-arms still throbbing
and bellies full of Italy’s finest pizza, we all sat back in the theatre to be
inspired… and we certainly were not disappointed. With presentations from
athletes in word and film including extreme climber Rudi Hauser (Austria),
Klemen Premrl (Slovenia), Mael Baguet (France) as well as the inspirational Tanja
Schmitt and Matthias Scherer (Cogne) we quickly realised the tremendous
dedication, passion and commitment required in climbing – or any sport for that
matter. You can find some highlights from the clips shown here: Reborn - the quest for early season ice and Climbing icebergs in Greenland. 
Sunday presented us with equally stunning blue-sky and crisp
clear conditions. There was a rumour of forming ice further down the valley so
our group, led by guides Heike, Isabelle and Patrick, we piled into our vehicles and
sped off down the road to find out if the rumour was fact or merely a case of
wishful thinking. After a 40-minute walk in, we looked up to see two pitches of
beautifully forming... and virtually untouched ice..! RESULT! The next 3 hours
were spent reviewing the basics in ice-climbing, swinging our ice-tools,
screwing in ice screws, kicking in our front-points and pushing our personal
limits on the icy-face. Whilst the ice conditions weren’t as ‘gnarly’ as
previous years and we weren’t spoiled for choice, the day proved to be a
tremendous success simply because we, a group of passionate climbers,
adventurers and friends, had gathered outside around the ice and were cheering
each other on, exchanging stories and planning future adventures. I couldn’t
stop smiling. It was a brilliant day.
Huge thanks to Matthias, Tanja, and Heike for organising the
event, for your creativity and for sharing your passion with us..! Thanks also
to the event sponsors Arc’teryx, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Suunto, Sterling
Rope, Glorify and Chimpanzee for supporting the festival and helping to spread
the ‘love’ for ice... Despite the lack of snow and ice, we certainly were given plenty of opportunity to 'swipe right'..!
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