Ice Climbing in Cogne
The following is a trip report I wrote for the website of the Academic Alpine Club Zurich (AACZ), the original publication can be found here.
The start of February saw the newest edition of the AACZ Ice Climbing Skill Transfer Workshop. Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the event, an alarmingly warm weather forecast for the Aosta Valley threatened to end the trip before it had even begun. However, after a bit of discussion and despite the uncertainty of ice climbing conditions around Cogne, in the end, no fewer than 14 Hüttli mustered every ounce of their optimism and made the drive down into Italy. (Although the number of skis and climbing shoes in the trunks expressed the extent to which everyone was prepared to make the best of any conditions we might encounter.)
Drytooling on our first day
Day 1
Arriving on Thursday around noon, we soon set out into small groups for a first reconnaissance to check out various locations for potential climbable ice. The concept of the Skill Transfer Workshop was that people with ice climbing experience were to be leading (Anita, Jess, Chris, Christoph, and Daniel – big shout-out to them!), taking less experienced people as followers. With five leaders and nine followers, parties of three were the game plan.
A rather large group of us made their way up the waterfalls of Lillaz to what is known as the Amphitheater, where, unfortunately, there wasn’t much to dispel doubts about how climbable the local ice would be. Instead, the hike in probably made for the most challenging encounter with frozen water that day, and anyone too proud to put on their crampons for the approach was soon second-guessing that decision. With next to no climbable ice at the Amphitheater, the focus of the day was two dry-tooling routes, which at least meant we didn’t carry our ice tools in vain (although some might have mourned their freshly sharpened tools scraping rock instead of piercing ice).
During dinner, however, we were happy to hear that a different group led by Anita and Jess had had more success, and their venture into the Valnontey Valley proved to be a far more fruitful endeavor. Hearing that some of us climbed on ice that first day made us hopeful the remaining days wouldn’t be a lost cause after all. So, with determination, we made plans to head deep into that valley the next day and see what climbable ice we could find. There was a brief moment of panic following rumors that breakfast might only be served at 7 a.m., but we quickly managed to arrange a 6:30 breakfast with the friendly hotel staff. Backpacks packed and ready, we were all eager to not waste a minute the following day and to get as much ice climbing in as possible before the temperatures were sure to rise over the day.
Heading into the Valnontey Valley on day two
Day 2
So, most of our group headed into the Valnontey Valley the next morning. Christoph, Rachel, and Barış, as well as Jess and Alyssa, soon branched off from the main track with the aim of climbing an ice gully known as Sentiero del Troll. Offering easy-going and pleasant climbing, the sun soon turned their route into a melting pot, and belays in t-shirts were a not uncommon sight that day. In the end, there was little point in continuing to the top with the ice melting before one’s eyes, so the group rappelled back down.
Two other parties, however, headed deeper and higher into the valley, seeking to maximize their chances of finding good ice. The party of Daniel, Mariana, and Yannick had their eyes set on the route Monday Money, a classic WI4 waterfall. But they were not the only ones and had to share their route with a not-insignificant number of other climbers, which, however, wasn’t enough to discourage their efforts. They enjoyed a spectacular route with good-quality ice.
Just around the corner from Monday Money Chris, Milo, and Tim were more successful in finding solitude and had the route Flash Estivo all to themselves. Being «just» a WI3 waterfall, it might not justify the same reverence as Monday Money. But the three were more than happy to find something that looked climbable without the added hazard of ice being kicked loose from above (even though they would soon have to learn that being alone in an ice route is no guarantee for safety).
Questionable belays in Flash Estivo..i
The first couple of pitches were delightful with solid hard ice, but the ice quality quickly deteriorated further up – the quality of the belays not so much; they remained more or less the same (and that means absolutely abysmal). In the last pitch, the ice quality got so questionable any hope of topping out was thwarted, and the team decided to forego the final belay to make a v-thread for rappelling. A decision further buttressed by some very unnerving sounds of moving ice, which had started just as the sun began to hit the top section of the route.
Rappeling on Abalakovs to quickly leave the disintegrating route
Now working to escape their precarious situation as quickly as possible, the group first had to watch some giant icicles detach higher up and tumble across the previous belay from where they had just climbed up. Then another chunk of ice also broke loose and barely got broken into smaller bits before hitting Chris – who afterward was able to carry home a big bruise as a trophy. Fortunately, their rappels (from Abalakovs that were already in place to eschew the questionable belay stations) went without further incidents. In the end, the team made it safely down and back to the hotel – although with the feeling that their day was skewed more towards the Type 2 kind of fun.
Following that night’s dinner, there was a lengthy discussion about tomorrow‘s plans. After today, it didn’t seem impossible that Saturday could offer more ice climbing – although a certain finesse with route selection would have to be exercised. Chris’ party, unsurprisingly, wasn’t able to do a good job selling anyone on trying their route. But there was one party who had by far the best reports to offer. Anita, Nicola, and Hannes were the only ones who didn’t head into the Valnontey Valley that day. Instead, they chose a route called Pattinaggio Artistico in the adjacent Valeille Valley, which attracted the attention of many of us. The route being in the shade the entire day made for a tempting objective.
But perhaps even more than the temperatures and ice, the crowds were now also a concern. Today, we weren’t the only people dining at the hotel anymore, with people having arrived over the entire day. And with ice scarce in Cogne, it was a reasonable assumption that on the weekend, all the ice climbing traffic would concentrate on the few routes that were in condition. Not a particularly appealing prospect.
In the end, however, most people decided to give tomorrow a shot, and only Jess and Yannick agreed they didn’t want to play their chances with the crowds and chose to go rock climbing instead. Importantly, before everyone headed to their rooms, we persuaded the hotel staff – if only slightly begrudgingly – to serve us an even earlier breakfast at 6 a.m. tomorrow, which should maximize our chances of getting ahead of the crowds.
Day 3
Rachel and Alyssa following Christoph on the 2nd pitch of Pattinaggio Artistico
On Saturday, at the crack of dawn, six people from our group set out to the base of Pattinaggio Artistico, hoping to find the route devoid of even more sleep-deprived ice climbers. During dinner last evening, Anita emphasized the precariousness of actually getting to the base of the route. An approach over some steep grass slopes and slabby rocks was sure to present a challenge in its own right. Anita’s advice was to leave our packs on the valley floor before turning upward. Still, in the darkness of our early start, we probably took a different path and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of precisely the type of terrain Anita told us to beware of – our packs still firmly attached to our backs. Christoph then ventured ahead on a mission to fix a rope to the first belay of our route while the rest of us delicately put on harness and crampons on that steep grassy slope.
At least our effort seemed to be rewarded as there was not a single other party to be seen in front of us – only an Italian couple had caught up with us. We let them pass, and the two quickly climbed out of sight. Christoph then started up the route, with Alyssa and Rachel following. In their tracks were Chris, Barış, and Tim. The route offered pleasant climbing, and the size of footholds and pick placements already chipped deep into the ice was evidence of its popularity. Indeed, looking down from the third belay, a crowd of probably no fewer than five parties could be seen making their way to the start of the route. Our early start had paid off big time.
While climbing the last pitch, the Cogne ice climbing experiment was completed by a jaunty free solo climber overtaking us and quickly disappearing out of sight behind the final belay. There was, in fact, a path for a descent by foot, but this was supposed to be over some grass slopes at least as steep as the ones we had encountered earlier in the morning. Therefore, we had left our packs at the base of the route and now had no choice but to rappel back down the route. Some crowded belays later (placating a few by our rappelling annoyed climbers along the way), we found ourselves back down and in the sun, where we enjoyed a lunch break soaking in the last rays of sunshine before the mountains cast their shadows into the valley.
Alyssa and Rachel heading up the final pitch
Another route climbed that day was Tutto Relativo by Daniel, Mariana, and Milo. Big holds pounded in the ice showed the route had also experienced a lot of recent traffic. And the traffic was not only recent. In the first two pitches, two groups were in front of us, even leading simultaneously. This congestion only eased off with the start of the steeper and more serious third pitch. After finishing this route, the group was still hungry for more climbing and went into the first pitch of a neighboring route called Cristal Giusy, truly maximizing their ice climbing mileage that day before returning to the hotel.
Here, our last dinner on Saturday evening even saw a little surprise as Rachel and Alyssa had snuck into town during the afternoon to buy some candles for a small belated birthday celebration for Anita and Christoph, who had had their birthdays earlier this week. Enjoying the last good food at the hotel (which had included some enormous quantities of Tiramisu), everyone reflected on the previous couple of days while making plans for the last day.
Day 4
On Sunday, the group split into two distinct parties on the way back to Zurich. The majority chose to take advantage of the warm weather for once and enjoy the rock climbing around the Aosta Valley. The enthusiastic reports of Jess and Yannick, who were already rock climbing yesterday, probably played a part in that decision.
On the final meters up to the Petit Vélan
Four of us, however, decided we weren’t ready to abandon winter recreation altogether, opting for a ski tour at the Great St Bernard Pass instead. And so Rachel, Hannes, Christoph, and Tim set off even before breakfast (this time not daring to put any more strain on the hospitality of the hotel staff) and were ready to head up to the Petit Velán on the Swiss side of the border shortly after 8 a.m. Here, the recent lack of snow could be turned into an advantage as it made for safe avalanche conditions for a descent via the west couloir. Further down, the group even found some old powder, and with a brew of coffee in the parking lot from Christoph’s gasoline stove, the day was perfect.
In fact, the whole weekend turned out to be a bigger success than we could have hoped for. But while many of us caught the ice climbing bug, there remains a looming sense that this niche sport is bound to experience some profound changes in the future along with the landscapes we seek out to practice it in.