For a first Alpine Ice Climbing trip, our Introduction to Ice Climbing Course in Arolla starts with the basics and progresses as fast and as far as you want to go. Previous rock climbing or UK winter climbing experience helps but isn't essential, but ice climbing is hard work so you will need reasonable fitness - and arm strength!
.jpg "Learning to Lead Climb on Alpine Ice")
.jpg "Introduction to Ice Climbing Course")
Our Introduction to Ice Climbing Course covers:
- Equipment choice
- Ice climbing techniques
- Placing ice screws, Abalokov threads other protection
- Single and multi pitch climbs
- Abseiling, belaying and ropework
- Snowshoes for longer approaches
- Choosing routes, judging conditions, avalanche risk assessment
- What next? Planning your ice climbing future
And of course, we'll do plenty of Ice Climbing with our team of British Mountain Guides!
The week is based at Hotel de la Tza in Arolla. A cosy family run hotel in the heart of the mountains and within 5 minutes of much of the ice climbing in the valley. It even has it's own ice boulder in the garden!
Our courses run from Sunday to Saturday. We meet in the hotel Sunday evening followed by 5 days of guided climbing and instruction from Monday to Friday, leaving the hotel on Saturday morning.
The Introduction Course price includes:
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5 days of guided climbing,
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all guides expenses,
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6 nights half board accommodation (in shared twin room - single supplements and additional nights available on request).
You'll need to arrange suitable insurance including cancellation insurance, and your own transport to and from Arolla.
You should bring suitable personal climbing equipment including boots, technical axes and crampons, harness, helmet and rucksack. We can arrange to hire any of these items for you, please see our gear section for prices. You can download our ice climbing kit list here.
We can run our Introduction and Ice Climbing Progression Courses at any venue for groups of 2 (or more) by separate arrangement. Please contact us to check availability.
What our clients say:
"Have had a fantastic time ice climbing thanks to Graham Frost of frost guiding and his lovely wife Janine, a bit mad she may be! Who on earth skis uphills!" RT February 2015, Arolla
"Thanks, Graham, for - once again - an amaaaaazing few days climbing. It was heaps of fun, we 'covered loads of ground', and I think you squeezed pretty much everything you could out of both of us"
John and Avi, February 2015, Cogne
