Seán Donohoe

Cold Cold Cold 🥶 ❄️ For our final day, we decided to return to Krokan as it was local to our accommodation and with easily accessible climbs. The temperature was -15°C, the coldest outing of the week! There was a small ice climbing festival in Rjukan, with some of the events at Krokan. However, it appeared to be just a course being run by the ice climbing brand, Petzl. We concentrated mainly on the middle crag, called Kjokkentrappa, where we set up two top ropes. One at WI 3 and another at WI 4. We wanted to do a shorter day due to the cold and also with the need to prepare for our early departure the next day. I had a go at the WI 3 and progressed most of the way up, but got caught out by being on the 'wrong' side of the rope. I needed to traverse left to avoid massive icicles. That would have meant a huge swing on the rope in the event of a fall, so I came back down. I did a couple of belays for some of my teammates, which helped with getting warm! Everyone got a couple of climbs in, which was satisfying. For my last one, I wore a head cam, which recorded my climb. 😃 A nice end to a very enjoyable and challenging week! Climbs: 2 1 completed (WI 3) 1 attempted (WI 3) Belays: 2 (top rope)

Icicles! We returned to our crag of the first day, Krokan, as it was nearby and had a decent range of accessible climbs. Some of the group were leading routes, setting up top ropes for others. The air (-8°C) felt cold after the relatively 'warm' (-3°C) previous day. I had to do many light exercises to keep warm in between climbing and belaying. The falls seemed to have more sharp hanging icicles than the previous time. The group was a bit more spread out across the various crag areas of Krokan (a few minutes' walk apart), so opportunities for climbing photographs were fewer. I completed one climb with a lot of grunting! It felt challenging. I did a few belays also, which I feel I'm improving at. There are a few more climbs here that I'd like to attempt. Climbs: 1 1 completed (WI 2+) Belays: 3 (top rope)

Mountain History and Cloud Inversion A rest day activity for me after 3 days of ice climbing. I drove up the Gaustatoppen mountain road and parked in a 'layby' near the sign for Gaustabanen. I hiked uphill and soon saw the Gaustabanen building. The café / shop wasn't open but thankfully the toilets were. I found the entrance for the funicular, but the timetable wasn't obvious. A few other tourists were there, so I waited a while and then a staff member let us in. This was my first time on a funicular inside a mountain. 😁 First, we had to take a short train to the base of the funicular. Then the funicular itself, which was very cramped in the little compartments. I bought my return ticket at the upper station. I exited the tunnel to a bright hazy sky, which, in a few minutes, became a spectacular cloud inversion. Amazing! I took plenty of photos and explored around the buildings on the summit area, which were built during the Cold War. I decided not to do the 1 km hike across the narrow, snowy ridge to the true summit. This was mainly due to a lack of experience in snowy conditions, but also due to time constraints. The last train down was leaving at 3pm. I went into the tourist hut and met some friendly Norwegians before heading to the station and taking the funicular and train back down. I was once again in the overcast, low visibility conditions as I walked back down the road to the car. What a lucky little adventure! 😁

Abseil Adventure This was my favourite venue of the trip. The incredibly scenic Alset Crag is situated in the Gaustadalen valley, which is adjacent to the Rjukan valley. It was about a 40-minute drive from our accommodation. We started with a walk-in through woodland, with a slightly scrambly descent to a frozen riverside. To reach the crag we'd be climbing, we had to abseil down a ledge next to a barely frozen waterfall. There was a real atmosphere to the venue, which was also quieter than the previous ones. The abseil, set up by our instructors, added an extra element to the day. We walked along to the impressive long, tall ice crags and our instructors set up some top ropes on routes of WI 3 and WI 4. In addition to climbing, we were also introduced to the practices of installing ice screws and creating Abalakov threads (creating angled holes in the ice and feeding a rope through). Ice screws are a key component of lead ice climbing, while Abalakov threads are a method of abseiling ice (although we did not use this method on our abseils). I completed an easy climb to half-height on the crag. Later, I attempted a WI 4 route and made it about 60% of the way up (some on vertical ice). I also got some more belay practice in for my teammates. On the way out, we also had a climb with 1 axe each, up the route we had abseiled earlier. It was maybe a WI 2, quite scrambly (i.e. easier than a climb). Using one axe forces the climber to focus on and improve their footwork! We got a nice team photo with frozen falls in the background before walking out via the woodland route. Climbs: 3 2 completed (WI 2, WI 3) 1 attempted (WI 4) Belays: 2 (top rope)

Popular Ice Crag Ozzimosis is one of the most popular crags in Rjukan, with plenty of lower-grade routes in an easily accessible and beautiful location. This was our first of two days' instruction with our two guides. It definitely helped my technique, I completed a few routes I thought were beyond my abilities! They gave us plenty of valuable guidance on foot placement, axe technique and movement technique. I also got some good belaying practice in. Climbs: 4 3 completed (WI 2, WI 3 (X 2)) 1 attempted (WI 4) Belays: 3 (top rope)

Introduction to Icefalls Winter wonderland! Krokan is a popular gorge high up in the Rjukan valley in an extremely scenic location. There are ice falls at a few different levels, with a path connecting them. We did some lower grade ice routes (Water Ice (WI) 2-3) in a gorgeous shaded valley above Rjukan. It was a little exploration and getting the feel for the area and practicing technique. Lots and lots of layers required (and hot drinks recommended!). A really nice start to the week. Climbs: 2 1 completed (WI 2+) 1 attempted (WI 3+) Belays: 2 (top rope)

Walk-in from Bonsall Car Park (via Masson Hill) recorded (Time at venue not recorded) Walk-out (not recorded) to Bonsall Car Park via Nailor Lane Dry tooling is climbing on rock using ice axes and crampons or 'fruit boots' (boots with fixed front spikes). It can be done outdoors or indoors (where rock climbing shoes or fruit boots are used). It is a climbing discipline in its own right, but is also good preparation for ice climbing (which also uses ice axes and crampons). This was my first time dry tooling outdoors! This was with a small, friendly, supportive group from Sheffield Mountaineering. Definitely more difficult than indoors. We used crampons instead of rock climbing shoes. I did some short climbs at grades 2-4, which provided a few challenges! Good experience for me in another climbing discipline. ⛏️⛑️🧗‍♂️

Refreshing Ridge and Rock Ramble A short hike in the Shropshire Hills, after leaving blizzard-like conditions in North Wales. The sun and some portions of blue sky made an appearance. I took a wrong turn enroute to the Stiperstones Ridge (not paying attention!) Along the way, one of my microspikes released itself from my boot and took up residence somewhere on the hill... but failed to notify me 😄 As daylight time was limited and I had a journey afterwards, I did a shorter route than I originally intended. However, I still managed to see plenty of interesting rock formations, especially the Devil's Chair and the Stiperstone (?) itself with the trig impressively installed. I will return to scramble on these rocks... Heading along the ridge, there were fine views across Shropshire and beyond. I would down on a steep shoulder ridge and popped out conveniently at the cosy Stiperstones Inn, where I had a quick snack before heading home. A refreshingly crisp and reawakening walk. 🥶❄️

A classic route in beautiful conditions ☀️🏔️ Moel Siabod was a mountain I wanted to tackle for a few years. Looking up winter routes in Eryri / Snowdonia with basic mountaineering (Grade I) I found this route at the start of the list. I picked a day with a good weather forecast and it paid off! The walk-in was pleasant and presented no major difficulties, although the snow was soft and a bit deep in places. The Daear Ddu Ridge was very enjoyable. It has options for challenges but they are avoidable. I kept fairly close to the right edge (within a safe distance). I used ice axe and crampons, although I wasn't convinced they gave me a huge benefit as the snow was not consolidated. The summit had excellent views all round, particularly to the Snowdon group. The light and ground conditions made taking photos easy. After some food, I descended the north east ridge. This in itself was very entertaining. I took care to stay back from the edge, which was corniced. There was some light scrambling and then I left the edge and headed down on the hillside. There was a hail shower on the way down and some deep snow further down. Reaching a stile, I recognised the outward path. I was glad to return to the start by the outward route down to the A5. A superb day. ☀️⛏️🏔️❄️