Having moved to the Alps and lockdowns becoming a popular decision and flight restrictions were in full force, I sourced alternative income and tried to get into the mountains as much as I could. The ski lifts were closed so everywhere we went we had to walk, skin and ski. The mountains were quiet and some of the ice climbing was in amazing condition. We took mini breaks sport climbing and ice climbing and many day trip skiing in between work stints. The great part of lift closure is that we are forced to seek out new areas and put the vertical meters in ourselves.

Back in Scotland, if you blinked you missed it! The ice came and went over about a week. I managed to grab a couple of days ice climbing but then it seems like this year is the never ending November!

Fortunately Norway delivered it’s ever reliable ice. It was however, leaner than usual which left myself and fellow guides scratching our heads for some alternative ideas. For the first time in 8 years of visiting here, we went on the hunt for dry tooling options, mountaineering objectives and even some rock climbing crags. Fortunately out of the 10 guided days, only 3 days we didn’t ice climb. Over two weeks our 3 teams climbed 7 new lines and many really cool ice routes. We retreated of some due to the heat wave and rotten ice but still managed to cover lots of pitches.

Fortunately, just before we left, it went cold again and we had a brilliant 3 days of ice climbing to wind down with.

Check out Moran Mountain if you’re interested for next year’s courses or alternatively HERE if you would like some private guiding.