In Matthias Scherer’s words, Norway provides the true character of ice climbing. That is to say, you can always find adventure, from single pitch up to vertical kilometer ice flows.
🧊 About the episode
In Matthias Scherer’s words, Norway provides the true character of ice climbing. That is to say, you can always find adventure, from single pitch up to vertical kilometer ice flows.
Outside of popular destinations like Rjukan and Hemsedal, you will rarely find a line that has been picked out. Depending on where you go — from the 1,000-meter ice falls of Gudvangen to the 1,700 fjords that fracture the coastline, to the arctic ice of the far north — you are likely to have a first ascent-like experience, if not an actual FA.
And of course, there are plenty of beginner and intermediate-friendly areas too. Rjukan, for example, has 100s of easily accessible climbs.
This is Matthias’ second time on the podcast. If you recall, he joined us last year to talk about his home, Cogne, another epicenter of ice in Europe. This time around, in classic Matthias style, we discuss:
- 🧊 Why so many of his top 100 ice climbs are in Norway
- 🧊 The history of ice climbing in the country
- 🧊 Classic routes and areas
- 🧊 Logistics for planning your own trip
- 🧊 The upcoming ice festival in Rjukan, which runs from Thursday, February 6 to Monday, February 10.
“The human brain, I think, cannot get what Norway means for ice climbing. It's a little bit like if you look up to the sky in the night and you see all the stars; it's the same with Norway, it's impossible. Because 1,700 fjords, over 50,000 kilometers of coastline, and you can say in every fjord at least there's 10 to 15 ice climbs — so you can do the math by yourself."
🧊 Resources and links
Matthias has climbed over 1,000 frozen waterfalls, and you can see his top 100 list here. To follow along with his adventures, check him out on Instagram, @matthiasscherer or his website matthias-scherer.net.
Want to join for the Norrøna Ice Festival in Rjukan? It runs from February 6-10 and you can find all the details on the website.
To learn a bit more about Matthias, he did an interview on the Norrøna podcast.
Lastly, Matthias would like to thank his sponsors for supporting his adventures: Norrøna, Petzl, Scarpa, and Gloryfy.
🧊 Credits
📸: Cover photo by Tanja Schmitt.
Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!). This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.
🧊 Sponsors:
A huge thanks to Aniiu Gloves and Furnace Industries for supporting this show!
Aniiu Gloves: What do you get when you combine 30 years of ice climbing and product design chops? Well, if you’re into gloves you get Aniiu — a boutique climbing brand on a mission to produce the best ice climbing and drytooling gloves around. Doug, Jun, and the rest of the team spare no expense in the pursuit of durable, dextrous and waterproof. Best yet, they are made from recycled textiles — which saves waste from the landfill — and they are robustly built so they won’t end up there anytime soon. To learn more about your friend in the cold, head to aniiu.com. That is aniiu.com.
Furnace Industries: We get it, ice season never really ends… it just kinda blends between rock, plastic, and plywood until waterfalls freeze over again. No matter how you train in the off-season Furnace Industries keeps you going ‘til your next bout of screaming barfies. With their gym-safe DRY ICE Evolutions you can keep up your fitness indoors. And if you’re looking to challenge yourself on your homewall, they have the largest stock of drytooling holds in America. Check out their full lineup of ice and drytooling gear at furnace-Industries.com… where It’s Always Ice Season.
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