Ice Climbing - La Grave

Let's go Cascading

Photo Credit: Fiona Chappell

Only a short hop from Grenoble, La Grave is arguably one of the great ice climbing locations of the world. OK - Ourey in Colorado; Ghost River in Alberta; Valdez in Alaska, to name but a few others, should be included but these all require a little more expense to visit them, and even Cogne in Italy is more awkward to get to.

With an inexpensive easyJet hop from Stanstead, Gatwick or Luton to Grenoble, you can be in La Grave in a couple of hours or so.

Here, you'll find a wealth of icefalls - some only minutes away from the car park and the rest no more than a 50 minute hike!

The ice is steep, belays are BOLTS and subsequently, descents are a dream! Most routes are at least one long pitch and several are four or five pitches so you can go as far (or as short) as you want to.

Make no mistake though - a grade 3 or 4 here is often worthy of the old Scottish grade 5! So, if you are an ardent fan of steep ice, this is the place for you.

Accommodation is available in this small town or in the villages nearby, but early booking is required as many ice climbers and skiers descend on La Grave in January.

Smiler Cuthbertson is going this season, for three weeks - he likes his steep ice! Why not join him?

Customised trips are his specialty. You sit back and he’ll do all the organising for you. All you have to do is sharpen your ice tools!

Next Step - Contact Smiler

Useful Links:

EasyJet: www.easyjet.com (Many UK departures to Grenoble and Geneva)

Ryanair: www.ryanair.com (Stanstead - Grenoble)

FlyBe: www.flybe.com (Exeter/Norwich/Birmingham/Southampton - Chambery)

Many charter companies offer cheap flights from regional airports to accommodate skiers - always worth asking at your travel agent.

Distances

(Estimates according to Autoroute)

Grenoble - La Grave: 120KM

Chambery - La Grave: 148km

Geneva - La Grave: 230km

 

Worried about getting to La Grave? Talk to Smiler