The ice cracks and splits as you carefully place your crampon a step higher. Your ice tool glides on the ice for the last time, you find the right balance and have soon reached the end of the ice climbing route. Your colleagues at the standpoint applaud: what an experience!
Even absolute beginners can take their first steps on the ice without experiencing any problems. Obviously, we select fairly simple waterfalls for these tours. Here, the ice is not yet quite vertical, so climbing is easier and is a lot of fun to do. The mountain guide instructs you in the right technique, gives you a couple of tips, and then you are good to go climbing! You are, of course, secured while you are climbing, to ensure that nothing untoward can happen.

• Your mountain guide will be happy to pick you up from the hotel. The ice-climbing equipment is given out at this point. You can simply take the crampons, ice tools and climbing harness with you in your rucksack.
• A shuttle takes us to the mountain; we still need to climb part of the way on the mountain railway or gondolas but it's not very far now until we reach our waterfall and we then go a short distance on foot.
• You now fix the crampons on your climbing boots to the frozen waterfall and put on your climbing harness properly. A mountain guide will help you to do this, obviously!
• The routes at the icefall have already been prepared in the morning, so there are now ropes hanging in the ice, which the mountain guide uses to make you secure on the ascent.
• Then he shows you a few exercises with the crampons, so that you get a better feel for the pointed teeth under your feet.
• The next bit is really cool. The first colleagues now start to climb, with the help of the ice tools and secured by the rope, obviously. When the temperature is at 0 degrees centigrade, the ice tools glide almost "like butter" in the ice and you can use the natural ledges in the ice to climb.
• You will see that with a few tricks from the pro, it is much easy than you think! With the sun still shining and the ice glinting at you, this is bound to be a spectacular day on the mountain!

Too cold for you?

We are often asked if fun in the ice is simply too cold! The answer is a clear "no"! It is best to climb in ice when it is just under 0 degrees centigrade, as the ice is then at the ideal consistency. And if you are wrapped up nice and warm, you will be no colder than you would be on a winter walk! However, if the temperatures fall below -10/-15 degrees, these are not the best conditions for ice climbing. The ice becomes too brittle and splinters. Then we would be happy to organise a snowshoe tour or another exciting alternative.