Registration is now open for Ice Climbing Ecrins 2013, the 23rd annual ice climbing gathering held in Argentière la Bessée, close to Briancon on the southeast side of the Ecrins massif.
Participants should arrive from 5pm onwards on Thursday 10th January, after which there will be three full days of program, ending Sunday 13th.
The small village lies just below the world-class ice venue of Fournel, and a short distance from the equally famous site of Fressinière.
However, the festival remains firmly committed to its core values of safety and learning.
As well as providing a social gathering for experienced climbers, the meeting offers less talented and novice participants numerous beginner workshops, overseen by guides and hosted in conjunction with the French Alpine Club.
These include basic ice climbing techniques, dry tooling, studying route conditions, snow science and avalanche rescue.
The event is supported by many equipment brands, which will co-host the instructional workshops and provide demonstration gear for use on the day.
Access roads will be ploughed and opened to the main sites, and thanks to a system of shuttle buses, which will provide transport from the village to a number of venues, participants can arrive without a car.
Evening activities include films, music and lectures by various guests, including our own Dave Macleod, and local French alpinist Lionel Daudet.
Participation is free and open to everyone. Last January's event saw around 300 climbers take part. For registration and arranging accommodation go to IceClimbingEcrins or write to iceclimbingecrins@gmail.com.
Originally known as the Internationaux de la Cascade de Glace, this international gathering was organized by local guide and ice climbing aficionado Gerard Pailheiret until his sad passing in 2010.
Pailheiret inaugurated the event in 1991 with financial support from the local commune.
When Argentière la Bessée's mining industry failed in the late 1980s and 60% of the local population were made unemployed, it needed another project to provide income. Realizing the potential of the surrounding climbing and skiing, it chose to promote tourism.
Pailheiret's perseverance with the event really put the valleys of Fournel and Freissinières on the international map and ensured that the annual meet became one of the most well-known and important in Europe. For a few years at the end of the 1990s is also hosted the Piolet d'Or.
Pailheiret also created the popular and still on-going website ice-fall.com, which documents just about everything to do with ice climbing in the Ecrins, notably current conditions and updates on routes being climbed.
Following heavy precipitation this November and a hard cold spell in early December, some of the climbs are already formed, though ice texture is reported to be generally quite hard.
While the many long technical routes in the Fournel and Fressinière valleys showcase the area, notably the spectacular Tête de Gramusat in Fressinière, there are a number of other very worthwhile smaller venues.
Further afield and popular with mid grade climbers is Ceillac in the Queyras. Routes begin close to the parking, the classic here being probably Les Formes du Chaos (4).
Less crowded are the climbs opposite the ski station of Les Orres. The classic here is Dancing Fall (5+) but to the right are three less demanding lines of around four pitches at 4 or 4+. Smaller but worthy venues exist at Cervières (when well icy, otherwise dry tooling; single pitch) and Crévoux.
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