New Gearlab

New issue of the Gearlab has been issued, here can find it and read (icelandic for now). This time the Gearlab tests out an ice screw from Salewa and lists down it’s pros and cons along with a briefly mentioning the history of ice screws. 

Now the day has gotten longer, the possibility of doing long days out in the mountains has opened up. This is the time hikers and mountaineers go to Hvannadalshnúkur, Hrútfjallstindar and Þverártindsegg. Skiers are already  skiing in Tröllaskagi and climbers rush to Skarðsheiði and even Eilífsdalur and Hrútadalur. Recent news tells us that Skessuhorn is in good conditions at the moment.

So, now is the time to head to the mountains, no matter which sport you go for, enjoy!

Engin upphitun WI 5

Leið númer A9

Rétt vinstra megin við þessa leið kemur leiðin Niflheimar niður (A11). Niflheimar er augljós súla. Rétt hægra megin við rifið er svo leiðin Mávahlátur

Þessi leið var frumfarin sem hluti af Matteo’s 100 challenge og varð þessi leið sú fimmtugasta í röðinni og markaði þar með að klifurhluti verkefnisins væri nú hálfnaður.

FF: Matteo Meucci og Bjartur Týr Ólafsson 23. mars 2017

Crag Bolaklettur
Sector Innri-hvilft
Type Ice Climbing

Suðurhlíð Fingurbjargar

Aðkoma: Breiðarmerkurjökull, Mávabyggðarrani.
Hæð leiðar: Ca. 60 m.
Klifurtími: Ca. 2-4 tímar frá skarði í suðurhlíð Fingurbjargar.
Gráða: II-IV.
Fyrst farin: Í september-október 1978: Helgi Benediktsson, Arnór Guðbjartsson og Pétur Ásbjörnsson.
Útbúnaður: Hefðbundinn klettaklifurbúnaður og jöklagöngubúnaður.

Bergið er mjög laust og kubbótt. Fyrsta spönn fer upp á syllu sem er á milli hraunlaga. Á syllunni er best að gera einskonar stans og halda upp til vinstri.

Leiðin liggur upp suðaustan til og endar suðvastan í Fingurbjörg og er frekar opni leið. Síðasta spönnin var frekar í léttara lagi og lítið af millitryggingum þar.

Crag Öræfajökull
Sector Mávabyggðir
Type Alpine

Suðurhlíð og SA-hryggur Snóks

Af bröttu smátindunum í Esjufjöllum er Snókur (1304 m) mest áberandi. Nafnið er dregið af efsta hluta stafntrés í báti.

Árið 1980 reyndu nokkrir félagar í Ísalp að klífa Snók að sumarlagi, en urðu frá að hverfa, einkum vegna lélegs bergs. “Eins og myglað brauð”, sögðu þeir.

Á páskum 1982 tóku sex félagar í Ísalp sig til og ákváðu að reyna við Snók. Þeir höfðu bækistöðvar í sálum Jöklarannsóknarfélagsins á Breiðamerkursandi og í Esjufjöllum.

Klifurleiðin lá frá stórum kletti fyrir miðri suðurhlíðinni, á ská (80 m) til vinstri upp að mjóum drang eftir brattri snjóbrekku. Þaðan tryggði hópurinn (í tveimur línugengjum) tvær spannir; þá fyrri aftur á ská upp en nú til hægri (50° ísbrekka), yfir að ísfláa við SA-hrygginn. Seinni spönnin var með lágum íshöftum á sjálfum hryggnum og nægu lofti til beggja handa. Síðasti áfanginn (spönnin) var auðveld ganga upp breikkandi koll Snóks.

Sigið var beint fram af suðurvanga Snóks  og klifið snarbratt áfram að klettinum stóra og eitt snjóakkeri goldið fyrir. Í skálanum biðu páskaegg og koníaksdreitill eftir 7 klukkustunda dagsferð.

Hæð leiðar: 100 m (80 m)
Aðkoma: Um Breiðarmerkurjökul og Vesturdal, alls um 10 klst. á jökli.
Klifurtími: 1,5-2 klst.
Gráða: PD, 2(snjór/ís), 3 spannir
Fyrst farin: Páskar 1982, Anna Guðrún Líndal, Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Hreinn Magnússon, Höskuldur Gylfason, Magnús Guðmundsson og Óskar Knudsen.

Crag Öræfajökull
Sector Esjufjöll
Type Alpine

Suðurhryggur Miðhyrnu

Miðhyrna nefnist hvassbrýnd klettahyrna í Staðarsveit á sunnanverðu Snæfellsnesi. Þetta er fallegt og áberandi fjall sem skagar til suðurs út úr megin fjallgarðinum. Vestan við Miðhyrnu er Ánahyrna (647 m) og því næst er Lýsuhyrna (738 m), beint upp af félagsheimilinu á Lýsuhóli. Austan við og áfast Miðhyrnu er Þorgeirsfellshyrna (628 m), en í báðum þessum hyrnum er gabbró og berg því ákjósanlegt til klifurs. Í suðurhlíð Miðhyrnu er klettaklifurleið.

Fyrst farin af Kristni Rúnarssyni og Snævarri Guðmundssyni, 18 ágúst 1985.

Aðkoman úr bíl tekur um 15-30 min, upp smá skriðu. Byrjunin er létt klifur, en fyrsta spönnin sem frumferðarteymið tryggði var eftir nokkra tugi metra af brölti.

Spönn 1 – Gráða III
Spönn 2 – Gráða III
Spönn 3 – Gráða III
Spönn 4 – Gráða IV+
Spönn 5 – Gráða III
Spönn 6 – Gráða IV+
Spönn 7 – Gráða I/II
Spönn 8 – Gráða IV+

Klifrið er aldrei mjög erfitt en spannirnar eru margar hverjar mjög opnar.

Crag Snæfellsnes
Sector Miðhyrna
Type Alpine

Video

(Icelandic)

Engar skrúfur WI 4

Route number D13.

The first accent was in very thin conditions and it didn’t take a single ice screw. Some trad placements are available but there is a decent section right above the start and to the midpoint that doesn’t have many options for pro. The route is probably WI 4 if it gets fat but it was closer to WI 4+ in the first accent

FA: Matteo Meucci and Jónas G. Sigurðsson, 08.03 2017

25m WI 4/+ R

Crag Múlafjall
Sector Leikfangaland
Type Ice Climbing

The Gift M 7+

Route number 70

Two pitches, the first a steep M 7/8, and the later M 6 to WI 5/6, short mix section over to a long, steep and thin ice. 120 scramble to the top after that.

FA: Matteo Meucci and Þorsteinn Cameron, 06.03 2017

Crag Esja
Sector Hrútadalur
Type Mix Climbing

The North Face Athlete Photo show!

On thursday we’re going to have one of the most epic lectures ÍSALP has ever seen!
Tim Kemple, Renan Oztruk, Anna Pfaff, Hansjörg Auer and Samuel Elias are all in the country and have graciously offered to give ÍSALP a photo show next thursday at 20:00 at Centerhotel Plaza við Ingólfstorg
Aðalstræti 4 – 101 Reykjavík

Many of you might know Tim Kemple from his previous project in Iceland: Ice Climbing – The Iceland Trifecta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79s5BD0301o
Renan Oztruk, also from the Camp4 collective, is here to climb and help with the project. Many of you may have seen him in Jimmy Chin’s film Meru where they climbed the Sharks Fin with Conrad Anker.

With them they have:
Anna Pfaff – Just before she came to Iceland she put up an amazing new route with Will Mayo called Dreamline WI6+. See the video herehttp://www.rockandice.com/video-gallery/first-ascent-of-dreamline-wi-6-1-260-feet-newfoundland
She has also put up incredible and hard new routes all over the globe. You can read more about her exploits on her website http://www.annapfaff.com/ascents/

Hansjörg Auer – Many of you have probably heard of Hansjörg. He achieved notoriety with his audacious free solo of The Fish 7b+ on the Marmolada south face. See a video of that silly business herehttps://vimeo.com/30428423
He has done lots of hard routes on the Marmolada and has put up some of the hardest including Bruderliebe 8b+ 800m. Apart from that Hansjörg is one of the most skilled mountaineers of our day with hard big routes under his belt in Pakistan and Nepal. Read more about his story on http://www.hansjoerg-auer.at/

Samuel Elias – Samuel is a very strong climber from the states. He has put up rock climbing routes up to the grade of 5.14b and mix climbs up to M12. Here you can see his first ascent of American Hustle 5.14b in Oliana.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzgd5SGnkM8

It should be quite clear that missing this event is like skipping christmas so we expect to see you all there!

Link to the event on Facebook

Góður mosi M 5

Fyrsta leiðin af vonandi mörgum í Holtsdal. Veggurinn í Holtsdal snýr í norðvestur og fær því nánast enga sól. Þarna er slatti af flæðandi vatni, eitthvað af því gæti verið snjóbráð, en næsti vetur mun leiða það í ljós. Fullt af flottum línum sem gætu dottið í flottar aðstæður. Einnig er bergið furðulega gott á vissum stöðum og möguleiki er á sport eða dótaklifri.

Þessi leið var frumfarin í frekar tæpum aðstæðum. Ísinn var nánast ekkert fastur við bergið og mosinn var ekki frosinn í neðri og brattari hluta leiðarinnar. Eftir brattasta hluta leiðarinnar var mosinn gadd freðinn, sem var mjög kærkomið.

FF: Matteo Meucci, Jónas G. Sigurðsson og Róbert Halldórsson 05.03 2017

Crag Eyjafjöll
Sector Holtsdalur
Type Mix Climbing

Veðrastapi

Veðrastapi is a prominent rock in the mountains west of Hof in Öræfi. It is in altitude of 806 meters, rising 30-40 meter above its surrounding. It was first climbed in 22nd January 2000, by Helgi Borg Jóhannsson, Jason Paur and Einar R. Sigurðsson. It is unbelievable that no one has climbed it before since it looks quite good from the main road. I know of two previous attempts but at least one of that team turned back because the rock is very rotten and loose. Helgi Borg, who lead the successful climb graded it II, that is fairly easy climbing, but mentally hard because of there are almost no safe handholds.

FF: Helgi Borg, Jason Paur and Einar R. Sigurðsson 22.01 2000

Crag Öræfi, Vestur
Sector Hofsfjöll
Type Alpine

Bæjarlæksfoss WI 3

The line the climber is climbing

This is the main waterfall in Bæjargil in Kvísker. We parked the car at Stöðuvatn lake and walked across the ridge between the lake and the gorge Bæjargil, and descended down to the route. After the climb we could walk down a hiking trail down the cliffs east of the gorge.

The first pitch is 20 meter of nice WI 3. Then we had to walk around a corner in the gorge. Careful not to break through and fall into the stream. There was another 15 meter WI 3 wall there, and some easy steps higher up. We walked up from the gorge close to the small dam that collects water for the power station down at lake Stöðuvatn.

FF: Matthildur Unnur Þorsteinsdóttir og Einar Öræfingur

7/2 2009

Crag Öræfi, Austur og Suðursveit
Sector Kvísker
Type Ice Climbing

Gasfróði WI 4

Route number 3. (green)

Grasfróði is just about 100 meters to the left from Fróðafoss and it only takes about 5 minutes to walk up to it from the car. (Straight up from the house Fróðasker in Hof). This is a 50 meter WI4 route first climbed by

FA: Einar Sigurðsson and Mikko Nikkinen on January 23rd 1998.

 

Crag Öræfi, Vestur
Sector Hof
Type Ice Climbing

Ice Climbing Festival Cancelled

We are terribly sorry to inform everyone that next weekends Ice Climbing Festival in the east fjords has been cancelled due to poor conditions.
However, as we have just received 4 keen climbers from the Alpine Club of Pisa we will be going out and chasing the psyche this weekend and we invite anyone who wants to join us along for the fun! More details on that plan will be advertised over the next few days.
On wednesday evening we are also going to have a get together at Klifurhusid. The guys from Pisa will introduce the climbing there and this is a must see for anyone who wants to apply to go climbing on behalf of ISALP in Italy. There will be beer, pizza and new dry tooling routes!