Franz Josef (the bottom bit) Ice Climbing

...Positive number one is that you can climb super interesting ice features - flakes, caves, aretes, grooves, overhangs, chimneys. There are hundreds of grossly deformed ice pillars for the ice enthusiast to have a crack at. And only glacier ice can be steeper than 90 degrees.

Positive number two is you can get lowered into a bottomless crevasse and climb your way out, which is a superbly scary thing to do. We used to lower each other about 40 metres into a crevasse - that's about as much as we dared considering we still couldn't see the bottom and we had to climb back up perfectly vertical (if not mildly overhanging) ice that our picks could barely scratch.

The Monk's Spunk – Ice Climbing on the Nun's Veil

Unfortunately prevailing westerlies brought warmer weather – Graham demonstrated the lake was no longer safe to cross by almost falling through the ice(!) This necessitated an extremely unpleasant fording of waist deep water in the Tasman River (also "!").

Visiting the Barium Enema Face

Many have heard of the legendary Barium Enema Face on Mt Ruapehu. Yet, despite being close to the NZAC hut on the Whakapapa ski-field (about an hour to the west), the stunning pillars of ice are rarely visited let alone climbed. James Russell and Joseph Nelson found the cliffs in superb nick.

Author: James Russell

New Queenstown and Bush Stream Ice Climbs 2006

There has been some new route action this winter (2006) on the country's frozen waterfalls. Most significantly, a new area is opening up around Queenstown, Cigar Creek.

Author: Glenn Pennycook compiling a report by Johnny Davison

Norwegian Winter Water-Ice

The northern hemisphere summer came and went; I went to the Dolomites, Lars to the Alps, and Maurice, another Kiwi climbing buddy, moved to Goteborg, Lars’ home town in Sweden. And so it came to pass that I was picked up in Oslo by Lars and Maurice and whisked away to Rjukan for three days of the steep and deep. And for three days of shivering. And arm shaking. And running on the spot.

Author: Daniel McGowan

My Icelandic Routes

I am blindfolded and sworn to secrecy as we drive off cloaked in darkness. It is 8am and I am in Iceland.

Author: Anthony Bonello