Ice climbing in ski resort Ruka

The winter is coming, sooner or later. Do you already have winter holiday plans? If not, why not try something new, some new outdoor activity. Push yourself to the limit and overcome your fears if you have some.

I fought my fears last February and tried ice climbing. I had climbed once before, but that was over 10 years ago. After that I had some thoughts that I never could climb again. For some reason I had managed to create a fear of techical climbing.

When my birthday got closer I decided to spend a holiday on my own. That would be a present for myself. A vacation when I could do anything I wanted (or was able) to do.

I travelled to Lapland with my two dogs to have a week for myself. Couple of days just relaxing and wondering the lousy weather! It was February but it was raining and the temperature was just above zero. Still I did not let this stop me from having a great time.

Then came the big day, I drove to the ski resort of Ruka for ice climbing! I had butterflies in my stomach, but when I met my guide Jussi and the other climber, I felt much better and relaxed.

Jussi told us what kinds of things we could expect to happen during the day and showed all the gears we needed. He then instructed us how to wear big climbing boots, harness and gaiters.

The gaiters were necessary because of the crampons, just in case if you hit your foot against the other by accident you may break your trousers. We put the crampons on and started walking like ducks towards the ice wall.

The ice wall is located in the middle of the slalom ski slopes, so we had to walk carefully and be aware of the downhill skiers. Up we went, and when I saw the ice wall I was very excited, not afraid anymore. The ice wall is made by both nature and man. It is about 35 meters high. The company that organizes these climbing expeditions also keeps the ice wall in good shape.

Our guide Jussi showed us how to use the ice axe. Then he prepared the top rope in place, and suddenly it was our time to climb! First I stayed down and with the help of Jussi I either tigtened or slacked the rope while the other climber was going up and then descending.

Then it was my turn. The rope was tight and I hit the first hit with the ice axes. Yes, I had two ice axes, one for both hand.

The meaning is to hit the ice axe just above your head with straight hands. Then you step up and hit your toes straight against the ice wall. The crampons have also forward pointing spikes that help you stand in steep wall. You just have to trust them! And that is difficult while your brain keeps saying ’that is not possible, is that possible, can you really stand there…!’

By the second attempt I managed to reach the top! I conquerred Mount Ruka!

I have to admit that during the climb I lost all of my selfconfidence and yelled out to Jussi that I am coming down, cannot go further. Jussi was so calm and he just shouted me back that ’hey, you can do it, just move a little bit closer to the ice wall, then to the right etc’. I might have said a few bad words to myself at first, but then thought a while and slowly moved my leg to the right.

I knew nothing bad would happen to me, Jussi kept the rope very tight and helped me ascend to the top! Oh, that feeling! I was so proud of myself, took some photos there still hanging on the ropes, admiring the views of the cloudy and rainy day.

Then I heard Jussi’s voice…’are you coming down, I’ll loose the rope for you so you can lean back and start walking down’. I looked down… a mistake! I was on a high place on a steep ice wall and now Jussi wants me to LEAN BACK! My legs started to shake, I felt like Elvis! Twist and shout… Come on woman, you can do it, I repeated to myself.

And I did it. I dared to lean back and I took the first step down, after that it was easy and I enjoyed it a lot. And when I hit the ground I felt like a hero! I was so grateful to Jussi. Without his encouragement I would not have made it.

So if you also want to try some new outdoor activity, I do recommend ice climbing in Northern Finland!

Ice climbing and other activities organized by: www.outdoorpassion.fi

Ski resort Ruka

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