Ice Climbing at Blue Lake. By Matthew Clark

Earlier in July I went for an overnight Ice Climbing trip at Blue Lake in Kosciouszko National Park.

I setup camp with my Moondance 2FN tent in a nice sheltered spot that I often enjoy under Mt Twynam.

Climbing on the first day was mostly cloudy and warm, with typical Aussie on/off rain and very wet ice, I was joined by a good friend for the enjoyable weather and climbing. This year has had consistently warm overnight minimum temperatures, not good for ice formation!

I returned to my tent in the dark, as my partner headed off back to Guthega and the warmth of Jindabyne. I had the warmth of my trusty Mont Kiandra (now Brindabella XT 850) to look forward too.

The next day I woke early, aiming to walk over to Blue Lake and be climbing the ice by sunrise, making the most of the colder temperatures. The day proved to be marvellous, bluebird skies, light winds and the colder temps brought the ice into better condition, that elusive plastic ice we all look for!

All up I climbed over 14 pitches of ice over two days, not bad for Australia! My new Grivel crampons well and truly passed their first test, and my Scarpa Mont Blanc Pro’s were as comfortable as ever!

By Mont staff member Matthew Clark.

Matt is a highly experienced climber with first-hand advice on the right gear and best practices for all types of climbing, backcountry camping and splitboarding. Contact us or visit Mont in Canberra for all your adventure gear needs, expert advice and mountain knowledge.