Picos Berge

Trips: Ice

All our ICE trips

In our ICE category you will have one thing for sure: crampons on your feet.

Our mountaineering programs take you to the high glaciated realm of the 3 and 4000 m peaks. Mostly on airy ridges and in summer. Sometimes combining rock and snow into a mixed route.

In the corresponding courses you will be trained by a certified guide on how to travel independently in high alpine terrain. As soon as it goes beyond simple glacier travel, advanced belay techniques, speed, tactics and experience in alpine hazard assessment play an important role. With our coachings we would like to make you fit for the really big climbs.

Our ice and mixedclimbing trips are all about frozen waterfalls. Addictive to few, type 3 fun for others, this is a sport that is advisable to be learnt from a professional. Winter alpinism is the high alpine version where you climb on icefalls squeezed into narrow couloirs and, when the ice ends, jam the picks of your tools into rocky cracks and hook your way upwards.

Alternate dates: if it doesn't work out first try.

Ambitious alpine goals require the right conditions and this might not be the case on your first try. We understand that you don't want to hire a guide for not climbing your cherished dream route. On our individually arranged trips we discuss and agree on how to deal with this situation prior to the trip.

Understandably we cannot cancel all our trips in the high season. But we will come up with a fair deal for both sides: a prefixed alternate date, a voucher for the next attempt, an adapted rate for smaller and less committing objectives, or the option to cut off some days.

Bivies, acyclic and unknown paths: off the beaten track.

The Alps are the Playground of Europe and Europe is densely populated. Some areas are frequented to a degree that is almost grotesque. Traffic jams, risky overtaking maneuvers and utter chaos on lifts and huts are common sight. Clearly the experience must be suffering.

Clever planning can avoid this and the mountains can be experienced in a pristine way — even on big and renowned peaks. We have a long record of guiding some of the most prestigious summits using bivies and less known routes, or simply climbing acyclic. It has always paid off! Does this sound appealing to you? Let's discuss your next true adventure in the mountains!

Individual coachings - our specialty.

The technical basics of alpinism such as knots, crevasse rescue, setting up a belay etc. are rather easy to learn. What takes a lot more time to acquire are experience, judgement, situational decision making as well as all the tricks of the professionals that make life in the mountains easier.
A lot of alpinists were lucky to learn from more experienced mates. Our coachings give you that unique opportunity. We act as supervisors and consultants while you are climbing on the sharp end of the rope. We try to provide you with as much expert knowledge as we can. There is no business secret, we are happy to share our decision making and perhaps even learn something ourselves.

Advanced topics include complex rope techniques (e.g. the infamous short rope), tactics, speed improvement or analytical snowpack analysis. Our coachings are well suited for experienced teams.

Personal communication rather than follower and likes.

Lets face it: social media is a mere marketing tool for many businesses. To us this way of connecting with the audience is somewhat superficial. That's not our style. We prefer the direct contact to our clients - even beyond 'business'.

What does that mean for you? If you are planning a trip to the mountains on your own, get in touch, we are happy to recommend on a summit, region or provide information on the conditions. You need advice on gear? Need a second opinion on the avalanche situation? We are fostering a long term exchange, often on a very personal level, with many of our clients. We are taking the time, because its fun to chat or talk shop with like-minded people!

Fairness first.

The job of mountain guides is demanding and highly responsible. Clearly, this work has to be appropriately remunerated. Yet we are climbers, not tough business men. That's why our emphasis is on dealing fairly with our clients.

We block dates for your trip. Sometimes the arranged climb still doesn't work out. We then appreciate your understanding that we cannot bear the cancellation risk alone. On the other hand we do understand that you don't want to pay the summit rate of a prestigious goal for an alternative destination. With open communication and consideration for each other's situation, we will find a good solution. The summit rate only applies if the conditions are right and we make a summit bid.

Climate protection: less babble.

Environmental protection must not be misused for mere image cultivation. Businesses who earn their money with air travel should not pat themselves on the back because they use recycled paper and green electricity. This is not credible. We clearly acknowledge the undeniable environmental damage our activities cause, and we try to at least partly offset them by the following actions, without too many words:

We encourage you to travel by train. If possible we give you a lift from the train station. We help to reduce your luggage by providing you all the technical gear required for your trip. Given a sufficient number of participants, we cover up to 50% of your train ticket.

We compensate our own as well as the CO2 emissions of our clients travelling by car without any additional cost in a transparent and comprehensive way. Of course, you are also invited to contribute. Get in touch if there are any questions!

Van life, camping and road trips: it doesn't always have to be **** comfort.

Sure, we do enjoy fine food and decent accommodation. But we are happy with less comfort as well, if that's what you want. Not having to book hotels makes things a lot more flexible. Cooking together is social and can be a lot of fun. No doubt, hiring a guide is expensive. By keeping our expenses as low as possible we help you save money and focus on the really important things - to climb and to ski! If you like the simple life, tell us so! There is a surprisingly high number of climbs that can be achieved without using expensive huts.