Top Climbers Head to Newfoundland for Ice

Ice climbing season is creeping into it’s fifth month in some part of Canada, which means climbers are in top winter climbing shape. This week, Jon Walsh, Michelle Kadatz, Will Mayo and Anna Pfaff are climbing new ice routes in Newfoundland.

In 2015, Mayo and Pfaff established the 220-metre Apocalypse Now WI7 M9 and in 2016, Mayo and Chelsea Rude established The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe M12 WI7. One of the most experienced Newfoundland climbers is Joe Terravecchia, who might be there now climbing.

Tip top, jolly good, off we go then. @pfaff_anna

A post shared by Will Mayo (@willmayo.us) on Feb 18, 2017 at 4:00pm PST

Fragments of the traditional mixed climbing concept driving our routes in Newfoundland and elsewhere (unabridged manifesto to follow): mixed climbing (climbing rock with ice tools) is aid. Aid climbing bolt ladders is not compelling. Recent sport mixed/dry-tooling climbs are largely manufactured by drilling holds. The tactics of Warren Harding and Cesare Maestri are long considered poor style.

A post shared by Will Mayo (@willmayo.us) on Feb 16, 2017 at 3:17pm PST

Day 1 : Cholesterol Wall, Newfoundland. Conditions : Full on. Notes : @willmayo.us sending the gnar ⚡️#neverstopexploring

A post shared by Anna Pfaff (@pfaff_anna) on Feb 18, 2017 at 2:31pm PST

Seeking shelter from the storm by cragging in the woods in Gros Morne. Lots of new route potential everywhere, for both steep pillars and trad mixed lines like the one in this photo. Good ice + good granite = good times! @arcteryx @scarpana @onwardup_official

A post shared by Jon Walsh (@jon.walsh) on Feb 16, 2017 at 4:21pm PST

Thanks to my Newfoundland b'ys at @climbwallnuts for the photo of my feature article in the latest issue of @grippedmagazine about the Eighth Wonder of the World: Gros Morne National Park, one of my favorite places in the Universe. #petzlgram @petzl_official @lasportivana @cilogear_official @julbousa

A post shared by Will Mayo (@willmayo.us) on Feb 18, 2016 at 11:00am PST