The trophy presentation ceremony will also see the French Alpine Club awards its yearly grant, for the best expedition project organised by young climbers. These five days will be for climbers of various nationalities, a way to celebrate the New Year and the start of the new century. This recently evolved sport consists of climbing waterfalls petrified by the winter freeze. For a short season these icefalls provide a unique playground for those intrigued by cold exposed situations. They demand of the climber both strenght of character and commitment, as well as experience.
Ice is a constantly changing phenomenon.
It evolves according to variations in temperature and the laws of water science. To the eye, it takes on fantastic and unreal shapes, and it is this which attracts the climbers. This event enables those drawn to such a sport to meet every year in a prime european site. Based in the Fournel and Freissini res valleys in the heart of the Ecrins National Park, the venue offers participants a hugely varied choice in diversity, number and heigh of icefall. The warm atmosphere created by the participants has made the meetings an occasion for easy exchange and friendship.