Conditions of the European ice season of 2006/2007 is the worst for some 250 years. To prove this, we went to
Kandersteg, west of Eiger in Berner Oberland, Switzerland.
The classic routes Blue Magic and Rübezahl (visible from the web cam) were building, but out of condition. After a week of rain an entire pitch of Rübezahl collapsed. Rattenpissoar dissappeared.
The remaining crag ice in Oeschinensee a few hundred meters higher was soaking. Nobody we heard of took the sheep-cabin to Breitwangflue to even look at routes like Crack Baby or Mach3.
Instead, the bolted crag at
Ueshinen was crowded. We met Slovenian, French, Swiss, German and Spanish climbers.
Lots of people gathered for the
ice festival. Some 100 climbers participated in the competition. For regular w*ankers, horizontal reach and ability to avoid popping off a plastic hold was crucial. For the top climbers, other moves proved decisive: Dynamic vertical reach from figure-of-four and static mantle from a tool blade.
Visiting Kandersteg for the 10
th season, our friend Rainer have attended all 7 Kandersteg festivals. He judges the 2007 party to be all time high. Nothing will withstand Slovenian determination ignited by AC/DC.
At another level of civilization, New Year’s Eve was celebrated to the tones of The Silverjet (genuine Swiss one-man cover band in a puffy shirt) with climbers in minority to Brittish tobbogan-families, thrilled by the tribal carnvival of the
Pelzmartiga.
Stories 
