Climbing including: Ines Papert scale skyscrapers of ice

gigantic towers, impressive buildings, bridges, slides and spectacular cathedrals are built from individual bricks and blocks of ice. They are extracted from the frozen Songhua River, which divides the city into a northern and southern. Even Sun-Island, the summer recreation park in Harbin, in the winter months changes and becomes the so-called Snow World, where international artists create giant snow sculptures.
"When a year ago a journalist friend asked me if I could imagine to climb up these great buildings of ice, at first the idea seemed audacious," says Papert, intrigued by fantastic images. When finally they did know that Harbin had never before had such a request, this has made the company more so tempting, but at the same time more difficult.

To the organizers, in fact, the idea in principle like, but at the same time had large doubts.
tools would damage the buildings? It would have been guaranteed the safety of the athlete? After a year of painstaking preparations and a great deal of persuasion, all doubts were dispelled and Ines Papert has been allowed to climb as the first official sport of ice buildings in Harbin.

"After communicating early painful I went to Harbin with the expected relatively small, or say I did not know precisely what went meeting. So I was naturally very pleased with the positive reactions. Both the organizers and visitors of the festival my action of ice climbing really liked. Especially in the night session we had a lot of viewers, "confides the athlete sponsored Gore-Tex.

At a sporting level, the project was obviously a great challenge for the quadruple world champion in ice climbing. The company Harbin was rather a project of sporting, cultural and especially urban.
"Ice climbing in a city of nine million people in the far north of China? It was an unusual and very exciting. We had exciting experiences and intense encounters, in part affected. This did not expect. We were welcomed with open arms and with great curiosity. "
The results of this unusual expedition are beautiful impressions of climbing from the cold, stimulating encounters and friendship with the future. "Andes", Kang Hua, a mountain guide in Beijing was not the insurer of Ines Papert but also an integral part of the team right from the planning stage: "

The video:

Here is a brief interview of the climber Ines Papert
Ice climbing in Harbin, China. How did this unusual project?
A year ago I was contacted by a journalist friend. He had seen pictures of the Harbin Ice Festival and asked me if I could imagine to climb up these beautiful buildings of ice. Spontaneously I said yes.
Why?
I am a very open and curious and I'm interested in other cultures. The idea of ​​traveling to China to implement a project that might seem risky to me like the first time. I also lured the idea to climb on these wonderful sculptures. For me there was an extreme challenge in sports, but rather an art project, or better sports and culture. When we sent the first e-mail to the organizer and we knew that they had never received a request of this kind, of course, made even more interesting thing. The organization of the company, however, has proved a real challenge, comparable with the preparations for an expedition itself.
How has your project to local people? < br> I left for Harbin expecting relatively soon and without a clear idea of ​​what awaited me. So I was really happy with the positive reactions. Both organizers and visitors of the festival my action on the ice climbing loved it. Especially the night sessions have been a large number of spectators. I think that everyone involved has been a complete success.
Climbing at these temperatures has led to some problems?
In fact, it was really cold in Harbin. By day, minus 20, minus 30 degrees at night. For a cascade of ice would be too dangerous to climb with temperatures so low. The positioning of the tool would be created by ice instantly cracks large voltage, which would break the ice. A Harbin Instead, the buildings were constructed of individual blocks of ice, similar to the Egyptian pyramids. This has made it easier for the company. From the point of view of the ice and then the ascent no problems. Indeed, the positioning of the screws for the insurance has been difficult, because the ice was as hard as concrete. Of course the fingers of the hands and my feet froze and s'intorpidivano within a very short time. But there were opportunities to warm up. In this way I've gotten pretty good with the cold.
Have you met the artists of ice sculptures in Harbin?
Yes It was a wonderful experience. We are bound by a common passion for the ice. See, as in a few days by a large block of ice using simple tools and a strictly manual labor comes a magnificent sculpture, it was awesome. A natural waterfall ice, on which I usually climb, in a certain way is also a work of art. Also like the ice climber with ice sculptors I have in common the theme of transience. Dialogue with the artists in this respect was very interesting.
What do you take home from this trip?
many fascinating experiences and intense encounters, some even moving. I was enormously impressed by the hospitality of China. Really did not expect. Have dealt with us at all times, have helped us in every circumstance, we were welcomed with open arms and with great curiosity. In the end we were even invited to dinner at her parents of our guide. Once you actually (laughs) - in the frame sport - sitting next to the mayor of Harbin, Zhang Xiaolianbei, at an official banquet for excellence.