German climber Ines Papert is no stranger to British climbers having made several visits to sample the delight's of Scotland's winter climbing, impressing as the first woman to climb grade VIII with her ascxent of Blood Sweat and Frozen Tears, before returning to put up her own grade IX Bavarinthia in the Northern Corries of the Cairngorm.

This autumn Ines is returning with a new book and four dates as part of her ’Harbin Roadshow - from Bergen to Barcelona' lecture tour. Her is some information from her press release:

With breathtaking photos from Harbin, China, and a fantastic multi-media lecture, world-renowned climber Ines Papert tours Europe during the coming fall and winter months with her Harbin Roadshow – presented by Arc’teryx.

Ines Papert. Copyright Franz Walter

Starting in Germany in October and arriving in the UK in November, the Harbin Roadshow will tour Europe for the 2012 winter season. The show unites an exhibition of the photographic work of Franz Walter (who accompanied Ines on her spectacular climbing venture in the “City of Ice” in the Manchurian city of Harbin in China), with Ines Papert’s presentation about her spectacular climbs in the world’s most remote places.

Each of the 19 stops on the tour, which is organized by sponsoring partner Arc’teryx, will exhibit the photographic work for two weeks after Ines’ initial presentation. Cities on the road show will include London, Oslo, Cologne and Barcelona.

Ines climbing in Harbin Copyright Franz Walter

The city of Harbin has been presenting the international Ice and Snow Festival since 1985. The megacity in the Chinese northeast region is congealed for the whole winter at temperatures below -25°C. On a space covering more than 16 soccer fields, a wonder world of ice emerges every winter: the gigantic towers, castles, bridges and cathedrals are built from solid ice, taken from the river nearby.

It took Ines and her team more than a year to finally obtain permission to climb this unique artificial world of ice. For the former ice-climbing world champion Ines Papert, Harbin was not so much about the athletic challenge than about the breathtaking scenery.  Franz Walter captured the almost surreal experience in artistic photographs. The exhibition shows works shot during the short periods of warm, dim daylight as well as illuminated night shots of an icy city sparkling in hundreds of colors. 

Ines climbing in Harbin Copyright Franz Walter

The Lecture

The expedition into Papert’s world takes 90 minutes. The professional mountaineer talks about conquering summits as well as about failures, about friendship and loneliness, hardships and moments of pure bliss – a capturing presentation illustrated by spectacular imagery and video. The German athlete talks about her climbing highlights, but also about her personal development: she has grown from a successful competitive climber to one of the world’s most accomplished mountaineers, who seeks out new challenges and fresh experiences like the Harbin climbs.  

Ines Climbing at Harbin. Copyright Franz Walter

The Photographs

Franz Walter, who has accompanied Ines Papert on several expeditions, is an alpine photographer and video artist. His images of Ines’ climbs in the Harbin’s City of Ice are true works of art. The photographs will be shown for roughly two weeks at each venue and are also available on the project’s website: http://franzwalter.com/harbin

Venues in UK: Kendal, Ambleside, Hathersage and London. See Climb Events for more details.

For more details see: http://ines-papert.de/roadshow