ToME WikiOn the wishlist of someone who travels to Helcaraxe are flight or levitation (to avoid slipping on ice to an unwanted direction), cold immunity/double resistance to cold/single resistance and plenty of healing (because it's really cold) and for a bonus intelligence and wisdom sustained (in case you hit your head on ice).
Yes, Helcaraxe is cold. Most potions that lie on the ground quickly shatter. Potions also tend to shatter in your inventory unless you have at least double resistance to cold. Helcaraxe is guarded by the White Balrog, which is a cold-based version of a balrog.
In Helcaraxe everything is also double-sized. Corridors are two squares wide, and doors, traps, rubble, and fountains appear in matched groups of four. Traps and rubble are plentiful (slingers will find plenty of ammo material here, although the relatively low dungeon levels means a lower chance of making exceptional artifact ammo). Monster groups are initially very sparse (usually only one monster in four squares), which lessens the effectiveness of area spells.