Abstract. Upright folds in ice sheets are observed on the cm scale in cloudy bands in drill cores and on the km scale in radargrams. We address the question of the folding mechanism for these folds by analysing the power spectra of fold trains to obtain the amplitude as a function of wavelength signal. Classical Biot-type buckle folds due to a rheological contrast between layers develop a characteristic wavelength, visible as a peak in the power spectrum. Power spectra of ice folds, however, follow a power law, with a steady increase in amplitude with wavelength. Such a power spectrum is also observed in a folded, highly anisotropic biotite schist and in a numerical simulation of the deformation of ice Ih with a strong alignment of the basal planes parallel to the shortening direction. This suggests that the folds observed in ice are primarily due to the strong mechanical anisotropy of ice, which tends to have a strong lattice preferred orientation due to ice-sheet flow.