• Ice Climbing •

How Ice Climbing Works

by: Debra Ronca

Rating: ****

Ice climbing is an activity of ascending inclined ice formations, evolved form rock climbing and other mountaineering activities. It is done on features such as frozen waterfalls, icefalls, and cliffs and rock slabs covered with ice refrozen from flows of water. In High altitudes, rock climbers had to learn how to navigate icy and slippery areas as they worked their way up a mountain or rock wall. Eventually, climbers began to develop specialized tools and gear to get through those icy spots. Over time, climbers began to seek out strictly ice climbs.

Same as most mountaineering activities, ice climbing is done with protections such as ropes. The two most important equipment used in ice climbing are ice axes and crampons. Ice axes are held with your hands, and crampons go on the bottom of your shoes, like cleats to gain traction on the slippery ice. An excessive amount of tools and safety gear make ice climbing accessible for almost anyone. You can do less strenuous ice climbs in the sun, or take on advance multi-day steep climbs in sub-zero temperatures. With the right training, just about everybody can ice climb, as long as they're in excellent cardiovascular fitness and have a good strength-to-weight ratio. Experts recommend specific exercises to get your body ready for your first climb including squats, deadlifts, overhead press, pull-ups, step-ups and dips. Many professionals dip their hands and feet in the ice water before they climb so that their hands and feet generate heat faster than normal which prevents them to feel numb due to the cold environment.

This article got me really interested in ice climbing because I really enjoy extreme activities done in a great scenery such as this. Imagining a frozen waterfall and climbing up on it really is something to be excited about. It also emphasized on how safe this activity is compared to what it seems like, which makes it extreme in its own way with not much danger into it. The article provided the history of ice climbing and the equipment used which are really important factors to know before actually trying out the activity. I really find it much better than rock climbing since there's so much more to see around you. I really do hope to go ice climbing someday.