Routesetting in Antarctica: Tips

This is probably a pretty odd question, but does anyone know of any resource (online or word of mouth), for some pre-planned climbing wall routes? I’m in charge of the climbing wall here at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and the wall desperately needs resetting. Thing is, with only one day off per week time is at a premium, so I wasn’t sure if there was anything out there that might expedite resetting the wall. It’s only about 20’’ high (hey, not a lot to work with down here), but could handle a decent range of (short) routes anywhere from 5.7-5.11. If anyone has any input on this it’d be extremely appreciated. Otherwise I’ll just try to set from memory.

Probably pretty hard to pickup a copy of Self-Coached Climber down there, so my usual recommendation is out. Provided you've got good internet connection, watch as many videos as you can of people climbing smoothly, and try to plan out your hold placement to allow for that movement. The idea is that once you know what the geometry of a fun, flowy move is, you'll be able to set it in your head rather than according to some premade plan.
You might have good luck shotgunning holds up more or less at random then adding routes after the fact

Build a moon board and buy moon holds. That's about the only thing I know of that's pre arranged. Otherwise get to work!

There are a number of route setting books out there that may help you. I havent read any of them so I cant make a specific suggestion though.

On a side note, do you do any ice climbing in Antarctica? Seems like it could have some of the best ice in the world in parts.

I bet ice down there is pretty brittle under the pick. People have climbed it though, I am sure.

20" high? Sounds like someone could trip over it and hurt themselves.

All joking aside, are you going to put any bouldering traverses on the wall? That would give people a way to get in more of an endurance workout. If spare time is at a premium, it would also let people get in a workout without having to round up a partner.

Max and 20knN, I dimly recall seeing magazine pictures of someone (Mugs Stump?) climbing ice in Antarctica in the 1980s. There's also been a video posted on this site of the Hubner brothers climbing rock in Antarctica.

a tangential comment...I did a bunch of bouldering in the Dry Valleys. It was awesome.

It looks like I'll have to go from the Internet and muscle memory then (fortunately I'm pretty familiar with a lot of decent routes at various Earth Treks gyms and outdoor stuff in WV/NC). Going to be a couple of long nights off.

And yup, sadly it's only a 20' wall (Haha, I totally Spinal Tap'd that and said inches. 'Stonehenge' would be a great route name though). There used to be a pretty decent bouldering cave, but that building was torn down several seasons ago unfortunately.

As for climbing ice around here: not really. First is that it can lead to a firin' if you're caught, and second the ice is either too brittle or too hard. So it's bad sticks or shot forearms mostly. Some kiwis nearby suspect they might have some decent ice, but nothing I've ever heard lends credence to the idea it's worth climbing. And the closest rock to McMurdo is Castle Rock, which is a chossy pile of volanic ejecta. There's a lone set of bolts on it somewhere, but the formation is in a consistent state of falling down, so even top-roping is ill-advised. To my knowledge there isn't really anything near station. You have to go into the Transantarctic mountains and other ranges to get at any decent stuff.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys! Time to get to it.

Hey Travis, Are you still in Antarctica and looking after the McMurdo wall? A shame that the bouldering room was recently pulled down, do you happen to know if there are any plans to build another? And/or are there any pull up bars or finger boards around the station? I'm asking these questions as I'm a very keen climber and I'm going to McMurdo this coming Dec/Jan, so I'm keen to keep strong! Cheers in advance for any help!

Man you guys are bringing back childhood memories. My Dad wintered over Operation Deep Freeze '78...wish we had had the interwebs then. We stayed in touched via ham radio calls bounced all over the globe. You cats got it made nowadays.

I believe Dad's was the year the Chapel of the Snows burned down. Post some pics from "the ice"!

Haha, wow, old topic here! (forgot about this one). Anyway, no, there are no plans in place to rebuild the bouldering area, as the building that contained it was demolished. There's currently nowhere on station where it could be reconstituted. Trust me, we all looked all winter. There are a couple of hangboards around though, and a campus board.

Hey, Cheers for your reply Travis! Where abouts are the hang boards and the campus board? Are they in a gym? (is there a 'normal' gym at McMurdo?) or are they in people's private rooms? (as I might bring my own if so....) Will you be in McMurdo in Dec and Jan? it would be fun to meet if so!

Hi Ali, I'm assuming you have the answers to your questions as you've been down there now. I'm possibly heading to Mcmurdo Station in a couple weeks and have many of the same questions you did. Is there a gym set up down there? Also wondering about the climbing wall. I'm planning on bringing my shoes but should I bring my harness and chalk bag? I'm worried about the weight restrictions. Thanks!