Why do people climb ice?

Ice & mixed for me can be so inspiring since it takes you to places you wouldn't ordinarily go, allows you to see things you wouldn't ordinarily see, expands your options for climbing, helps you explore, helps fill out your climbing skill set, and often gets you away from crowds. It can give you a certain satisfaction unattainable on just rock. Also, with the improvements in clothing systems and gear, you can dial in and keep pretty warm in most average ice conditions. Finally, you can frequently climb the same climb in different conditions and it can be like a totally new climb.

To climb mountains
To have fun
To challenge one's self on a different medium
To explore new places and things
To bleed
To be scared
To feel accomplishment
To hear the purchase of the axe into the ice
To screw things
To hang out with friends doing something that might feel productive
To escape death

Why do you do anything?

Oh yeah and ice is pretty

Well Jeff, can I assume you’re asking me?
I really only wanted to post a funny picture with a nice caption for it. But, here is your answer, besides head

To See my breath in the cold morning, to see a white world, to hold a tool of unparallel uniqueness in my hand, to yell "off belay" through the wind blown snow, to stand on top of a North Face route, to be apart of something, Alpinism. TO see beyond only the warm rock of the lowlands, to see one of your favorite mountains in the evening alpenglow, and to go to the same place and climb the same route a hundred different times.

climber73 wrote: I used to think that as well. Now nothing quite compares to leading ice. After leading my first and only WI5 I realized that I'd never really been runout on rock before... even though I thought I was. Ice is just another discipline in the quiver for opening up new possibilities. To me, the perfect route requires expertise in many facets of climbing (rock, ice, aid, mixed). The more ingenuity a route requires the more rewarding it seems to be. All that said, ice climbing is just really fun.

I use to think the same way as you. Then I was leading a WI5 and the chunk of ice I was on collapsed and almost took out my belayer, sent me down to my 1st ice screw that popped out and then my 2nd screw held and saved my ass. Then I looked down and realized that I was about 4 feet from the ground, after that I changed my views on the stability of ice. The ice was good, not chandelier or anything of the sort, good, blue, plastic ice. I still feel I did everything right as far as my lead but like I said you have very little control or thought perception when it comes to ice. When it's ready to go it goes and you have very little control of that.

To give my ADD head a break from all the static in the background and just being able to focus for once man. Clears the mind and settles the soul. The exercise and endorphins are a nice bonus.

Tom Hanson wrote:Ice climbing season is over here in Colorado. Temps near 70 this coming Saturday!

Wish I could say the same up here in Vermont...Although the days are finally getting longer again, high temps have dipped into the upper teens for the umpteenth time, the snow doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, and those damn frozen icicles seem to be growing fatter and longer again...guess I should go sharpen my tools.

And to answer the question: I have no effin' clue why I climb ice...it scares the bajesus outta me, and I hate festering below a frozen medium that is tres, TRES temporary!! Perhaps it's because climbing rock seems way better after a season of suffering.

Focus,
five hour round trips to Vail on bad roads,
not needing digit strength,
one swing one stick,
plastic blue ice,
coming from a rock roof to a hanging cicle,
Ouray,
figure fours,
seeing the looks on people's faces when you tell them what you dig,
sounds,
More focus,
I have no idea

Because the bars aren't open yet.

Because it's there.......

One day.......

Then gone the next......

Nothing else like it..

Why? Why not?

a picture is worth a thousand words. my thousand word essay:

micahisaac, you were not listening, for one to have fun climbing ice there must be pucker factor or you must not be able to climb pumpy 5.11 so that it is a challenge to you.

Sure mixed and alpine are more fun then ice but the question was not Why to people alpine climb? or Why do people Mixed climb? It was why do people ice climb? If you have done a few single pitch ice routes in the ouray ice park or any other hell hole for that matter you have plenty of experience for damn near anything you will get on in the mountains.

Peace and Love,
Ben

Ben Kiessel wrote:micahisaac, you were not listening, for one to have fun climbing ice there must be pucker factor or you must not be able to climb pumpy 5.11 so that it is a challenge to you. Sure mixed and alpine are more fun then ice but the question was not Why to people alpine climb? or Why do people Mixed climb? It was why do people ice climb? If you have done a few single pitch ice routes in the ouray ice park or any other hell hole for that matter you have plenty of experience for damn near anything you will get on in the mountains. Peace and Love, Ben

i'm not going to agree whole-heartedly with you on that one... just because someone's gotten some single-pitch ice routes in the Park does in no way make them experienced enough to come out and play in the mountains.

There's much to playing out here than just knowing how to move over ice. Much, much more.

Stymingersfink, your right I did not write what I was actually thinking. I don't think that climbing some ice prepares you for avalanches, cornices, reading weather, etc. I do however think that climbing a little ice in the park would prepare you for vast majority of ice you will encounter in the mountains. I'm saying a little ice prepares you for ice not snow, rock and everything else.

Doug wrote, "being able to climb one fresh, hard ice pitch after another (and then another..and another...) takes a lot more strength/endurance then being able to climb a pumpy 5.11 pitch."

Sure, it takes more endurance then climbing one pitch of 5.11 but it does not take more strength/endurance then climbing pitch after pitch of 5.11. Whether your leading every pitch or swinging leads you get a break. If your soloing 1,500' of consistent WI5 then yes that is harder then 5.11. Maybe more like easy 5.12.

Ben

Stymingersfink, I like your taste in booze. You always seem to have a good pic of some good looking whiskey. This is how I picture your perfect ice climb.

The crux is to be able to have the desire to get back on once you fall.

Ben Kiessel wrote:micahisaac, you were not listening, for one to have fun climbing ice there must be pucker factor or you must not be able to climb pumpy 5.11 so that it is a challenge to you. Sure mixed and alpine are more fun then ice but the question was not Why to people alpine climb? or Why do people Mixed climb? It was why do people ice climb? If you have done a few single pitch ice routes in the ouray ice park or any other hell hole for that matter you have plenty of experience for damn near anything you will get on in the mountains. Peace and Love, Ben

Wow Ben you seem a little jaded. Or are you trolling?
There are NO absolutes in climbing. What makes you happy is not what has to make anyone else happy. By unilaterally saying "for one to have fun..." implies an unrealistic universality to the concept of fun. Some of us like to have fun without having the meaning of fun dictated to us. We just like to have our own definition of fun.
I am glad for you that 5.11+/5.12-/WI5 is a pumpless boredom. But not everyone is lucky enough to be such a hardman. The newbie out for a few introductory laps at the Ice Park is still likely having fun flailing and learning even if that isn't fun for you. Suggesting that a few single pitch ice climbs in Ouray prepares one for ice climbing in the mountains is tantamount to saying a few bungee jumps prepares one for BASE jumping.

jon jugenheimer wrote: TO see beyond only the warm rock of the lowlands, to see one of your favorite mountains in the evening alpenglow, and to go to the same place and climb the same route a hundred different times.

Now this cat gets it!

As Mark Twight said, "it doesn't have to be fun to be fun."

Rick Witting wrote:As Mark Twight said, "it doesn't have to be fun to be fun."

Back from my Adventure Racing days... "if you're having fun, you're not trying hard enough"

I like ice climbing. That is enough for me.