How to get into Ice Climbing?

Hi all!

I'd love to get into ice climbing, and may have a couple of weeks at the beginning of December to commit to it. I see the clinics at Bozeman Ice Fest have filled up, so I'm wondering what this community thinks my best bet is. Perhaps go to Ouray, hire a guide for a day or two, and then look for partners? Still go to Ice Fest even if I can't do the clinics? Open to all sorts of options. Thanks!

Dominick Francks wrote:

Perhaps go to Ouray, hire a guide for a day or two, 

Perhaps not, in the first half of December. The park hasn't posted an opening day yet, but it's usually mid-December and more and more commonly gets pushed back from there. Welcome to the 21st century climate.

How does the saying go? Spend a few thousand on expensive and specialized tools and clothes, tire yourself out with a steep walk around the mountains, see that nothing is "in" and go back home and watch videos of ice climbing.  

But seriously, the fest without a clinic spot isn't a great place for a beginner.  All the good beginner ice will be reserved for clinics.  I'd suggest going to bozeman and hiring a guide for sometime outside of the fest.  They will outfit you with everything you need and hyalite is a good place to go first, although you might get a bit spoiled as few other natural places are as dense.  

Ice fest sucks for actually climbing anything, great for socializing.

If you know you want to do it, just buy the gear you need now. Do your homework, but I think it's better to buy now, climb a lot, then sell it if you wish you had bought something else. Nothing keeps you from ice climbing like not having your own gear. Lotta people tell beginners to try lots of gear before they commit, but it's not like you are committing to that gear forever. 

When I started, I had easy access to top rope drytooling, but very limited access to ice. Even though pure drytooling is very different from climbing pure ice, it got me comfortable with tools and crampons, and then ice felt much easier by comparison. I was just making do with what I had, but it worked out well. There is a fair bit of drytooling in the PNW, but oftentimes crags are on the DL so ask around where you live.

Step one:) Buy the cheapest crampon compatible mountaineering boots in your size 

Step two:) Find someone at your local gym who ice climbs and doesn't mind sharing crampons/tools

Step three:) Offer to belay in exchange for top rope time 

Step four:) Buy your new friend beer 

If you are an independent learner, already know how to rock climb, and can safely set up a top rope then it doesn't have to be a complicated process. Rent/borrow/buy some gear and head somewhere with easily-accessible waterfalls that consistently freeze. Find a walk/scramble up to the top of a frozen falls and set up a top-rope off of some kind of natural anchor like a tree, boulder, chockstone etc. Play around on TR for a day or two. Set some screws on the ground, then try setting them on TR. Make some V-threads and A-threads (on the ground). Practice the movement, swings, and hooking. Get to know how your crampons work. See how thin of ice you can get away with climbing on. Mostly, learn how to survive and be comfortable (somewhat) at those kind of temperatures. 

If you still want to pursue ice climbing then it's just a matter of finding a partner, acquiring/borrowing/renting gear, and climbing some easy objectives to build experience..

TL:DR it's the same process as learning rock climbing just a cold and inhospitable environment with slightly different gear.  

a few thousand? you can get old tools for 100, spatniks for 200, crampons for 30, and a dry rope for 1-200. Just find a friend and get out there. Ice climbing wi2-3 is super, super easy. 

Buying used gear is the ethical way to try out something new.  

Dude, you have what looks like great ice in your own backyard. Hire a local guide to show you the ropes. Check it out.

Washington state ice

J C wrote:

If you know you want to do it, just buy the gear you need now. Do your homework, but I think it's better to buy now, climb a lot, then sell it if you wish you had bought something else. Nothing keeps you from ice climbing like not having your own gear. Lotta people tell beginners to try lots of gear before they commit, but it's not like you are committing to that gear forever. 

Good advice right here.
Doesn't mean you have to buy new stuff or the most expensive but for sure having your own gear will allow you to take spontaneous trips and go with other (more experienced) people.

Scott D wrote:

TL:DR it's the same process as learning rock climbing just a cold and inhospitable environment with slightly different gear.  

A small fall ice climbing can result in major injuries that could be lifelong chronic issues.  That is far different than rock climbing, where falling off is the norm, even encouraged.

OP, you will significantly shorten your learning curve and increase your safety if you learn to ice climb from a mentor, guide, or other experienced and safe ice climber.

https://willgadd.com/ice-climbing-is-not-rock-climbing/

Oh, and also, don't buy $1000+ of gear before your first ice climbing trip, just borrow or rent it.  Conversely, don't try to learn to ice climb on a pair of leashed straight shafted tools from 1992 in the interest of saving money. 

Just  don't fall.  Ice  climbing is easy.  

Kyle Tarry wrote:

A small fall ice climbing can result in major injuries that could be lifelong chronic issues.  That is far different than rock climbing, where falling off is the norm, even encouraged.

OP, you will significantly shorten your learning curve and increase your safety if you learn to ice climb from a mentor, guide, or other experienced and safe ice climber.

https://willgadd.com/ice-climbing-is-not-rock-climbing/

Oh, and also, don't buy $1000+ of gear before your first ice climbing trip, just borrow or rent it.  Conversely, don't try to learn to ice climb on a pair of leashed straight shafted tools from 1992 in the interest of saving money. 

Agreed. You also have a lot of objective hazards to deal with which are less present in rock climbing. Do you know where to position your belayer so you don't concuss them? Can you look at a climb and know that the whole thing isn't going to collapse on you? Can you assess avalanche conditions? Do you care enough to be tracking the weather almost daily to inform those decisions?

I track the weather daily the entire season in the places that will climb.   But heck they have to learn somehow and most of us lived  despite not having the internet, good weather reports and professional instruction. 

Kyle Tarry wrote:

A small fall ice climbing can result in major injuries that could be lifelong chronic issues.  That is far different than rock climbing, where falling off is the norm, even encouraged.

OP, you will significantly shorten your learning curve and increase your safety if you learn to ice climb from a mentor, guide, or other experienced and safe ice climber.

https://willgadd.com/ice-climbing-is-not-rock-climbing/

Oh, and also, don't buy $1000+ of gear before your first ice climbing trip, just borrow or rent it.  Conversely, don't try to learn to ice climb on a pair of leashed straight shafted tools from 1992 in the interest of saving money. 

The gwi was first climbed with a giant mountaineering axe. Straight tools work just fine, I learned on bd rages that were mostly straight and they crushed. Also, renting gear is a waste of money. 

jake renfree wrote:

The gwi was first climbed with a giant mountaineering axe. Straight tools work just fine, I learned on bd rages that were mostly straight and they crushed. Also, renting gear is a waste of money. 

Yeah people seem to forget that many people climbed much harder using “old” equipment than they ever will. 

jake renfree wrote:

 bd rages that were mostly straight 

Huh?  They had good clearance--thought I'd gone to heaven after my Pulsars (after my Chouinards).

rages had sucky skinny slippery handles but still much friendlier on your knuckles than all the tools I climbed on untill about 2001 when I got Grivel machines. 

jake renfree wrote:

The gwi was first climbed with a giant mountaineering axe. Straight tools work just fine, I learned on bd rages that were mostly straight and they crushed. Also, renting gear is a waste of money. 

If you walk around any ice climbing area, 99.9% of people will be on modern tools, including plenty of guys who used to climb WI5 with straight shafts and leashes.  Why?  Because it's easier and more fun.

Kyle Tarry wrote:

If you walk around any ice climbing area, 99.9% of people will be on modern tools, including plenty of guys who used to climb WI5 with straight shafts and leashes.  Why?  Because it's easier and more fun.

It's also fun to get tools for 80$ total instead of 380$

jake renfree wrote:

It's also fun to get tools for 80$ total instead of 380$

Ah, yes, the conundrum of "do I enjoy the climbing while using effective tools, or do I enjoy the smugness of being a cheap bastard while thrashing up some WI4".  Don't worry, I've spent years and years with the same tools.  And having climbed since truly straight shafts, every new generation of tools lets me climb more solidly and with more enjoyment.