newb ice gear

Been rock climbing for years now but I have always been afraid of Ice. I am ready to move past my fears but before I can ask for someone to mentor me I need gear. What is a good starter set up for Ice? Do you need an ice harness or will my rock harness work? Will any dry rope do? Do I need a double rope system? I am also looking for advice on types of crampons ice tools ect.

Here's an excellent set of articles from Cascadeclimbers.com that goes into detail about all types of modern ice gear. This should help with the general stuff.

cascadeclimbers.com/article…

You should be going climbing with experienced folks for the first several times. Borrow their tools, try their crampons if you can. Your rock harness will be fine. Don't buy a rope unless you're the one doing the leading, or you make a deal with your pals (trade rope-for-instruction/mentoring).

Also browse the Ice Climbing forum here; there's much to read about tools for beginners and other hardware.

Also, you WILL need a helmet. Ice falls. Don't hang around (eat lunch, belay etc) where it might hit you.

As said above, any harness that you use for rock will work for ice. Make friends and borrow ice tools. Use whatever crampons you have for your first few outings. Any rope will do for top roping.

All the specialized gear you are mentioning comes after you've been following or top roping for a season. Having a warm down jacket to wear when sitting at the base of a crag is nice.

if u really want to ease into it... try dry tooling at City Rock Gym (tools no crampons) in Co.Springs where you can climb on pretend ice w/optional clothing choices

You absolutely need a helmet, warm jacket, and a few pairs of gloves. Borrow everything else if you can at first so you can figure out a) what you really need and b) if you even like ice climbing. There's no shame in not enjoying an uncomfortable and sometimes scary pastime.

Thanks for the advice

So I say this from experience. Finding a mentor can be hard. and with other forms of climbing thats what I did. But I highly recommend you read both Craig leuben and Will Gadd's Ice climbing books. some things are outdated. for instance I don't know any modern or decent Ice climber I've met that still uses leashes. leashless all the way.
as my other advice, take a proper course and start from there. Technique is very very important on ice, and you don't need someone else bad habits. Then find people and go from there.
Ice harness is nice, but for first season a rock harness will be fine. as well as alot of people still use plastics. double syththtics are nice but still cost alot. but be safe enjoy. Ice climbing is alot of fun.