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Why should I love ice climbing?
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What I think is cool about ice, besides the stuff above, is that you can just find some ice and just climb it. No need to worry about weather or not there is good gear. No need to scrape dirt, lichen, ferns, etc off for before hand. No need to be scared by seeping at sections. Ice is just ice. It is not as fickle as rock, so long as it's not falling down at the moment. |
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I find that climbers either have no interest in ice climbing or are rabid enthusiasts. The minute I put crampons on....i knew ice climbing was for me. I'm crazy about ice climbing. I used to be depressed all winter; now I can't wait for winter! Not everyone wants to climb ice, but I find no lack of people who want to try it. |
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iceclimbing is merely the gateway drug into drytooling ;) |
J Squared wrote: And if you thought you were getting ridiculously pumped ice climbing, just wait until you jump on to a mixed or dry tool line...... |
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Ice is nice, that is all. |
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you can make fun of rock climbers cause they chickens and call it a day due to in climate weather. |
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First and foremost I think it is the "spirit of excitement, adventure & really wild things" I just like being out there and doing stuff that makes me feel adventurous. Beyond that, I like how it can be both brutal and delicate at the same time. I once heard it described as doing the same move over and over again. I suppose if you have one of those beat out WI2/3 routes in mid-winter it can be like that, but there are many more interesting routes to be enjoyed. The variety of ice and obstacles and movement to overcome them is immensely satisfying. Everything from candle-wax like chandeliers to huge cones of cauliflower blobs, ice chimneys and tool matching traverses. Many people, including me joke that you get a jug for every hold, but the reality is that on more complicated routes it's not as easy as just swinging your pick into the ice and pulling on the tool. It's not swinging into the top of that bulge because you're doing to knock a chunk down onto your face. It's finding that perfect hook in the chandelier and the knob that makes the great foot placement to get in a screw because you're calves are pumping. Delicate tapping into 1/2" ice to move through a thin section. It's not for everyone, but it is 100% for me. p.s. every time I put on my crampons I can't help but think how cool they are. Always makes me smile. |
Greg Shea wrote: ice is pretty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsFUtbX51Y pretty gnarly i think drytooling is the ultimate extension of climbing... you get just your hooks and your spikes, 4 points.. none of this "that foothold is too far away" BS... you make your own damn footholds and it's all about drawing perfect bodytension shapes. |
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Maybe you shouldn't love it. If it's not your cup of tea, no need to force it. I rarely rock climb but love ice climbing, I'd rather mountain bike when it's warm. As some previous posts have said, it's a mental game for me. Complete focus. I know that if I fuck up, it's probably going to hurt. I like this from an old thread for some reason: Buff Johnson wrote: It's not called Cold Fear for nothing. There are no absolutes in this thing, but it's always steeper than it looks. It's a gravity defiant frozen avalanche monster waiting for its next meal. Some days I wish I was Super-Blind so I couldn't see the impending disaster which awaits my mortal soul anything big, fat & blue - you can hang a tanker truck off of it. |
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I don't think anyone has said what is, to me at least, the most obvious reason: ice climbing takes you places. If you want to climb big, cold, ice covered mountains, then you need to know how to climb ice. It's definitely increasingly become a sport I love for its own merit (I mean, c'mon, it's wild and so fucking beautiful), but at its basic level it's still just another necessary skill-set for climbing mountains. |
Aaron T wrote:, but it's always steeper than it looks. YES |
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Ice climbing is scary,,,, but it works for me! |
Aaron T wrote: "It's a gravity defiant frozen avalanche monster waiting for its next meal". do you see that Skull / face at the start? |
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Ice climbing is ok. I do it when rock is too wet to climb and snow is shit to ski. It's also an exercise in how small I could shrink my brains - it's the closest I could get to freesoloing and I don't really enjoy freesoloing (which is stupid because soloing on say granite is way secure and safe than climbing with a rope on ice). It really doesn't make sense. |
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Got out for the maiden voyage January 6th. OP, I have zero idea why you should like ice. But I do. Very much. I'm doomed..... Best, OLH |
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I think not loving ice climbing is entirely normal, maybe more so as an experienced climber, as the OP says there doesn't seem to be much flow, just clunking your way up, especially if you are rock climbing in the harder grades it doesn't feel very smooth, if you climb 5.12 and you are toproping a WI4 I would expect that you are bored out of your mind.. I'm probably a good example, I have no love for ice that isn't engaging, I don't want to go climb ice just to be out of the house, it could probably be argued that I don't even like ice climbing.. on the other hand most of my most memorable days climbing are on ice... I find it easier to hit a flow state on ice than rock, when you hit the point where ice is hard for you it is suddenly very non trivial and the world shrinks to a point that is hard to get to rock climbing after you have been doing it for a while.. when it gets real on ice, and that varies from person to person, there is so much to be engaged with, such satisfaction from picking just the right spot, putting just enough force to move up but not break the ice... the amazing feeling of getting a sweet one swing stick and pulling through the crux.. and the places it puts you... there is not much more of a feeling that you don't belong than way off the ground on a giant icecicle and there's an immense appeal to that feeling for some of us.. |
Grant Kleeves wrote: Watching you climb in the Ouray IF comp was awesome, Grant! Also, nice name |
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As a new(ish) climber, I found ice easier than rock, as everything is a challenge for me. But, see, climb wherever it seems reasonable, wear crampons, mountaineering boots, grab tools...4' 11" suddenly doesn't matter. Stick, thud, thud. Repeat. Shit! I can do this! It was glorious. Best, Helen |
Old lady H wrote: It sure beats yanking a mighty lot of male chains. |
Joe Lindberg wrote: Where were you headed with this? I don't want to make unkind assumptions. Best, Helen |
