Ice Climbing

ICE CLIMBING

ICE CLIMBING LESSONS - are taught in the cold months, December through March (depending upon conditions) in the Boulder area where naturally occuring ice formations are ideal for instruction and climbing under a wide variety of situations at all levels of difficulty. We also travel to other ice climbing areas.

We offer instruction for everyone, novice to advanced. Our beginning courses provide a solid foundation which has enabled many of our students to go on to successfully complete some of the most difficult and challenging climbs all over the world. We teach snow climbing and glacier travel in the Indian Peaks area May through October. We organize climbing trips to places such as the Alps. See our Climbing Trips page.

For a portion of each winter we travel to the historic Victorian mining town of Ouray, CO in the San Juan Mountains to hone our ice climbing skills. Ouray offers predictably fantastic ice climbs in both the Ouray Ice Park and the surrounding mountains. The combination of reasonably priced lodging, good restaurants, nearby airports, and good local skiing, provide the perfect setting for practicing one of mountaineering’s most important skills, ice climbing. An activity that at first glace appears strenuous and possibly crazy, proves to be easier to pick up than rock climbing. Most new climbers are able to climb WI 3 their first day and quickly progress to WI 4 and WI 5 during the week.

Ouray has two things that are rare in ice climbing: a very short approach, and dozens of routes within close proximity of each other. The Ouray Ice Park is a 2-mile long section of the Uncompagre Gorge, which has been set up with manufactured ice climbs. In the winter a full-time staff maintains an elaborate series of pipes, nozzles, and hoses, and produces hundreds of high quality ice routes with solid anchors at the top of each route. The park provides an ideal spot for new climbers to learn basic ice climbing technique and for experienced climbers to push their climbing skill to new levels. On days when the park is busy and the avalanche conditions in the surrounding mountains are acceptable, we have the option to venture onto alpine ice routes that range from one to several pitches.

Ice climbing can be enjoyed as an activity on its own or can provide good training for summer climbs in the Cascades or European Alps. Efficiently climbing ice is an essential skill for climbs of Denali, Cho Oyu, and other expedition peaks where the Northwest Mountain School operates. In each course we cover basics such as equipment selection, placing and removing ice screws, footwork, low angle, vertical and even over-hanging ice climbing technique and movement skills. Additionally we teach mixed climbing techniques on routes that involve climbing both rock and ice. Other topics include: building ice anchors, equalizing anchors, rappelling and belaying, belaying the second from above, and belay station management.

This program is appropriate for beginning climbers, and can be accelerated to accommodate those who already have ice-climbing experience. Petzl has hooked us up with the most modern ice climbing tools, crampons, helmets and harnesses for our customer’s use and local shops rent a variety of ice climbing boots.

For the full adventure consider combining your ice climbing adventure with a day of skiing at nearby Telluride, or drive a few hours to sample the amazing climbing to be had in the desert of Southeastern UT.

Experience the exciting world of waterfall ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies! In this introductory course, learn the basics of ice climbing, take your ice climbing skills to new heights, visit different climbing destinations and meet climbing partners when you take these skill-building courses. Each course has a mandatory pre-trip meeting to review logistics as well as fitting gear for the course.

Join us on the East’s best ice..500’ of ice in one day! All equipment provided and transportation available (at cost sharing). View the Adirondack Mountains as you have never seen them before! 1:2 Instructor to Student Ratio. Three days in February.

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