You also have a lot of objective hazards to deal with which are less present in rock climbing.
I was just making do with what I had, but it worked out well.
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. 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.Īgreed. When I started, I had easy access to top rope drytooling, but very limited access to ice. Oh, and also, don't buy $1000+ of gear before your first ice climbing trip, just borrow or rent it. 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. That is far different than rock climbing, where falling off is the norm, even encouraged. TL:DR it's the same process as learning rock climbing just a cold and inhospitable environment with slightly different gear.Ī small fall ice climbing can result in major injuries that could be lifelong chronic issues. 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.
#Ice climber tools how to
Mostly, learn how to survive and be comfortable (somewhat) at those kind of temperatures. See how thin of ice you can get away with climbing on. Practice the movement, swings, and hooking. Make some V-threads and A-threads (on the ground). Set some screws on the ground, then try setting them on TR. 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. Rent/borrow/buy some gear and head somewhere with easily-accessible waterfalls that consistently freeze. 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.