Editorial

Ice Climbing is Fun

“It doesn’t have to be fun, to be fun,” said top Canadian ice and alpine climber Barry Blanchard about suffering in the mountains. There are a lot of words that describe ice climbing, from dangerous to cruisy, but no matter what – it’s always fun. With over 20 years of ice climbing under my harness, I’ve been lucky to experience some of the most extreme conditions imaginable, from T-shirt weather on Weeping Wall in Alberta to -40 C on Le Gringalet in Quebec.

I’ve been scared off two-pitch WI2 climbs due to circumstances and have climbed notoriously hazardous lines like Slipstream in near-perfect conditions. I’ve bailed on WI5 curtains and have made first ascents of WI6 pillars. Some of my most memorable days are the ones spent at ice “crags,” where topropes hang down classic frozen lines and climbers take turns doing laps. Standing in groups of arm-flapping-to-stay-warm climbers layered in as much down as they brought is as special as lazing around rock walls with flip-flop-wearing bolt clippers.

If you’re an ice climber, then you know what I’m talking about – unless you’re one of the “few” who doesn’t like it. If you’ve never ice climbed then I suggest you try it this winter. Across Canada, there are countless of introduction climbs that offer safe and predictable experiences for your newbie season. You need more gear and apparel than you do for rock climbing, but it’s easy to find places to rent from. Hire a guide or reach out to local ice climbers to get started.

Ice climbing differs depending on where you go. If you’re in Northern Ontario, then you’ll be swinging tools into yellow/ brown ice that forms from groundwater. If you’re in the Rockies, then you’ll be climbing white ice that forms from snow melting in avalanche bowls or slopes. If you’re climbing ice in the Maritimes, you’ll find spray ice formed from cold temps and strong winds off the Atlantic. On the West Coast, you’ll be climbing ice that freezes and melts with the rapidly changing weather.

And then there are the screaming barfies: an intense burning, tingling, nausea-inducing feeling in your forearms, hands and fingertips. They’re also known as “hot aches” and are caused by tissue ischemia, a diminishing of blood flow to soft tissue and muscle. They hurt like hell and will have you coming back for more.

The ice can change from day to day and from climb to climb. Some climbs can go from hard to slushy in one day. Pro ice climber Will Gadd says that early season ice is “often little more than unconsolidated icicles stuck together with the climber’s optimism.” Hard ice is very cold and tough to climb, but ice softens up around freezing levels. I recommend going for your first ice climb on a - 5 C to -10 C day, so that you’re more focused on the climbing than on staying warm. Make this winter one full of ice climbing, because ice climbing is fun.