Intro to Ice Climbing

If you’ve never climbed ice or even rock climbed before this is the place to start. During this Intro to Ice Climbing course participants will learn:

• How to provide a solid lead and toprope belay that makes you a sought after climbing partner.
• How ice screw protection and anchors work.
• How to safely put on and use ice climbing equipment such as crampons, ice tools, and ice screws.
• Basic ice climbing technique to make efficient use of energy and stay in balance.
• How to descend from ice climbs.
• Outdoor climbing etiquette and ethics for new outdoor leaders.
• After taking this climbing course participants should feel capable of climbing ice where leading is not needed.

No previous experience is necessary. If you have previous climbing experience indoors or on rock that can accelerate the learning process and while the ability to care for one’s self outdoors is helpful we’re happy to teach those skills during this course as well.

Lake City Ice Park
With so many ice routes to choose from this is an excellent location for a day or a weekend to really dive deep into the basics of ice climbing and learn everything to climb ice on your own.

Clear Creek Canyon
There are several easier ice climbs that generally form in the canyon and with short approaches they can make an excellent climbing venue for beginners to learn ice climbing skills.

North Cheyenne Canyon
With a couple good areas with moderate ice this is an excellent location to work on technique and for beginner climbers to learn the basics.

Best Places to Learn Basic Ice Climbing Skills
There are several locations that work well for this course due to reliable, high quality ice with minimal approaches. The venues we recommend are:

With the drips, seeps, and waterfalls slowly freezing in the winter a new world opens to climbers as the ice season begins. First high in the mountains and slowly descending into the valleys. While a background in rock climbing is helpful all it takes to start ice climbing is a little extra equipment and some new techniques. Strong wrists help as well but expert instruction will help you learn to ice climb in no time at all.

While we recommend people with no climbing experience take the Full Day to learn those with previous climbing and belaying experience may be able to learn the techniques faster if they already are competent in those skills.

Participants without the required skills may be asked to book additional days to ensure the best learning experience.