Hey guys!

For my last passion blog, I wanted to touch on a lesser-known discipline of climbing that is close to my heart – ice climbing! Sadly, the local season is coming to an end as we transition out of winter and into warmer spring days; however, that does not mean the glaciers in Alaska, Iceland, Canada, or other colder countries will be unclimbable.

Ice climbing introduces an entirely different level of climbing, using similar techniques to rock climbing, but instead with two ice axes and crampons. Additionally, it is a more static routine of movements, meaning you have to be more intentional about where you place your holds rather than taking a jump and hoping to make it (dynamic movements), as you sometimes see rock climbers do. Ice climbing requires your body to be square to the wall so as to get the best hold on the two front spikes of your toe crampons. If you don’t maintain this stance, the crampons slip, or the ice below will crumble from an angled downturn.

*Fair warning, though, crumbling ice is not always bad when planting your axes because you want to drive them into the solid is instead of the brittle sun crust!*

If you ever endeavor to try ice climbing, you will find it much more tiring (and cold!) than rock climbing, often exaggerated by the added element of weather conditions in snow, wind, and ice. The “game” to be played in ice climbing is controlling your pump – it is not a matter of if you will pump your arms (working your grip strength to exhaustion), it is a matter of when and how you can deal with it.

While obvious places to ice climb are glaciers up in cold, northern countries and in the Alps, not everyone has the funds, time, or interest to travel that far. But what if I told you that in cold winters you could ice climb as close as 2 hours away from State College?

If you have ever taken the beautiful waterfall hike at Ricketts Glen in warm months (highly recommend), then you can imagine how gorgeous those frozen waterfalls must look in the dead of winter when the trail is closed – that is, unless you are there to ice climb…

You cannot pursue it for personal trips, but there are several companies that run guided trips up the falls at Ricketts Glen for a shiny fee if you are itching to try it locally. Several of these trips will be advertised as “ice hiking,” though, due to the combination of hiking and climbing. I actually know one of the guides who led trips this past winter and is a student at Penn State, if you would like to reach out or desire more information about next year.

I have been lucky enough to try ice climbing twice on the Matanuska and Falljokull Glaciers in Alaska and Iceland, and highly recommend the experience if you are ever looking to travel in that area! When looking to reserve trips on glaciers, though, always choose climbing over hiking trips. Hiking trips normally do not offer climbing opportunities.

That’s all for my Climbing Catalog! I hope you guys were able to learn a little something or be inspired to go out and try one of the many awesome types of climbing!