From the category archives:
ESPN The Magazine profiles ice climber Will Gadd.
Gadd stands at the base of the 40-foot-high frozen waterfall and looks up. He kicks footholds with his crampons and swings his axes overhead, driving the points deep into the ice. He pulls with his arms and pushes with his legs, then kicks his feet and swings the [...]
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Today’s guest post is from Jenn Fields, who writes at http://www.jennfields.com.
I wasn’t sure what I’d get out of a weekend of ice climbing just with girls, because I’ve always climbed with boys. Of course I’d come away with sore shoulders, bigger calves and more mad girl-climbing skills, but what else would be on the table [...]
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Even though the ice is still not fat everywhere, it is definitely ice climbing season in many areas. Black Diamond has a good video tutorial on how to get prepared and sharpen your ice screws.
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When I lived in the Washington DC area, one of the (few) benefits was being able to get cheap flights on Southwest to New Hampshire. This allowed us to take trips for ice climbing in the White Mountains.
I attended the Mt. Washington Valley Ice Festival numerous times and had a blast. The ice climbing there [...]
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The cold weather keeps me thinking of ice climbing. Here’s a video of Will Gadd climbing icebergs.
A higher quality MOV video can also be found at National Geographic.
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The following is a collection of all the upcoming ice climbing festivals in 2008.
January 4 – 6, 2008
Kandersteg Ice Climbing Festival
The 8th annual Kandersteg Ice Climbing Festival will be held in the Bernese Oberland. Over 450 ice climbers are expected to attend this festival in Switzerland.
January 9 – 13, 2008
Ouray Ice Festival
The 13th annual Ouray [...]
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Taking place in New York’s Adirondacks, the 12th annual Mountainfest will take place this winter January 11-13, 2008.
A full schedule of classes include beginning through advanced ice climbing, snowshoe mountaineering, and avalanche fundamentals.
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Petzl has posted a recall for all its Petzl Charlet Sarken crampons.
Recent customer experience has shown that the front points of SARKEN crampons are susceptible to premature wearout following heavy use. This means cracking of the metal forefoot near the front point(s), followed by possible breakage if usage continues.
Petzl has stopped sales and production of [...]
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I heard some rumors about the ice climbing at the New River Gorge, but hadn’t had a chance to actually get up there this winter. With the arrival of March and the warmer weather, it looks like I’ll have to wait until next season to get some ice climbing in locally.
It’s really not that hard [...]
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The Alaskan Alpine Club has a unique web page that illustrates the actual construction of an artificial ice wall over the course of four months. They also have photos of some prior years ice walls. And finally, this page lists other ice climbing walls from around the world. Try building one of these in your [...]
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Two more ice climbing festivals are upcoming. The 8th annual Festiglace du Quebec sponsored by The North Face will be held February 18-20 in Pont-Rouge. Billed as the world’s biggest ice climbing event, the event promises gear demos and expert advice booths, free intro to ice climbing lessons, snowshoeing circuit and demos, professional and amateur [...]
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Sponsored by Red Bull, Cedar Falls, Iowa is hosting an ice climbing competition this weekend on silos.
For the past five years, University of Northern Iowa outdoor pursuits teacher Don Briggs has been icing down four silos for the purpose of climbing. The largest ice wall stretches 68 feet from the ground, while two others top [...]
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