Initiation/Progression
Ice climbing day trips for beginners to advanced:
Initiation
Ice climbing is a sport that can be done by a wide range of people.
Skills included are crampon and ice axe practice and explanations of basic climbing techniques.
Enjoy yourself!
 |  Price: 95 € per person. Max 3 - 8 people. Price includes: services of a mountain guide Not included: lifts meals technical equipment |
Progression
If you want to go further in ice climbing I'll be pleased to take you on longer climbs in these frozen wildernesses.
Chamonix has the most variety of ice waterfalls in the Haute-Savoie, with quick approaches to maximise the day!
| Price: 285 € for the climb. 1 - 2 people max, price to be divided between the number of participants. Price includes: services of a mountain guide Not included: lifts meals technical equipment |
Waterfall ice grading
The Canadian Rockies is widely recognised as the centre of the Ice Climbing universe, due to the vast amount of excellent ice within easy access. This discussion focuses on the waterfall ice rating system as used in the Canadian Rockies.
Testpiece examples are given. Note that ice grading, even more so than other climbing media, tends to be subjective and often does not reflect the difficulty of a route at any given time. Routes become much easier after the first ascent of the season. This is due to the cleaning of chandeliered ice and creation of "hooks", which are pockets formed by the tools' picks, reducing the effort expended in cleaning and tool placement.
Routes with high-flow seeps also tend to become easier as the season progresses due to the increase in volume of ice. Low-flow seeps, however (e.g. French Reality, Banff; Moonlight/Snowline, Kananaskis), often form early in the season (September-November) when the flow is good from latent summer heat, and then slow down or even stop with the deepening winter frost; subsequent ablation (and destruction by climbing) of the ice often makes for thinner and brittler ice with time.
Grading in the Canadian Rockies, especially recently, focuses on the steepness of a pitch, and NOT on the more subjective "feeling of difficulty" (mental aspects, e.g. protectability, exposure, commitment, etc.) or "technical difficulty" (e.g. chandeliers, bonding, etc.) during the first ascent. Hence the downgrading of several notorious routes, e.g. Sea of Vapours, which were in poor conditions during the first ascents.
A common use of the "+" designation is to indicate a higher level of technicality than is typical for the grade (e.g. chandeliers, poor bonding, etc.) that is consistent from year to year (i.e Wicked Wanda, WI4+, has vicious mushrooms on an otherwise low-angled route, and these features always exist from year to year, probably due to the winds).
Finally, Canadian Rockies WI grading does NOT have anything to do with whether a climb is multi-pitch or not. Therefore, a 4-pitch WI5 is not granted WI6 just because it's long, and likewise a 4-pitch WI6 is not given WI7.
WI2 - low-angled (60 degree consistent ice), with good technique can be easily climbed with one ice axe. Grades beyond this generally require the use of two ice tools.
WI3 - generally sustained in the 60-70 degree range with occasional near-vertical steps up to 4 metres (Cascade Waterfall, Banff; This House of Sky, Ghost River)
WI4 - near-vertical steps of up to 10 metres, generally sustained climbing requiring placing protection screws from strenuous stances (Professor's Falls, Banff; Weeping Wall Left, Icefields Parkway, Banff; Silk Tassle, Yoho; Moonlight & Snowline, Kananskis)
WI4+ - highly technical WI4, notoriously as "hard" as WI5 or even WI6! (Wicked Wanda, Ghost River)
WI5 - near-vertical or vertical steps of up to 20 metres, sustained climbing requiring placing multiple protection screws from strenuous stances with few good rests (Carlsberg Column, Field; The Sorcerer, Ghost River; Bourgeau Left Hand, Banff)
WI5+ - highly technical WI5, often "harder" than WI6 (Oh le Tabernac, Icefield Parkway; Hydrophobia, Ghost River; Sacre Bleu, Banff)
WI6 - vertical climbing for the entire pitch (e.g. 30-60 metres) with no rests. Requires excellent technique and/or a high level of fitness (The Terminator, Banff; Nemesis, Kootenay Park; Whiteman Falls, Kananaskis Country; Riptide, Banff)
WI6+ - vertical or overhanging with no rests, and highly technical WI6 (French Maid, Yoho; French Reality, Kootenay Park)
WI7 - sustained and overhanging with no rests. Extremely rare, near-mythical, and widely accepted testpiece examples of this grade don't exist in the Canadian Rockies. Note that many routes (e.g. Sea of Vapours, Banff; Riptide, Icefield Parkway, Banff) have been assigned WI7- to WI7+ but have been subsequently downgraded in latter years as they don't meet the strict criteria of steepness. In fact some local ice climbers have argued for Sea of Vapours (WI7+ originally) to be downgraded to WI5 or even WI4 simply because it's not steep enough.
See Alpinist's Climbing Grades section for a variation on this discussion: http://www.alpinist.com/p//climbing_notes/grades
[edit] Mixed ice grading
Roughly follows the WI rating system with respect to its physical and technical demands. Typically starts at M4. Subgrades of "-" and "+" are commonly used, although the distinctions are typically very subjective. The following table makes a comparison with the WI system and the Yosemite Decimal System. Comparing these is rough, and only gives an idea of the relative difficulty; the reason different systems exist in the first place is because it's difficult to compare grades between climbing media.
M4 - 5.8 - WI4 - slabby to vertical, some technical drytooling
M5 - 5.9 - WI5 - some sections of sustained drytooling
M6 - 5.10 - WI6 - vertical to overhanging with some difficult drytooling
M7 - 5.11 - WI7 - overhanging, powerful and technical drytooling, <10 m of "hard" climbing
M8 - 5.11+ - bouldery or longer cruxes than M7, some horizontal overhangs
M9 - 5.12- - vertical or steeper with sustained marginal or highly technical drytooling; or horizontal and juggy for up to a few body lengths.
M10 - 5.12
M11 - 5.12+
M12 - 5.13-
See Alpinist's Climbing Grades section for a variation on this discussion: http://www.alpinist.com/p//climbing_notes/grades
Belaying
In this climbing technique, you are going to use either running belays or fixed belays. A running belay on ice is similar to a running belay on rock or snow. The leader of the climb puts protection and clips the rope through it. The next climber puts away the protection. There should be at least two points of protection between the leader and the next climber. Fixed belays, on the other hand, require a belayer, belay anchor, and points of protection. A belay anchor is attached to a cliff in supporting a belay or toprope. In using either a running- or fixed belay, it is necessary that you have enough knowledge on boot/ice-screw belay techniques.
[edit] Leading
Leading refers to the act of leading a climb and thus, requires a leader and a follower. This ice climbing technique entails putting protection while ascending. In doing so, leading is done in sections. The leader places the protection as he/she climbs until he/she reaches the top of a pitch. At the top, the leader builds a belay anchor with which to belay the second climber. While the second climbs, he/she removes the protection placed by the leader. When the second climber finishes, they both proceed to the second pitch.
[edit] Abseiling
Also called rappelling, abseiling uses a fixed rope to descend. This technique is not only used to go down after a climb. It can also be used when trying new climbing routes and when there is a seemingly difficult access to the start of a climb. Careful execution is important in doing abseiling. There are the possibilities of jammed ropes, ropes becoming severed after getting in contact with sharp edges, and other cases of equipment failure.
[edit] Lowering
Lowering is one of the most common methods of getting down. A belayer at the base of the vertical wall ensures that the climber is lowered safely. This climbing technique is used when going down routes where there are short, steep walls. This is also used when you want to go down faster.
These are the different techniques used in climbing activities. Keep in mind, though, that it is very crucial to learn these skills from expert climbers before attempting them yourself.
