News

Jason Nelson, lead designer at Visual Adventures, is on the cover of Against Magazine this month and there is a feature article about him and ice climbing. The magazine is in Spanish, but if you don’t speak Spanish, you should be able to enjoy the pictures.

Site Link: http://www.against.com.mx/portal/?q=node/5

PDF Format: http://www.against.com.mx/revista7.pdf

Here is the un-edited English Version of the interview I submitted.  I haven’t taken the time to see how different the Spanish version is.

Name:Jason Nelson
Age:32
Time ice climbing: Aprx. 9 yrs.

What is ice climbing? Ice climbing is exactly that.  The process does go much smoother with ice axes and crampons however.  Sometimes you’ll encounter other elements in the process like rock, water,  turf, and trees.

What is the equipment required for ice climbing? The minimum equipment would be ice axes and crampons.  Suggested equipment would also include a rope, harness, helmet, belay device, ice screws, quick draws (carabiners to attach the ice screws to the rope), some warm clothes, and maybe a partner.

Do you consider it’s dangerous? Of course it’s dangerous.  Danger is next to impossible to avoid in life.  It wouldn’t be any fun if there was no element of danger.  I would say that Ice Climbing has more inherent dangers than rock climbing.  Ice changes throughout the day, sometimes it falls down, and often ice climbs lie within avalanche paths.   Add these on top of all the dangers of rock climbing, and you can’t deny that your chances of biting it while ice climbing are better than rock climbing.  With the right equipment and knowledge it can be done in a reasonably safe manner.

How can you tell if the ice you’re about to climb its in good conditions? Usually by looking at the ice, and then swinging your axe into it, or kicking it, will give you a good idea if it might fall down or not.  It if sounds hollow, then you might want to be careful.  If it falls down, then you didn’t want to climb it anyway.  If there is a fair amount of ice, it’s normally ok to climb.  Ice retains a thermal mass and keeps itself cold if there’s enough of it.  You won’t know if the ice at the top of the climb is as good as the ice at the bottom however until you get there.  That keeps things interesting sometimes.

What are the climbing grades in ice climbing?
Ice grades are commonly referred to as WI (for water ice) 1 – 6.  WI 1 you could almost walk up and WI 6 is overhanging or very dangerous.  The scale is open ended but ice typically does not form big overhangs naturally unless you are either lucky, or on the toe of a glacier.  Ice grades generally don’t take in consideration the condition of the ice (soft or brittle), the thickness, nor how safe it is to climb.  For example, a WI3 is considered moderate, but if it’s only an inch thick and there is water running behind it, it will likely give someone comfortable at WI6 a little scare.  Falling through the ice into the waterfall behind it would be bad.
There are also mixed climbing grades which go from about M 1-15.  Mixed climbing would include having to do some rock climbing while in your ice climbing gear.  Sometimes the ice ends before the climb does.  Upper end mixed routes usually climb out giant overhangs or caves and end on a hanging icicle. If there’s no ice on the route, but you’re still climbing it with your ice axes, that’s called drytooling.

Can you practice this sport the whole year round?
If you live near a glacier you likely could climb ice year round.  There are also underground caves that sometimes hold ice.  Otherwise, you’re forced to fly to icy locations in the off-season.  Most folks just go rock climbing when the weather gets warm.  Rock climbing skills and fitness are very useful for climbing ice.

Tell us a terrifying story you’ve experienced while doing ice climbing?
It seems as though the “seemingly” easier climbs often hold the greatest terror.
The scariest moment I can think of was climbing un-roped with two friends of mine in Silverton, Colorado.  Climbing un-roped, or soloing is more common on ice than rock and you can put your axes into the ice deep enough to get a feeling of security.  I did the part of the climb first and was watching from above as both of my friends climbed the route.  They were side by side, and as one of them moved right, a sizeable piece of ice broke off and she went with it.  The initial fall was about 35 ft/10m where she hit a ledge and instantly began sliding toward the next section of cliff.  It as like a horror film where the girl is pulled into a hole by a demon, nails scratching the floor.  Then she was gone, over the edge of the next section of cliff and out of site.  I blinked my eyes thinking it was just my imagination, but she was still gone.
When we got to her she was conscious.  The second cliff was about 35 ft/10m as well and she landed next to a pile of jagged rocks.  It was early season and there was no snow to break her fall.
We carried her off the mountain and drove her to the hospital which was about 2 hours away.  She was diagnosed with a broken wrist, despite hurting all over.  She was lucky.

At what temperature can you ice climb without problems?
Climbing in warm temps can be very enjoyable providing the ice you are climbing on does not delaminate from the rock and fall down.  Ice doesn’t stay around all that long in warm temps or in direct sunlight.  I’ve climbed in a t-shirt numerous times, but it is by no means a regular occurrence.  On the colder side…  when it gets down near 0 F / -10C ice will get brittle.  When ice is brittle, it has more of a tendency to break off in big pieces.  It also gets hard to keep your fingers and toes warm.  I like climbing ice when it’s just above freezing, that way things won’t ice up on you when they get a little wet.  You’re also not having to work as hard to stay warm.

What do you need to do to be a better ice climber? What kind of exercise?
Ice climbing is not as hard as it looks.  In fact, fitness helps, but what helps even more is to have experience, and the ability to shut you mind off from fear.  In fact, I’ve seen people that were kind of fat, climbing some fairly difficult ice.  Yeah, who would have thought?  It surprises me too.
I think the best thing you can do for ice climbing is rock climbing.  The movement is similar, and you use a lot of the same gear.  Indoor climbing gyms would be a great place to train if you don’t yet have rock climbing equipment or experience.
For me, I believe that getting mileage in on ice is super beneficial to getting better.  You learn how the ice changes, what parts of the ice to swing your tools into, and just build a general comfort in the vertical frozen world.

Are there different kinds of ice climbing?
Sure, ice forms in a number of different elements and each has their own set of rules.  There’s waterfall ice, formed from waterfalls, or drips freezing as it goes over a cliff.  This is most commonly found at mid-elevations, as the water needs to come from a source above.
There’s ice that forms in the mountain environment.  It will normally form from a melt freeze cycle of temperatures.  For example, a shaded snowy gully can form into ice in the spring and/or fall when warm daytime temperatures melt the snow and at night the melted snow turns to ice.  This is referred to as alpine ice.   Sometimes it can be the consistency of Styrofoam.
There’s also glacial ice.  The lower, colder glacier ice is bullet hard and can be almost impossible to climb, while the upper layers are sometimes snow.  Good climbing terrain can sometimes be found in the middle.
A final note, is in places like Scotland, they will climb steep hillside of frozen moss and turf.  I haven’t seen or experienced this, but I though it would be entertaining to note.

What places do you recommend for this sport?
Ouray, Colorado has friendly temperatures and easy to access ice (no drive or long walks involved).  This is a great place to learn or train.
The Canadian Rockies (Banff Area) has both big and very difficult climbs.  Often a drive of an hour or two is required and the walking approaches can be significant as well.
New England and Quebec have some great ice that is good for both beginners and experts alike.
Other well known areas are: Bozeman, MT, Cody, WY, Vail, CO, and Lee Vining, CA

Can any type of person start practicing this sport if they set their mind to it?
With proper guidance and equipment, just about anyone can try ice climbing.  Even young children and paraplegics are able to get out and try the sport here in Ouray. Blind people and people with missing appendages do it too.   There’s no excuse.  With proper clothing, being cold does not have to be concern either.

Around how many meters do you climb?
I would say a normal day might include between 100 – 450 meters of climbing.  A special day might include doing more or a very difficult route.  Sometimes I’ll do a number of shorter climbs and other days I’ll do a route that’s about 450 meters long

Do you like to sign in on competitions?
Yes, I like competing.  It’s a very friendly competition and the other competitors are often great athletes and interesting people.  There are not many ice climbing competitions in North America however.

Do you have some kind of medals or trophies you’ve won while competing?
I’ve placed as high as 3rd.  Ouray is the primary competition in the USA, and people travel from Canada and Europe to compete.  It’s only once a year, so you don’t have many opportunities to compete.  I hope to see more competitions arise in North America in the future.

Anything else you want to add for our readers that you think is interesting or important to know?
Pretty much anyone willing to wrap their mind around the concept of ice climbing could have a fun successful time at it.  Equipment and instruction is expensive however, so you may want to strike up an online romance in one of the above mentioned locations prior to trying it. Maybe your new partner will have some connections, or at least offer you a place to stay.
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I take my Mom ice climbing when she comes to visit.  She’s in her 50’s and has a great time.