| Ice climbing is similar in some ways to rock climbing in | | | | stability while climbing a sheer ice surface. Ice climbers |
| that it involves techniques for handling a vertical or | | | | also make use of the ice axe to help them ascend - |
| nearly vertical ascent - however, while many of the | | | | an ice axe has several uses, and can even be the |
| methods and even some of the gear used for ice | | | | sole piece of climbing equipment used for an easier |
| climbing is similar to that of rock climbing, ice climbing | | | | grade of climb. While walking along the surface of the |
| has some special differences due to the nature of | | | | ice, the ice axe can be used as a walking stick for |
| ice. Usually ice climbers ascend ice falls (a part of a | | | | stability, and when climbing the pick of the axe can |
| glacier where ice has flown down the side of the | | | | be used as a dagger, or the ice axe can be swung |
| glacier at a comparatively rapid rate, creating a | | | | overhead to embed the pick in higher elevations of |
| smooth slick surface), frozen waterfalls, and rocky | | | | ice, so that the climber can pull him or herself farther |
| surfaces over which water has frozen. The | | | | up the side of the ice face. |
| consistency of ice can vary widely depending on the | | | | While rock climbers will often embed spikes into the |
| weather and the type of ice which is being climbed - | | | | side of the rock face to help themselves climb, this |
| alpine ice is ice formed from precipitation over a | | | | can cause ice to become unstable. This has led to |
| mountain, and is usually climbed as a part of a | | | | the use of hollow ice screws and V-thread systems |
| mountain ascent, while water ice comes from flowing | | | | (where two intersecting holes are bored in the ice |
| water sources which freeze during the winter. | | | | and a rope is run into one hole and out of the other). |
| As with rock climbing, ice climbers use rope systems | | | | The recent weather has to be taken into |
| which are attached to some kind of harness, hooked | | | | consideration while ice climbing as surfaces may be |
| into a belaying system which makes it possible to let | | | | more slick or unstable as a result of the precipitation |
| out the rope in a controlled manner (and keep it from | | | | that has occurred within the past couple days. Of |
| releasing in the event of a fall) and connected as | | | | course, ice climbers also wear a greater degree of |
| firmly as possible to the climbing surface using a | | | | padding and materials for warmth than rock climbers. |
| variety of tools. When climbing ice, people generally | | | | Ice climbing can be a lot of fun and provide even |
| wear boots with crampons attached - spikes on the | | | | greater challenges in some cases than rock climbing, |
| bottoms of the boots are used to get better | | | | making it one of the most extreme outdoor sports in |
| traction while walking across ice, and spikes on the | | | | the world! |
| fronts of the boot crampons are used for greater | | | | |