Depending on the ratio of ice to rock on the route, I adjust my rack accordingly. Rock protection is also critical when climbing "mixed" routes, or routes that necessitate both rock and ice climbing in varying amounts. In addition to being fast to place, rock gear can inspire confidence when attacking hard sections of ice climbing. It is often possible to protect ice climbs with supplemental rock protection if you are climbing an ice route directly adjoining rock. One or two 10 cm screws (aka "stubbies")Įxample of a load-limiting sling used to reduce peak force on a screw placed in aerated ice.The newest ice screws are all rated to hold falls (the 10 cm screws used to be rated only as aid climbing protection and not for falls), so you should decide what length of screws to bring based on the thickness of the ice you'll be climbing. This leaves six to eight screws to protect the upcoming pitch. I typically bring around a dozen, using two or three for each belay. Hangers that facilitate rapid placement with features like "turbo knobs" or wire handles are worth the extra cost because they are so much faster and easier to place.ĭetermining how many screws to bring depends on the difficulty of the climbing, how thick the ice is, and the length of the pitches. Models that are fully coated in stainless steel like those by Black Diamond (the BD Express) and Petzl rust much less, giving you piece of mind (even though the typical amount of rust is merely a cosmetic annoyance, not a structural hazard). Look for a model that is tapered from the teeth to the hanger since they fracture less than non-tapered models. Modern screws feature high relief threads that greatly increase the holding power over older, pound-in, and fine-threaded designs. The base component of an ice climbing rack is the tubular ice screw. Here we will delve into some considerations for selecting equipment for waterfall ice and mixed climbing. Fortunately, recent advances in technology now enable us to climb and protect ice much more efficiently than in years past, but these advances have also made buying ice equipment much more complex. You just had to buy some screws, technical ice tools, crampons, and wander around the mountains until you found a frozen cascade. Getting equipped for waterfall ice climbing, a highly equipment-intensive activity, used to be easy.
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