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The top of the climb.
Ice Climbing
As soon as the ice falls form on the mountains about February, we ditch
the skis and grab for the crampons and ice tools for one of our most fun
things to do, Climbing Ice. This is another of our technical fun
sports. The idea behind climbing ice is to learn a valuable mountaineering
skill, but it is also just fun. When we start, we have to learn lots
of things before we get to go. These include: How to dress, because
its not just cold, there is nearly frozen water running over you!
How to sharpen, put on, walk in and finally climb with crampons - the mountaineer's
sole of spikes. How to use the various ice tools which include ice
hammers and ice axes of numerous different kinds. We always top rope
our climbs. There is nothing like getting up at 4 am and driving
all the way to the Big Thompson Ice, or Hidden Falls, or the other great
hangouts so that we get there before the Colorado Mountain School.
There is also nothing like having one of your trainers take a wild wind
milling pendulum, complete with crampons and sharp ice tools just over
the heads of that same school to inspire their confidence in our abilities.
(We hid our faces, after laughing out loud!) We are planning to be
on the ice at least three times this year, finishing at the La Casa restaurant
in Estes Park after each. They have a good selection of super hot
sauces which we get our new guys to try out. We will also intend
to explore Cody Ice in Wyoming this year.