Ice Climbing

In the craft of ice climbing, where each tool’s swing may take a hundred days out to truly understand, a significant update might well be its eulogy. 

Petzl is recalling certain batches of the Petzl Nomic and Ergonomic ice axes for risk of handle failure. The company offers free replacement shafts to affected customers.

“Everything’s off until this occupation is over,” said one alpinist, who skipped a Canadian Rockies trip to document ICE arrests in his city.

Is the ice-less fest the new ice fest?

The best crampons for steep ice and mixed climbing, all-around mountaineering, and approaching the crags.

An East Coast climber reveals how he progressed from a snowboarder who hated the cold, to a WI5 ice climber and guide in short order.

There’s a lot to learn from this week’s video…

A pillar's verticality leads to strenuous climbing, and the skinniest of them are prone to collapse if conditions aren’t just right. We asked three expert ice climbers for their advice.

What’s the first rule of ice climbing again?

"Like scuba diving in the Sahara or surfing in Kansas"

Honest, humiliating, and humorous secrets, defrosted after 17 years

A quick guide to visiting the world-class ice of Rjukan.

Eugene Vahin passed away on January 23, after an unroped fall at The Junkyards, near Grassi Lakes, Canada.

Nathan Chaszeyka went into freefall after his Munter hitch unscrewed his carabiner while rappelling.

The setting was spectacular, the medium completely inappropriate for a fall.

Diesel fumes be damned, the Pricecicle exceeds expectations

On November 11, 2021, my climbing partner and I weathered two avalanches while on an alpine climb in Canada. We were simul soloing and dumb luck kept us alive.

While it can take effort to stay psyched when our mammalian inclination is to hibernate when it's cold, there’s something to be said for winter road trips and goals.

Ten climbers tested dozens of products on wild ice around the world

The Hydra swings just as good—or better—as the best of them. But its modularity is where it really shines.

In 2023, Catalina Shirley took a life-threatening fall and questioned whether she’d ever lead again. This year, she returned to the site—and became the first American to podium in an Ice Climbing Lead World Cup.

You don’t see this everyday.

Neil Gresham puts Klemen Premrl and Tim Emmett, two of the world’s best ice climbers, in the hot seat for training advice

Nick Bullock and Greg Boswell are attacked by a grizzly bear on Mount Wilson in the Canadian Rockies.

We’ll concede: the climber did some things right. But it didn’t matter in the end.

Meg O’Neill died Sunday after a freak accident on 'Raven Falls' (WI4) when a large ice column broke. O’Neill saved the belayer’s life and the leader was seriously injured.

This climber knew “the fall would be clean” so committed to running out the crux. He almost made it.

Xavier Abdullahi thinks initiatives like this one is a good start, but nowhere near the end.

When considering avalanches, skiers are often the first group to come to mind. But avalanches are just as perilous for ice climbers, and perhaps more deadly. 

Lesson learned: “Clip the rope as soon as possible and don't do a figure four with the rope between the legs.”

Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.

Alpine environments are infinitely complex—but for Gadd that is part of their allure.

On Thursday, February 12, Wes Walker and Jason Grubb loaded up and drove 11 hours to Cody, Wyoming, for the annual South Fork Ice Festival. The two climbers, from Florida and Texas respectively, were enjoying their first season of ice climbing while living and working in the mountain town of Carbondale, Colorado.

The Canadian Rockies boast some of the best long ice routes in the world. With the borders newly reopened, it’s time to sharpen the tools and gas up the car for your dream winter road trip.

Some things are scarier than broken bones.... The author recounts the epics he's experienced throughout his climbing career. The ones that changed him were commonplace.

A lot of people love ice climbing. This one is for those of you that don't, but go anyway.

For such a common ailment, the misinformation and paucity of research available is staggering.

Some days everything goes wrong.

After a near-death climbing experience, I was inspired to dig deeper into the psychology of fear and learn about its effect on performance, how it wells up in the first place, and what we can do to deal with it. What I found will take your climbing to the next level—and could save your life.

An ice climber, a trad climber, a boulderer, and a sport climbing visit a fortune teller and learn their fates.

Escape summer’s heat and smoke by ice climbing in a “glacial pothole.”

What does it mean to become a “real climber”—and do you need to risk your life in the process? Seeking an answer, the author revisits the folly of his youthful climbs in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.

Check out Levi Harrell's author page.

“Entropi” has several pitches of “mentally challenging” ice climbing including a vertical, 65-foot step of two-inch-thick ice.

There are two miracles in this week's whipper: 1) He survived. 2) He caught the fall on video.

The Colorado-based alpinist was 400 feet up The Ribbon when an avalanche released. He caught the ensuing moments on video.

While climbing Alaska’s Eagle Peak, Joe Yelverton’s life changed in a single moment. His account of the experience won our inaugural survival-stories essay contest.

A lone climber took a fatal fall after finishing a rope solo in Colorado’s Clear Creek on Wednesday, January 19.

In these three short videos you'll learn basic and advanced dry tooling, and a technique every ice climber must master—placing ice screws.

Tyler Kempney swept the field with back-to-back wins in this year’s UIAA Euro Cup series.

Sign up now for up to $1,000 in travel, plus ice gear, boots, a rope, and a lot more.

Tackle ice leads with ease this winter thanks to this excerpt from "How to Ice Climb!"

Most risk scientists live risk-minimal lives, but Robert Charles Lee and his wife, Linda Cook, devoted their spare time to alpine and ice climbing. Now retired, Lee has written a book about risk, climbing, and partnership. In this excerpt he writes about the time he broke the cardinal rule of ice climbing: don't fall.

Check out Chris Donovan's author page.

Meet Sudha, an ice climber who found unconditional love in the mountains of New York.

A showcase of photos revealing a woman’s perspective, voice, or position in the climbing world.

Rockfall has destroyed a bridge and the water supply line that feeds 70% of the park.

The snowpack, prone to slides, has proven deadly for a number of backcountry goers.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Tim Emmett and Klemen Premrl made the first ascent of the new Helmcken Falls line, proposing WI13—making it the first route of the grade.

Check out The Editors's author page.

As temperatures warm, iconic routes are melting away and becoming more dangerous—even seeing their final ascents

Short Approaches and Bullet Ice in the Wilds of Quebec

Check out Bennett Slavsky's author page.

Check out Andrew Burr's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out Bennett Slavsky's author page.

Check out American Alpine Club's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out American Alpine Club's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out Kennan Harvey's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Panther Gorge is a hidden gem surrounded by New York's highest peaks.