Ice climbing can be considered as one of the disciplines of mountain climbing . It is also an essential part of mountaineering . The term ice climbing refers to the activity of climbing a sloped ice projection. It has evolved as a popular adventure sport across the globe. Ice climbing has been practiced by mountaineers in various countries since a long time. Generally climbing any ice structure like ice walls, frozen waterfalls, ice covered rock face is known as ice climbing .
During ice climbing , various techniques are used by the climbers. Usually, ice climbing is always done using numerous gears or devices. For this reason, ice climbing is always referred as aided climbing . The techniques used during ice climbing depend on the gradient of the ice wall and the nature of ice. The techniques used for the sport are named rope system, belaying , leading, tying in, abseiling and others. Front pointing is an essential technique of climbing ice walls using ice axes and crampons. There are many institutions in various countries, where training courses are arranged for teaching the ice climbing techniques.
As an aided climbing , ice climbing requires variety of equipments. Some of the equipments used during ice climbing are ropes, harness, carabiners, slings, crampon, ice axe, belay and rappel devices, etriers, ascenders, descenders, helmet, mittens, piton, hammer, nuts and tapes. Of course, an expert climber can complete the job using minimum gears. However, all climbers prefer carrying all the gears for safety.
Ice climbing is one of the extreme outdoor activities practiced by adventure lovers around the earth. For this reason, every precautionary measure should be taken by the climbers indulging in ice climbing . Climbers without proper training and sufficient experience should not go for the activity without professional guidance.
