Difficulty:
Beginner to intermediate, experience ice climbing required
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Fitness:
Ability to ice climb 2 days in a row
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Season:
December to March
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Group Size:
1-4 participants
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Duration:
2 days; each with 6-8 hours of field time
Location:
Rock Creek & East Rosebud, Montana
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Includes:
Rental climbing equipment, group equipment, & instruction from a professional guide
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Excludes:
Ice climbing boots, food, transportation, lodging, personal items, and guide gratuity
Course Details
This intermediate level course is built to set climbers up with the skills they need to become competent and independent ice climbers. A large focus of this course is refining movement, reading the ice, and forecasting conditions. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about screw placement, various anchor constructions, beginner mixed climbing, and mock leading.
Skills Covered:​
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Review of equipment, knots, hitches, and belaying
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Movement refinement (swinging, kicking, steep ice, mixed)
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Researching routes and conditions​
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Anchor construction (v-thread, ice screw, etc.)
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Hazard avoidance and considerations
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Mock-leading
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This course is typically 2 days long and starts with a briefing at our office in Red Lodge. Here, we go through a quick gear check and guide's pack demo. Day 1 takes us to Silver Falls, where climbers have the opportunity to focus on movement in the morning and anchors in the afternoon. Day 2 location depends on conditions, but the focus is applying the skills and goals from the previous day. This may include mock-lead climbing, short multi-pitch climbing, or mixed climbing. The main goal of this course is to provide participants with the skills needed to ice climb efficiently and safely. At this level, guides also focus course content on the specific goals of participants.
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**Don't see a course date listed? Email our office to see if there is one coming up, or start a course of your own! Many of our courses are custom and low ratio, built to your needs.