Choosing Ice Climbing Tools
Ice climbing is an exhilarating sport. Nothing quite compares with the feeling of powering your way up steep ice fall using nothing more than your brain, muscles and two ice climbing tools. Even seasoned rock climbers and trad climbers feel inspired by the site of an icefall and are slightly awed by those who climb them.
Yet getting into ice climbing requires a bit more knowledge, skill and equipment than it does to get into sport climbing or rock climbing where you really rely more on your own body and skill with your equipment providing a vital safety function rather than your main means of ascent. Ice tools are also highly personal. Most people usually get used to a particular sort or style and stick with it for years even if newer models come out. So choosing your first set is pretty important to start your expedition into the world of ice climbing.
Ideally you want to do a lot of research and talking to other climbers. Among the considerations are the sort of terrain you will likely be climbing on. Will it be pure ice or mixed? Will it be near vertical or just steep? Do you want to go leashless or do you prefer the feeling of security that leashed ice tools can give. Then you want to actually spend some time in the store looking at various climbing ice axes and feeling how they fit your hand, how the heft on the hammer feels and trying to imagine swinging them, either to get a purchase in ice or to hammer in some protection. The best of all is to try them out in real life. Quite a few stores now have artificial ice walls in giant freezers that you can try various tools on. It is also important to try out the various boot and crampon combinations. Ultimately you are looking for a complete ice-climbing system that works for you.
Original content from Gr8 Free Articles.
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