Leaves are falling. Frost is tickling the grass. Morning runs now require gloves and hats, sometimes even a headlamp. It’s almost time. Almost time for the magic to happen. It’s almost ice season.
But it’s not a good idea to wantonly bust out the gear for your first outing and show up at the nearest ice flow. You have to make certain that your gear is ready. Ice climbing is arguably the most gear dependent form of climbing, and you must make sure that gear is good to go. Let’s talk about the right way to get your gear ready for the ice.
Ice Tools
Depending on where your tools are stored, your tools may need some love. Hanging them in an uninsulated garage leaves them exposed to changes in humidity. This can be a problem as cold tools with attract moisture like a cold beer in summer. Tools will rust, and the hot / cold cycle on temperature swings will loosen critical nuts and bolts hold the picks, spikes and other tool bits in place.
Make sure picks and spike are free of rust, the hardware is snug, and the picks are sharp. Break out the file and sharpen them now rather than waste time at the base of the flow. If you tape the shafts of your tools, check to see if it needs replacement.
While you’re there make sure your tethers are still good. Due to moisture, the elastic degrades faster than you’d like it to leaving you with a stretched out floppy noodle between you and your tools. If you need replacement, you can get new Blue Ice Hydra Tethers here.
Crampons
Like your tools, check for loose nuts and bolts, Check for rust and sharpen or replace frontpoints now if you didn’t do it at the end of the last season.
This is super important: Take a couple mins to really check the fit on your boots. Just this last season, I was on a route in Ouray, CO, very runout above my last screw when my right crampon fell off mid climb. This had happened to me before, but on approaches, not on a climb. This was just so easy to prevent. Make sure you test fit the crampons on your boots with your preseason gear check.
ICE Screws
The last thing you want is to rack up, start climbing, only to find your screws all dulled, fouled and rusted. Check for rust. Make sure all the teeth on all your screws are sharp like kittens teeth and that the threads are sound. If not, find someone to sharpen them like Charles at IceScrewSharpening.com or ClimbtheScratchPad’s service. Make sure all the handles fold in and out and rotate freely. Lubricate as needed with cam lube, Tri Flow, or even just mineral oil.
Pro Tip: Use a Kleen-Bore Silicone Gun and Reel Cloth. Push it through your screws to make cleaning the cores from them a breeze. I run these silicon soaked rags through my screws at least once a season.
Clothing Layers
This includes all layers from your down jacket to your base layers.
Make sure all the features work, the zippers still zip, snaps still snap, and the glued seams are still glued. I recently found my cell phone had fallen out of my inside jacket pocket because the cheap-ass glued seam dried out.
Make sure everything still fits (yep, I recently learned it’s a thing for new parents). If you didn't do it at the end of the season, wash your shell gear (jackets / pants / gloves) with Tech Wash and re-up the waterproofing by using NIkwax. And yes, you can and should wash your Gore-tex too.
Check the laces on your boots. Make sure they aren’t frayed, worn, or about to snap.
Check pants for crampon tears and fix with gore-tex tape and seam grip. Don’t worry, you will still look cool. More repairs = more bad-ass.
Climbing Pack
I once had a beautiful 30L Cilogear pack that I used for ice climbing. It was super nice, with all the features any winter climber would ever want in a pack. But silly me, I’d left a granola bar in there, and when I pulled it out my basement following season, I found that our resident mice that Thought I’d reached a truce with had chosen to sample some top notch nylon reinforcement on their way to oatmeal honey bliss.
if you use a different pack for winter than summer, check your winter pack for holes, fix anything, clean it of granola bars, before the ice comes in.
Ropes
If you’re lucky enough to have separate ropes for summer and winter, you are truly blessed. But even if you don’t they still need to be inspected before you clip in for that free hanging rap over Bridal Veil Falls.
Check for wear and damage. How? Run every inch of those ropes through your hands. What you’re looking for are abnormalities that indicate wear. The British Mountaineering Council put together this really great video showing exactly how to inspect your rope:
Other tips:
-Keep a note stowed away in your pack with emergency info and a contact list JUST IN CASE.
-Volunteer with a local climbing stewardship group or trail crew on a clean up day to get familiar with the approach before the death of winter.
-Carry a First Aid Kit. Make sure it’s stocked and good to go before you head out.
-Check the treads on your tires to make sure you can get to and from the trailhead in that huge snowtorm.
The point of all this prep is to make sure you’re firing on all cyclinders, with no distractions from unprepared, damaged gear. That way you can use all of your focus on the climb and most importantly, having fun.
-Bc