The Cliffs in Long Island City, just one subway stop from Manhattan, now boasts 5 new routes set specifically for DRY ICE Tools. Set by Furance Industries Co-Owner Ben Carlson, the routes range from M5-M7. Head on down there and ger your pump on!:
-bc
Very close to being available to the public, we wanted to give everyone a peak at the Kronos as it stands today.
The Kronos are hand made wood handled technical ice climbing tools. We've been working very hard to get these ready for the 2014-2015 winter, but material testing delays have pushed back our projected release. Now that we have the tools in our testers' hands, we are getting valuable feedback that we will incorporate into the final released version.
We are aiming to have pairs of tool available for Demo at the Ouray Ice Fest and the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest.
Till then, enjoy these images:
“Climbing routes like this is like defusing a time bomb, and you can’t walk away from it."
A DRY ICE Tools story. indoor ice climbing training tools. Train For Ice, Anytime. created by Furnace Industries. with Gaz Leah, and Marian DeWitt. flimed at the Cliffs LIC. concept, camera, edit: Ben Carlson
Director's Cut:
Patagonia, that company with the cleanest conscience around, now carries DRY ICE Tools. If you’re in the area, stop in, buy some tools and any other climbing gear you may need, and check out the astounding Fall 2014 product line from Patagonia.
At Furnace Industries, we are committed to promoting dry tooling, ice, and mixed climbing while educating climbers to conserve the climbing environment. Furance Industries' and Patagonia's mission statements are closely aligned and a partnership simply makes sense. We are extremely proud to be able to call Patagonia a dealer of DRY ICE Tools. We have forever been and will continue to be massive fans of their brand. (We almost fell out of our harnesses when they asked if they could carry our tools!)
The winter climbing season will be here before you know it! If you can't make it down to Patagonia on 14th St. in NYC, pickup your DRY ICE Tools or ICICLES right here, right now!
Massive thanks to Mara Burns (maraburns.wordpress.com), for her involvement in setting up this partnership.
Great news for all you Southeastern ice dreamers!
Karsten Delap of FOX Mountain Guides will be hosting an evening dedicated towards proficiency on the vertical H2O at the Triangle Rock Club on Wednesday Sept. 24 at 6:30.
All proceeds will be split between Carolina Climbers Coalition & American Alpine Club - Southern Appalachian Section.
DRY ICE Tools will be at the 2014 Outdoor Retailer Trade Show Aug 6-9 in Salt Lake City Utah! Booth #PV3176
We will have our DRY ICE Tools ready for demo on the DRY ICE Hangboard. We will also be launching a new product: DRY ICICLES. ICICLES are DRY ICE Tools for climbers with smaller hands and also kids. ICICLES use the same strap as our full size DRY ICE Tools so the range of holds available for use is the same. ICICLES are the perfect addiction to a gym's rental fleet as they can now offer ice and mixed climbing classes for children.
Also, and this is crazy exciting, we'll be unveiling our latest creation, the Kronos, a wooden technical ice climbing ax. Harkening back to mountaineering's root when long alpenstocks were made from hickory shafts, the Kronos is a wood handled technical climbing ax meant for pure ice climbing. Our custom designed pick is perfect for steep technical ice and mixed climbing, informed by our collective 50 years of winter climbing experience. Says product designer Geoirge Fisher, "I wanted a tool that I had an organic connection with. A tool that other climbers could tactilely engage with and send information down the shaft of the tool about the ice that other tools available on the market today cannot. I believe the wooden shaft is unique in it's ability to connect the climber to the medium in a deeper way, physically and emotionally. It's not just another aluminum tool."
Read more and see an early version of the Kronos in action here: http://www.dryicetools.com/kronos/
So come on by our booth and check out DRY ICICLES, Kronos, and of course have a hang on DRY ICE Tools. Or just swing by and chat about dry tooling! Booth #PV3176
DRY ICE Tools is proud to be an exhibitor at the 2014 Climbing Wall Association Summimt Conference.
The Climbing Wall Summit is the climbing wall industry’s only professional development conference and provides industry members with the education, certification, networking, and inspiration to move the industry forward. Attendees from across the globe include universities, rec centers, climbing gyms, military installations, vendors, and more.
As an exhibitor, conference goers will be able to demo DRY ICE Tools on any of several walls, check out all our products like DRY ICE Holds, DRY ICE Route Marking Tape, and chat with Furnace Industries Co-Owner Ben Carlson about our plans for new products to be available this winter season! DRY ICE Tools will also be available for purchase.
For your viewing pleasure, this is Scott Adamson sending the Frist Ascent of Santeria into the history books in Jan 2013. As yet unrated, this climb has yet to see a second ascent, but suggestions have been made in the M11+/M12 range.
Also check out this enlightened blog post from a witness of the FA. There, you'll get the “The ultimate beta for hard mixed climbing: Piping–hot tools.” says Scott as he heats his tools over a fire. (Ed note: Do NOT Try that with DRY ICE Tools!)
There's been a lot of chatter recently about Dry Tooling and it's impact on Climbing.
Basically, as dry tooling gains traction, there are more climbers wielding hardware at crags that support winter pursuits. Right now, most of those crags are packed with rock climbers. And since it's impossible for change to happen without some sort of conflict, controversy ensues.
In order for conflict to exist, however, there must be at least two conflicting parties; in this case, rock climbers and ice/mixed climbers. Somehow, there's this idea that ice, rock, mixed, aid climbers, boulderers are all separate user groups and do not crossover. This is a silly idea of course. At some point in every climber's career, they will try other types of climbing, be it rock, aid, mixed, ice climbing, or dry tooling. We are all climbers sharing an amazing adventure through climbing.
To think that one user group more significantly impacts the experience of the other pulls a convenient veil over the actual issue, climbing and climbers impact the environment. Indeed, people in the outdoors impact the environment. But which impacts are acceptable, and which are not?
I remember when I first saw crampon scars. I was a Cub Scout on a spring hiking trip in the White Mountains of NH where we were learning about Leave No Trace ethics. I saw little white lines on the rocks on the trail. After thinking about how these mountains were once glaciated, I said:
"Check out all the cool little glacier marks."
"Those are actually scratches from winter hikers wearing crampons."
"What's a crampon?"
"Hikers use them on their boots in icy conditions for better traction, and sometimes the spikes scratch the rocks."
"Wait a second. How is that 'leaving no trace'?"
To this day I think it's crazy that we as a population are fine with some impacts and not others. In the climbing world, sport climbers literally drill holes in the rock in order to place bolts and anchors. Boulderers mat down vegetation under a boulder in order to wrestle a few moves. Trad climbers pull off loose rock on obscure climbs and tramp over vegetation blazing trails to routes at the bases of crags. As far as climbing is concerned, all of those impacts get a happy thumbs up.
Every type of climbing has some sort of impact.
Clearly Dry tooling has impacts too. Dry tools put enormous stresses on tiny edges of rock, and sometimes those holds break. Crampons can slip off edges and scrape the rock leaving a scratch. These impacts, seemingly outrageous to the uninitiated, are just part of the activity, just as bolting, cleaning, nailing, and crag 'development' leave permanent scars on the land.
With time, these impacts become managed, tolerated, ultimately accepted, and sanctioned by some climber advocacy group whether they are contrary to climbing's roots in preservation or not.
With that pretext, here are the Rules for Dry Tooling.
1. Recognize the impact your tools will have on the environment. If that impact negatively affects the experience of the climbers who follow you, go climb somewhere else.
2. Respect the local ethics. Relativism is rampant in the climbing world. What's acceptable at one cliff is completely off limits at another. Educate yourself on local customs.
3. If the climb could be climbed without tools or crampons, it's a rock climb.
4. Wear rock shoes for warm-season dry-tooling.
5. Outside the alpine environment, established rock routes are off limits. The firestorm that would ensue by dry tooling a rock route at your home crag is not worth the social ostracizing due to the permanent damage the tools can leave on the rock. It's wrong, and contradicts rule #1.
6. Be careful when rappelling.At many areas, crampons scratch the rock more
during lower-offs and rappels than during actual ascents.
If you're at the base of your dry tool route and it meets the criteria above, rock out. If not, it's not a route to be dry tooled. Exploration and adventure are central to why we climb, so do yourself and the climbing world a solid and go climb elsewhere.
Ultimately, education is and will be the best and only solution. Currently, membership in The Access Fund, the American Alpine Club, or in the UK The British Mountaineering Council, is the best route to getting that education. For the new climber, however, that point of contact must come sooner. In the current era of climbing, all data indicates the overwhelming majority of new climbers are a product of the climbing gym. Going forward, climbers will learn what is acceptable and what's not in the gym.
At DRY ICE Tools, we are committed to promoting dry tooling, ice, and mixed climbing while conserving the climbing environment. As a Corporate Partner with the Access Fund, it is our sincerest desire that the DRY ICE movement will continue to educate new climbers at our demo events, with resources from our web page, and with every pair of DRY ICE Tools sold.
Climbing is not getting any smaller, but with DRY ICE, perhaps it can grow more educated.
-bc
The first in a revealing series of short videos profiling users of DRY ICE Tools. Stay tuned for more!
Many women shy away from hard mixed routes or ice climbing in general, but this lovely lass shows us that mixed climbing the ladies can crush with the best of them.
I am an ice climber, or more accurately, a climber. I climb everything. Buildings and industrial structures for work, bouldering for strength and social fun, rock routes because I love that, alpine routes because I sometimes like to suffer, and mixed because I love the awkward technical leverages you do with those sharp tools! I love climbing comps too. World Cup events and stuff like that.
For the past few weeks I've been living in Germany at the edge of the Alps in the region Allgäu. I'm originally Dutch. In the flat country where I was born we only have climbing gyms. No rocks, not even small ones, not even ones small enough to trip over. Really. The Netherlands is just all sand, mud, and water. That makes it pretty hard to train for ice climbing. We only have horizontal ice. Probably the reason Dutch are rather good in speed skating.
The chance to move to Germany was amazing! My boyfriend, Dennis, is writing his final paper for his studies in Industrial Design at a climbing gear company, based in Southern Germany. Being without my boyfriend for longer then a month just doesn't work. I gave up all I had, even the fridge, couch, my house and my job and moved in with Dennis. I didn't even have a job yet. Luckily the gear company Dennis now works for was super sweet and offered me a job too! Yay!
My regular training day now goes like this:
Wake up > eat a banana > run to work (8km) > shower > eat breakfast and work > go bouldering during lunch > eat lunch when working > work till late and drive back with colleagues or with Dennis > eat some food > cycle to the climbing gym > climb till 10p > cycle back home> sleep.
Recently we found ourselves in Starzlachklamm, a dark, wet, sketchy cave that just calls for dry tooling, coffee, climbing, and more climbing. A perfect way to spend a weekend. On Sundays we go sport climbing outdoors. It’s very awkward to me that you can just go outdoors whenever you want. We don't have that back home in the Netherlands.
During the weekdays it’s usually dark when we get home. It makes no sense to climb outdoors, so a great alternative for training for ice climbing are the DRY ICE Tools. And I'm one of the lucky ones that received a pair! I had used them a couple times in the Dutch gyms. There, people looked at me like I was crazy and playing a dangerous game. They had the regular non-ice climber comments: "oh, that’s so easy, you're just holding on to this big grip all the time" or "now you've got so much more reach, that makes climbing just so easy now".
Right. Just try it.
Here in Germany the voices are surprisingly different. The first time we pulled out the tools people stopped climbing to watch us. They wondered what these strange tools were and understood immediately that we were serious about the winter climbing season. Soon after, two other climbers tried to make replicas and we're starting to have rather fun group tooling sessions in the boulder room (wow, that last bit of this sentence probably sounds weird if you're a non-climber).
Dennis also has a another brand for his indoor ice tools. He got yet a pair from a Scottish friend. We can clearly say the rubber strap on the DRY ICE Tools give by far a better grip on the holds compared to the other two brands that we've tried. Also the DRY ICE Tool handles are shaped differently. DRY ICE Tools are more comfortable and more realistic than the Scottish tools, closer to the design of real ice climbing tools that we use in during competition. It can still have a little tweaking though. We think the upper grip of the tools can be made a little more comfortable by lengthening the pink-rest on the upper grip.
We can easily do figure fours and even make long, reachy swing moves with the tools. Our heavy 95+kg (about 210lbs!) friend Axel climbed with DRY ICE Tools and even he could easily swing around in the roof, proof that the tools are plenty strong.
When lead climbing we use BD Spinner Leashes. We want to prevent the possibility of dropping the tools. If we accidentally dropped a tool on another climber or belayer, we'd be screwed. In the Netherlands all the gyms are just toprope, we'd still use leashes then. The tricky thing when leading is to manage the possibility of fall when clipping. If you fall and leave the tool on the hold, then you're hanging in your leash. In order to reduce that possibility, we developed a method. When clipping: One tool hangs your thumb of the hand that you’re holding on to the other tool (see photo below). The other hand is then free to clip. If you happen to fall you'll just hang on the rope, not the leash.
After much use, the handles on my DRY ICE Tools are still not getting greasy. I do not use gloves and when my hands get sweaty, I sometimes even chalk up. In this way I’m finding that I’m growing thicker skin, which is useful for long winter routes.
It is, however, challenging to train for precision using DRY ICE Tools compared to using real ice tools on holds. You rarely have the same sketchy tricky moves on which you need 200% body tension. But DRY ICE Tools are clearly safer and than using real tools in the gym. To train precision and tension, we simply to go outdoors and rock it on the real stuff.
It's funny how different it is to climb with ice tools. I can climb hard sports routes with my hands in the summer, but then at the start of the winter season I really need to build up a specific kind of strength again. Though there is a big overlap, the muscles that I need for the ice climbing are different from the ones I need for sport climbing. Being able to climb with DRY ICE Tools allows me to get strong for ice before the ice season even begins.
To see what Marianne and Dennis are up to today, check out her phenomally inspiring blog at www.lavinia-marianne.blogspot.com
Extreme Ice Climber Tim Emmett and DRY ICE Tools co-owner Ben Carlson chat about the comfortable ergonomic design of the Tools at the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest #DRYICETools. Tim now owns a pair of DRY ICE Tools, by Furnace Industries.
At the 2014 Ouray Ice Fest, DRY ICE Co-Owners George Fisher and Ben Carlson revealed their latest innovation, the DRY ICE Kronos, the world's First Wooden Handled Technical Ice Climbing Tool, slated for production Fall 2014.
DRY ICE Kronos - The Lowdown
The Shaft
The DRY ICE Kronos uses non-impregnated, densified beech wood laminate developed especially for a wide range of industrial applications including motor sport, aerospace industries, as well as for neutron shielding in the nuclear industry. The grade specially produced for the these industries is constructed to the highest density possible using thin veneers producing a dense, stable, high strength laminated board with excellent wear resistance.
The DRY ICE Kronos handle material offers high stability, increased strength, stiffness and improved life when replacing hardwood, and on the other hand, reduced weight, shorter machining times, is non-sparking and non-conductive when replacing metals. Kronos handles have half the strength of steel at only one fifth of the weight.
The Kronos shaft is CNC machined in 2 parts allowing us to machine 'islands' inside the handle halves that fit into the faces of the custom designed pick. These two parts are then bonded together using Aerodux 185, a 2 part epoxy adhesive used in the aeronautical industry for, amongst other things, bonding the wings to light aircraft.
The pick islands then dovetail into the pick to transfer the energy from the pick strikes directly into the shaft rather than through the stainless steel hardware. There is a 0.3mm gap between the islands where the pick is inserted. This clearance means that the pick is pinched by the wood shaft distributing the force evenly and avoiding stress hotspots.
The Pick
Kronos picks are CNC plasma cut from 4mm tool-grade steel and heat treated for strength and durability. They currently hand finished and individually inspected, and further innovation is expected as the Kronos takes shape.
DRY ICE Tools Co-Owner Ben Carlson going all in while testing the DRY ICE Kronos at the Ouray Ice Park.
This past weekend DRY ICE Tools was a sponsor at the 17th annual Arcteryx Bozeman Ice Festival. Festival goers were able to pick up tons of swag from us and were able to demo DRY ICE Tools in the portable Ice Tower courtesy of Don Foote, organizer of the upcoming Cody Ice Festival.
DRY ICE Tools Co-Owner Ben Carlson and de facto DRY ICE Team member Dana Williams were on hand interact directly with customers, answer questions about DRY ICE Tools, and most importantly get to word out about our company.
Busy Days here at DRY ICE Tools HQ. There's nothing better than when people seek out YOUR company because they love your Indoor Ice Tools. We have been asked to be sponsors of both the 2014 Smuggs Ice Bash and the 2014 Michigan Ice Fest!
Check out our press releases below:
DRY ICE Tools 2014 Smuggs Ice Bash Press Release
DRY ICE Tools 2014 Michigan Ice Festival Press Release
DRY ICE Tools are flying, FLYING, off the shelves. And it's no surprise. Mixed Climbing really is the next big thing in climbing.
With our new outlet in the United Kingdom, all of the events we sponsor: the Portland Alpine Festival, Rockfest in Calais ME, the Bozeman Ice Fest, Ouray Ice Fest, Smugg Ice Bash, the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest, and the Michigan Ice Fest, we expect tools sales to pick up even more.
Due to the hand crafted and detailed nature of our tools, we make them in limited quantities. So GET YOURS NOW!
Furnace Industries would like to welcome our lastest sponsored athlete: Andy Turner. His skills and experience dry tooling outdoors and on the competition circuit make him a perfect match for DRY ICE Tools. We look forward to working with Andy to continue to develop indoor ice and mixed climbing training tools of the highest quality.
ABOUT ANDY
For 10 years Andy Turner has been at the forefront of winter climbing in the UK. He has many first ascents of the hardest routes to his name, as well as repeats of other cutting edge routes.
Andy’s skills, perfected in the harsh British winters, have been used around the worlds extreme winter landscapes including the Southern Alps of New Zealand, Patagonia and the Norwegian Lofoten Islands. Not content with pushing the standard of mixed rock/ice climbing, he has used his talents and skills to progress the training techniques and standards in a new wave of dry-tooling in the UK.
As an athlete performing at the highest standards - he was also a semi-professional cyclist in his early twenties, Andy is also a qualified Mountaineering Instructor, utilising his skills, experience and knowledge, to enable others to facilitate their own amazing adventures.
Andy additionally gives back to the sport by coaching a number of upcoming climbers including the Great Britain Junior Ice Climbing Team.
Last winter Andy decided he needed a new challenge and decided to put his considerable skills to the test by entering the world of competition climbing.
Setting up the GB Ice Climbing Team, which he manages, coaches and climbs for. In his first season he competed in 4 of the 6 rounds of the Ice World cup. The Ice World Cup circuit has rounds held in South Korea, Russia, Romania, and Switzerland and for 2013 a test event at the Bozeman Ice Festival in the USA.
The 2014 season is looking bigger and better than ever, and Andy would like the opportunity to compete in all six events of the intense World Cup season. This competition will provide the perfect preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi where Ice Climbing is included, as a cultural event.
This Olympic Ice Climbing festival is by invitation only. Recognised as one of the planet's top climbers, Andy has been invited as one of only two climbers that will comprise ofthe Great Britain team.
In addition to his work with DRY ICE Tools, Furnace Industries would like to help Andy gain more sponsored support:
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Andy is looking for funding support, to enable travel to compete in this seasons world cup circuit ensuring he is at the top of his game, and then realize his dream of going to the Olympics as part of a sport that he loves-competition ready!
WHAT ANDY CAN OFFER YOU?
As a sponsor for the northern hemisphere winter of 2013/14, you will receive some/all of the following dependent on sponsorship level:
1. Branding on all kit and clothing used whilst training and competing (Olympic competition excepted)
2. Branding and links on his website www.andyturnerclimbing.co.uk
3. Social media exposure via Andy’s website and blog
4. Company exposure in press - local and national
5. Access to stunning imagery - through his close relationships with top adventure photographers.
6. Access to Andy’s coaching, teambuilding and UK guiding skills for your company and clients
7. Inspirational Lectures by Andy about his adventures.
8. Company Association with an Olympic athlete, adventurer, and Inspiration
Major Sponsor: Minimum £3000Minor Sponsor: Minimum £250
Find out more about Andy Turner at;
andyturnerclimbing.blogspot.com
facebook.com/andyturnerclimbing
@andyturnerclimb
