3 Ice-tacular Reasons why you Need to Stop by the Furnace Industries Booth at the 2016 Ouray Ice Festival

It’s that time!  The Ouray Ice Festival, the biggest, baddest, most amazing ice festival on planet earth happens this weekend and Furnace Industries is proud to return as a sponsor.  This time we have the tool that has everyone in the ice universe talking, a great prize for our annual pull-up contest, and a flagship product that has completely changed the game.

If simply being in beautiful Ouray, Colorado wasn’t awesome enough, here are 3 reasons to swing by the Furance Industries booth:

1. We invented a new ice axe!

The KRONOS is the world’s first ’T’ rated CE Certified ice tool MADE OF WOOD.

 It’s gorgeous, climbs amazingly, offers features no other tool can offer, and YES, we will have them available to demo. This is a big deal. Why? No other wood ice tool in history has achieved the 'T' rating. The KRONOS is the first. Don’t know what a ’T’ rating is? You should, our lives depend on it.

2. The Annual DRY ICE Tools Pull-up Contest!

 It's open to any man/woman/child/bighorn sheep/space alien. The winner will be whoever knocks out the most pull-ups. The contest is cumulative, starts on Friday at 8 a.m. and finishes on Saturday at 4 p.m.  Climbers can pop in, crank out 10, head out climbing, swing back, crank out 10 more, go have a beer, crank out 10 more... Last year, our comp brought out some big guns at Ouray. Tobias Smith won with 289 pullups! Tobias won a signed copy of Steve House’s Training for the New Alpinism.  This year the prize is the top-of-the-line Maxim Rope , the 9.5 x 60m 2X Dry Bi-Pattern Pinnacle Yellow Jacket. That's a $369 prize folks. Get excited for this pull-up THROWDOWN!

3. DRY ICE Tools.

Our original product has blown up in the past year in large part to a fan base that understands that training in the off-season, even a small amount, leads to big results in strength, muscle memory, and confidence.  They also appreciate well-crafted, excellently-designed products.  Many climbing gyms now own their own DRY ICE Tools as well as our ICICLES and offer clinics to members on ice climbing movement.

Do not miss this!  Get down to Ouray and check us out.  We also have some other new surprises, freebie pick protectors, and our usual pithy and humorous sticker selection to decorate your helmet/car/water bottle/wind deflector/friend's forehead when they're sleeping...

What the Heck is a 'T' Rating?

Moneting: (pron; mohnay-eng) Noun, Slang. Def: Being so close to something to see details but too close to see the whole picture.

At Furnace Industries, we are guilty of Moneting.  We knew that passing the 'T' test with a wood shafted ice tool was a huge deal. But we did not know that, surprisingly, most climbers have no idea what the 'T' on their tools even means.

In the few weeks since we released the KRONOS, we've received overwhelming media inquires, requests for hi-res images for blogs, price point comments, a venture capitalist inquiry, a Norwegian in-flight magazine profile, and loads of questions about what a 'T' rating is. Elsewhere on the interwebs, we've actually been called 'hipsters' (if you met us, the last thing you'd call us is 'hipster') for allegedly not having the good sense to know that wood ice tools were the norm when Chouinard sold bamboo tools. However, none of good ol' Yvon's tools, or any tool made of wood from back then or since has passed the 'T' rating.

The KRONOS is not the first tool made of wood. It is the World's First 'T' Rated Ice Tool Made of Wood.

It's a big deal. The testing involved in a 'T' test would blow most wood tools to bits. But FI Co-Owner George Fisher figured it out, and it's genius.  So what does the 'T' on our ice tools mean? It's something every ice and especially mixed climber should know as our lives depend on it!

The 'T' Rating

The T rating has to do with the CE Safety Certification that all ice tools must pass if a company wants to offer an ice tool for sale. CE certification helps you choose the correct ice axe. CE (Comité Européen de Normalisation) is a European group that develops and maintains equipment standards. On an ice axe, look for a circular CE stamp that will have either a capital B or T in it.

-General mountaineering axes are designated with a B (basic) stamp. These are generally lighter, less expensive and less durable. Basic axes are NOT strong enough for technical climbing!

-Technical ice axes and ice/mixed climbing tools are designated with a T (technical) stamp. These are generally heavier, more expensive and more durable.

On technical ice tools, picks and shafts are rated separately. It is actually quite common to have a CE-T shaft with a CE-B pick. A CE-B pick is thinner, penetrating pure ice better; a CE-T pick is thicker and stiffer and works better for mixed climbing. The KRONOS comes with a B rated pick. A T rated pick more suitable for mixed climbing is available.

Diving Deeper into the 'T' rating

If you want to really nerd out, keep reading...

Tools that receive a 'T' rating have to pass 4 physical tests: .9 Kn pull at 90° to the shaft of the tool, 3.5 Kn pull at 90° on the center of the shaft, 4 Kn pull at 90° on the head of the tool, and a 182 N Pick Deflection Test.

Note that for one of these tests, the load is almost 900 lbs. (4 Kn is 899 lbs)

This diagram should help:

So that's the easy part, and also the part where most ice tools' lives end.

Next, the company (Furnace Industries LLC) must provide all the technical information the CE lab (SGS UK) requires to certify the tool (KRONOS) conforms with the harmonized standard EN13089 for Category 3 Personal Protective Equipment. This involves extremely thorough document called the Tech File which details our materials and methods used in producing the actual tool, our quality management system, and description of our system of production and testing that guarantees the consistency of the tools produced. 

There is a Factory Inspection. A representative from the lab physically inspects the FI shop to make sure our methods for producing the KRONOS ensure consistency for each tool we produce.

There is rigorous vetting of the Tech File. The lab requires FI to write up the technical details about the KRONOS.  The lab inspects this document and makes sure that the file contains all the technical information it's supposed to.  Included as part of the the tech file are the instructions included with the tool when it's sold.  The instructions must have all the appropriate safety information, notes on care and storage, and definitions of the required marks that are on the tool (company name, model name, batch labeling definition, the 'T'...)

After all that testing is done, inspections performed, and tech file errors fixed, all fees paid, the lab issues a CE Certificate that certifies the KRONOS passed the 'T' test. We framed ours.

So, that's what a 'T' rating is.  If you've read this far, it's because you're super smart, you understand that climbing really is in fact dangerous, and you want (like all climbers should) to know as much as possible about the gear you're trusting with your life.

-Ben Carlson, FI Co-Owner

Saudi Arabia, and DRY ICE Tools?

FI Co-Owner George Fisher with 2015 Ouray Ice Fest DRY ICE Tool Pull Up Contest Winners Tobias Smith, Kathy Karlo, and Galen Jones.

One of the biggest rewards of running a small gear company is the close proximity to our customers. George and I handle and inspect every single product we ship, and many times, we get to shake the hand of a new customer. There's a real connection between something we made and our users.

Building on that connection, at FI we like to reach out to our customers we can't meet in person to get a deeper sense of who they are, if for nothing more than to be better friends.  We recently had a customer purchase a pair of DRY ICE Tools in Saudi Arabia, and we couldn't help oursleve. We had to get to know this guy, what he's about, and what the heck he was thinking!:

Dr. William Lilley, Energy Specialist, Dhahran Saudi Arabia

Family?  Married, no kids.

Where do you ice climb?  Never been, but would like to take a climbing holiday in Switzerland or Japan.

How did you get into ice climbing?  Developed an interest reading Rock&Ice magazine.

Where's your climbing gym and who's climbing there?  We have indoor gyms in the main residential camps of Saudi Aramco. Primarily my wife and I climb in Dhahran, I also climb in Riyadh at the British School. There are a wide range of nationalities working in Saudi Aramco and we have climbers from all over the world.

Where does your passion for ice come from?  Living in the desert!

Is is simply to provide contrast while driving in the desert from Riyadh to Dhahran?  Yes we dream of escaping to the cold.

How did you find dry ice tools?  Advertised in Rock&Ice magazine.

Why did you buy them?  My wife and I would like to go on a climbing holiday and thought it would be good to get some early training.

How do they fit into your climbing?  They are great for mixing it up in the gym, they definitely make you consider you balance and footwork and make you concentrate more on moves ahead.

Why do you think they tools are useful?  To give a feel for using tools to climb. Otherwise I’d have to climb a palm tree with a standard set of axes and crampons, not that I’m ruling that out just yet!

Melissa Arnot

Melissa Arnot is the real deal.  5 Time Everest Summiter, RMI Guide, Wilderness EMT, U.S. Avalanche Level II, she's got street cred most climbers deam to achieve.  

She's also a DRY ICE Tools user!  Look for our cameo at 2:12...

This video is the first in a series following Arnot on her journey to become the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. Although the journey is on hold due to the Nepal Earthquake, we can be certain that Melissa will be back on her DRY ICE Tools, training hard to make mountaineering history.

Watch this video on The Scene.

Melissa was also instrumental in the establishment of The Juniper Fund. The Juniper Fund provides assistance to individuals, families, and communities in underserved countries adversely impacted by their work for the mountain-based adventure industry.

She will also be the speaker at this year AAC New York Chapter 2015 Annual Dinner.  Melissa will share her story of learning the ropes, taking us on a journey from Mount Rainier to the summit of Everest five times. 

The KRONOS on Epic TV

Furnace Industries Co-Owner and Chief Product Designer George Fisher was interviewed for a short on Epic TV's Climbing Daily about our upcoming release of the KRONOS, the World's First 'T' Rated, CE Certified Ice and Mixed Climbing Tool made of WOOD:

Three 6's

Co-produced by Furnace Industries and Gunks Apps, this short video follows Christian Fracchia climbing solo on three classic rock climbs in the Gunks, NY.

The aim of the film is to share the beauty and scale of the Gunks cliff band and the Mohonk Preserve. Located only 90 miles north of New York City, the Gunks provide many with their first experiences in rock climbing and has enough terrain for a lifetime of exploration.

This film marks the first time a drone has been used to film climbing in the Gunks.

17th Annual New Paltz Climbing Film Fest

DRY ICE Tools is proud to sponsor the New Patlz Climbing Film Festival on October 9th and 10th.  Now in it's 17th(!!) year, Festival organizer Tom Widing has chosen to bring the event back to it's roots by featuring several films made by different filmakers rather than simply being yet another stop for the Reel Rock Tour.  This approach will bring more local talent to viewers (check out THREE 6's as the intor film!) as well as unique international films (Beyond Good and Evil, Novato, Rockin Cuba).

Come be in the Gunks during the best time of the year to be there, The Fall.

DRY ICE Tools Play Major Role in New Squamish Mixed Climb

By training with DRY ICE Tools JAMIE FINLAYSON, mover and shaker in the Canadian climbing scene and frequent climbing partner with TIM EMMETT, sent his first ice climb, and it was an M10!

"Tim and I did a new route out at Brandywine Falls. It was my first ever mixed climb. It was an M10. Because I had been training with DRY ICE Tools, I had no problems at all."

Emmett and Finlayson established the wild looking mixed climb in December of 2013 calling it 100% Proof, M10. This was Finlayson’s first ice climb. Emmett said it was the first place he has climbed that is similar to Helmcken Falls, “Top pitch we climbed is about M9/10. You couldn’t climb it if it wasn’t iced up. Amazing atmosphere next to the falls too, so fun. It’s out of this world.”

From Finlayson’s Facebook: This was by far wildest thing I have ever done! What an amazing experience. Tim Emmett crushed a new M10 route up Brandywine Falls, naming it 100% Proof and I had the pleasure to belay him. I am super excited to be a part of the team. This was my first ice/mixed climb! What a place to learn. I managed to do all of the moves.

Read Jamie's full write up here.

DRY ICE Tools Co Owner/Founder Ben Carlson and Finlayson at the 2015 Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Salt Lake City, UT.

The Krakauer Regret

In this Huff Post interview with Krakauer and Jimmy Chin regarding the latest mountaineering film making the rounds, Meru, Krakauer is asked for some advice by a young kid (11) who would like to climb the Seven Summits. Krakauer's engaging response is one of the most honest answers I've ever heard:

The events of the 1996 Everest disaster continue to haunt him, events that occurred 20 years ago, 3 years before Kai Lightner and 5 before Ashima Shiraishi were even born. His words are a sledghammer strike on the anvil of mountaineering's contstantly conflicted core: Why.

Ironically, behind Krakauer's comments live the reasons we enjoy climbing: Exploration and Adventure. Whether personal or physical, these two beckon us to invest significant amounts of time and money into our climbing.  Every time we climb we gain experiences that reward us with increased self reliance, an ability to be responsible for our own safety, and better judgement. Without these, abdication of thought and freedom makes us a slug and the vine doomed to suffer the worst of consequences.

Our young adveturerer, who is undoubtedly an inspiration, needs to clearly hear what Krakauer and Chin are saying: Go climb Denali first to gain experience. There is no substitute for experience, and at age 11, experience may not be the longest section of his resume.

Every time we climb, we gain more insight into our passion for why and how we choose to accept different levels of risks.  The sound of each swing of the axe, the feel of every kick of the crampon, the twilight evenings spent descending via headlamp as snowflakes begin to fall, the slight nausea of an alpine start, that ominous feeling when you're on pitch 9 of an 18 pitch route and you feel the barometric presssure drop, these experiences inform and refine our decision making processes.

DRY ICE Tool users not only gain practical strength, but with their choice to train safely, they seek experiences to responsibly push their personal risk threshholds. It is our sincere hope that our customers, simply by choosing DRY ICE, will continue to train safely, climb safely, and gain the experience needed so they never have to repeat the Krakauer regret.

-bc

North American Ice Climbing Festivals 2015 - 2016

Ice climbing is growing! And with it are several 'mark your calendars NOW' events that bring us climbers together for fun, friends, and ice climbing.  Check out the starred events to get your hands on DRY ICE Tools and KRONOS!

Bozeman Ice Festival December 9-13, 2015 
Bozeman, MT

Sandstone Ice FestivalDecember 19-20 2015 Robinson Park Quarry, Sandstone MN

*Ouray Ice Fest January 14-17, 2016
 Ouray, CO

Adirondack International Mountain Fest January 2016 
Keene Valley, NY

*Smuggler's Notch Ice Bash January 22-24, 2016 
Smugglers Notch, VT

*Michigan Ice Fest February 10-14, 2016 
Munising, MI

*Mt. Washington Valley Ice Festival February 5-7, 2016 North Conway, NH

*Catskill Ice Festival January 29 - February 1, 2016
 New Paltz, NY

MEC Canmore Ice Festival January 29-31 2016
 Calgary, Alberta, CA

Cody Ice Fest February 12-15, 2016
 Cody, Wyoming

Valdez Ice Fest February 13-16 2016
 Valdez, Alaska  Get REALLY psyched with this post from SUPERTOPO.

*Furnace Industries will be there! Make sure to check us out. Follow our Twitter feed for live tweets and onsite info.

Athlete Blog- Karsten Delap

DRY ICE Tools Athlete Karsten Delap is having a busy summer! Due to a shifting of plans, Karsten has been steadily adventuring around the Pacific Northwest as well as closer to his home in North Carolina. Below, Karsten let's us in on some spectacular images and his notes from the road:

As an alpine guide and mountain athlete things never go as one plans.

I was supposed to be sending in Alaska as I write this but instead I am sitting on a plane headed to Colorado for an AMGA board meeting. Which is good, I hate missing meetings, and also good because last week being open gave me the opportunity to ski some volcanos out west in some of the most splitter weather I have ever had in that region.

The canceled trip also gave me time to check out a seldom visited crag in North Carolina of which I climbed a line that, after being re-bolted, I would put as one of the top ten lines I have climbed in NC. So I still have one week before I should "be back home", let's see what that will materialize! 

Image ® Joel Fluty

Find more from Karsten Delap at: 

www.karstendelap.com

www.foxmountainguides.com

Karsten is also supported by: La Sportiva, Furnace Industries, Julbo, Ibex, and Deuter

Climb On Nepal

Join DRY ICE Tools co-founder and photographer Ben Carlson, and many other photographers including Colin Haley, Corey Rich, Chris Vultaggio, Christian Fracchia, and the legendary Joe Fitschen, at a very special Photo Exhibition for Nepal by Climbers: Climb On Nepal.

All proceeds will be routed into the Waves for Water Nepal Relief Initiative, aimed at providing Nepal earthquake victims with access to safe water. 

The event will feature a display of photographs from some of the most cutting-edge leading alpinist / mountain athletes of the world, as well as a great representation of the climbing community who call NYC their home. We hope that this photo exhibition will share with everyone the joy and wonder that the mountains have given us, and inspire us all to come together in our appreciation for the mountains, as a nod to Nepal and her people.

Date: July 15, 6:30p-10:30p

Location: THE WYTHE HOTEL, 80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

See you there for this extremely worthy cause!

New DRY ICE Routes at the Cliffs LIC

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

The Kronos (Update)

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:

Desert Ice

“Climbing routes like this is like defusing a time bomb, and you can’t walk away from it." 

Ouray Ice Park Membership Drive!

The Ouray Ice Park is a one-of-a-kind ice climbing venue and is 100% donor funded. If you love the Ouray Ice Park as much as we do please consider becoming a member or renewing your membership today.

Member perks include:

-Discounts on clinics at the 2015 Ouray Ice Festival

-50% of a 1 year subscription to Rock & Ice Magazine

-20% off online orders with Brooks-Range Mountaineering

-$15 off online purchases of $75 or more at Mountain Gear

-Discounts at local businesses

-A tremendous amount of good climbing KARMA!

More here: http://ourayicepark.com/about/membership/

Cut to the chase and JOIN NOW!

Ouray Ice Park: Behind the Ice from Outside Adventure Media on Vimeo.

LOST - FI

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 Carries DRY ICE Tools

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.

Get In Ice Climbing Shape with Karsten Delap

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 is at The 2014 Outdoor Retailer! Booth #PV3176

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