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Equipment List

Dispatches

A climber follows a pitch in the Ouray Ice Park.

January and February 2012 get 25% off when you climb with us in Ouray.

Ice climbing is one of those "fringe" types of climbing that a lot of climbers tend to develop a love-hate relationship with. The sport is a fickle pursuit. The medium is constantly changing and reading the ice can be difficult. Protection methods are often tricky and require a great deal of practice. The gear is strange and looks as if it were transported straight out of the dark ages. But once participants get past all of the weirdness involved, ice climbing is an incredibly rewarding pursuit. Nearly all of those that give it a try wind-up hooked. Many even become "ice climbing junkies."

Water ice provides the medium for the most exciting form of winter climbing. Because this type of ice is formed from frozen waterfalls and seeps in cliff-faces, ice climbing is a sport that may be pursued in many different venues throughout the country. And ironically, it may even be practiced in places where there are no major mountain ranges.

Two elements are required to create good ice conditions. First, there must be a consistent flow of water and second, there must be reliably cold conditions. The town of Ouray, Colorado and the surrounding environs provide just such conditions.

Ouray is a mecca for winter activities in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The small town of Ouray nestled at the foot of Red Mountain Pass provides climbers and skiers access to some of the best routes and terrain in the Rockies. The backcountry skiing in the area is top notch and Ouray is home to the first America's first ice climbing park.

The greatest draw to the town of Ouray in the winter is the Ice Park and the annual Ouray Ice Festival, which brings in climbers from all over the world. The Ice Park is home to literally hundreds of routes from easy beginner climbs to advanced level test-pieces. Most ice climbing locations don't have a lot of variety and climbers are often stuck with a handful of climbs at a given difficulty. This is absolutely not the case with Ouray, there are enough climbs at enough levels to keep a climber engaged for months! The best way for a climber at any level to improve as an ice climber is to get mileage, and there is perhaps no better place than the Ouray Ice Park.

The one disadvantage to the ice park is that most of the climbs are single-pitch endeavors. And while this may be a disadvantage to the park, it's not a disadvantage to the area. In the Ouray Ranger District backcountry just a short distance from the town, there are dozens of multi-pitch climbs.

The American Alpine Institute offers a series of two-day and five-day ice intensives in the San Juan Mountains every winter. These courses are taught at three distinct levels, Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced. The first climbers to enroll on a given date will determine the level of the program. Outside of our scheduled dates, courses and climbs may be arranged as private appointments as well.

• courses and guided ascents available from December through March
• courses and private instruction available at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels
• sign-up for a course or for private instruction/guiding
• walking distance from the ice park to your hotel
• both backcountry and frontcountry ice available
• variety available on private trips – also consider winter mountaineering and/or backcountry skiing

AAI climbers Jim and Jessica Easter with the Ice Park in the background.

Introductory level climbers are introduced to the basics of ice climbing, crampons, ice tools, ice screws, ice bollards, belaying, knots and hitches as well as to top-roping techniques. Graduates of this course should feel comfortable in a single-pitch ice setting when climbing with a more experienced mentor.

Curriculum for this program includes, but is not limited to:

• design concept & selection of ice axes & second hand tools; reverse, classic, steeply drooped, & tubular picks; & crampons;
• design concepts, selection & placement of ice screws & other ice anchors for protection and belays;
• ice climbing grade system and guidebook interpretation;
• ice axe & second hand tool placement techniques; third tool technique;
• French, German & American cramponing styles & combinations;
• tool and foot progression sequence, staggered versus parallel;
• top-rope system establishment and management;
• ice crag hazard assessment and safety management protocols;
• extensive climbing, including continuous pitch ascents;
• Leave No Trace climbing & travel skills.

Intermediate level students will continue to work on the skills established at the introductory level. In addition to these, climbers will develop an understanding of rappelling techniques on ice, will practice following a leader and will begin technical leadership training. All students at the intermediate level will leave with an ability to manage a single-pitch top-roping site at an ice climbing area and will have foundational ice leadership skills.

Curriculum for this program includes, but is not limited to:

• review top-rope set-ups and techniques;
• arrangement & placement of intermediate protection & belay anchors in different types of waterfall ice;
• rappelling techniques on both single and multi-pitch lines;
• mixed climbing technique and the use of leashless tools;
• mixed climbing grade system and guidebook interpretation;
• leading sequence & belay changeover;
• steep and technical climbing technique with an emphasis on pillars, chandeliers, ribbons, etc;
• multi-pitch climbing technique;
• practice leading for those qualified;
• extensive climbing, including continuous pitch ascents;
• Leave No Trace climbing & travel skills.

Advanced level students will continue to develop their technical ice leadership skills with more lead practice, multi-pitch ice climbing, and technical rescue skills. Upon graduation, advanced level students will have the ability to lead ice and will have a solid understanding of multi-pitch technique.

Curriculum for this program includes, but is not limited to:

• review top-rope set-ups, multi-pitch sequences, and rappelling;
• develop the skills to employ Leave No Trace rappel techniques
• continue to work on techniques for "high-end" climbing on steep technical ice and on mixed terrain;
• continue to develop a hazard assessment matrix with an emphasis on technical and group leadership;
• develop a basic understanding of high angle rescue on ice;
• leading sequence & belay changeover;
• leading for those qualified;
• extensive climbing, including continuous pitch ascents;
• Leave No Trace climbing & travel skills.

Private Rates

Half-Day Courses & Climbs

$300 - Private
$190 - (per person) 2 people
$140 - (per person) 3 or more people

Available for Beginner and Intermediate level courses.

Full-Day Courses & Climbs

$325 - Private
$235 - (per person) 2 people
$190 - (per person) 3 or more people

Available for Beginner, Intermediate, and Master's level courses.

Multi-Day Courses & Climbs

$300 - (per day) Private
$210 - (per person, per day) 2 people
$170 - (per person, per day) 3 or more people

Available for Beginner, Intermediate, and Master's level courses.

Courses

• Intro to Ice: 2days, $340/person, 2 person minimum.


• Intro to Ice: 5days, $850/person, 2 person minimum.


• Intermediate/Advanced Ice Climbing Course: 2 days, $380/person, 2 person minimum.


• Intermediate/Advanced Course: 5 days, $950/person, 2 person minimum.

This Waterfall Ice Climbing program may be combined with our winter mountaineering program and our backcountry skiing programs in the San Juan Mountains or in the Sierra Nevada. When taken together, or pieced together over a season or two, these programs combined make up our "winter comprehensive curriculum." Here are the links to the other two programs in this progression:

• Backcountry Skiing (Sierra Nevada, CA)
• Winter Mountaineering (Sierra Nevada, CA)
• Winter Mountaineering (San Juan Mountains, CO)
• Backcountry Skiing (San Juan Mountains, CO)

Following a pitch in the Ouray backcountry. David Kesonie

The goal at each level of the curriculum -- beginner, intermediate, and advanced -- is to help you progress from one level to the next, to improve efficiency, to develop risk management strategies, and to open doors to future climbing possibilities.