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Climbing perfect ice in Lee Vining Canyon. Seth Hobby.

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 climate in the Sierra Nevada meets each of these prerequisites. Indeed, the range does a great deal more than that. Cold weather and typically clear, blue skies combine to not only create great climbing conditions, but also to provide the best waterfall ice climbing in the American West. The ice found in Lee Vining Canyon and in June Lake comprise to make an absolutely phenomenal venue for ice training at all skill levels.

The Lee Vining climbing area is in a deep box canyon below 13,057-foot Mt. Dana. With walls up to 2000 vertical feet high on either side, the shadowed reaches of the canyon stay consistently cold and yield ice that is almost always in excellent condition. June Lake provides a variety of lines at a more moderate angle with a shorter approach. It is an excellent place for beginners to cut their teeth and for more advanced students to study the art of leading and to develop skills for mixed climbing. When the two locations are combined in a single program, their diversity and quality create one of the finest winter ice playgrounds in America.

The American Alpine Institute offers a series of two-day and five-day ice intensives in the Sierra 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.

An AAI group approaching the Lee Vining Canyon climbing area.

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.

• Introductory two-day courses are offered at $340 per person with a minimum of three participants. Introductory five-day courses are offered at $850 per person with a minimum of three participants.
• Intermediate and Advanced level two-day courses are offered at $380 per person with a minimum of two participants.
• Intermediate and Advanced level five-day courses are offered at $950 with a minimum of two participants.

The Lee Vining Canyon climbing area.

This Waterfall Ice Climbing program may be combined with our winter mountaineering program and our backcountry skiing programs 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 other two program 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)

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.

Chounaird Falls at the upper end of the Lee Vining Canyon.