Crampons and ice axes, the tools of the trade, are tricky to maneuver and give the word ‘delicate a new poignancy around a life-line of rope.
“Ice, Ice, baby!” shouted my friend, Laura. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and her fist shot into the air as she retrieved the latest ice report from NEIce.com. Her buzz was contagious and I knew I wanted some! She promised exhilaration and physical challenge akin to rock climbing; I just had to play!
Tackling a vertical waterfall in the Catskills with a guy I thought was trying to kill me was my first go round. Without any direction I slammed the ice so hard, I thought I broke a rib (or two). Being a former rock climbing guide, I was sure it did not have to be this difficult or injurious and was questioning my own sanity at being out here with this guy.
Tackling a vertical waterfall in the Catskills with a guy I thought was trying to kill me was my first go round. Without any direction I slammed the ice so hard, I thought I broke a rib (or two). Being a former rock climbing guide, I was sure it did not have to be this difficult or injurious and was questioning my own sanity at being out here with this guy. With a little expert guidance and minimal instruction, anything is possible. After my visit to an orthopedist to ensure nothing was broken, my determination solidified. I just had to experience this amazing sport with less pain and more information. A 3-day weekend with the professional ice-climbing school called Chicks With Picks was just what the doctor ordered! These women are serious athletes. My guide, Kitty Calhoun was the first woman to climb the west pillar of Makalu, in one of its earliest ascents. Know that this is the fifth highest mountain peak in the world found just 14 miles from Everest in the Himalaya. Her colleague, Swiss-born Caroline George, made a very rare bagging of the three great north faces of the Alps in winter: the Eiger, Matterhorn and the Walker Spur in the Mont Blanc range in just 3 months. The brilliance of these “chick’s” experience and skill shone through as they shared their inner secrets of this elite world. Their personalized instruction was interspersed with banter and laughter, medicine for the soul.
I remember Laura telling me, “You get into a rhythm and its mesmerizing.” The cadence of the steady, methodical thwack of my ice axes drew me in. Focus. Foot, foot, hand. Hand, foot, foot. Translate that to: kick, kick, throw, throw: push up with your feet, pull in with your arms: hips back, look at your feet, fire your quads, squeeze your glutes, tighten your core and push up from the balls of your feet. A rhythm was born as the space between me and my belayer on the ground widened.
This was more like it! An absolute extension of what I knew rock climbing to be only with piercing claws on my feet and jagged fangs in my hands. The skills translated logically from rock climbing, despite finding myself gripping my toes (pushing up from the balls of the feet is not as easy as it sounds when suspended by sharp protrusions in a frozen waterfall). Crampons and ice axes, the tools of the trade, are tricky to maneuver and give the word ‘delicate’ a new poignancy around a life-line of rope.
Climbing the Ice - Photo 1
Settling in, meaning, relaxing my dogged need to get it right, I could take stock of where I really was -- if my mother could see me now -- dangling by the front points of my crampons vertically perched on a frozen waterfall! The sun caught my eye as it glistened off a thin icicle refracting it’s crystalline features, the pure and intense color of vibrant blue sky reflected in the frozen world below. My nose bristled with the intensity of the cold. The air was so crisp and clear it seemed all my senses were heightened. This frozen wonderland provided more than I could have possibly imagined. Beauty, excitement, exhilaration, exercise and humor, all in one.
With the expertise of founder, Kim Reynolds’ Chicks with Picks, I was able to experience the glory of ice climbing without injury or provocation except to do it again! The sense of accomplishment after a long day climbing where the body aches from exertion is unparalleled! As any extreme athlete knows, that is why we do what we do!
We are having another stellar year for ice in this region and I encourage everyone to give it a try. Call a local guide service to make your foray into the frozen vertical world. And when your friends question your sanity, use Chicks’ tag line: “Kiss my Axe!”
Disclaimer: Participation in ice climbing involves significant risk of personal injury and death. No amount of skill, equipment and experience can make ice climbing safe. GottaGetGear.Pro and NEice.com. is not responsible for the content of this site or theirs. The information is provided by a journalist. Seek qualified professional instruction, guidance and use your best judgement.
— Ruth A. Karmazon,
L.Ac., C.A., M.S.
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Tackling a vertical waterfall in the Catskills with a guy I thought was trying to kill me was my first go round. Without any direction I slammed the ice so hard, I thought I broke a rib (or two). Being a former rock climbing guide, I was sure it did not have to be this difficult or injurious and was questioning my own sanity at being out here with this guy.
Tackling a vertical waterfall in the Catskills with a guy I thought was trying to kill me was my first go round. Without any direction I slammed the ice so hard, I thought I broke a rib (or two). Being a former rock climbing guide, I was sure it did not have to be this difficult or injurious and was questioning my own sanity at being out here with this guy. With a little expert guidance and minimal instruction, anything is possible. After my visit to an orthopedist to ensure nothing was broken, my determination solidified. I just had to experience this amazing sport with less pain and more information. A 3-day weekend with the professional ice-climbing school called Chicks With Picks was just what the doctor ordered! These women are serious athletes. My guide, Kitty Calhoun was the first woman to climb the west pillar of Makalu, in one of its earliest ascents. Know that this is the fifth highest mountain peak in the world found just 14 miles from Everest in the Himalaya. Her colleague, Swiss-born Caroline George, made a very rare bagging of the three great north faces of the Alps in winter: the Eiger, Matterhorn and the Walker Spur in the Mont Blanc range in just 3 months. The brilliance of these “chick’s” experience and skill shone through as they shared their inner secrets of this elite world. Their personalized instruction was interspersed with banter and laughter, medicine for the soul.
I remember Laura telling me, “You get into a rhythm and its mesmerizing.” The cadence of the steady, methodical thwack of my ice axes drew me in. Focus. Foot, foot, hand. Hand, foot, foot. Translate that to: kick, kick, throw, throw: push up with your feet, pull in with your arms: hips back, look at your feet, fire your quads, squeeze your glutes, tighten your core and push up from the balls of your feet. A rhythm was born as the space between me and my belayer on the ground widened.
This was more like it! An absolute extension of what I knew rock climbing to be only with piercing claws on my feet and jagged fangs in my hands. The skills translated logically from rock climbing, despite finding myself gripping my toes (pushing up from the balls of the feet is not as easy as it sounds when suspended by sharp protrusions in a frozen waterfall). Crampons and ice axes, the tools of the trade, are tricky to maneuver and give the word ‘delicate’ a new poignancy around a life-line of rope.
Climbing the Ice - Photo 1
With the expertise of founder, Kim Reynolds’ Chicks with Picks, I was able to experience the glory of ice climbing without injury or provocation except to do it again! The sense of accomplishment after a long day climbing where the body aches from exertion is unparalleled! As any extreme athlete knows, that is why we do what we do!
We are having another stellar year for ice in this region and I encourage everyone to give it a try. Call a local guide service to make your foray into the frozen vertical world. And when your friends question your sanity, use Chicks’ tag line: “Kiss my Axe!”
Disclaimer: Participation in ice climbing involves significant risk of personal injury and death. No amount of skill, equipment and experience can make ice climbing safe. GottaGetGear.Pro and NEice.com. is not responsible for the content of this site or theirs. The information is provided by a journalist. Seek qualified professional instruction, guidance and use your best judgement.
— Ruth A. Karmazon,
L.Ac., C.A., M.S.
© 2009 GottaGetGear.Pro. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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