What is summer iceclimbing?

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MCS AlexClimb iceclimbing courses

What is summer iceclimbing and where you can climb ice in the summer?

There is a point of view that iceclimbing - climbing on the ice - is an exclusively winter kind of activity. Such an idea certainly has the right to exist, however...

Definitely, winter iceclimbing is much more diverse, more interesting, entertaining and brighter. However, this sport can also be practiced in the summer months - with certain differences in the geography and some technical aspects.

Summer iceclimbing on the glacier steps at the foot of Mount Ushba

If everything is relatively clear with winter climbing on the frozen waterfalls, let’s look at the summer format of iceclimbing.

So what is summer iceclimbing?

Firstly, in the summer you can forget about such an exquisite pleasure as climbing frozen waterfalls, unless you are too lazy to fly to the other side of the globe for this, where in the summer everything is covered with a thick layer of snow and ice.

Summer iceclimbing on a glacier in the Bezengi area

In relation to the realities of the northern hemisphere, where summer is, after all, a rather warm season, climbing on the summer ice is only possible in the mountains, on ice massifs of glaciers located at an altitude that excludes or slows down their rapid melting.

Summer iceclimbing on the Kashkatash glacier, Elbrus region

High in the mountains, on the slopes and breaks of the glaciers, you can find quite decent verticals for practicing your favorite sport. However, the specificity of summer iceclimbing is precisely that no glacier will provide you with the variety and pleasure that can be found in real, winter iceclimbing.

Iceclimbing training on a glacier. Caucasus

To better understand the details, let's introduce two definitions into the text - “cold ice” and “warm ice”. “Cold ice” is formed from flowing water at temperatures below zero and has high density, plasticity and high reliability for protection while climbing.

Iceclimbing on the Kashkatash glacier, during the acclimatization before climbing Mount Elbrus

“Warm” ice is a perennial substance of uneven density that makes up high-mountain glaciers. Iceclimbing on the “cold” and “warm” ice differs in the level of quality of support and safety of belay points, the ability to use different techniques, and the variety of routes.

Iceclimbing on the Mizhirgi Glacier, North Caucasus

Summer iceclimbing is significantly limited in the possibility of using iceclimbing techniques due to the peculiarities of the glacial structure and the low density of summer “warm” ice.

That means that in the summer it is possible to climb exclusively on the flat walls of mountain glaciers of arbitrary inclination - from simple positive slopes to moderately overhanging glacier breaks - seracs.

Iceclimbing training on the Ushba glacier

When climbing on the glacier breaks, you should be especially careful when choosing a training location - taking all objective safety measures. First of all, taking into account the high mobility of glaciers and the property of ice seracs to unexpected collapse.

Iceclimbing training on a glacier

The low density of “warm” ice and, often, its porosity, do not provide high reliability of bely while climbing, so all sorts of masterly tricks that are possible on the dense “cold” ice are not available in the summer. Likewise, the reliability of belay on “warm” ice requires special care when leading and organizing belay stations.

Summer iceclimbing trainings are usually carried out with top rope belay

As a rule, in our summer iceclimbing sessions we organize a reliable top rope belay to reduce the risk of accidentally losing an intermediate belay point. Considering these technical subtleties, it is quite possible to evaluate the possible benefits of iceclimbing training on “warm” summer ice.

Kashkatash Glacier, North Caucasus

These iceclimbing training sessions, of course, provide a lot of necessary skills and physical activity, however, they cannot be contrasted with full-fledged training on the winter ice terrain - frozen waterfalls and cascades.

Summer iceclimbing in Kamchatka, Erman glacier

Summer iceclimbing fully fits into different acclimatization programs of varying intensity and is suitable for teaching basic climbing techniques and belaying on ice. In addition, summer iceclimbing fully prepares climbers for ascents containing ice or mixed obstacles (mixed routes).

Summer iceclimbing training on a glacier, Caucasus

But with intention to improve iceclimbing techniques, develop a subtle “sense of ice”, the ability to trust and safely use ice for support and protection, you still need to become familiar with real “cold” winter ice.

So, to summarize the above: iceclimbing in the summer is a completely accessible and interesting option for mountain activity, which has the right to exist within the framework of any training and educational programs for mountaineering.

At the MCS AlexClimb team's iceclimbing training before climbing Mount Elbrus

For getting to know the intricacies and features of classic iceclimbing, summer ice is not as useful as winter ice, and, therefore, cannot be considered as a full-fledged training terrain.

The author of the iceclimbing programs, texts and photos - Alex Trubachev

MCS EDIT 2023