Prep before first time ice climbing?

I had my heart broken 1.5 weeks ago and then spontaneously decided to sign up for an ice climbing trip to l’Argentiere. It’s 3 days long and includes instruction for beginners. I really want to make the most of it and just lose myself in a new adventure.

The trip is in 6 weeks. What kind of training can I do in advance to be as strong as possible for a beginner? I already boulder, lead climb, and do yoga regularly. What kind of “studying” can I do in addition to watching Will Gaff’s Black Diamond series on YouTube? I live in France and the coaching will be in French but I’m not a native speaker so I want to understand ice climbing intellectually as much as possible before the trip.

https://nox.tips/

Any other beginner tips or sources would be greatly appreciated. If it‘s relevant , I’m 23 F & I don’t have great cardio or mountaineering experience.

Fill a bucket up 1/2 full with cold water, then add ice cubes til 3/4 full. Place both hands in the water for 15 minutes or until numb. Remove hands and allow to warm. Embrace the pain and your first experience with the screaming barfies.

Other than that, do not over think it and have fun. In the mean time, find some boots that are warm and comfortable. You will be standing around a lot. Bring a thermos of hot toddies.

hang on tools or similar

Practice swinging/aiming ice axes accurately at wooden objects, especially with your non-dominant arm/hand; if you have a forest nearby, there will be plenty of dead trees, though I can't say how much the locals will appreciate such efforts; practice removing your ice axes from said wooden objects--if your rotator cuff survives the training, it will thank you when you ice climb. Get used to carrying an ice ax in each hand all day. If you don't have ice axes, maybe try hammering nails and carrying 2 lb dumbbells around.

Unlearn everything you know about how to use your feet when you rock climb. If you're rock climbing in the next 6 weeks, play the game of not moving your ankle once you've put your foot on a hold. Stay after school and write on the blackboard 1000 times:  "I will not rock up on my tippy toes. I will not rock up on my tippy toes..."

If you're from somewhere warm, figure out how to keep warm in temperatures that are conducive to ice climbing.

The cardio will depend on the approach to the climbing venue; if you're taking the telepherique, no problem; if you'll be slogging up a big hill, maybe some stair climbing is in your future.

Watch all 9 episodes of this

Will Gadd's series

dont sweat it. ice climbing is easy. general fitness will help. 

Perfect your layering clothing system, hot soup in a thermos for a midday warm up and everything everyone else said. My quads were the most sore after an first time outing. Have fun!

Allen Sanderson wrote:

Fill a bucket up 1/2 full with cold water, then add ice cubes til 3/4 full. Place both hands in the water for 15 minutes or until numb. Remove hands and allow to warm. Embrace the pain and your first experience with the screaming Barfies 

Or not!

Do some pull ups on ice tools

ryan climbs sometimes wrote:

if you fridge has an ice machine with a crush setting fill up several vessels. find a friend, then do some pull ups while they throw crushed ice in your face. wear eye pro

This is the most accurate description of ice climbing I’ve ever read. 

if you have good technique leg strength is even more important than arm strength.

Calf raises wouldn't hurt.

You’ve already done the prep — had your soul crushed.  

Now, next times you step in the shower, turn it on to full cold.  Now, while standing there all wet, cold, and miserable , just relax, focus, and bring yourself to orgasm.  

Welcome to ice climbing.

This video might be useful

If you have access to a treadwall in a gym, that's set with a lot of holds, practice climbing with arms alternating and staggered, on whatever jugs are handy, with your feet being on the same horizontal line while your hands move. Set the arms, walk the feet up. Stand up, hips in, set the hands. It's a different pattern than rock climbing, but easy to learn.

Mostly, though?

It's simply fun! All the hand and foot holds are exactly where you are, strapped right on you. Whoever is taking you out gets the tough part, where the experience and judgement are absolutely critical. You'll just be on a top rope, and going for it. It's not like top roping rock routes. That rope is just to help mitigate disasters, and a way to get you back down. That rope is just...there. The climb is entirely on you. 

Temps can make or break (literally) ice climbing, so understand that ahead of time. The same formation can be easy, it can be miserably difficult, or become unclimbable/unapproachable, just with temp and weather shifts.

Have fun!

Best, Helen

EDIT to add, I was close to 61 when I hot to try ice climbing. And new to climbing at all, and utterly non athletic. A beginner, guided, setting should be super fun. Yeah, ice can be all that other stuff, but the big shhhhh!!!! secret is it's easier than any other climbing out there, as a beginner, once someone else handles all the logistics. All that other, hard work stuff is if you get hooked. If you can walk, and slowly climb a ladder, you can give ice a try. 

But don't tell. Let everyone correctly attribute crazy level badassedness to you!

Ben V wrote:

This video might be useful

I enjoy ol’ “Global Mike Reid” (clean knot every time, baby!) but generally don’t clean your axes like he does in the video.  Might work on softer lower angle glacier ice to some extent, but likely get you into a struggle on steeper hard water ice.   You Can pull out on the handle a bit to loosen the pick and create some space, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, that alone will work, but more often than not, you then need to go “in and up”  (heavy on the up) to disengage the teeth and clean an obstreperous axe.  

I watched a new climber this weekend use 80% of his energy in the struggle with getting his axes out of the ice and it made me think of the video.   

Ben V wrote:

This video might be useful

This is one of the best intro-to-ice videos on the internet, it's really worth watching.

(Not sure about the other comment, this isn't Mike Reid, the guy says "my name is Lance". I think Mike Reid guides in Iceland, and this video is from Ouray?)

Kyle Tarry wrote:

This is one of the best intro-to-ice videos on the internet, it's really worth watching.

(Not sure about the other comment, this isn't Mike Reid, the guy says "my name is Lance". I think Mike Reid guides in Iceland, and this video is from Ouray?)

Agree if you’re talking about the 4-layer video.  

Did Ben V change the link?   When I clicked the link last week it was a How Not2 intro to Ice in Iceland with Mike Reid. 

Mark Pilate wrote:

Agree if you’re talking about the 4-layer video.  

Did Ben V change the link?   When I clicked the link last week it was a How Not2 intro to Ice in Iceland with Mike Reid. 

Nope it was the 4-layer video the whole time as far as I know 

Glove systems brother. I rock a vest with internal glove pockets and wear it as layer 2, just over the base layer. Spare pair of gloves goes there. When the primary pair gets wet, swap them and your wet pair will dry as you climb in warm, dry gloves. One pair of waterproof goretex more insulated gloves and one pair of highly dexterous, less insulated gloves is how I roll. Big mitts stay in the pack with the belay parka.