what does plastic ice mean?

sorry I am new

Nothing to be sorry about, everyone that currently climbs was once new themselves.  Learning is apart of the sport!

"plastic" means that the ice is soft, and usually a bit wet and you can easily penetrate the ice with your pick. Its plastic when it is warm out, usually around freezing temps and above, or it it is wetter, newer ice.  It is sometimes also referred to as "hero ice" as it is easier to climb, one swing sticks.  You don't have to swing over an dover again to get a good stick, thus you are the hero! The ice also "moves" before it breaks, where as harder, dryer ice just fractures.  Plastic ice still has some ductile "flow" like properties like described in the last sentence to keep using more words in this description that is now rambling.... 

It’s also worth noting that this was the original definition of the word that predates petroleum products (Latin: plasticus “moulding”, from Ancient Greek: πλάσσω “to mould”). Any solid that is ductile or formable has plasticity. 

Double J gave a great description so I'm not sure anything needs to be added, but if you can imagine the feeling of swinging your razor-sharp tool into a hockey puck (or just do it, if you have some pucks you don't like), that's what plastic ice feels like.  Or maybe I'm confusing it with vulcanized rubber ice. ;-)

They say that screws and tool placements are stronger in plastic ice than harder, colder ice - up to a point, obviously! More ductile, less brittle.

Double J wrote:

Nothing to be sorry about, everyone that currently climbs was once new themselves.  Learning is apart of the sport!

Did I somehow wander into the back of an old cupboard, and travel interdimensionally to a magical dream-world, where climbers treat newcomers politely, and help answer questions without using their answers primarily as vehicles to fluff their own maladjusted egos?

Color me pleasantly surprised

Ryan Lynch wrote:

Did I somehow wander into the back of an old cupboard, and travel interdimensionally to a magical dream-world, where climbers treat newcomers politely, and help answer questions without using their answers primarily as vehicles to fluff their own maladjusted egos?

Color me pleasantly surprised

I guess I was just in a good mood myself today.  I can return to being an asshole, that is also not a problem ;) 

Double J wrote:

Nothing to be sorry about, everyone that currently climbs was once new themselves.  Learning is apart of the sport!

"plastic" means that the ice is soft, and usually a bit wet and you can easily penetrate the ice with your pick. Its plastic when it is warm out, usually around freezing temps and above, or it it is wetter, newer ice.  It is sometimes also referred to as "hero ice" as it is easier to climb, one swing sticks.  You don't have to swing over an dover again to get a good stick, thus you are the hero! The ice also "moves" before it breaks, where as harder, dryer ice just fractures.  Plastic ice still has some ductile "flow" like properties like described in the last sentence to keep using more words in this description that is now rambling.... 

This is a perfect description. I am channeled back to ice climbing nirvana just reading it.

What does plastic ice mean?

Happiness!!!

With plastic ice do you normally have to chip away the surface ice to get to good ice before you place your screw in?

RWPT wrote:

With plastic ice do you normally have to chip away the surface ice to get to good ice before you place your screw in?

Maybe to get the hanger situated flat or get to harder stuff if it's to wet, but not normally in hero ice conditions. The reason I chip the surface away is due to sun baked or rotton ice. If you have hero ice you can probably sink a 16 and have shavings and ice all the way for a excellent screw placement. Test placements on top rope until you can read the ice well enough is my suggestion.

RWPT wrote:

With plastic ice do you normally have to chip away the surface ice to get to good ice before you place your screw in?

I normally do not.  BUT, with wet, plastic ice I prefer to use steal screws.  AL will most likely bind up.  I know it wasn't asked, but that's the follow up question. 

There's a fine line between plastic ice and slush.  Fairly often, what looks and feels like a hero first-swing stick can do damage below the surface that isn't as apparent as it would be in colder/harder ice where you can see the fractures.  Only when you clean the tool and the whole chunk it was in comes with it, do you know just how marginal it was.  The same can be said about screws (not to mention that running water can quickly erode screw holes), so caution is in order.  If a little excavation leads to harder/colder/dryer ice, it's worth doing.  If it just gets wetter the deeper you go, well, you need to make a judgment call.