Ice Climbing 101

For those of you who have done any rock climbing you know how tiring it is. Last weekend we went ice climbing for many reasons, one reason being we thought it was easier than rock climbing (which we are not very good at). As we were setting up our gear to start our first climb we were told ice climbing actually takes more strength and is more tiring than rock climbing. Oh that is not what we wanted to hear. Combine that revelation with our lack of belaying experience and the cold temps and my day was looking pretty bleak. But on to the climbing, here I am making it up climb #1, a relatively easy climb.

And here is Ben doing the same climb, yes we both had shaking arms and numb hands when we finished.

Hey that guy at the top is Ben! He made the peak with only a couple of minor infractions. I was also able to climb this monster wall but took some breaks and was wiped and freaked out when I got to the top.

All in all it ended up being a pretty cool day. I surprised myself and stayed warm the whole time, from 9 to 5. Turns out there is some climbable ice right down the stream from our house in Bangor. Now if we only had our own gear!