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Ice Climbing

If you are new to ice climbing, or are just friends with people who do it, it can sound like an entirely new language. Here are some words commonly related to ice-climbing that will come in handy when trying to understand what the heck everyone else is talking about: Crampons: Crampons are these metal things that can be attached to outdoor footwear to increase traction on snow and ice. Think of them as soccer shoes for ice. Ice Axe: While this is pretty self-explanatory, there are a surprising number of components, including the pick, the Adze, (the flat end, like the backside of a hammer except naturally cooler, that is used to chop rather than secure the axe into the ice), and the leash and leash stop (which is what it says, and keeps the axe and the climber from being separated, the stop is a little piece of metal that keeps the leash from slipping off the bottom of the rope. Front Pointing: This is a technique of ice-climbing that involves using front-slanting crampons to dig into the ice and lift the climber up. It is the easiest style to pick up, but is for moderate to steep climbs, and can be more tiring than other techniques on less steep inclines. Abseiling: If you hear your friends using this word, they are probably a bit pretentious, because anyone normal would just say Rappelling. It's the same thing. Congratulations, you are now better equipped to converse with your colleagues, friends, and family when they bring up the topic of Ice Climbing.