Description
Learn to Ice Climb in Wyoming
Course overview:
Learn to ice climb in the beautiful high-desert canyons of northern Wyoming! Carving your way up frozen waterfalls, you’ll develop new skills and overcome physical and mental challenges. You’ll be rewarded with a well-earned sense of accomplishment and breathtaking views of this wild part of the country.
Our intro to ice climbing courses are great if you’re interested in trying out the sport for the first time, regardless of your climbing background. These two day courses include lessons on sport-specific LNT practices, environmental hazards, risk management, fundamentals of top rope safety, efficient ice climbing movement and technique. Instructional lessons are accompanied by top rope ice climbing on a variety of moderate ice climbs in Ten Sleep Canyon, Shell Canyon, and Five Springs Falls (as well as Carter Mountain in early season).
Course dates:
Our two day Intro to Ice Climbing Courses are available November 2021 – March 2022 upon request. Please use our email contact form below or give us a call to arrange dates for your course.
NOTE: All of our intro to ice climbing courses are privately arranged for individual parties – we do not mix groups of strangers for our courses unless specifically requested to do so. Our lower cost ice climbing clinics are larger group events scheduled for specific dates that are open to anyone who signs up for the clinic.
Recommended course locations:
We are fortunate to have access to several incredible ice climbing venues for our Intro to Ice Climbing Course. When selecting a location for this course, it is important to consider not just the quality of ice climbing but also ease of access, good distribution of moderate grades, lack of crowds, minimal objective hazards, and stunning natural beauty. Each of the following venues is an excellent ice climbing classroom – which location we end up choosing will depend on your specific objectives, climbing experience, party size, and preferences regarding the kind of ice climbing you want to experience. You can learn more about the these and other areas we guide at our Ice Climbing Areas page.
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- The Shroud (WI2-3), Shell Canyon – The Shroud is one of the best naturally formed ice climbing classrooms in the country. Over 60m tall and 80m wide, this gigantic slab of quality undulating waterfall ice is the perfect venue for large groups of beginning ice climbers.
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- Ten Sleep Canyon (WI3-4), Southern Bighorn Mountains – Ten Sleep Canyon is home to two classic ice climbs, Leigh Creek Falls (WI3-4) and Ten Sleep Falls (WI4), both of which offer excellent pitches of moderate ice that are well suited to both our Intro and Intermediate Ice Climbing Courses.
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- Five Springs Falls (WI3-5), Northern Bighorn Mountains – Five Springs Falls is undoubtedly one of the best ice cragging venues in the region with one 40m pitch of WI3+ and one 80m pitch of WI5. The short approach, long climbing season, and incredible quality of climbing makes this one of our go-to venues for Intro to Ice Climbing Courses.
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- Cottonwood Canyon (WI3-4), Lovell area – For those willing to hike off trail, Cottonwood Canyon has two great ice cragging venues with a wide range of difficulties set in an incredible backcountry location. We recommend this as a location for our Intro to Ice Climbing Courses in February – March as the ice is typically best in later season.
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- Carter Mountain (WI3-5), Cody area – Carter Mountain is home to several classic ice climbs that are well suited to both our Intro and Intermediate Ice Climbing Courses. Carter Mountain is also notable in that its season is one of the earliest in the country with waterfall ice consistently setting up by October.
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- Gunbarrel Creek, North Fork of the Shoshone (WI3-4) – Gunbarrel Creek has some of the best ice cragging in the Cody area with a reasonable approach and a high concentration of quality moderates. This is an excellent mid season venue for our Intro to Ice Climbing Courses before heavy late season snows reduce access.
Lessons included in the course:
Our Intro to Ice Climbing courses include personalized instruction on the following topics and techniques:
- Staying safe and warm in winter conditions
- Gearing up for ice climbing
- Fundamental ice climbing safety systems
- Ice climbing movement techniques
- Toprope ice climbing on WI2-4
- Leave No Trace and “Beyond Leave No Trace” practices
- Place-based lessons on the area’s geology, ecology, and history
Learn more about our Intro to Ice Climbing Course curriculum…
Course guides:
Our talented team of ice climbing guides includes some of the most talented ice climbers in the region who are at the forefront of ice climbing development in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. More importantly our guides are skilled teachers who are patient, kind, and helpful to people from all walks of life as they learn new skills. Their top priority is making you feel safe and supported as you take on a new challenge. Feel free to request a particular guide for your course as well.
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- Dane Steadman
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- Zayne Hebbler
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- Zach Lentsch
Sample 2 day itinerary:
Friday evening:
- 6 pm: Meet for gear checks and safety orientation
Saturday:
- 7am: Drive to ice climbing area
- 8am: Start approach hike to the crag
- 8:30am: Gear up for ice climbing as guides set up climbs
- 9am: Review risk management and safety skills for toprope climbing
- 9:30am: Foundational ice climbing technique lesson
- 10am – 12pm: Toprope ice climbing
- 12-12:30pm: Lunch break
- 12:30pm: Efficient ice climbing movement lesson
- 1-3:30pm: Toprope ice climbing
- 3:30pm: Hike out
- 4pm: Debrief
Sunday:
- 7am: Drive to ice climbing area
- 8am: Start approach hike to the crag
- 8:30am: Gear up for ice climbing as guides set up climbs
- 9am: The science of ice lesson
- 9:30am: Review ice climbing technique
- 10am – 12pm: Toprope ice climbing
- 12-12:30pm: Lunch break
- 12:30pm: Fundamentals of ice climbing route selection
- 1-3:30pm: Toprope ice climbing
- 3:30pm: Hike out
- 4pm: Debrief
Meeting location:
For all of our ice climbing courses, we prefer to meet the night before the course for equipment rentals and safety orientation at Sunlight Sports in Cody WY.
Rates:
| Size of Party | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1 Day | $300 | $450 | $575 | $675 | $775 | $875 |
| 2 Days | $550 | $725 | $875 | $1050 | $1200 | $1300 |
Contact Us:
Interested in taking an Intro to Ice Climbing Course? Want to sign up for different dates? Feel free to ask us any questions you might have!
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