Ice Climbing Gear
More from the amazing Lake City! Another reminder, Lake City has an amazing ice wall run and operated by volunteers who depend on donations. The businesses and residents of Lake City are encouraging of the ice climbers. However they need more support to continue the winter ice operations. You can donate online at lakecityice.com.
Let’s talk gloves, harnesses, and ice screws!
Climbing with a nip in the air? Hestra Gloves offers incredibly warm and well designed gloves. I love the Alpine Pro. They are warm enough to ski RMNP on a windy day in January and dexterous enough to belay a climbing partner with ease, these are my favorite gloves I’ve ever owned. I can even adjust the settings on my camera with them on!
I’m wearing the Petzl Aquila harness when climbing. Lightweight and sleek, this harness is super comfortable and has a ton of gear loops. Whether you need to carry your trad rack or screws and ice tools, you have plenty of options on this harness.
Lastly after much comparison I chose the Petzl Laser Speed Ice Screws as my favorite. They have a hearty construction with lightweight materials. Petzl consistently puts very thoughtful engineering in their products. The Laser Speed penetrates the ice easily and holds up when placed correctly. We had Scotty take a fall to test the anchor integrity (on top rope). We were pleased to see it didn’t budge. This gave us and extra sense of security as we used the screws to redirect our top ropes and expand our routes.
Ice climbing in Lake City never disappoints!
—Michael Mirabella, Ski Shop Senior Tech
