MAIN Sports Winter Sports Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is the slippery relative of rock climbing. As challenging and exciting - but with the added elements of cold and ice - make the sport just that much more of an extreme experience.

Ice climbers scale steep walls that are made of sheets of ice. The equipment to do it safely can be bought at specialty shops... the skills are only available through practice!

If you plan on exploring the thrills of ice climbing, make sure that you get a good background in the safe way to climb. The experts on these sites will show you what climbing gear you need to bring along, how to dress, the right moves and the best places to work on perfecting them...

Planet Mountain.com - Stunning photos, articles, competitions and expeditions are just the tip of this sites offering. Based in Italy, the Dolomites and Italian Alps are covered here, but the information on the rest of the world's trekking destinations gets just as much attention. Visit the lab for info on techniques. The site is also available in Italian.

NEice - Check out the e-guide to classic ice climbing areas in the Northeast US, visit the forum community for tips and to share your climbs, articles and equipment reviews, videos and photos... you'll want to spend a while here.

The Cold Mountain Page - Their description: "A collection of technical articles, and trip reports. Covers waterfall ice climbing in North America and climbing Mt McKinley." They don't boast about the great links that go to mountaineering and other ice climbing sites and the articles on the Alps...

Tradgirl Climbing FAQ - Part forum and part how to ice climb, what equipment you'll need, which gear works best, where to find the gear for ice climbing, climbing saftey and other topics. Don't let the name fool you -- this is not a girl's board, although women are welcome...

Women Climbing - The focus here is climbing so you'll find most of the articles talking about rock climbing with a few specific to ice climbing. Great coverage of the issues women face on treks in the wilderness and answers to some -- like personal hygiene issues and gear that's designed for men's bodies... You'll notice the link to mountainwomen.com on the article linked here. The site is highly recommeded by everyone, but seems to be out of service. If you'd like, check to see if it's back online.