Book Review: "The Art of Ice Climbing"

The first ice climbing book that makes a significant impact since Will Gadd's Ice & Mixed Climbing is now available in English.

The Art of Ice Climbing, published by the small Chamonix alpine equipment manufacture, Blue Ice, is a much needed addition to the resources available to both experienced and aspiring ice climbers.

Here's an interview with one of the book's authors, Jerome Blanc-Gras on Epic TV.

I first heard of the book when it came out in it's French version more than a year ago. It looked so good at that time that I almost bought it despite my very poor French. I'm glad I waited for the English translation.

The book has a lot of unique content, great (and inspirational) photos and short interviews with international figures who aided in the development of alpine and waterfall ice climbing.

The gear maintenance section has an excellent step-by-step description of how to get beat up ice screws back into service. Along the same lines, is the section on sharpening and customizing picks for ice and dry-tooling. Complete with an explanation of how the various surface angles affect performance.

The last third of the book deals with such issues as commitment, choosing your line, overcoming difficulties (cruxes), and overall safety.

In the safety section the authors develop a system of planning and evaluation with a check-list type process. Finally there are four case studies of real-life accidents/situations in which the climbers behavior is evaluated.

I think this book, along with Jeff Lowe's Ice World and Gadd's previously mentioned Ice & Mixed Climbing, forms the third part of a trilogy of books about ice climbing that all alpine ice and mixed climbers should read. Many thanks to Jerome Blanc-Gras and Manu Ibarra for the book and to Blue Ice for pubishing an English translation.

Klettertreff Gaisberg / Open Climbing Gaisberg

Sonne am Mittwoch!

Outdoor Klettertreff am Gaisberg kommende Mittwoch, 5.06.2013 ab 18:00. Treffpunkt in Klettergarten Rechts oben ab 18:00.

Trainer Gebühr für Abend €75,-- bei Teilnehmer geteilt.

Mehr Infos bei mir joefratianni@hotmail.com oder 0688 815 0331

Sun on Wednesday!

Open climbing on the Gaisberg this  coming Wednesday, 5.06.2013 from 18:00. Meeting point is in the climbing area on the upper right side at 18:00.

Trainer fee is €75,-- for the evening and shared by the participants.

More information at joefratianni@hotmail.com or 0688 815 0331

Training FUBAR

This is a rant. You're warned. There is so, so, so much shit regarding training for climbing. One could argue that most people think they are training for climbing when they go climb, but mostly this activity has more social and entertainment components than athletic.

I want to talk about supplemental strength training for climbing. To define what I mean, I'm discussing non-climbing, supplemental training that is done in periods in addition to climbing specific training. The goal of this training is to 1) increase raw strength, 2) gain muscle mass (ideally while loosing body fat), 3) deal with personal mobility issues, and 4) re-hab and/or prevent injuries.

This is the work out I did this morning:

1. Warm up with mobility & movement: free-form of pvc complex, pvc presses, shoulder dislocates, kettle bell & sand bag carries, dumb bell waiter walks, air squats, pvc overhead squats, kettle bell dead lifts, round-the-world, & goblet squats - about ten to fifteen minutes of continuous movement

2. Strength: 10 sets of 3 pull ups with 25kg. additional weight
Metabolic conditioning: 20 kettle bell swings @ 24kg - 3 weighted pull ups @ 5kg (5 rounds)

3. Strength: 20 weighted push ups @ 15kg - 12 goblet squats with 2X25kg dumb bells (5 rounds)
Metabolic conditioning: 25 kettle bell swings @ 24kg - 5 pull ups (four rounds)

4. Cool down: 10 dumb bell power cleans @ 2X20kg - waiter walks with 24kg kettle bell (3 rounds)

In between the work sets (those written above) I did some "warm up" moves at a lighter weight, or played around a bit with weighted step ups, snatches, sand bag hinges, etc., whatever came to mind and seemed appropriate.

Total volume of the working sets reads at 65 pull ups, 100 push ups, 60 squats, 200 kettle bell swings. I did all of the body movements on pulling, squatting, hinging and pushing. The focus of this strength work out was obviously pulling. I was finished in about an hour and fifteen minutes. I will do a second bouldering session later in the day.

The work out addresses the four points I noted at the beginning of the post. I focused on pulling strength on this work out. My next supplemental strength workout will focus more on pressing movements. Kettle bell swings create powerful hip-hinge and drive movements that are essential for dynamic movement in climbing. Push ups are very important for me because they stress the chest and shoulder girdle, counter act the overuse of all the pulling while climbing, and are at a relatively high amount of reps so I don't add too much bulk on my chest. Goblet squats with dumbbells are a great for stressing the core, and done at full range of motion, are great for hip flexibility under load. The finishing movements of power cleans and waiter walks are power movements and stability work for the shoulders.

Most people, or the common beliefs are, to go to a fitness studio and do the various machines to work your biceps, quadriceps, pectorals, hamstrings, etc. This is the body-part, train muscles in isolation, poor imitation of body builder-type training that does not work for an athlete that climbs. There are so many things wrong with this style of training: the body is one piece - so train the whole body. Muscles do not work in isolation. There is no transference to climbing. Lastly, this style of training with machines does not address the four reasons of doing supplemental training in the first place.

It is FUBAR that this is what the fitness industry is selling us.

Train smart
Train hard.
Don't train like everyone else.
You want to be better then everyone else, don't you?

Gaisberg Klettertreff / Gaisberg Open Climbing

Outdoor Klettertreff am Gaisberg kommende Mittwoch, 15.05.2013 ab 16:30. Treffpunkt in Klettergarten Rechts oben ab 16:30.

Trainer Gebühr für Abend €75,-- bei Teilnehmer geteilt.

Mehr Infos bei mir joefratianni@hotmail.com oder 0688 815 0331

Open climbing on the Gaisberg this  coming Wednesday, 15.05.2013 from 16:30. Meeting point is in the climbing area on the upper right side at 16:30.

Trainer fee is €75,-- for the evening and shared by the participants.

More information at joefratianni@hotmail.com or 0688 815 0331

Kletterkurse am Fels Outdoor Programm 2013

Draußenklettern mit Outdoor Kletterkurse von Kletterhalle Salzburg / denkundstein. Termine sind jetzt On-Line:

http://www.denkundstein.at/kletterkurse/erwachsene-outdoor.php

Kursinformation und Anmeldung über Kletterhalle oder direkt bei mir joefratianni@hotmail.com

Outdoor Climbing Courses

The outdoor courses form Kletterhalle Salzburg / denkundstein for spring and summer 2013 are now set!

http://www.denkundstein.at/kletterkurse/erwachsene-outdoor.php

Register for the courses over the Kletterhalle or by directly contacting me at joefratianni@hotmail.com

großes pafelhorn north face

“i knew it was possible to ski. on that day i knew i would find my perfect moment, and i did it.”  - steffano de benedetti on skiing the first descent of the aiguille blanche de peuterey

anatomy of a ski descent

the idea of skiing the north face of the größes palfelhorn (2222m) came to me as i looked over the wimbachgries from the ofentalscharte after a late fall training tour in steep snow and mixed terrain. i had never heard of anyone skiing this face.

großes palfelhorn from a few kilometers into the wimbachgries

the obvious couloir that dominates the north face is wide and inviting two-thirds of the way up the face. afterwards it was unclear if it went further and if it would be possible to reach the top.

the first step in the process was to enlarge a digital topo map and see if there was a possibility. I also looked to see if there was any recorded routes on the face. sure enough, there are some historical routes (pre WWII) on the größes palfelhorn and its sub-peaks that are described as very dangerous due to the crappy, extremely friable  rock that makes up the peaks that line the wimbach drainage. no surprise there. i enlarged and studied the photos i took from the ofentalscharte, trying to discerne possible lines on the upper face.

this past november, after a bit of snow, i went into the couloir for the first time. on a training tour with my short approach skis and two ice tools searching for a bit of early season ice. the couloir is filled with very large boulders and small rock walls that would need a lot of snow to fill in.

last friday, march 1st, i went into the wimbach drainage to check out some unclimbed alpine ice. i had a relatively heavy pack with minimal ice climbing gear and two 30-meter twin ropes. i wanted to see if there was any possibility of climbing some of the alpine ice that forms seasonally. i skinned in on my ski mountaineering gear, using dynafit tlt performance boots and my shorter dynastar mythic rider skis.

the forecast of clearing weather burning off the low-level fog never materialized. i could not see whether any ice had formed. however every 30 minutes or so came the loud freight train rumble of avalanches releasing and rock fall as the sun warmed up the upper slopes of the mountains above the fog line. i wasn't going to blindly wander into that.

so plan “b” was to continue in the couloir on the north side of the palfelhorn. i got up to about the 2000 meter mark (above the fog line at 1600 meters) before the weight of my heavy pack full of unnecessary gear drained my motivation. the clouds and fog had also started to come up from the valley making visibility poor and i was also a bit nervous and scared about going higher. i de-skinned and skied down in settled, cold powder from my high point.

high point reached on friday, march 1st, looking up towords the crux of the descent

i could go back into the couloir on the following monday, march 4th. this time i went with the appropriate gear that i would need for the climb and descent.

gear carried and used on successful descent

(ski poles with one black diamond wippet self-arrest pole, light ice axe, crampons, light ski mountaineering harness, 3 pitons (baby angle, pecker, small knife blade) two lengths of accessory cord, 3 wire-gate carabineers, 2 screw-gate carabineers, mini-first aid with emergency foil bivouac sack, small head lamp, wood deadman with piece of cord, 30 meter twin rope, over gloves, extra pile glove liners, small piece of wax, small multi-tool, 1/2 liter thermos with fruit tea, photocopied photo & enlarged topo of upper couloir, and a light-weight puff anorak. all this went into my 12 liter skiing backpack)

i wore thin long underwear under soft-shell pants and my arteryx mx hoody. on my head was a head band under my grivel helmet with sunglasses. light weight fleece gloves on my hands. i used my tlt boots, dynastar skis and of course skins.

no, i did not have avalanche rescue equipment. and yes, i was alone.

in this manner i could move fast and had enough material and equipment for soloing moderate terrain and getting out any trouble by rappelling or self-belaying if needed.

i skinned into the shadow of the couloir and out of the warm sun of a perfect day. i was surprised to see a second set of ski tracks coming out of the couloir. it turned out that some one had followed my skin track from the following friday up to about the 1600/1650 meter level before skiing down.

i quickly reached my previous high point and continued for another 50 or so meters before i put my skis on my back and boot packed up the steepening gully. the crux of the descent would be a steep and narrow section bordered by rocks.

boot pack track 200 meters before the end of the couloir

i topped out of the couloir at just under 2200 meters, following the right branch to a small notch.

as i neared the end of the couloir, there were steady spin drifts that would wash down the gully as snow as blown off the rocks above and bordering the couloir.

spin drift coming off a small cliff, looking into the hidden, upper gully

“in the perfect moment i was, or felt to be, a little superman.” - steffano de benedetti

the snow was a mix of cold powder, wind pressed powder, breakable wind slab and hard wind slab. at times i simply had to ski from one jump turn to another to control my speed. at other times i could link a few turns, and towards the bottom of the couloir the snow was much better and just fun to ski.

looking down the couloir after the first couple of turns, crux 150 meters below

i have been watching the classic ski films “blizzard of ahhs” and “steep” lately. the films feature scott schmidt, glen plake, doug coombs, the great french steep skiing pioneers, etc., and steffano de benedetti. i find the films, and especially the comments of de benedetti extremely thought provoking and inspiring.

“to live so close to the possibility of dying, you understand what is really important and what not.” - de benedetti

however the best line from “steep” goes to glen plake. to me it’s a metaphor because we tend to put ourselves into various forms of confinement, whether it is a necessary part of life or a self-imposed limitation of our true desires.

“when i got out of jail, i went skiing.” - glen plake

using my "get out of jail free" card

Großes Pafelhorn North Face

Main Couloir, right branch - 45/50 degrees, ca. 550 meters

approach ca. 1000 meters

total elevation ça. 1550m / 24km distance, ça, 7 hours