Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing, Backcountry Skiing

Ice Climbing

Ice Climbing is a fun, active and growing sport. Canmore and the Canadian Rockies offer some of the best ice climbing in the world. In addition to long and challenging multi-pitch routes, there are fantastic beginner crags and climbing areas. Yamnuska Mountain Adventures offers a wide range of ice climbing instruction and guiding for people of all skill levels. Whether you are the complete beginner who has never ice climbed before or the highly skilled climber looking to tick off the list of classics, we invite you to join us for an adventure in Canmore. Throughout this page we will attempt to give you a bit of ice climbing information that may help you better understand our sport and provide you with some insight should you be considering giving ice climbing a try. If you are an experienced climber this page will outline our courses and private guiding options.

The ice climbing season in Canmore and the Canadian Rockies runs from around November to the end of April depending on temperatures and elevation. Lower elevation ice climbs usually melt out early April so we run our beginner courses starting in late November and typically stop courses at the end of March. Higher elevation climbs (north-facing multi-pitch routes) can be climbed well into May depending on temperatures and avalanche hazard. This is the mountains, however so the ice climbing season is often extended.

Our Experiential Program

Experiential Ice Climbing programs (half-day and full-day instruction) generally run December to Mid March. These are held at climbing areas in Banff, Kananaskis and Canmore and provide a great venue for introduction to this exhilarating sport.
Using ice axes and crampons for waterfall ice climbing may sound daunting for those who question their physical strength. People of all ages and physical capabilities can try this fun sport without feeling like they need brute upper body strength. In essence, you are kicking and swinging your way up waterfall ice but if done properly, beginner pitches should feel very similar to climbing a ladder. Like all technical sports, proper technique goes a long way, making good coaching and instruction all the more important. Advanced ice waterfall climbing on steep ice requires great skill, strength and stamina and this is typically developed over years of training and experience.

Ice Climbing Courses

Ice climbing for beginners is taught at single pitch or top roping climbing areas close to Canmore. Top roping means you have an anchor at the top of a climb that the rope is threaded through. Using proper equipment and techniques, the climber is belayed from the bottom of the climb by a partner. Multi-pitch ice climbing is more complicated and requires a higher level of skill. Most of our two-day beginner ice climbing courses are followed by an optional multi-pitch day. In other words, after two days of good instruction, most people are able to complete their first guided multi-pitch ice climb!

Waterfall Ice Climbing Grades range from easy climbing Grade 2 to expert level Grade 8. We usually do beginner instruction on Grades 2 and 3 and will progress to Grade 4 throughout a weekend course. Grades 5 and 6 are considered difficult and are grades that beginner ice climbers can aspire to progress to. There are many classic multi-pitch routes in Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise in the grade 2, 3 and 4 range so this type of climbing is definitely a possibility for the beginner.

Given that ice climbing is done in the winter (on ice!) but is an active sport, layering your clothing is a great strategy for ensuring you are never too hot or too cold. Bulky clothing can get in the way when you are using crampons and ice axes and may also restrict your movement. Close fitting clothes are best for your ice climbing adventure – leave the baggy boarder pants at home! When belaying or getting instruction, you are often standing around and in the winter that means you get cold. Having lots of layers ensures that when you are watching a demonstration or learning something new, your attention can be focused on the task instead of trying to keep warm.

When ice climbing we always recommend you stay hydrated and have lots of high-energy snacks. A thermos with a hot beverage can be a welcomed break on a cold day and high energy foods make sure your metabolism is also helping you stay warm.

Beginner locations we regularly use are the Junkyards in Canmore, Grotto Falls near Canmore, King Creek in Kananaskis, Johnston’s Canyon in Banff and Haffner Creek in Kootenay National Park. High-quality multi-pitch climbs are littered throughout Canmore, Kananaskis, Banff, Yoho, Jasper and Kootenay National Parks. A lot of classic climbs have very short approaches and are easily accessed from maintained roads.

Ice climbing is a great way to stay active and to enjoy the outdoors in winter. Getting to the top of a waterfall ice climb can leave you with a sense of accomplishment that is unmatched. If you live in Canada or are a visitor to this part of the world, you owe it to yourself to try out this amazing sport. We would love it if you chose us for your beginner or expert level climbing adventure. We hope this page helped provide some information about ice climbing and inspires you to give it a try.

Beginner Courses

Intermediate & Advanced Programs

  • Ice Climbing Level 3 – Ice Leader: The Ice Leader course is designed to give you the skills to become a confident lead climber on single-pitch ice routes.
  • Ice Climbing Level 4 – Multi-Pitch Ice Leader:  The Multi-Pitch Ice Leader course will build on your skills as a leader while teaching the fundamental skills required to multi-pitch climb.
  • Steep Ice and Mixed Climbing Clinic: The focus of this one-day clinic will be movement on both ice and rock, and those tricky transitions between the two.
  • Drytooling Intro: Learn how to train efficiently for ice climbing with our new Drytooling course.
  • Canadian Rockies Hot Ice: Canada’s premier 3-day multi-pitch ice climbing program. We climb the Rockies Ice classics.
  • Icefields Parkway Ice Camp:  Based from the Rampart Creek Hostel along the famous Icefields Parkway, the objective of this ice climbing camp will be to build a solid ice climbing foundation in the areas of both single-pitch and multi-pitch ice climbs.
  • Signature Series Ice Climbing with Sean Isaac: Sean has been climbing for over 30 years world wide and has been guiding and instructing for 20 years in the Canadian Rockies. He is offering 3 different ice climbing programs for all levels.
  • Multipitch and Instructional Ice Climbing Programs: Available for beginner and expert ice climbers. Call us if you have a specific objective in mind or let us choose a classic Canadian Rockies Ice route or ice climbing training area.
  • Avalanche Skills Training 1 for Ice Climbers: Those climbers who are developing skills to lead or second ice climbs on their own are strongly encouraged to have avalanche training. Yamnuska runs an avalanche course specifically for ice climbers

Semester Programs

Ice climbing forms an integral part of the Yamnuska Mountain Skills Semester and Outdoor Leadership Training, a three-month program of intensive mountaineering training.

Ice Climbing Grades

WI 1 – Flat – like a lake… and no routes are graded WI 1.

WI 2 – Low angle ice or very short pitches up to 80 degrees.

WI 3 – Sustained pitches up to 80-degree ice with good resting places. Requires skills for placing protection.

WI 4 – Sustained pitches of vertical or off-vertical ice. May have some run-outs between protection.

WI 5 – Long pitches of vertical ice requiring good protection placement.

WI 6 – Full pitches of dead vertical ice. Featured or requiring awkward stances and movement.

WI 7 – Full pitch of thin vertical or overhanging ice. Requires exceptional skill.

WI 8 – Hardest climbs.

Ice Climbing in the Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies boast some of the best ice and mixed climbing in the world. Easy to access canyons and massive multi-pitch frozen waterfalls provide almost unlimited challenges for beginners to elite climbers alike. Many of Canada’s top ice climbers call Canmore their home, and many of them guide for Yamnuska.

Ice Climbing Season

Ice climbing is typically available from late November through April. The optimum season is December to mid-March.

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