After calling off a winter climb because of avalanche danger, I wanted to know more about how this affected ice climbers. I did some research and created the following guide.
Avalanches are a serious risk while ice climbing. Recently, both the ACMG and AMGA (highly reputable guiding organizations) have begun recommending that climbers carry avalanche gear with them when ice climbing.
Shockingly, climbing is the third most common activity for avalanche occurrences, right after skiing and snowmobiling. Despite this danger, it’s not yet commonplace within the sport to carry avalanche gear with you when you go ice climbing, due to concerns about weight and the viability of such gear. However, most leading guides now recommend that you bring a full avalanche rescue kit with you when you’re in terrain that’s exposed to avalanche danger.
Avalanches While Ice Climbing
Avalanche risk while ice climbing comes from the danger that a slope above you will give way, sending tons of snow down the route that you’re on. The natural formation of ice climbs makes this more likely and, therefore, more deadly: water (which turns into ice) naturally flows towards the lowest point. This means that waterfalls and rivers often form in valleys or canyons.
Snow is subjected to the same laws of physics as a waterfall, so when avalanches occur, they often flow down the same valleys and canyons. This means that, when you’re on an ice climb, you’re more likely to be hit by an avalanche from above.
The danger is further highlighted by the fact that most avalanches you’ll encounter won’t be caused by your party. Instead, they’ll be triggered by something above you, be it another party or simply a weakening of the snowpack.
Because of this, you can’t really mitigate the chance of this happening; all you can do is prepare for it and try to avoid any climbs that may be exposed to such a danger.
There are four main areas that you need to consider when talking about ice climbing and avalanche risk:
- Cragging
- Alpine Climbing
- Approaches
- Descents
Cragging
Cragging is when you go to a certain location that has several ice climbs, many of which are single-pitch or shorter in nature. Cragging allows you to climb multiple routes in a day, get exposure to different difficulty levels, and not need to worry about hauling all your gear up a multi-pitch climb.
Cragging usually has low avalanche risk, although this might vary depending on where you go. Typically, in my experience climbing in the Canadian Rockies, most of the crags are located in such a way that avalanche risk isn’t a major concern.
To find out about your local crags, I would recommend purchasing a guidebook, speaking to a park ranger, or simply looking for trip reports online.
Alpine Climbing
Alpine climbing — which I’m taking to mean multi-pitch ice climbing on tall waterfalls as well as alpine ice — is where many of the ice climbing avalanche accidents occur. Here, you need to be especially careful to take into consideration the terrain above you.
The danger with these climbs is that the risk will come from above, and it can sometimes even occur out of sight. One second you’re just climbing, and the next there’s a loud roaring sound and snow is coming rushing down towards you.
Because of this, you don’t have much of an opportunity to see the conditions above you first-hand and judge the avalanche risk. This lack of knowledge makes your decision-making harder.
Approaches and Descents
An often-overlooked area of avalanche risk in ice climbing is the approaches and descents — getting to the route and getting off of it.
It’s almost confusing. The same seasoned veterans who wouldn’t dream about backcountry skiing without the proper gear will walk happily across the backcountry, fully exposed to avalanche risk and not carrying any gear, to get to the base of their climb.
In fact, these can be some of the most dangerous areas. When traveling across this terrain, you’re often exposed to long stretches of avalanche-prone slopes that could drop at any given moment. Carrying the proper gear here is essential, even if you don’t think you need it on the ice climb!
Should I Carry Avalanche Gear?
That segues nicely into answering the next question that most people have: do you need to carry avalanche gear when ice climbing?
Depending on who you ask, the answer is either yes or sometimes (other people will answer no, but those people are unreliable and shouldn’t be listened to).
The people who answer yes abide by a simple philosophy: you should always carry your avalanche gear with you in the backcountry. Conditions, danger rating, exposure — those things are all inconsequential. Pack the gear and have it on you in case you ever need it.
While it’s had to knock that philosophy, I’m also not necessarily going to preach it, because I think the ‘sometimes’ answer has some merit to it too.
Under the sometimes philosophy, you carry your avalanche gear only when you need it. Here, there are a few different possibilities:
- Both the approach and the ice climb are exposed to avalanche risk: In this instance, carry your avalanche gear from the moment you leave the car to the moment you return.
- The approach is exposed to avalanche risk, but the ice climb isn’t: Carry your avi gear on the approach and then leave it at the base (just make sure to come back for it later!)
- Neither the approach nor climb is exposed to avalanche risk: You don’t have to work about carrying gear.
The main advantage of this philosophy is that it can save you weight. Ice climbing is difficult, and falls have serious consequences. Being able to shed weight makes it easier to climb, which can increase your level of safety.
Like I said, I’m not going to advocate for either of these options. Do your own research and make the decision that you think is best for you!
Common Misconceptions
As I said in the intro, ice climbing is still in the stage where it’s not commonplace to carry avalanche gear. To be best of my knowledge, this is because of two main objections that climbers have:
- The gear will weigh me down!
- There’s no point in carrying gear. If an avalanche hits me, I’m dead
‘Avalanche Gear Will Weigh Me Down’
The myth: Avalanche gear is too heavy to carry with you while ice climbing, and it makes you less safe.
The truth: Now, I know that I just said, ‘avalanche gear can weigh you down and make your climbing less safe’. That’s true, but it’s not an excuse to forgo your gear when you’re climbing in avalanche-prone terrain.
Instead, you need to readjust your frame of mind. Instead of saying ‘I can’t climb this route with avi gear, so I’m going to leave it at home’, you need to instead say ‘I’m not good enough to climb this gear with all the necessary safety precautions. I’m going to find a route more within my ability level’.
If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Weight isn’t a good excuse for sacrificing your safety. Additionally, avalanche gear weighs like 4 pounds with modern technology. Just suck it up and carry the extra weight.
‘If an Avalanche Hits me, I’m Dead Anyways’
The myth: If an avalanche hits you from above, the force will kill you/break your rope instantly, so your gear is useless.
The truth: While this can happen, it certainly doesn’t happen in every instance. Getting buried while on an ice climb is a distinct possibility, especially if you’re on a ledge or a low-angled section.
This philosophy also ignores the approach and descent, for while you most definitely will need avalanche gear if you or your partner gets hit.
How to Mitigate the Danger
By now, I’ve hopefully convinced you that carrying avalanche gear is a good idea. However, this gear is only a last-resort option; the first course of action is to always try to avoid getting hit with an avalanche in the first place.
To do that, you should always be aware of:
- The avalanche risk of the route you’re on
- The general conditions prevailing
Trip Reports
Reading trip reports, either in a guidebook or online (or calling someone to get first-hand experience) is an excellent way to learn how much avalanche danger you’ll be exposed to while on-route.
With this information, you’ll be able to judge whether or not you need to carry your gear and how much risk you’ll be exposed to on the climb.
Reading reports is essential, because you can’t always judge avalanche danger once you’re at the base of the climb (remember, avalanches occur from overhead, and the terrain may be well out of sight).
Condition Reports
In addition to the trip reports, you also need to have a broad idea about how much avalanche danger there currently is. Condition reports for your region can give you this and will let you know how likely an avalanche is.
You need to use these in conjunction with the trip report to make your go/no go decision. If the route you’re on is already exposed to avalanche danger, and conditions are making it so that avalanches are likely to occur, you may want to stay home.
What Gear Do You Need?
Finally, let’s talk about what gear you want to bring. A standard three-piece avalanche kit is what I would recommend:
- A beacon so that you and your partner can locate each other if one of you gets buried
- A probe for finding one another under the snow
- A shovel so that you can dig each other out.
Once again, these three pieces weigh a combined 1.2 kilograms, and they’re designed to be compact and packable.