Outdoor gear can be expensive, and it’s important to know how much you’ll need to budget before getting into a new activity. I’ve written the following guide to help with that.
So, how much does ice climbing cost? The cost will vary depending on what you do:
- Renting gear to ice climb will cost about $30 per day
- Purchasing used gear will cost $1500
- Purchasing new gear will cost $2600
- Ice climbing lessons will cost $200 per day
Ice climbing is an expensive sport, mainly because of the amount for speciality equipment that you need to purchase. For first timers, I would definitely recommend renting the gear, as this is an affordable option that allows you to experiment and see whether or not you really enjoy ice climbing. As you get more into the sport, however, it can make sense to begin to purchase items; this is where the cost can begin to add up.
What You Need to Ice Climb
First, let’s discuss all of the gear you need to ice climb, so we can understand where these costs are coming from. There’s a lot list of items you need to go ice climbing:
- Mountaineering boots: To fit your crampons and give you purchase on the ice, you need a proper pair of mountaineering boots (ski boots will also work, but they’re less common).
- Crampons: Spikes you put on your feet that help you kick into the ice. Ice climbing is essentially impossible without a pair of crampons.
- Ice axes: Similar to crampons, these help you hold on and actually perform the climb. You need two of them to be able to ice climb.
- A rope: This is something that many rock climbers will already have, although it may not be a proper ice climbing rope.
- Ice screws: You’ll need 5-6 screws if you want to be able to climb at most crags. Unfortunately, these are hard to rent.
- A helmet: Helmets are essential for ice climbing. Any climbing/scrambling helmet will work just fine. Avoid using a bike/hockey helmet, as it’s not rated for the type of impact that you need it to withstand.
- A harness and belay device: To hold you in place and allow you to belay your partner. Again, most rock climbers will own a pair.
- Winter clothing: A good layering system is important for any ice climber. You don’t need the highest-end gear, but a warm jacket, good snow pants, and mitts are essential.
Obviously, that’s a long list of stuff. Some of it can be shared with your partner, while some of it you may not need to purchase at all. In fact, it can help to break the gear down into two categories: individual gear and group gear.
Group gear is the stuff that you only need one set of, no matter how many people are going ice climbing. This includes stuff like your rope and ice screws, and maybe even a belay device. This means that you won’t necessarily need to have a rope or ice screws to go ice climbing; you just need to go with someone who does.
Most people when they get into ice climbing have a more experienced partner, because they need someone to lead routes and set up ice screws. This more experienced partner will hopefully have the necessary ropes and ice screws, meaning you won’t need to worry about getting this gear.
However, that still leaves you responsible for all of the individual gear— stuff both you and your partner need (think of mountaineering boots, for example. You really don’t want to be swapping boots every time someone wants to hop on a climb).
So, with that in mind, let’s look at some of the ways to get that gear.
Renting Gear
Renting is a great option for someone who’s looking to get into ice climbing, because it allows you to try the sport without needing to drop thousands of dollars. In fact, renting is fairly affordable; it will likely only cost you $30-$40 per day to rent your equipment, and less if you rent it at a weekly rate.
The issue with renting gear, however, is that you likely won’t get the full range of items that were listed above. Your rental will probably include:
- And ice axe
- Boots
- Crampons
- A helmet
That still leaves you with the harness, rope, belay device, ice screws, and winter clothing to worry about. Now, some of this you may already have. Most people will probably have a good enough selection of winter clothing to see them through a day of ice climbing, so that’s not something you need to worry about as much.
Similarly, anyone who rock climbs as a hobby will likely have their own harness and belay device, and maybe a rope.
The big issue comes with the ice screws, which are specialty equipment that few places rent. However, this isn’t as big of a problem as it initially seems.
Leading on ice is a dangerous activity, and no first-time climber will be able to do it. This means that, if you’re renting gear, it’s highly unlikely that you would have any use for ice screws, because you’re not yet experienced enough to use them.
This comes back to what I was talking about, where most people who get into the sport do so via a more experienced friend/mentor who’s willing to show them the ropes. In this instance, that experienced partner will have ice screws, and they’ll be the one leading the routes. That’s how it was for me when I was starting to ice climb, and that’ll be the experience of most people getting into the sport.
The other option is to take a lesson, which can be more expensive but usually gives you a higher degree of safety.
Ice Climbing Lesson
Lessons are a great way for beginners who may not be lucky enough to have an experienced friend. In fact, even if you have someone who’s offered to show you how to ice climb, I would still say there’s a lot of merit in taking a lesson. Your lessons guide will likely be certified in their given sport, which means they’ll be more knowledgeable and more able to teach than your average ice climber will be.
The downside, obviously, is that ice climbing lessons are more expensive. An ice climbing lesson will cost you about $200-300 per day, depending on which guiding company you go with.
The good news is, this cost usually includes all of the necessary gear. You’ll be responsible for bringing your own warm clothing, food, and other common items, but the guiding company will supply you with just about everything else:
- Boots
- Crampons
- Ice Axes
- Harnesses
- A helmet
- A belay device
In addition to all of the individual gear, the group will have a collection of ropes that will be setup on top rope, as well as enough ice screws for the guides to do their thing.
Obviously, the $200 for a lesson is a lot more than the $40 that it costs you to rent the gear, but for some people who don’t have a more experienced mentor, it may be the only option.
If you take a lesson and decide you love it (and you have some spare cash lying around), it might be time to look into purchasing your own gear.
Purchasing gear
Purchasing your ice climbing gear is the costliest option, although it guarantees that you’ll always be using gear you love, and it saves you the hassle of having to rent every time you go out.
When buying, there are always two options: getting it new or buying it used. As I’ve said many times before there are some pieces of ice climbing equipment that you should never buy used. These include:
- Your helmet
- Your harness and belay device
- Your rope
Ice screws are a ‘maybe’ item. That means you can maybe buy them used, if you trust the person you’re buying from and you’re able to inspect the quality of the screws before making your purchase. You want to test how sharp the screws are, if there are any cracks in the metal, and what kind of overall quality they’re in before you decide to buy them. As a beginner who might not know much about ice screws, it might be a better idea to simply purchase them new.
The rest of your equipment you can buy used, which can save you a good deal of money. To break down exactly how much it’ll cost you to buy the gear, I’ve created a more in-depth explanation below.
New
Buying new gear obviously costs more, but you’ll get the best quality, and you’ll be able to ensure that you get exactly the gear that you want.
Buying a full set of ice climbing gear new will cost $2600
Buying a barebones set of ice climbing gear (boots, crampons, ice screws, and ice axes) new will cost $1300
For the barebones set, I’m assuming you’re a rock climber who already has a rope, harness, and all of the other stuff, and all you need is the ice climbing specific gear.
So, let’s look at where this cost comes from:
Boots
High-end cost: $1200
Low-end cost: $500
Mountaineering boots are expensive. Even the lowest-cost ones are going to run you at least $500 if you want a reputable brand. For something more high-quality, like a good pair of double boots, you’re essentially buying a used car.
The thing about mountaineering boots is that you use them for several different activities, they last a long time, and you wear them a lot. This means that, as much as it sucks, it’s worth buying a pair of boots that agree with your feet. Saving a couple of hundred dollars and ice climbing with pinched feet is a bad life choice.
Crampons
High-end cost: $400
Low-end cost: $180
Crampons are another fairly pricey item, although it’s easier to see where your money is going; these are well-made pieces of gear that have a lot of moving parts.
One thing to note when you’re shopping is to not be fooled by mountaineering crampons, which can be about $100 cheaper. The issue with these is that they don’t have proper front points, so you can’t ice climb in them.
Ice Axes
High-end cost: $1000
Low-end cost: $400
Ice axes are one piece of gear where, as a beginner, you can probably get away with buying a low-end pair and still perform fine. You’re not Will Gadd on Niagara Falls; you can save $600 and still have a pretty good pair of axes.
Ropes
High-end cost: $700
Low-end cost: $200
This article here gives more info on what ropes you need for ice climbing. A good pair of twin ropes can run you a lot of money, while a single dry-treated line can be more affordable.
Ice Screws
High-end cost: $1000
Low-end cost: $360
Yeesh.
Ice climbing screws are insultingly expensive, especially considering how many of them you need to buy. 6 is probably the minimum I would recommend; at $60 a piece, you’re looking at almost $400.
Helmet
High-end cost: $200
Low-end cost: $80
This sounds weird, but a helmet is another place where you can save some money. Even the cheaper helmets are rated for good safety, and they’ll just be slightly heavier/less breathable than the lighter ones will be.
Harness and Belay Device
High-end Cost: $200
Low-end cost: $100
Another place you can save money. I’m still using the same ATC and BD entry-level harness that I bought when I first started rock climbing, and they’re working fine so far.
Winter Clothing
High-end cost: Basically impossible to estimate, but I’ll say $2000
Low-end cost: 0
This is a tricky one, because there’s essentially no end to how much money you could spend on winter clothing if you wanted to. Just to give some examples of how outrageously expensive this stuff is:
- A Patagonia Capilene Cool T-shirt is $60
- An Arc’teryx Proton jacket is $350
- A Black Diamond Belay Parka is $700
You could waste a lot of money on outdoor clothing, if you chose to do so. Realistically, you don’t need all of that stuff (check out my layering guide here for more info), but the clothing industry is a black hole that will swallow your life’s savings if you’re not careful.
The low-end cost is 0, because you can probably get away with ice climbing in clothing that you already have, as long as your wardrobe includes snow pants, gloves, and a warm winter jacket.
Used
If you’re looking at getting into the sport, I would really recommend buying some used gear for your first set. It’ll save you a lot of money, and it hedges your bets if you get bored in 2 months. Plus, it lowers your environmental impact.
Obviously, not all of your gear can be purchased this way, but for the ones that can, it’s worth looking on Kijiji to see what’s available.
Buying a full set of ice climbing gear used will cost $1500
Buying a barebones set of ice climbing gear (boots, crampons, and ice axes) used will cost $1100
Boots
High-end cost: $800
Low-end cost: $300
Used boots can be tricky, because you won’t have as wide of an inventory. However, if you can find a good pair that fit well and look like they’re in good condition, this can be a great way to save some money.
Crampons
High-end cost: $300
Low-end cost: $90
If you’re patient when buying crampons, you can find some really good deals out there. 10-year-old pairs will still do the job OK (as long as you can sharpen them up somewhere), so browse around a bit and see what’s out there.
Ice Axes
High-end cost: $700
Low-end cost: $150
Ice axes are another area where you can sometimes find great prices. People looking to upgrade their set will sell old ones for sometimes less than half of their original value. They won’t be as light or as sharp, but for beginners they’re bound to get the job done.
Winter Clothing
High-end cost: Still impossible to estimate, but let’s call it $1600
Low-end cost: 0
Used clothing is probably one of the best markets out there. You can find great discounts on some online thrift stores. Even some of the top name brands have started selling their own gear; check out The Last Hunt, Patagonia Worn Wear, or the North Face Refurbished Collection.
