Ice Climbing Grade I & II - Ice Evolution

Ice Evolution Course Agenda

Note: There is considerable flexibility built into the delivery of this course, no course is exactly the same. Ice and weather conditions, as well as participant ability, will dictate the order of presentation to some degree. Key topics will be constantly revisited during the program.

Day 1: At the Crag

• Welcome, introductions, goals, and program agenda.
• Issue and check gear, and adjust crampons.
• Discussion of safety procedures, hazard awareness, and basic rope techniques.
• Discussion of knots and harnesses.
• Basic ice movements – use and placement of crampons and ice tools; this is crucial to climbing success. All too often ice climbers waste precious time and energy in failed attempts to properly place crampons and tools in the ice. It’s not about strength but technique.
• Top rope belays and climbing communication.
• Movement skills on short top-roped climbs. How to ice climb efficiently and use correct body positioning to save energy and time. A lot of the time on this program will be devoted to coaching participants in movement skills and techniques. Rock climbers will enjoy applying their existing movement skills to this new medium.
• Lowering skills.

Day 2:

• Consolidation of technical belaying and communication skills.
• Site hazard awareness.
• Climbing warm up.
• Introduction to steep ice climbing techniques.
• Lots of climbing with coaching on steeper climbs.
• Introduction to placing and removing ice screws.
• Introduction to basic ice anchor construction.

Day 3:

• Multi-pitch climbing. Split into small teams of 2 students per instructor you will use your new skills on one of the longer multi-pitch ice climbs for which the Siachen Valley, Nubra are famous. Your instructor will choose a climb that is designed to challenge and test you but still be appropriate for you to learn and develop multi-pitch climbing systems.

Day 4:

• Discussion of emergency preparedness.
• Top rope anchor construction using bolts, ice screws, and V-threads.
• Rappelling with a bottom belay.
• Rope coiling and care.
• More climbing with coaching on steeper ice.

Day 5: 

• Basic trip planning (review weather, avalanche conditions, and topos).
• Student lead hazard evaluation of the site.
• Route selection.
• Student-led route set up.
• Using ice screws and bolts as directionals.
• Route cleaning (getting your gear back).
• The course ends at approximately 4:00 pm.

Note: Depending on the training areas, we may require that our guides and guests carry avalanche equipment. If this is required we will provide the avalanche equipment at no cost to you. If you are not familiar with avalanche companion rescue techniques, we will do a basic introduction.

More climbing: རི Ri Guides Ice Climbing Guides and Instructors are also available for private climbs after the program.

Location:

The training and climbing will take place in Siachen Valley, Nubra.

Meeting Time and Place:

The course begins at the Ice crag in Nubra at 9:00 am on the first day.

Instructors and Group Size:

The “ རི Ri Guides Ice Team” includes some of the best ice climbers and course instructors! Enthusiastic and extremely talented mountain guides. Your safety and enjoyment are paramount to them. There will be a maximum of 12 students and a minimum of 4. Instructor/student ratios range down from 1:6. In addition to being expert ice climbers, they are well trained to རི Ri Guides’s high customer service standards and are highly experienced course instructors.

Transportation:

To keep prices down participants are responsible for their own transportation during the program. Siachen Valley, Nubra is a 4 hours mins (165 km) drive approx. from Leh town.

We can arrange taxis to and fro to Nubra on request.

Accommodation and Meals:

Accommodation in Leh and Nubra is not included. A variety of accommodation options exist in Leh, including hostels, all levels of hotels as well as condo-style accommodation with kitchens or suites. And in Nubra only local basic small homestay will be available. We recommend that you book your own pre and post-trip accommodations well in advance.

We can help you with booking the local homestay in Nubra.

Food is not supplied at the crag. You will need lunch and something to drink each day. Each day bring plenty to drink and lunch plus energy snacks. We particularly suggest bringing a Thermos and hot drink.

Equipment’s:

རི Ri Guides can provides the following personal technical gear on rent. Please feel free to bring your own items if desired.

• Boots (must be crampon compatible)
• Crampons
• Climbing harness
• Climbing helmet
• Ice tools
• Belay device, carabiners, slings

These items are available for rent. Please advise us in advance.

We recommend you bring:

• Daypack (30-45 liters)
• Lunch, snacks
• Thermos flask and/or water bottle (1-2 liters combined volume)
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Camera
• Hand Sanitizer

Clothing:

There can be prolonged periods of inactivity in very cold temperatures throughout the course. Don’t be afraid to bring too much! We recommend bringing clothing that can be layered to achieve comfort as you change from periods of activity to periods of rest. Cotton clothing is not appropriate as it causes rapid heat loss when wet.

We recommend you bring:

• Long underwear top and bottoms (heavyweight synthetic or wool)
• Socks (synthetic/wool blend)
• Softshell pants and jacket
• Midweight synthetic or down jacket
• Waterproof hardshell jacket with hood
• Waterproof hardshell pants (should have a full-length side zip so they can be put on without taking off boots and crampons)
• Heavyweight parka (big enough to fit over all your other layers)
• Gaiters (big enough to fit over large boots)
• Waterproof mountaineering or ice climbing gloves (at least two pairs)
• Warm hat that fits under a helmet
• Face Mask

Additional gear info:

Boots:

A good pair of boots is essential. They need to be warm and crampon compatible. You are welcome to try the Scarpa white plastic mountaineering boots that Ri Guides provides.

Crampons:

A good waterfall ice crampon will have vertically oriented front points and some have the option to switch to a single point for mixed climbing. We use the Petzl Lynx for our ice and mixed climbing programs.

Climbing harness:

A winter climbing harness should be sized to fit over your winter clothing. It is recommended to have a harness with a dedicated spot for an Ice Clipper or Caritool.

Ice tools:

It is important to have a tool with a curved hand grip at the bottom. For thin ice and mixed climbing, it is much safer to have a hammer or nothing at all attached to the head of the tool, instead of an adze. For all-around ice and mixed climbing, Ri Guides uses the Petzl Quark. For steep ice and advanced mixed climbing, Ri Guides uses the Petzl Nomic.

Belay device:

Many options exist for belay devices. Ensure that your device has two slots for ropes, to facilitate rappelling. We provide the Petzl Verso or Petzl Reverso on our multi-pitch instructional programs.

Booking Info:

Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. Our beginner ice climbing courses tend to fill up quickly. We require full payment on booking.

We ask that you make yourself familiar with our detailed booking instructions and conditions.

Risk is an inherent part of all mountain activities. We strive to manage and reduce it; however, it is impossible to totally eliminate. Learn more about our safety and risk management approach.  Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the program. Please view our sample waiver copy.

Insurance:

There are two basic types of insurance that most travelers need to consider: Medical and Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. We don’t sell or provide insurance and highly recommend you purchase it.

Emergency Medical Expenses Insurance:

It is wise to ensure that your health plan will cover you in case of illness or accident during your trip. Obtain extra coverage if necessary.

Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance:

We recognize that our guests’ schedules may change for many reasons, business, family, flight delays, injuries and other unplanned events. For these eventualities, the Trip Cancellation/Interruption insurance is a great way to protect your investment.

For all your travel insurance requirements we recommend the Global Rescue. This agency offers a wide range of travel insurance options including Trip Cancellation/Interruption, Travel Medical and Personal Effect Loss. We highly recommend purchasing this insurance. For more information and to purchase a plan, visit the Global Rescue website.

Included

Not Included

Please see the list of recommended equipment on the other tab. Most technical equipment can be rented from Ri Guides, please contact us if you would like prices and advice on whatever you need.

Insurance

We highly recommend that you take out specific insurance for mountain activities. This will cover you for search and rescue services, evacuation by helicopter and emergency medical treatment. You should also make sure that you have adequate travel insurance that covers you for the usual things such as cancelled flights, lost luggage, hospital treatment, etc. We don't provide mountain rescue insurance for your trip.

Accomodation in Leh and Nubra

If you wish to book accommodation in Leh and Nubra we would be happy to recommend some local hotels, guesthouses, hostels, homestays and advise on the best locations. Please contact us if you would like help finding accommodation in Leh and Nubra.

Airport Transfers

We can help you to organize your transport to/from.