Climbing
7 ways to excel at winter rock climbing
Stuck between a rock and a cold place? We asked the pros for some advice on climbing in frosty conditions.
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When the cold winter weather takes a grip, you might well be tempted to head into the nearest indoor climbing wall. While climbing walls are great in winter, don't think that's the only choice when the frost sets in, though.
You actually might uncover some of the best bouldering routes you've ever came into contact with if you go climbing outdoors during the winter months. If it's snowy, you can try out a new discipline like winter mixed climbing (a route where the climbing occurs mainly on snow covered rock or turf, with occasional patches of ice), or even ice climbing if conditions are right.
If you need some winter/ice climbing inspo, check out the Black Ice episode of Reel Rock, below:
25 min
Black ice part 1
Members of a Memphis climbing gym travel to the frozen wilds of Montana for an ice climbing adventure.
Here are some tips from the best in the business for rock climbing in winter, along with a few tips for making the most of indoor walls.
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1. Do your homework
"Winter climbing means a lot of different things to people,” says Robbie Phillips, an elite British climber and coach, traveller and route setter who recently took on the Dawn Wall.
One thing Phillips is very keen to stress is that if you're going to be rock climbing in winter, in particular after wet weather, you need to know the ethics of climbing on wet rock, and which spots you can go to or avoid.
"I'm from Edinburgh, Scotland so there are two main bouldering spots a similar distance apart," he says. "One is Northumberland, just south of Scotland, and the other is Dumbarton Rock, near Dumbarton. They're two different rock types. Dumbarton is basalt, and Northumberland is all sandstone.
"In the winter months, both areas are fantastic for bouldering. You get fantastic conditions. However, after wet weather Northumberland is an absolute no-no. Ethically it's considered very bad to go climbing there after wet weather, because the sandstone is so soft, and it's more likely to break when wet, thus eroding it quicker.
"On the other hand, Basalt is a harder rock type, and it dries really quickly. It can rain overnight and then be dry within an hour so Dumbarton is a good place to go if it's going to be wet, and if there's overhangs, you know they're probably going to be dry so you can go climbing there.
"Especially for climbers newer to the sport, it’s important to know what the ethics of what you're climbing are, the ethics of climbing on wet rock. The thing you're always balancing up is where's dry, and… well, where's dry basically."
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2. Make sure you do a proper warm up
Once you've figured out where you’re going to climb, you’ll need to do a proper warm up when you get there, in order to get the body ready for the winter cold. This can be trickier than usual.
"The most important thing for going bouldering in the winter is getting a good warm up, and then staying warm, because as soon as you cool down you put yourself at risk of injury and warming back up again is really difficult," Phillips says. "Sometimes the crag is not completely dry. There might be wet parts, and normally they'll be on the easier climbs where you warm up. In those situations it just makes warming up even more difficult. What I do is I have a mini fingerboard. It's a portable thing that weighs 500g. I stick it in my bag, and hang it off a tree. I warm up my fingers on that, and do various stretches.
"If you don’t have that, just finding holes in the wall and hanging off them, doing 10–15 minutes of various exercises, hangs, and movements on the wall just to get the body warm is a great idea."
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3. Use dry rock to try your hardest routes
If you're new to bouldering, you might think that you'll be spending winter entirely indoors, but winter can actually be the best time to try the most difficult outdoor routes.
"Where the conditions are good you'll find really good conditions for boulders, because dry, cold temperatures are actually the best conditions for hard rock climbs," explains Phillips. "In the winter you don't want it to be wet, because it’s slippery and hard to hold on. If you get dry conditions, though, where the rock is dry and it's cold, you're going to sweat less so it's actually the best condition to stick onto the rock."
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4. Bring gloves or mitts
"The one bit of gear I definitely would bring with me is gloves," says Phillips. "I think one of the best things I've ever invested in are a pair of mitts – the gloves that don't have fingers so you can move your fingers around inside while you do arm swings, and force the blood into them. When you touch the rock, as it's so cold, it sucks the heat out your fingers quite quickly, giving you cold fingers. But then, as soon as you stick the mitts back on, you get the warmth back, which is super important. Also, a little squishy ball, one of the stress things, is great for keeping your fingers warm and active."
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5. Tap into the knowledge of the local community
Joining local climbing groups is a wise decision in tougher seasons
© Westend 61 via Getty
Phillips also says that connecting with the local community can be a great way to find out where's best to climb, and what areas have the right rock type for wet weather.
"I found a group that were like-minded about climbing," he reveals. "I made loads of friends in climbing, and that community was a huge thing for me. If you say you're going somewhere for the day, you'd want it to be within a couple of hours of your home, and you need to be looking at the rock type – when it last rained, if the rock's still going to be damp, getting to know the crags, how long they stay wet for, and talking to the local climbing community to find out what other people have seen. That makes it a lot easier to choose the crags accordingly."
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6. Don't be afraid to try new disciplines
French climber Liv Sansoz is a bit of a legend, and having recently scaled all 82 mountains over 4,000m in the Alps, she's had a busy past few years. For winter climbing, she says it's best to go with the conditions, try out new disciplines where you can explore the outdoors as best you can, and be patient with your progress.
"In winter, you climb mixed routes on ice or you do some classic alpinism or ski touring. In winter I mostly ski and climb these routes," she says. "You have to start with something at your level, and just get used to it. Don't rush it. Winter is not the same on your fingers. It's not the same to have an ice axe in your bag when you're climbing so it's just all about getting used to this at your pace, and building up. Be patient, you'll know yourself what you can do, and choose some easy lines to start with."
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7. Climb with friends
As well as for the obvious safety reasons, climbing with partners, and choosing those partners wisely, can have a huge impact on how much you enjoy your outings on the wall. Sansoz climbed with 22 different partners during her 4,000m mountains project, and for her, that was what really made it special.
"Lots of things make me happy in the mountains, but to be able to share it with the right person is particularly special," she says. "I think for me now it's more important who I go to the mountains with rather than the climbing itself. Climbing a badass wall myself is okay, but climbing easier routes with someone I really, really love is something much more valuable."
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