Ice climbing techniques have evolved greatly since the sport’s inception, partly because of improvements and innovations in ice climbing gear. The original ice climbing techniques were the German and French techniques, and, although they are still widely used, they are more frequently combined to make what is sometimes called the American technique.
French + German = American
The German technique is also known as front-pointing. It is called front-pointing because climbers have to kick their front crampon or crampons into the ice and step up. It is best-utilized on hard snow or ice that is on a steep slope. The French technique is also known as flat-footing and it is most applicable on lower-angled ice slopes. It involves opening your feet and walking up the slope in a duck-like manner. The French technique gets harder on a climber’s ankles as the steepness of the slope increases.
So, when the slope becomes too steep to duck-walk, the French technique calls for climbers to sidestep up the slope. Sidestepping should be done carefully because it is easy for climbers to snag their lower foot on their planted foot when they are crossing them over each other. The combined technique, sometimes referred to as the American technique, is not as tiring as either or the other two techniques. The combined technique involves using the front point of one foot while the back foot is flat against the slope, trailing behind for support.
6 Ways To Wield Your Axe
While on the ice, there are plenty of different ice axe techniques that climbers can use to ascend, descend or steady themselves. The various techniques are cane, cross-body, low dagger, high dagger, anchor and traction. The cane technique is useful when walking over relatively flat terrain or in conjunction with the duck-walking aspect of the flat-footed technique. The cross-body technique is used with sidestepping, regardless of whether a climber is ascending or descending the slope.
Climbers use the dagger techniques to steady themselves when facing the ice. The anchor technique requires climbers to swing their axes over their heads so that it sticks deep into the ice above them. Then, using their planted axes as an anchor, they use the German technique to raise their bodies up to the height of the axe. The traction technique is similar to the anchor technique, but it requires two tools and is only used on very steep ice slopes.
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Tags: Adventure, Adventure Sports, Extreme Sports, Snow Sports
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