Fit for the Freeze

AMC Outdoors, January/February 2007

Pre-trip training for ice climbers 

As the mercury drops, it’s easy to daydream about soggy cliffs transforming into beautiful ice climbs. Ascending these frozen cascades, however, is no piece of cake. Fortunately, you can do the prep work close to home.

LEG LESSONS Mark Synnott, a member of the North Face climbing team, has pioneered new routes on Canada’s Baffin Island and the Bugaboos and in Karakoram, Pakistan. Despite his travels, he still calls Jackson, N.H., home,  the base of his decade-old guiding outfit: Synnott Mountain Guides.

Synnott usually takes beginner ice climbers to routes that have a moderate grade. While seemingly innocuous compared to plumb-line columns of ice, lower angle slabs are notorious calf burners. Add a few miles of hiking to the cliff, and your legs could be toast before lunch. “Climbing is not all about your hands, arms, or biceps,” Synnott says. He recommends a regular routine (two to five times a week) of walking with a loaded pack to get your cardio and muscular endurance up to speed before your first climb. Even better would be to log miles on a road bike. And trail running, Synnott advises, “is the single best cross-training for climbing” because the variable terrain engages the same stabilizing core muscles that will keep you balanced while teetering on crampon points.

If you’re still fresh after your cardio workout, Synnott recommends sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups; however, he’s found that intermediate ice climbers will improve more rapidly if they emphasize technique over raw power.

ELBOW GREASE Carpenters and roofers, Synnott discovered, “were naturally great ice climbers, simply because they were used to swinging a tool.” Even if you don’t wield a hammer, you can still build the specific strength and skills needed to get a good stick of the pick. Here’s what Synnott recommends:

1. Tie a bulky knot in the end of a Thera-Band (latex exercise band) or a piece of surgical tubing. 2. Place the knot at shoulder height between the hinges of a door and its frame, pull the loose end of the band through the other side, and then close the door. 3. Stand with your back to the door and drape the loose end of the resistance band over your shoulder. 4. Bend your arm at the elbow until your hand touches your shoulder. 5. Clutch the end of the band and extend your hand. 6. Try to keep your upper arm immobile, so that your hand arcs around the focal point of your elbow. 7. Make sure to keep your elbow tucked in line with your body. You should feel resistance in your forearms, biceps, triceps, and even your back and shoulders. Shoot for 2-4 sets of 8-10 repetitions for each arm. Increase or decrease the resistance by adjusting your distance to the door. This will translate to a better swing of the ax, because the pick can glance off the ice if it is not swung perpendicular to the surface.

Advanced ice climbers who tackle vertical or overhanging curtains of ice can still prep for the season at home. Synnott monkeys around, with ice axes in hand, on overhanging structures like the rafters in his basement or the undersides of open stairwells. Using your ice tools in this way tunes up the stabilizing muscles highly specific to ice climbing. Also, Synnott says you will draw deeply upon core strength because it will be strenuous to maintain purchase with your feet. Should you try this, wrap the pick of your ice ax in a rag or dish towel. Synnott advocates merely placing, not swinging, your axes. If this monkey business isn’t for you, you can always pump plastic at the local indoor climbing gym.