Picture above: The ropes I’m currently using.

Basic principles

Ideally you would like to select a rope that’s light, long, has low impact force, as well as excellent handling and is durable. Unfortunately these characteristics are, mildly put, somewhat opposing. So lets put these in order.

1. Weight is an issue, approaches are usually long and heavier ropes also adds up while climbing. The weight difference between light and heavy ropes might be several kilos. So in my opinion that’s the number one.
2. Low impact force makes the climbing safer and anchors less likely to fail. Again something that’s really, really important, that’s my number two criteria.
3. Handling is again something that makes a difference. However on ice it’s not that much about the friction or ease of paying out the rope in simple sense. Most ice climbers are already experienced and confident belayers. Dry treatment has lot bigger impact here, as icy ropes are really, really difficult to handle – you should get the best dry treatment available. In trips that last multiple days, you can’t dry the ropes and the ice adds up. It also adds up in terms of weight. In short dry treatment is well worth all the money put into it.
4. Far after these three criteria comes the durability. Yes, it’s important, but not nearly as much as in rock climbing. In winter conditions ropes tend to wear a lot less than on rock because there’s less dirt and mud as well as friction. In ice climbing lead falls are also very, very rare, at least they should be. They’re such a dangerous affair that people should avoid them at all cost; if you fall, the rope that needs to be discarded is least of your worries. I’ve taken one lead fall and I’m not planning to take another one. Furthermore if ice axe or crampon nicks the rope, even thicker sheath is unlikely to protect the rope. Besides you can always cut the meter or two (the area where ice axe / crampon is likely ti nick) off from the rope without serious losses. So the durability is the least important factor, at least for me.

So after these rope characteristics you’re down to two choices; The length and type, i.e. single vs. half ropes. While type question is somewhat complicated issue and I’ll dive into the topic shortly, the length is much more straight forward. For multi-pitch ice climbs that typically have several snow sections, 60 or 70 meters is in my opinion a good length. Longer rope makes the rappelling faster.

Single vs. half ropes

Generally speaking half ropes offer several advantages over single ropes. While climbing they allow lower rope drag because one can alternate clipping according to route so that ropes go straighter line. Half ropes also offer “naturally” longer rappelling distances due to two strands. In single rope system one needs to compensate that with a tag line. Further more half ropes offer redundancy in case of a fall or when rope gets damaged for some reason. Yet despite the two strands these two rope systems, i.e. half ropes vs. single with tag line, weigh about the same (single + tag = 75-100g/m vs. 2*half = 76-84g/m). In terms of weigh the only positive side with the single ropes is the fact that leader doesn’t have to carry the tag line. However in my opinion this advantage is diminished by higher rope drag, even on steep ice where you usually get to climb relatively straight lines. So based on above the only matter left to discuss is the impact force.

There’s been plenty of discussion about the impact forces. While on the surface half ropes seem to have lover impact forces, they’re actually measured with different standards. Tests with singles are being done by using 80kg weight, whereas half ropes are measured only with 55kg. For this reason some people claim that half ropes actually generate higher impact forces to the protection than single ropes. As there’s no comprehensive data on how half ropes perform as single ropes, one way to look into topic is to take a look at the ropes that conform both standards and then compare the results to ones that conform just one standard. Lets take a look at the specifications of multiple standards ropes first (the data is from www.tribevine.com, a climbing gear database that among other things has the specifications of several hundred ropes).

Table above: Multipe standards ropes that conform both UIAA single and half specifications

So while this is manufacturer’s advertized specifications and definitely involve some creative rounding etc. there’s at least a one conclusion that can be made. Lower single impact force leads to lower half impact force and other way around. Based on above one could expect that a half rope that has lower impact force than the ones above, would also have lower impact force when measured as a single. Also the impact force ratio of single to half seems to be somewhere between 0.7-0.8. So lets take a look at some light half ropes, low impact force single ropes and compare them to the above multiple standards ropes then. For half ropes, I’ve calculated the single impact force values using the ratio above and shown in parenthesis.

Table above: Light half ropes, low impact force single ropes and ropes that conform the both UIAA standard compared against each other.

So following the line of reasoning of the first table, it would seem that at least quite a few half ropes should offer comparable impact forces when tested as a single. Furthermore while most of the multiple standards ropes are light, their impact forces are left behind most light half ropes.

The final thing to consider is how the lead fall differs from each other between the two systems. While a fall with a single rope is rather straight forward process, i.e. you always fall to the single strand, the issue is at least in theory somewhat complicated with the half ropes. With half ropes the number of strands that actively work while stopping the fall depends on distance to last piece of protection and rope stretch. In most cases half ropes act just like single ropes, i.e. one strand takes the wast majority of the force. In case of half ropes the rope stretch typically falls between 25% and 40%. If the average screw distance is about 6 meters, this means that you have to have at least two screws and 15 meters of rope out until second strand can even theoretically come into play. In other words you’re already well above the UIAA test case fall factors, i.e. the impact forces are a lot smaller. For this reason the way two strands interact doesn’t have relevance in normal climbing. However when leaving from the stance, where both strands are actually clipped through the anchor the issue is a bit different. There both strands work together and impact forces are a lot higher, worse still the fall factor is the worst possible. It seems that half ropes demonstrate impact forces in the range of 8-10kN in twin configuration.

Based on this, together with the other half ropes related benefits, at least my opinion is clear, half ropes is the way to go. However with half ropes it’s even more important to make sure you don’t fall against your stance. There’s a serious worst case scenario involved. This leaves also a difficult choice, weather to go with the lowest impact force half (Beal Ice Line) or the lightest one (Tendon Master 7.8 / Metolius Monster Ropes 7.8, basically a same rope manufactured by Lanex)? While 1kN difference in impact forces doesn’t feel dramatic it is probably larger in worst case twin configuration. On the other hand 500g / 10% difference (two strands, 70m long, 38g/m vs. 42g/m) doesn’t feel huge, but still considerable. Also the Tendon’s nano dry treatment is said to be great (though I don’t have much first hand experience, climbed just once with such rope)… …Right now Beal Ice Line feels a better bet. Funny enough I’ve been contemplating between these two ropes for some time now.

Oh, one final note; famous Will Gadd has an interesting article about the impact forces and comparing single ropes against halfs. They also actually did some real world tests, so a bit more scientific than my approximation approach. I have noted the ropes in the table that Will talked about with asterisk (*), with one exception for which I couldn’t find the specifications. From Will’s article it comes loud and clear that there’s plenty of variation as some difference compared to published figures. Despite these uncertainties, I’m still for half ropes for multi-pitch waterfall ice climbing.

My current ropes

Finally a few words of my current ropes and their uses.

Picture above: Rope endings with markings, I had to cut Joker due some nicks.

1. Edelweiss Sharp 8.5 – They’ve served me well for quite a few years. They’re still the ones I use when climbing multiple pitches. They’re a bit heavy and bulky, but the quality, especially from the durability perspective has been great. They provide fairly good handling characteristics, and dry treatment worked well; There’s still some left.
2. Beal Joker – It was originally my “soft landing” plan to half ropes. I haven’t used Joker too much, mostly while top roping either indoors or while ice climbing on short falls. Still Joker is a good quality rope and even though some people consider it slipery, especially when new, I like the “slippery feeling” of it – it’s easy to feed and rappel with. Also the dry treatment is good.
3. Beal Rando – My short and light twin rope for glacier travels and mountaineering routes that do not require serious climbing with belay. It again a good quality, but most importantly in a very light, only 36g/m package.

The web-stores that sell these things:

1. Metolius Monster Ropes 9.2 - Backcountry, Moosejaw
2. Beal Ice Line - Backcountry, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees
3. Tendon Master 9.4 – Justropes.com
4. DMM Climbing Prodigy -  ?
5. DMM Climbing Statement – Needle Sports
6. Petzl Dragonfly - Backcountry, Moosejaw
7. Tendon Ambition 10.0 – Justropes.com
8. Petzl Zephyr - US Outdoor Store
9. Beal Booster III - Backcountry, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Moosejaw
10. Beal Tiger - Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Moosejaw
11. Roca Migú 8 – ?
12. Edelweiss Oxygen - Backcountry
13. C.A.M.P. Plekton -  ?
14. Tendon Ambition 7.9 – Justropes.com
15. Sterling Rope Fusion Photon – Moosejaw
16. Tendon Master 7.8 – Justropes.com
17. Metolius Monster Ropes 7.8 - Moosejaw
18. Singing Rock Gemini – Barrabes
19. Millet Alpin Lite - Backcountry, Telemark-Pyrenees
20. Millet Absolute Pro- Backcountry, Telemark-Pyrenees
21. Mammut Phoenix – Backcountry, Needle Sports, Varuste.net, Moosejaw
22. Beal Joker – Backcountry, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Moosejaw
23. Edelweiss Performance – Varuste.net
24. Bluewater Ropes Dominator – Justropes.com
25. Bluewater Ropes Hyalite - ?
26. Edelrid Ropes Apus - Shelby
27. Edelrid Ropes Swift - Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees
28. Mammut Serenity – REI, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, US Outdoor Store
29. Beal Rando - Backcountry, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Shelby

A few more images of my ropes:

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Picture above: There they are, my standard rack carabiners and quickdraws.

What’s important:

• Clearclip nose – It makes it just that much easier to grab it from your harness, as well as clip off whether it’s screw, rope or webbing. Right now there’s a wide selection of light clearclip carabiners available. There’s just no reason to get anything else.
• Weight – Weight reflects directly to everything you do. In carabiners, especially what comes to carabiners used in quickdraws, it adds up fast. It’s not perhaps a reason to replace your old carabiners, but when ever you buy new ones, you should get light ones.
• No auto-locking mechanisms – Auto-locking mechanisms tend to freeze up and generate a great deal of difficulties. I’ve been in a situation where my Petzl william ball lock froze up to the point that I had to spend about 30 minutes to get it open. I’m not planning to get to such situation again.
• Smooth and acurate gate operation – It’s important while clipping, also note that if it’s locking carabiner, the screw operation should be smooth. Often the “smoothness” translates to quality and quality affects overall durability and safety of your gear.

People, especially ones that do plenty of rock climbing, talk about durability too. In my opinion it’s not as much of an issue on ice, as there’s lot less dirt – thus carabiners do not wear down as much. I actually have different set of carabiners for ice, indoor and rock climbing exactly for this reason. Well, as ice climbing is my primary sport, my rock and gym carabiners are mostly ones I’ve purchased for ice climbing… even the auto-lockers which I purchased before I knew their freezing problems.

Quickdraws and carabiners on my standard ice rack

• 3x Black Diamond Positron Screw Gate (weight 56g) – I use these for building anchors. While a bit old already, they’re pretty light and proven to be reliable good quality pieces of equipment.
• 3x Petzl Attache 3D (weight 55g) – My newer set of anchor building carabiners. Slightly larger but still lighter than Positrons. Good grip on locking screw.
• 1x Mammut Bionic Mytholito (weight 58g) – My belay carabiner. Slightly hevier than Attache, but I like having different kinds of carabiners for different purposes. As anchor building carabiners get in touch with protection and tend to develop sharp edges it’s good idea to keep them away from belay loop. The locking screw is slightly slippery, but other vice good quality.
• 1x Mammut Bionic HMS (weight 72g) – My large anchor building carabiner; the one I tie clove hitches and use for organizing stuff. Attache is kind of large enough, but this one is larger.The locking screw is slightly slippery, but other vice good quality.
• 2x Petzl Ange S (weight 28g) – Couple of extra carabiners for general purpose clipping, can use them for extendable draw or clipping things like bottles and cameras where ever I need to. Some people consider these too small, but I haven’t had any problems with them. They’re really light and clipping feel is excellent.
• 1x Austrialpin Easy Classic (weight 48g) – I use it in the fixed cow’s tail I have in my harness, which I occasionally clip to my ice tool. While not the lightest, it provides good grip and clip on and off are surprisingly easy.
• 5x Modified Wild Country Helium Quickdraw (weight 70-74g) – Newer half of my quickdraws. I replaced the original dogbone with Edelrid 8mm dogbone, because the rubber carabiner holder in original ones just couldn’t take low temperatures. Besides Edelrid dogbones are slightly lighter. Besides the dogbone problem Heliums are excellent quick draws.
• 5x Black Diamond Positron Quickdraw (weight 105g) – My old set of quickdraws. While a bit heavy, they’ve served me well. Clipping is okay and the rubber thingy that keeps the carabiner in place is durable.
• 2x Custom made Quickdraw, Mammut Bionic Wiresafe Gate (rope end), Edelrid 8mm dogbone, Petzl Ange S (protection end) (weight 65g) – I eneded up doing couple of these funky looking light quickdraws after I had a few extra carabiners, which I had acquired while in search and testing the best clear clip carabiner. While I like the shape of the Bionic Wire Safe gates, they’re a bit heavier than Wildcountry Heliums. Other vice Mammut Wiresafe Gate carabiners are equally good as other good quality light clear clip carabiners. And yes, that’s lighter than any in-stock quickdraw with full sized carabiner on rope end.
• 1x Custom made shock absorbing Quickdraw, DMM Shield Carabiners, E-Climb Dissip shock absorbing sling (weight 116g) – Pretty much the same story as above, just that I ended up using the DMM shields on shock absorber. DMM Shield works and feels pretty much like Mammut Wiresafe Gates, which according to some sources are actually manufactured by DMM.

Right now I’m relaying almost always to “ready made” quickdraws. This being said, many of my friends have recommended that I should replace a few of my quickdraws with extendable slings. Second odd thing is that I have many quickdraws. Part of the explanation is the fact that we climb using long 70m ropes, but other part is the fact that I like having a few extra quickdraws just in case. Which of course mitigates, in certain extent, the weight savings from light stuff. Well, depending on route quite often I’ll leave a few Positron Quickdaws to the ground.

Other carabiners I currently have

• 3x Kong HMS Classic (weight 86g) – My old anchor building carabiner set. While these are quite heavy compared to the lightest modern carabiners they offer clear clip nose and good build quality.
• 3x Petzl William Ball Lock (weight 94g) – Carabiners that I use mainly in indoor climbing and ocassionally in rock. They’re large and easy to handle, but pretty heavy. The quality is good though and the locking mechanism is excellent for indoor climbing.
• 2x Petzl William Screw Gate (weight 90g) – My backup belay carabiners. Quite often they still get carried to the bottom of the fall, but used mostly on indoor walls and on rock. Good quality, but heavy. The size makes it easy for organizing things.
• 1x Old Austrialpin – I used to have more of these, but they’ve gotten lost during the years. Due to the fact that it has the nose, I hardly ever use them anymore. On some top roping anchors, when putting up several of them and running out of other type of carabiners perhaps. I would definitely instruct people to stay away of nosed carabiners with the exception of very light carabiners cliped to the rope.
• 1x Grivel Gamma K2W – Came with Speedy ice screw. It’s good quality and it’s not unreasonably heavy, but has a nose. It’s not a huge issue as it’s rope end carabiner, but still prefer clear clips also as rope end carabiners.

Carabiners I consider best of the class right now

• Small non-locker – Petzl Ange S; it’s the lightest clear clip nosed carabiner, overall a good quality and pretty easy clipping.
• Full sized non-locker – Wildcountry Helium; it’s the lightest full sized clear clip nosed carabiner, besides the clipping feel is great and gate opening good.
• Small locker - DMM Phantom Screwgate; it’s either lightest or one of the lightest screw gate carabiners out there. DMM is known for its quality, so a good choice. My next anchor building carabiners are probably going to be these.

I kind of thought to list also best of class full sized and large sized carabiners, but then decided that I haven’t researched them enough to make up a well founded opinion.

Carabiner comparisons

• Light non-lockin clear clip carabiners and the ones mentioned in this article
• Light locking carabiners and the ones mentioned in this article
• Light clear clip quickdraws and the ones mentioned in this article

The web-stores that sell these things:

1. Austrialpin Easy Classic – Mountainshop, Outdoor-Ranger
2. Black Diamond Positron Screw Gate – REI, Backcountry, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Camu, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX
3. Black Diamond Positron Quickdraw – REI, Backcountry, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Camu, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX
4. DMM Phantom Screwgate – Needle Sports, Barrabes, US Outdoor Store
5. DMM Shield - Needle Sports, Eastern Mountain Sports
6. E-climb Dissip - E-climb
7. Edelrid Dyneema Dogbone – Shelby
8. Grivel Gamma K2W – ?
9. Kong HMS Classic -Barrabes
10. Mammut Bionic HMS – Telemark-Pyrenees, Eastern Mountain Sports
11. Mammut Bionic Myhtolito - Backcountry, Telemark-Pyrenees, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX
12. Mammut Bionic Wire Safe Gate – Varuste.net
13. Petzl Ange S – REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX, Shelby
14. Petzl Attache 3D – REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, Shelby
15. Petzl William – REI, Backcountry,Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX
16. Wild Country Helium – Backcountry, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, US Outdoor Store, GearX
17. Wild Country Helium Quickdraw – REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, US Outdoor Store, GearX

Few closeup shots of the screws:

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Picture above: All the three different screws.

Black Diamond Express – On a stance, due to its two carabiner holes Express is obvious choice. I’m grabbing it also on cold hard ice in a difficult situation where I need a fast placement, especially if the placement location is suboptimal, i.e. I need to reach out further than I’d like (or thought due hollow spot).

• Easiest to get started, harder the ice, bigger the difference
• Has two carabiner holes (handy at stance)
• Though the knob in the new model is larger, is still kind of small
• High quality finishing
• Racks well with other “standard” shaped screws
• Set of these with appropriate amount of quickdraws weights about 200g more than the lightest alternative (provided that you use light quick draws, i.e. 70g each)

Picture above: Black Diamond Express screw.

E-climb klau – It’s fastest placing screw on soft ice; it’s obvious; I’ll grab it in difficult situation when the weather is warm and ice is soft.

• Easiest to drive once started
• By far the lightest screw on a rack
• Has replaceable tip
• Furthest reaching folding handle
• Carabiner hole can accommodate two carabiners
• Tip seems to rust easier than competition
• Racks well with other “standard” shaped screws

Picture above: E-climb klau screw.

Grivel Speedy – Great combination of features, excels in all conditions, I’ll use it when everything is flowing well and I want to save the extra move (and thus time) that it takes to find and clip a quick draw.

• While not the lightest as such, you’ll save the weight of a one carabiner
• Very easy to drive, bites reasonably well in all conditions
• Tip protector that doubles up as handle
• Has integrated quickdraw, that saves you from searching and clipping a quick draw from your rack (it’s surprising how big the difference is)
• Large diameter carabiner hole, can take several carabiners
• Very high quality finishing
• Not perhaps as straight forward to rack as “standard”-shaped screws (though I haven’t had any problems with racking).

Picture above: Grivel Speedy screw.

So based on these experiences it seems that I’m going to build a core of my rack around Grivel’s Speedys, though before final decision, I need more experience of them on very hard ice. In addition there will be couple of short, one medium and one long Black Diamond Expresses; unless of course I’ll find Speedys better on hard ice as well. The long and medium Expresses are for building stances and abalakovs. Then there will be a few E-climb klaus, just for those warm days in case I need something longer than the longest standard integrated quickdraw of Speedy (over 30cm).

Then the web-stores that sell these things:

1. Black Diamond Express – REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Camu, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store, Eastern Mountain Sports, GearX
2. E-climb klau – E-climb
3. Grivel Speedy - Backcountry, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, Moosejaw

Few closeup shots of the screws:

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I received the products just a few days ago and decided to write out a few first impressions of them along with some photos.  As an overall impression I can say that the E-climb gear seems pretty good quality, they were delivered promptly and the overall customer service was excellent. The web site of E-climb needs some improvement though, especially I hoped for more detailed technical specifications of the product on the product pages (they have most of that information in FAQ section). At this point I haven’t yet tested them in serious climbing conditions, so there will be few updates on this post towards the end of February.

Klau ice screws with replaceable tips

On a concept level a screw with reusable tip seems an excellent idea. While screws can be sharpened, it’s really difficult to restore the original bite without professional tools and plenty of experience. Furthermore professional sharpening machines such as Grivel’s are not readily available, not at least here in Finland. This being said reusable tip sounds such a concept that might involve several technical difficulties, including some that relate to material strengths and corrosion at connecting surfaces.

Picture above: E-climb Klau ice screw’s replaceable tip.

Overall E-climb has taken an interesting and novel approach. The screws tubes are made of aluminum and the tips coromoly steel. The aluminum tubes makes the screws exceptionally light, but as a down side the tube’s inner diameter seems to be narrower than “standard”.  In my case it means that I probably can’t use Grivel’s Candela to clean up the screws. The tip and the tube are connected by set of threads and the connection is secured by dry adhesive that takes about 6 hours to bond once connected. The hanger of the screw can be used as a tool to change the tips. Screws are color-coded using rubber band on hanger end of the screw and they have a handle for speedy placement that fold on the side of the hanger. The handle extends fairly far, which should give plenty of leverage while driving them in. The manufacturing quality seems pretty good, screws are sharp and despite being aluminum they feel smooth (which gives me hope that they’ll drive comparably to Grivel’s and BD’s – one of my principal concerns prior to having tested them).

Update 21.2.2011: After initial tests I and my climbing partner Jari were pretty happy with the E-climb’s Klau screws. As expected the far extending handle makes it breeze to drive the screws in and at least when new their initial bite seems to be good, perhaps not quite as aggressive as BD’s but still good. They rack fairly well and surprisingly the handle did not cause problems either. Out of all of my screws Klaus were also easiest to clean up, again something that might be just because they were the new ones. In any case I was positively surprised. Best of all Klau’s really are feather weight compared to other screws. You should note though that during our first testing session the weather was fairly warm; therefore we need of course to verify the results on hard ice before the final word. I also did not test how the tip replacement system works (I’ll get back to it, once I do). Finally I’m a bit worried about the durability of the folding handle, again something that I’ll get back to later on if there’s need for it. For now it’s thumbs up for E-climb’s Klau screws. If my feelings stay the same, I’m likely to purchase some more of these.

Dissip shock absorbers

We’ve had shock absorbers or screamers for some time. While Yatesh is the most known manufacturer, there are several different types of them produced by such companies as Petzl and Mammut. Typically shock absorbers rely on stitching that tears open in a controlled manner. As a result of this construction they can used to absorb the energy of one fall only – reusable shock absorber sounds like a great idea.

Picture above: Couple of E-climb’s Dissip shock absorbers.

Again E-climb has adopted interesting novel approach. Dissip consists of a dyneema sling and a curved aluminum plate through which is used to thread the sling trough. When a force that exceeds its activation force (about 3 kN) is applied to the Dissip the sling starts to run through the holes of the aluminum plate converting the energy of the fall to the heat. The sling that’s delivered with Dissip is quaranteed for five falls that fully extends the sling and there’s replacement sling available at the E-climb. While the approach certainly works in terms of shock absorption, I was unable to find actual facts related to shock absorption performance of the Dissip. When asked from the manufacturer they said that in case of a fall factor 0,5 fall, with 80kg mass and 3 meter rope length (i.e. 6 meters total fall) the reduction of the force would be around 30%. I suspect that the slight ambiguity in shock absorption abilities inherited from the build approach of it. In other words the performance is varying and dependent on multiple attributes. Still it would be great to have a set of comparison tests that would give wider visibility on performance metrics of Dissip. From the build quality point of view Dissip seems good and the good impression is further enhanced by smart details such the indicator markers that makes it breeze to remember the falls that the sling has already taken. Just use your ice screw tip to break / cut the indicator tag at the corresponding circle (see the comment below by Xarles).

Web stores that sells the gear in the article:

• E-climb Dissip Shock Absorber – E-climb
• E-climb Klau ice screw – E-climb
• Grivel Candela – Backcountry.com, Moosejaw, Needle Sports, Telemark Pyrenees, Barrabes

Few closeup shots of Klau:

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Few closeup shots of Dissip:

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1. For me it seems that I need a new set of half ropes. I’m currently using Edeldweiss Sharp 8.5  (8.5mm, 48g/m, 5.4kN, 9 falls) and I’ve been pretty happy with their quality. This being said as I’m mostly climbing ice I perhaps don’t need the edge protection and other durability features they have. As a result, I’ve been considering a lighter low impact force ice climbing focused alternatives such as: 1) Mammut 8.0 Phoenix  (8.0mm, 41g/m, 6.0kN, 7 falls) – the favorite of Aljaz Anderle , 2) Beal Ice Line  (8.1mm, 42g/m, 4.9kN, 7 falls) – the favorite of many of my friends and 3) Metolius Monster Ropes 7.8  (7.8mm, 38g/m, 5.7kN, 6 falls) – the lightest of these three.
2. A second thing I’m really looking forward to is the Petzl Ange S/L carabiners  and the quick draws based on these. Aljaz Anderle  tipped us about these few months ago and I’ve been waiting these to arrive ever since. They’re super light (S model 28g, L model 34g) and have a clear clip nose. In short they combine the best of traditional and wire gate carabiners. Unfortunately, it’s not 100% sure that they could be shipped by Christmas. Meanwhile the closest alternatives are Wildcountry Helium  (33g) – the lightest full sized clear clip nose carabiner, Mammut Bionic Wire Safe Gate  (34g), DMM Shield  (35g) – fairly light clear clip nose wire gate carabiner and CAMP Nano 23  (23g) – super light, but does not have clear clip nose.
3. New climbing boots. Well, there’s nothing wrong with the old ones, except they’re heavy and old. As I like double boots (easier to dryup if you’re spending several days in a tent), I would love to have pair of La Sportiva Spantiks . Their fit seemed to be superb, they’re fairly light (being a double boot) and they’re suprisingly acurate.
4. So far I haven’t used screamers, but many of my friends have recommended them. What I’ve heard though there are a few brands that produce screamers the Yates screamers are the ones to go. There are several different types of those; I am planning to go with “Zipper” Screamers  – they offer the greatest reduction in system peak loading.
5. Though I have a couple of good headlamps and I’ve been happy with them the new Tikka XP² Core  headlamp with rechargeable batteries, its user programmable lightning options and over 60 lumens lightning power seems tempting. I guess I’m not going to buy one, at least not quite yet, but if you need a new headlamp this one definitely deserves to take a look at.
6. I’m planning to add some new stoppers to my gear. DMM Wallnuts  are reported having superior shape over other alternatives and recommended for instance by Tapio Alhonsuo , one of the best ice climbers in Finland – that’s a good choice to go if you need passive protection.
7. It’s sometimes really cold up here. Therefore I’ve considered Ortovox’s Merino 320 jacket  to replace my traditional fleece garments and add some extra warmth during those cold days. Ortovox also features a range of excellent thick base layer merinos, Merino 240 Long Sleeve  and Short Pants  that are on my future gear list.
8. My Suunto Core  was lost last year at Kebnekaise (I still can’t figure how and when), therefore there’s a need for a new one. Though Core had a few button problems (I had my unit replaced a few times) I’m still considering Suunto. Their design and user interface are just great. Luckily, Suunto has come out with a new line of premium Sports Watches; the Elementum range. I’m planning to go with Suunto Elementum Terra . I just hope that they’ve got rid of the button problems.
9. Finally, one needs a device to capture the great climbing moments. As my trusty old Canon G1 just broke down that’s probably the first bit of new “gear” I’m investing into. A climber’s camera should be light, be weather resistant and it should take good pictures. Unfortunately light and weather resistant does not seem to go with the same package, at least not when it comes to taking good pictures. Therefore I’m going with light and good pictures alternative, perhaps added with extra water tight casing. The two I’ve been considering are Canon Powershot S95 and Panasonic Lumix LX5. Both are good cameras; can take HD video, have extremely good f-values and are light. Interestingly there’s a sister model of Lumix LX5 in Leica’s camera lineup, but I guess the extra a few hundreds do not make sense, as the hardware and optics are the same.

Then the web-stores that sell these things:

1. Edeldweiss Sharp 8.5 – GearX, US Outdoor Store
2. Mammut 8.0 Phoenix - Backcountry, Needle Sports, Varuste.net, GearX, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store
3. Beal Ice Line - Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Moosejaw
4. Metolius Monster Ropes 7.8 - Moosejaw
5. Petzl Ange S/L – Varuste.net
6. Wildcountry Helium - Backcountry, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, US Outdoor Store
7. Mammut Bionic Wire Safe Gate – Varuste.net, Draussen.de
8. DMM Shield - Needle Sports, US Outdoor Store
9. CAMP Nano 23 - REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Telemark-Pyrenees, Moosejaw
10. La Sportiva Spantik – Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store
11. Yates “Zipper” - Needle Sports, GearX
12. Tikka XP² Core - Varuste.net
13. DMM Wallnuts - Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, GearX
14. Ortovox Merino 320 jacket - Snowshehperd, Pure Sports
15. Ortovox Merino 240 Long Sleeve - Snowshepherd, Pure Sports
16. Ortovox Merino 240 Short Pants - Snowshepherd, Pure Sports
17. Suunto Core - REI, Backcountry, Needle Sports, Barrabes, Telemark-Pyrenees, Varuste.net, Camu, Moosejaw, US Outdoor Store
18. Suunto Elementum Terra - Suunto Watches
19. Canon Powershot S95 - Verkkokauppa.com, Pixmania
20. Panasonic Lumix LX5 - Verkkokauppa.com, Pixmania

Anyways here’s are few of which I have some experiences:

• www.barrabes.com – A large web store, deliveres fast, though problem sometimes is the limited selection, especially in terms of different sizes (some time’s I’ve got the stuff in about day or two to Finland).
• www.needlesports.com – Has a good selection of ice climbing gear and as a added bonus they stack spare parts too.
• www.outside.co.uk – Another UK based web store with plenty of gear and clothing.
• www.draussen.de – Limited but high quality brands, their delivery time was kind of long, though it might be the product (Hilleberg Staika) that caused the delay.
• www.backcountry.com – Another big web store with plenty of stuff in it.
• www.summitsports.net – Their products were good as was their service, located in Finland.
• www.varuste.net - Largest Finnish climbing gear seller on the web (I guess), selection is pretty good and purchased from them pretty frequently, pricing could be abit more competitive (though once you’ll get frequent customer status, you’ll get to enjoy a discount)
• www.completeoutdoors.co.uk – Another UK based web store with plenty of gear and clothing.
• www.extremegb.com / www.outdoorgb.com – Another UK based web store with plenty of gear and clothing. Their specialty is the fact that they’ll sell some military stuff too (like night vision etc.)
• www.mountainshop.fi – Their selection is somewhat limited, but the service is good and personal, even when ordering through web.

And here’s few more which I have been browsing frequently or purchased from their real world store, but not from the web yet:

• www.cotswoldoutdoor.com – Another UK based web store with plenty of gear and clothing.
• www.alpenstock.co.uk – Didn’t order anything, but their prices seemed to be good and they had a personal service also on web, on the problem side though was the fact that their web store is kind of “basic”.
• www.camu.fi – Another Finnish store that has also a web front, visited their real world store quite often and I have liked their service attitude and knowledge.
• www.vuoripuro.com – Stocks some pretty interesting products, though the brands are somewhat less known (atleast for me) they should be high quality.
• www.shelby.fi – haven’t ordered anything through their web site (I live nearby), their differentiator is their own made to measures clothing brand.
• www.scandinavianoutdoorstore.com – Interesting selection of products, though somewhat more geard towards less extreme sports.

Hopefully you’ll get started with these. Please let me know, if you know particularly good web store that stacks climbing gear. Any shared experiences are warmly welcome.

Picture above: Beghaus Extrem ski touring gloves.

The requirements for a good ice climbing gloves are diverse and often contradictory. The durability, especially on palm side and fingers is a must. Dexterity, especially when dealing with screws, is required. To make the subject even more difficult there’s dozens of variables in play. One must take into account the weather and climbing conditions; even small things such as gear that’s been used, affect the situation heavily. Gloves should be simultaneously wildly breathable, but offer enough warmth and protection from the elements and at the times freely flowing water. In short, even though most of you (ice climbers) probably know already quite a bit of gloves, I thought to share some of my insights and experiences on the topic; I don’t think it’s possible to know too much about it.

General instructions for glove selection

• You need to have several pairs of them - One pair of breathables for approaches, one pair for climbing and one pair to have a dry pair just in case. Typically I will carry even fourth extra warm pair of mitts, especially if it’s cold, for belaying and hanging around. Sometimes, in very cold conditions, I might carry fifth thin wool pair to provide extra warmth under the standard pair. Furthermore you probably need a different primary climbing glove pair for cold and warm days.
• The ones that you use for climbing need to be super durable - Check the palm side, the extra protected area needs to be extra large and durable enough to take the sliding rope and axes. The protected area should reach from fingers to the top of the hand. Pay attention to stitching and seams, which are usually the weak spots. Typically, in high quality glove, extra durable materials, such as Pittard Armortan on palm itself and Kevlar on palm stitching, are being used.
• The primary climbing pair needs to be able to deal with the water - This means most likely Gore-Tex or some similar water proofing in the glove, and such wrist that can be put on top of the jacket. Well, the wrist part is matter of preference in some extent, but I like to route the water on top of my jacket instead of inside of it. Furthermore there are some other ways of dealing with water, such as neoprene, but as said, I prefer water proof. Also if you KNOW that there will be very little or no liquid water (either flowing or in form of rain / wet snow), you could think of something more breathable (=less water proof).
• They need to be dexterous - The basic principle in climbing cold conditions in order to avoid frost bites is that you wear your gloves all the times. You pour and drink your tea, eat your bread while wearing them, you belay and place your screws while wearing them; you tie the knots while wearing them. Though it’s partly a matter of learning it is also a matter of glove as well. Try to find a pair that feels as dexterous as possible.
• Try them out and perhaps several pairs - Gloves tend to vary from glove to glove slightly, choose the pair that gives the best feeling and dexterity while trying. Preferably try them with your ice tools, as glove padding and some of the axe fangs and triggers might not fit together well.
• Pay attention to details - There needs to be easy way to dry them up (how do you hang them?) and they should be washable. Some people (including I) like ones that have some padding to protect the fingers from bruises. It’s not a bad idea to consider as primary climbing glove, at least for cold days, something that has removable lining and a cord that attaches them to your wrists (you don’t like to lose them when there’s an hour down and three hours up).

Some practical glove experiences / reviews:

• Black Diamond Enforcer gloves – My current primary climbing glove. They are warm; the protective area on palm side is large enough and extends to the fingers. There’s a removable Gore-Tex insert which makes the washing and drying easier. So far the best pair I’ve found.
• Grivel Ice Fall gloves – These were my number one primary climbing pair few seasons back. They’re made of strong enough materials, have finger protection and are water proof. Their overall quality is good. They could breathe better and certain parts of the palm stitching seem to be in areas that experience heavy wear. They’ve been a very good pair in deed. Note that Grivel sizing is extremely small; as a result you probably start trying something that’s at least one size bigger than your usual size.
• Grivel Taa-k-oon gloves – I’ve used these for approaches, cross country ski-in and in very rare occasions warm weather climbing. They are fairly breathable, offer good grip and plenty of dexterity. For me though, they’re too thin for climbing. It’s usually just too cold for them. They’ve served me well for several years though and seem to be good quality. Note the Grivel sizing.
• Bergaus Extrem gloves – My “dry pair”. They’re surprisingly warm and dexterous, the leather is soft and they breathe fairly well. I actually bought these to be my primary climbing gloves, but the problem was the fact that they weren’t hard enough for climbing; seams tear apart when stressed (there were several rips in less than two days of heavy use). I have also frequently used these for ski touring, which is ideal purpose for them (I guess that’s what they are designed for). Despite the design shortages (seam durability) from climbing perspective, they’re extremely good quality gloves.
• Ice Breaker Merino Liner gloves – Liners to add extra warmth during the coldest days of winter. They’re good though add more bulk when worn under Enforcers.
• Salomon Mitts (don’t know the type) – I’ve used Salomon mitts mainly for belaying and while standing around on very cold days. They’re extremely warm, but the materials aren’t water proof and they aren’t durable enough for actual climbing. The slight problem with these is the fact that the material is so thin, that they can get stuck in to your belay device.
• Unknown Fleece / Fiber Fill breathable gloves – I’ve used these mainly for approaches on cold days. They’re warm, light and breathable, but not very durable – a cheapest option of adding warmth for summer mountaineering at Kebnekaise few years back (forgot to bring any gloves). Did the trick and have been in frequent use even though the quality hasn’t been perfect.

Few images of gloves:

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Picture above: Broken Wild Country Helium.

1. Berghaus Extrem gloves
Seams seem to tear apart in heavy use, especially with ropes. They would be great gloves, I love their dexterity and warmth but as their seams may tear apart during a single day, they just aren’t an option for ice climbing. Even while ski touring one needs to be careful when ever handling ropes.

2. Grivel Rambo 4 crampons
The yellow plastic of the active antibots breaks apart easily from its attachment; harder black plastic. I’ve seen this happen practically in every pair of Rambo’s I’ve seen. Despite the problem they’re best ice climbing crampons I know, and with a bit of patience one can fix the problem temporarily by pushing the plastic part back in place.

3. Wild Country Helium Quickdraws
The anti-slip rubber of Helium Quickdraws is too “hard” and therefore breaks in below zero temperatures from the stitching seam. I have a set of five of these and it has happened on everyone except one. Different type of rubber, for instance such that’s been used in Black Diamon’s Positrons would probably fix the problem. Though I like Heliums, they’re not currently the first choice for an ice climber.

4. Sigg Bottle cap
Threads of the cap get eaten by the bottle. To prevent this bottle should not be filled too full, the cap should not be tightened too tight and one should not allow the bottle to freeze.

5. North Face Summit Series Gore-Tex XCR jacket
The watertight zippers of the jacket wear down quite fast in below zero temperatures, especially if there’s plenty of use for the zippers.

6. Black Diamond Ice Clippers and their Xenos ice climbing harness
Ice Clippers slip through the clipper holders of Xenos after a while. In order to avoid that one should avoid too heavy loads (>five screws) and bending the clippers while packing it up. Still if the lip of the Ice Clipper would be just a bit longer or the clipper holder in the harness just a bit stiffer, it would work perfectly.

7. Grivel Manu backpack
The Manu concept, detachable gear loops, is great and I’m using it frequently. The problem though is that with the gear loops only (i.e. backpack removed) the velcro on the back of the gear loops sticks to everything and cause for instance slings to wear faster than I would hope. An extra sheet of something to put on top of the velcro will fix the problem, but perhaps that could integrated to the Manu somehow too.

Few images about the products mentioned:

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Any comments and experiences of similar weak spots are greatly appreciated. I’m sure there are plenty of such around. It’s a great help for fellow climbers to be aware of them.

At first First Shot feels sturdy, high quality, piece of gear; exactly what we have come to expect from Black Diamond. There are several problems though. First Shot is somewhat difficult to open with gloves. The metal hook, that’s supposed to be used for cutting and threading the cord through the hole, bends very easily. Furthermore it’s not at all that easy as you could think to create the Abalakov using First Shot. Everything was even worse when the conditions were difficult. We tested the thing both in good conditions and in dark pretty heavy snow storm and ended up doing the Abalakov thread traditional way each time.

Of course it might just be that I was dumb enough not to figure out the correct way of operation. I kind of doubt that though. I went through the instructions pretty well and did several trials prior to trying First Shot on real ice. Based on my experience in its current stage it is not worth of your money. For me First Shot was a huge disappointment. Especially because Black Diamond usually gets it right.

Here are few findings for the next season:

1. Grivel Cascade – Fresh ice axe replacement blades – These are B-rated, but should be better for ice climbing than Grivel’s T-rated stuff, which excel on mixed routes. The link is not to the Grivel site, for some reason, there are plenty of such Grivel products that aren’t there. The link is to Needlesports, they have a good set of replacement blades.

2. Grivel Double Spring Leash (2 krab version) – It is not really a leash, but flexible runner, which can be attached to the harness to avoid loss of axe.

3. Arc’teryx Gamma MX soft shell jacket - A soft shell jacket, no hood, but ideal for wearing under Goretex or other waterproof shell. There’s also hooded version available, price is pretty steep though typically well over 300€.

4. Arc’teryx Gamma MX soft shell pants - The pants part of the above jacket.

5. Arc’teryx Bucket Liner – A hat that’s compatible with your helmet.

6. Arc’teryx Gamma SV Glove - Like many others, I’ve been looking for perfect ice climbing gloves (have a stock of quite a few already), would these be finally the ones?

7. Black Diamond Avalung II – I’m not absolutely sure if Avalung would be something that I would carry while climbing ice, though there’s certainly occassionally a danger of avalanche around. Anyways, for some reason I’ve been tempted to buy one for a long time.

8. Black Diamond First Shot - An interesting tool for getting the abalakov right for those days when you’ve done it already twice and it still wasn’t good enough.

9. Grivel Speedy – A kind of ice screw quickdraw combination, resulting better safety, reduced weight and faster placement.

10. Petzl Crevasse Rescue Kit – A compact emergency kit that contains everything needed for hauling / ascending in rescue situation.

11. Exped DownMat Pump - Like the award winning down mat, but with integrated pump. I mean, the pumping was the only real problem with these, and now it seems that they have solved it.

12. MSR Lightning Accent snowshoes – I’ve been long drooling over these snow shoes. Unfortunately I’ve already got MSR Denalis and I haven’t therefore really been able to justify the purchase.

13. Valandre Freja sleeping bag – A sleeping bag for cold winter nights, still pretty light. Temperature rating up to -33 in Celsius with weight only about 1,5kg is impressive.

14. Silvretta Freeride 800 AT skis – Recently I’ve been thinking that AT skis might be good alternative for approaches and ascents. This being said though, I guess I would like to have these just because of last season I carried my snowboard around way too much (not while ice climbing ofcourse).

15. Silvretta Pure Freeride AT bindings - The perfect companion to Silvretta Freeride 800 AT skis… though if you would like to use skis with your mountaineering boots, one should propably consider Silvretta 500′s. They’ll fit almost on any boot, but for obvious reasons aren’t that good for ski-ing.

I guess I need to start working harder in order to save enough money for all of this.