Ice is an ephemeral medium, so ice climbing grades can vary widely from the grades given for the climb and the actual experience on the climb. Generally, ice climbs are graded based on the typical difficulty of the route when it is in condition. When a climb is in lean or fat condition the actual difficulty of the climb can change dramatically. How much traffic a route receives also greatly affects the difficulty of a climb. Heavily trafficked climbs are typically much easier than climbs on "fresh ice" without pick or crampon holes.
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In ice climbing, there are two types of ice: Water Ice and Alpine Ice.
Water Ice Water Ice is created by seasonal water flows that freeze up in the cold months of the year. These flows are generally ephemeral and come and go as water availability and temperatures fluctuate. Water Ice climbs are usually denoted with the letters WI then the number grade in the United States but are often expressed without the letters in other countries. Alpine Ice Alpine Ice is created by permanent snow that has consolidated to the point of becoming ice. It is generally formed in places where massive seasonal snowfall results in permanent snow and ice. As the seasonal snow consolidates and melts it becomes ice and forms or adds to a permanent ice mass, such as a permanent icefield or glacier. The alpine ice on permanent icefields don't melt completely because they have enough mass to survive the summer and snow starts building them up again once winter starts. Alpine Ice routes are denoted with AI rather than WI in the US, but are also simply expressed as numbers in Europe, South America, and Canada.What determines the Grade of an Ice Climb?
Ice Climbing Difficulty Grades are determined by the following metrics:- How steep the ice is
- The length of the steep sections of climbing
- Difficulty of placing protection
- Quality of protection available on the route
Water Ice and Alpine Ice Grades
WI 1: Low angle ice; no tools required.
WI 2: Consistent 60 degree ice with possible bulges; good protection.
WI 3: Sustained 70 degree with possible long bulges of 80-90 degrees; reasonable rests and good stances for placing screws.
WI 4: Continuous 80 degree ice fairly long sections of 90 degree ice broken up by occasional rests.
WI 5: Long and strenuous, with a rope length of 85-90 degrees ice offering few good rests; or a shorter pitch of thin or bad ice with protection that’s difficult to place.
WI 6: A full rope length of nearly 90 degree ice with no rests, or a shorter pitch even more tenuous than WI 5. Highly technical.
WI 7: As above, but on thin poorly bonded ice or long, overhanging poorly adhered columns. Protection is impossible or very difficult to place and of dubious quality.
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Mixed Grades
Mixed climbing is climbing that involves both rock and ice. Mixed climbs are climbed using a variety of tactics and protection. Typically, crampons and ice tools are used to climb, but gloved or bare hands can also come into play depending on temperatures and how dry the climb is. Often mixed climbing has dry sections which are devoid of ice, but still climbed with ice tools and crampons. This technique is known as dry tooling and allows climbers to ascend pitches with tiny holds or cracks where the hand and foot holds would be too small for most climbers.
Mixed Climbing Grades
The grading of mixed climbing routes approximates the ice climbing WI grades, up to M6, but they then diverge as mixed routes can become very overhanging and eventually turn into roofs (it is extremely rare to find overhanging ice, such as that Helmecken Falls). M-grades do not take into account the quality of the protection in the event of a fall as the harder grades are often pre-bolted routes. The grades focus on the technical and physical challenge of the route.
M1 - M3: Easy to Moderate, Rock Equivalent YDS 5.5-5.7
M1 and M3 routes are perfect opportunities for discovering mixed climbing. Routes in these grades are fairly casual, with low angle climbing and less powerful moves that often don't require the use of ice climbing tools.
- M1 (5.5 Rock Equivalent): Gentle terrain with easy moves on ice and rock, suitable for beginners.
- M2 (5.6 Rock Equivalent): Slightly steeper, straightforward routes requiring basic skills.
- M3 (5.7 Rock Equivalent): Moderate difficulty with more technical moves, requiring intermediate skills.
M4: Moderate to Challenging Mixed Climbing
- Rock Equivalent of 5.8
- Ice moves up to WI4 and
- Occasional technical dry tooling techniques required. Moves are typically standard dry tool placements and no wild dry tooling maneuvers like Figure 4s and Figure 9s.
M5: Challenging Mixed Climbing
- Longer and more sustained climbing than M4.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.9
- Longer and more consistent ice sections of WI4
- More technical dry tooling techniques required. Moves are still standard dry tool placements without Figure 4s or 9s.
M6: Vertical to Slightly Overhanging Mixed Climbing
- Rock Equivalent of 5.10
- Longer and more consistent ice sections of WI4-WI5. There may be pillars or broken icicles involved.
- More technical dry tooling techniques required. Probably requires torques, cams, Steinpulls and plenty of standard dry tooling edge placements. Might be reasonable to employ a Figure 4 or 9.
M7: Powerful moves on long, overhanging terrain.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.11
- Difficult and funky ice sections WI5-6. Be prepared to encounter bulges, hanging columns, and cauliflowers, candlesticks and more.
- More technical dry tooling techniques required. Requires consistent torques, cams, Steinpulls and probably a Figure 4 or 9.
- Expect 25-40m of sustained, powerful climbing with 5-15m of harder, cruxy climbing.
M8: Technical Dry Tooling with Harder Movement than M7.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.11+
- Difficult and funky ice sections WI5-6. Be prepared to encounter bulges, hanging columns, and cauliflowers, candlesticks and more.
- More technical dry tooling techniques required. Requires consistent torques, cams, Steinpulls and probably a Figure 4 or 9.
- Longer pitches of sustained, M7 climbing with punchier cruxes.
M9: Either a long, vertical climb with extremely technical holds, or a moderate route with a 3-6m horizontal crux section.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.12
- Consistent technical dry tooling techniques required.
M10: 30 meters or more of overhanging climbing and vertical climbing with little to no rest.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.12+
- Consistent technical dry tooling techniques required.
M11: 40+ meters of overhung, powerful climbing or 15m of pure horizontal climbing with little to no rest.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.13
- Consistent technical dry tooling techniques required.
M12: 20m of pure horizontal climbing or M11 with smaller, harder tool placements. Needless to say, little to no rest.
- Rock Equivalent of 5.14
- Consistent technical dry tooling techniques required.
M13-M16: Insanely technical and consistent climbing requiring orchestrated sequences and elite level execution. These grades get really hard to parse out, and are highly subjective.
For a taste of M13-16, here's Will Gadd climbing the world's hardest Mixed Climb, Helmcken Falls.
And a great synopsis of Will Gadd on Helmcken Falls by RedBull TV.
How to Think About Ice Climbing and Mixed Grades
We can't stress this enough: ice is a difficult medium to master. Understanding how ice forms and how recent weather patterns affect the consistency of the ice and how well it sticks to the underlying rock is challenging. It takes a lot of mileage (repetitions top roping, following or leading ice well within your limit) to feel comfortable pushing into harder grades.
The most important rule with ice climbing is don't fall on lead! This should be obvious with all the sharp pointy things strapped onto your body, but it bears repetition: leading ice is different than leading rock! On many rock climbs falls are "clean" and usually result in no injury, especially when the grades get harder and climbs get steeper. On an ice climb, a fall can much more easily result in serious lacerations, punctures, broken bones and torn ligaments.
Here are a few worthwhile perspectives from the world's leading ice climbers:
Ice and Rock Grades, A Review and Perspective by Will Gadd Thoughts on Ice Climbing Grades by Professional Ice Climber, Will Gadd.
Training for Ice and Mixed Climbing by Steve House A perspective on gaining strength to prepare for harder ice and mixed climbing.
Four Tips to Lead Ice With Confidence: How to Safely Lead an Ice Climb A nice article by Sean Isaac and Tim Banfield on safely leading ice climbs.
