• Captcha Field

Learn to Lead Ice Climbs

What You'll Learn


If you are an experienced ice climber who is confident in your technique here is what you can expect to learn during this ice climbing course:

  • The proper way to stage your belayer and provide a solid lead belay yourself..
  • How to place ice screws based on the ice quality.
  • Build quality climbing and rappel anchors using ice screws and threads.
  • How to manage the rack and other climbing equipment while on lead and when building anchors.
  • Techniques for managing anxiety and safety while on the sharp end.
  • Outdoor climbing etiquette and ethics for new outdoor leaders.

After taking this climbing course participants should feel comfortable leading beginner ice climb and assessing ice quality.


Ice Climbing Instruction Rates and Availability

1 Instructor Half Day (4 hours) Regular Day (6 hours) Full Day (8 hours)
1 Students $329 $389 $449
2 Students $269 $329 $389
3 Students $219 $269 $329
4 Students $169 $219 $269
2 instructors to keep low ratios for the best experience!
5-8 Students $139 $169 $219

Rate Information:

Rates are per person, e.g. 3 people for a Regular Day would be $269/person for a total of $807. Trip start times are custom but generally we recommend 9AM starts for most ice climbing December through March to make the best use of time and ice conditions.

Discount Information: We appreciate our guests but discounts are limited to the following and cannot be combined with any other offer.

Early Bird Discounts and Last Chance Pricing: Book early and save! Schedule any rock climbing trip a month or more in advance for a 10% discount. Any trip booked with less than 48 hours notice incur a $100 convenience fee.

Bundle Pricing: The ultimate way to get started climbing! Purchase 3 or more days of climbing guiding or instruction at once for a 10% discount. Schedule at your convenience.

Ready to book your experience or have more questions?

Follow Up Classes

Basic ice climbing technique and skills such as tying in and belaying are fundamental skills that open the door to the next steps in gaining the independence to climb ice on your own. The following classes are good next steps.

Required Skills

Climbers should have previous experience toproping for a few seasons. Leading ice is significantly more hazardous than toproping ice or leading rock and participants should feel confident in their movement abilities and should be dialed in with their equipment.

Best Places to Learn to Lead Ice Climbs

There are several locations that work well for this course due to reliable ice and minimal approaches. The venues we recommend are:

Like many skills it can take minutes to learn and years to master. Learning to lead ice is no different. It takes years to learn to recognize the qualities of ice and how they'll affect the security of ice screw placements and anchors. The head space for leading ice is also something that can be difficult to learn. But without the skill there are many climbs that are just off limits for those without the ability to lead ice climbs.


We recommend this as a Full Day for experienced ice climbers. This way instructors can spend time focused on pointing out many of the small techniques and nuances to increase your security and confidence as you begin to lead ice climbs.