r/iceclimbing • u/pokoniko • 13d ago

Question Training set up construction questions

Hey all!

I have a 2 m-high I-beam spanning the width of my garden, and I thought it could be useful for training.

I was planning on getting 3–4 cheap Delta quick links and using 40–50 cm slings to attach them to the beam. I was wondering, though, if I could replace the slings with 6 mm cord? I’d probably make a couple of loops and finish them with a suitable knot.

Ideally, I’d like to leave the setup outdoors year-round, including through rain and snow in winter. Would 6 mm cord be suitable for this, or would slings be a better option?

I don’t own ice axes yet, as I’m still a very very novice ice climber. A close friend has an older pair of Nomics Quarks and some wooden training axes that he’s willing to let me use. I’ll try training with those for a while and then decide whether it’s worth getting a pair of training axes myself. I'm a decent boulderer and indoor rockclimber but yeah Ice climbing which is one of kt goal disicplines.

What do you guys think?

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3

u/monoamine 13d ago

Cord. But also, what sort of training are you trying to do? If you just started, upper body strength is not going to limit you getting up wi3/wi4. It’s all technique, particularly foot placement and movement flow

2

u/pokoniko 12d ago

I see thank you. It was indeed my idea to train upper body strength. I live pretty far away from the alps and will only be realistically able to consistently ice climb in a few years, might go this winter. That said, this was more like a 'part-time' fun thing not to lose sight of the objective and a fun way to train upper body strength.

1

u/westsidebarbelI 13d ago

As the first commenter said: forearm pump should not be the limiting factor in the beginning. On the other hand training and moving your physical threshold up is never a bad idea. If you’re not approaching the physical limit of your body you’re likely to be more relaxed and further away from the mental limit, which leads to an overall better experience and better decision making mid climb.

As far as training setup goes,I would install chains (scrap yard or hardware store). You can use every link as a hold this way, it requires some precision to place the picks nicely and the chains are going to last longer than any cord. It has to be said though, that this would apply as good training for drytooling, regular ice climbing is more skill than strength so nothing beats doing laps on top rope when the season starts.

2

u/pokoniko 12d ago

That's a great idea thank you! I'm not sure the width of the wooden ice axes is small enough to fit into chains but I'll give it a look. That was the idea to move the threshold up and train the muscles around pulling on the axes + some fun activity to do with my friend as we both aren't able to ice climb much (He ice climbs more than me and I'm a bit jealous but shhh 🤫)