Blue Lake Ice Climbing

Our first mountaineering trip of the season! 

We'll be snowshoing/skiing to Blue Lake in Kosciuszko to do some ice climbing.

What is ice climbing?

• Ice climbers use crampons and ice axes to ascend vertical or near-vertical ice faces.
• Ice climbing is an important skill for mountaineering (the process of climbing big mountains), alongside hiking, rock climbing and snow skills.

Important notes:

• This trip will be dependent on weather. If there's no ice, or the conditions look dangerous, we'll do our best to reschedule (NOTE: This is very early season so conditions TBC).
• If there's no ice but the snow is good we'll consider running this as a snow skills trip.
• When prioritising who comes on this trip we'll look at a mix of pre-established skills (how comfortable are you with climbing or snow sports? Do you have trad skills? Are you generally fit?) and engagement with the club (how involved are you? Have you given back to the club?) That being said, if you're at all interested, sign up. Depending on the skill levels we'll take up to ten people.
• Trip attendees will be confirmed on or around May 14. I will contact you to confirm you have been accepted onto the trip. If circumstances change and you can't attend tell me ASAP so I can let someone else come.

Details:

• We'll leave Canberra on Friday night and aim to snowcamp somewhere on the trail towards Blue Lake. The earlier we leave the better - preferably close to 5.30pm.
• Saturday we'll snowshoe into Blue Lake and set up tents just outside the catchment. We'll practice snow skills on the way (self-arrest on snow, anchor building, snow safety and navigation). In the afternoon, we'll try to get some ice climbing in on top ropes.
• Sunday we'll ice climb in the morning and aim to hike back after lunch.

When you sign up:

• Let me know if you have a car
• Give me an indication of any experience
• Tell me what gear you have
• Make sure you attend the pretrip!

Equipment (What you will have to bring. A lot of this can be borrowed from the gear store, sleeping bags and tents included. Come to the pre-trip and we can make sure you're sorted):

• Waterproof pants
• Thermals
• Fleece/inner layer
• Puffer jacket/middle layer
• Sturdy raincoat/hard shell/outer layer
• Beanie
• Buff (face scarf - msg me if you have questions)
• Gloves (preferably waterproof)
• Thick socks (some spare pairs recommended)
• Other clothes as needed
• Jetboil/small camping stove
• Food for two days (high calory food recommended! You'll burn a lot of energy in the cold. Salt/electrolytes too for cramping)
• Water for at least one day
• Good sunglasses/skii goggles (you don't want to go snow blind)
• Sunscreen (you can actually get pretty burnt depending on conditions)
• A good sleeping mat (preferably R rating >3. Contact me if you have questions about this)
• A good sleeping bag (sub-zero temperature ratings)
•  A four-season tent (we may share tents between us)
• Mountaineering boots (sized correctly - with plenty of space for your toes)
• Crampons
• Snowshoes OR skiis (depending on conditions - we'll confirm at the pretrip) 
• Two ice axes (we'll take a mix of technical and walking axes)
• Group: We'll take several ropes/slings/trad pieces/ice screws/v-thread tools/first aid kit
• Optional: snow stakes. Personal climbing gear. Cake.

Risks:

• Ice climbing is a risky activity. 
• The conditions are likely to be cold and may change rapidly (think white out, blizzards, rain, aggressive sun). 
• The activity itself is pretty dangerous (You're climbing with spikes on your feet and sharp objects in your hands).
• Navigation in some conditions may be hard, necessitating a change in plans.

If you have any questions or would like to chat to see if this trip is for you, feel free to reach out :)