Giant's Castle Ice Climbing

Stijn wrote:
A perfect example is how Twitter exploded into frenzy when Ryan Sandes went ice-climbing with Ryno at Giant's Castle a few weeks ago. Ryno has been doing this trip annually for 15 years but as soon as an icon like Ryan starts sharing photos via social media, it's suddenly the next greatest thing

On that note, I picked that up on twitter and had always thought ice climbing is only possible in Lesotho, otherwise I would never have known it was possible in Giant's Castle.

I have always been fascinated by ice climbing, how do you get into the sport? Do you need some prior climbing experience? Would obviously like to try it some day (weather permitting).

@moderators: perhaps a new thread is in order?

LouisvV wrote: I have always been fascinated by ice climbing, how do you get into the sport? Do you need some prior climbing experience? Would obviously like to try it some day (weather permitting).

MCSA has their annual meet for this, but this was a bad year for ice climbing from what I read (note that I have never done ice climbing). There are a few venues in the KZN Berg, Mlambonja Couloir, Sani Pass etc. Gavin R's website (Peak High) should have some photos from this year.

Prior experience - I guess some rock climbing experience is advisable, so that you are familiar with rope management, belaying and the other parts that are common to both types of climbing. Also remember that ice climbing is done on a mass of ice, i.e. water below 0 degrees and out of direct sunlight - so it is a cold and uncomfortable sport.

Reminds me of a quote about the 3 attributes of a good ice climber:
1 — High pain threshold
2 — Bad memory
3 — I forget the third

OK, fair enough, ice-climbing is not just the kind of thing you can go do yourself

I'd recommend joining an MCSA trip or hiring a guide (who will have the gear and teach you the basics). Peak High Mountaineering is probably your best bet.

Yikes! Sounds hectic, but I'd still like to try it someday.
Thanks for the info guys!