Ice & Mixed Climbing

"Mixed climbing is my favourite discipline. It's the most fun because it has the fewest rules-sort of like professional wrestling compared to boxing." So says Will Gadd, as profiled in Fifty Favourite Climbs. Here the champion ice climber presents the same techniques and veteran wisdom he imparts to those who attend his annual clinics. These include step-by-step instructions for the swing (ice axe), the kick (footwork), and putting it all together (tracking); how to "read" ice to select your line and follow it safely; and drytool techniques for mixed climbing. Training exercises and inspirational stories complete this seminal guide.

Will Gadd has established hundreds of new ice and hard mixed routes from Iceland to Chile; he has also won numerous international competitions and the ice climbing world cup. A resident of Canmore, Alberta, he has written for Climbing, Rock & Ice, Outside, and many other publications