Intro to Ice Climbing in the Blue Ridge Mountains, VA

Join one of our AMGA certified guides for a fun and educational intro to ice climbing trip in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Private

Appalachians

1 Day

Jan - Mar, Dec

High

Beginner

Highlights

Enjoy a full-day intro level ice climbing trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Learn a number of skills from belaying to equipment usage.
Ideal for people new to ice climbing.

Description

Ice climbing is a thrilling activity, one that pushes you while exciting you at the same time. And, on this full day trip, we would like to guide you on an introductory level ice climbing trip in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

Our trip will begin in the morning at a nearby coffee shop. From there, we will help you with equipment fitting, from boots and crampons to back packs. Afterwards, we will take a short drive or hike to the ice climbing area. Once there, you will get to start climbing.

Along with the fun of the climbing itself, we will also provide you with plenty of advice and tips on your climbing techniques. Thus, helping you improve your abilities, so you can test yourself on bigger climbing walls in the future.

Some of what you will learn during this trip includes the following.

Equipment usage
Crampon technique
Swinging ice tools
Climbing movement
Belaying
How to stay comfortable while winter climbing

Since this is an introductory level course, prior ice climbing experience is not required. However, due to the physical nature of ice climbing, you should be in good physical condition.

Ice climbing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia is an experience you will never forget. To enjoy it for yourself, please send a request. We look forward to hearing from you and guiding you.

We also offer a full day rock to ice course in the Blue Ridge Mountains that you can enjoy here.

Price includes

Guiding fee

Price details

Please send us a message for price information.

About the guide

Blue Ridge

Rock Climbing Instructor

My name is Grant, and I serve as the head guide for the Blue Ridge Mountain Guides. We are based in Virginia, where I grew up climbing rock and ice, constantly searching for my next big adventure.

While I enjoy all types of climbing, I have to admit that I favor ice and trad. As much as I love climbing, I am equally dedicated to teaching. I have always had a great passion for sharing my love of this sport and the mountains with others. As a teacher, I am laid back, patient and adaptive in my teaching style. I strive to convey information and skills to my students in a way that easy to understand and retain.

I am certified by the American Mountain Guides Association as a Rock Instructor, Single Pitch Instructor and Climbing Wall Instructor. I hold a Wilderness First Responder Certification and am also an AIARE Level I Avalanche Course Instructor and Leave No Trace Trainer.

Blue Ridge Mountain Guides is also an AMGA SPI Assistant Provider.

When it gets too cold to climb back home, you can usually find me ice climbing and skiing in Utah, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

Languages

English

Request more information

What people are saying about Explore-Share

Man

Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!

Maxine

Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.

Valeriya

You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.

Joshua

We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.

Cami

Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.

4.8