MMC Breaks Into Ice Climbing

Author: Daniel Phillips

Last winter during the Atwater dining hall construction excavation, the icy runoff from the site froze into a 15-foot cascading ice flow that lured an extreme group of on-campus climbers for several ascents in the middle of the night. However, their undercover escapades are on the verge of becoming an organized sport at Middlebury College as part of the Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC), pending grants of the Finance Committee expected later this week.

MMC Gear Guru Andy Hale '06, noted that there are already four pairs of ice axes - or "tools" in climber jargon - on campus, and nearly 100 students have actively voiced interest in ice climbing by signing a petition drafted by MMC. The only remaining obstacle is securing enough funding from the College to purchase at least six new sets of equipment.

Hale explained that part of the reason MMC decided to incorporate an ice climbing option was due to the "phenomenal amount of interest out there. Ice climbing is hard to get into," Hale continued. "You either need all the equipment yourself or know someone who has the tools and the know-how. It's not like getting a pair of running shoes."

Michelle Long '04, president of MMC, has been working with Hale to get ice climbing off the ground at Middlebury. She was inspired by a particular trip that she went on last winter - she stopped by the climbing wall and mentioned that she was going ice climbing and 10 people said they wanted to come along. Long felt as though she were leading an MMC trip, and decided that there should be room for ice climbing within the Mountain Club itself.

Hale and Long went to the Finance Committee yesterday to put forth their ice climbing initiative, and should know the extent of funds by the end of this week. If all goes according to plan, MMC plans to have ice-climbing trips embarking as soon as Winter Term.

Apart from the unprecedented student support and enthusiasm for the sport on campus, the other driving force behind the development of ice climbing at the College has come from the new Assistant Director for Outdoor Programs and Events, Derek Doucet, who recently replaced Megan Smith. Long explained that the topic of ice climbing was one of the first she proposed to Doucet upon his appointment, to which he was extremely receptive. He has already been more than helpful in obtaining a wealth of manufacturer discounts for the purchase of new equipment, which at retail price amounts to over $6,000 for six pairs of crampons, 12 pairs of boots and three pairs of tools, according to Hale. Additionally, Doucet has arranged for an insurance company to cover the MMC from the potential liability associated with the new program.

Doucet noted, "The enthusiasm and motivation to bring ice climbing to the MMC has been entirely student generated. I've just been happy to be able to assist by providing the expertise to get the program off the ground."

Doucet has experience in risk management in outdoor programming with numerous guide services, colleges and universities and different Outward Bound schools. "So far, my role has been advising the club on selecting and purchasing the equipment needed for an institutional ice climbing program," Doucet added.

"As we move forward, I'll be implementing a training seminar for MMC leaders that will address institutional climbing leadership in the winter environment. The training will be focused on risk management in ice climbing, participant care and group management in cold weather environments, suggested teaching strategies and progressions and general outdoor leadership theory, among other topics."

Doucet continued, "It will also include an orientation to various nearby ice climbing sites appropriate for institutional use, and a discussion of what makes sites suitable and unsuitable for MMC ice climbing trips. I envision this training being at least one and possibly two weekends in duration."

After the training, the MMC may begin running ice climbing trips just as they do with other activities such as rock climbing, backpacking or canoeing, which customarily includes a sign-up in the McCullough mail space, a meeting of the guides involved and a status check of all equipment for the trip. "The one crucial difference," Doucet pointed out, "is that since ice climbing is a completely new activity for the MMC, I'll be going in to the field to directly supervise the trips as the student leaders become comfortable with the new program. This will serve as additional hands on training time for the student leaders, with me serving as an experienced set of eyes to back them up. The idea is that they will actually run the trips, and my role will be to only intervene if risk management or program quality issues make it necessary to do so, or if my assistance is specifically requested."

There is a plethora of ice climbing options available to interested adventurers during the Vermont winter. At the nearby Bristol Cliffs, nestled just west of the Green Mountains south of Burlington, a quarter-mile hike up a steep, wooded slope leads to the base of an 80-foot-wide, 220-foot high face of sprawling ice, tumbling down from the roof in a 40-degree pitch, with a swath of vertical ice at the top - any ice climber's ecstasy.

Hale also pointed out that the Adirondack Mountains boast some of the best ice climbing in the country, and not too far from Smuggler's Notch or Huntington Ravine, the east face of Mount Washington, Middlebury is smack in the middle of the New England's premier destinations.

Long is confident that the sport will catch on at the College since no prior experience is necessary to participate, and those avid ice climbers who need no further instruction would have the opportunity to lead future trips as guides.

Hale describes the experience as "absolutely different than rock climbing. It's different in that you are absolutely relying on your gear and your ability to use that gear correctly." He referred to ice climbing as being a "very ephemeral" and "surreal experience" due to the unnatural process of harnessing the elements, for in a week's time, a perfect ice flow may entirely vanish.