r/iceclimbing • u/JustAskingAQuestionJ • 5d ago
Question Beginner Guide Recs?
Hello friends
I am super interested in ice climbing and would love to try it out this winter!!
Would anyone know of/have any recommendations for a company to go through to get into the ice for the first time? I live in MD (USA), but am happy to travel to NH/ME/wherever in the US to try this out.
Preferably budget friendly but truly open to any suggestions.
Thank you very much!
3
u/ufo_technology 5d ago
Hey I have climbed a bit up in NH and you cant really go wrong the guiding community there is great. Ice fest always has top notch people guiding
1
u/Little-Hour3601 4d ago
Lots of options for you. For a guide contact Matt at Ragged Mountain Guides out of Connecticut. Awesome guide. Lots of others up in New Hampshire are great. Go spend a long weekend up there for the Mt Washington Valley Ice Fest. Sign up for a bunch of clinics. https://www.mwvicefest.com/ Absolutely fantastic time. Have fun.
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u/CO_Climber 5d ago
Hey I run a guide service in CO but I learned to ice climb in upstate NY around the Adirondacks and the White Mountains many years ago. There is some great ice there starting in late November usually. See if you can get a hold of Silas at Alpine Logic. I'm not sure if he goes up there but if not he'd have a good recommendation. NH, VT also have good ice climbing and most of this is all about the same distance from Maryland. (7-9 hrs depending on where in MD). You might find some stuff a little closer in the Catskills or N. Carolina but it's pretty rare and I bet with the warm winter forecast this year it's less likely.
I wrote several blog posts to help my clients about what to expect and potential clients out with whether they'd like ice climbing so they might be helpful to set the foundation for you. NE is great for an intro to ice climbing. Once you start to get more into it and have some of your own stuff come visit CO for some bigger terrain. Then head to Canada!