As I have complained about in previous posts, the weather in Ogden has not been real conducive to ice climbing this year. Last week the daily highs averaged about 45 degrees and lows didn't get much below 30. This week hasn't been much better, though the last couple nights have been a bit colder. Phil and I had planned to head up to Malan's Waterfall for some training, but those plans didn't quite pan out. We have an ice climbing trip coming up and are anxious to get in better climbing shape; therefore, we built a plice (plywood ice) tower and decided to work out on that. It's only about 16 feet tall, but with multiple laps and no gloves, it was enough for us to get pumped. It was amazing how much less tiring it was once I put gloves on.
Anyway, here are some pictures of training:
Myself on the plice ladder. We wanted to make it taller, but multiple laps and down-climbing gives us the same pump without risking broken bones in the case of a fall.
Phil on lap #10 or so. We tried to do the laps without gloves for the extra pump factor. We also used crampons for the first little while, but eventually took them off because they're a bit awkward and our calves weren't feeling it anyway.
Climbing on plice is a bit boring compared to real ice, but it's a great way to train when the weather isn't cooperative. This ladder cost about $25 for wood and screws and took about 1 1/2 hrs to build.
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