Leashes were much more common during the advent of ice climbing. During these days, axes almost uniformly had straight handles with little to no grip on them. Using these tools, the only way to get a good grip on steep terrain was to use a leash. You put the leash around your wrist, attached the other end to your axe, and it supported you when you gripped onto the ace. The leash helped keep the axe straight when you swung, and it allowed you to hang hands-free from your axes a massive advantage on long or pumpy routes.
However, as ice climbing began to grow in popularity and more gnarly lines were climbed, gear manufacturers began to adapt. They created the ergonomically shaped ice tools we have today, with curved handles and rubber grips designed to help you hang on without the use of leashes.
Once that happened, climbers began to challenge themselves by climbing routes leashless as a testament to their strength and cardio. As they did, however, they began to discover some of the benefits that came with leashless climbing. As Andy Kirkpatrick explains:.
With that being said, there are still some advantages to climbing with leashes. So, what are some of the pros of ice climbing leashes? There are three main pros that can be mentioned:. I have yet to get a better swing out of a leashless tool than a well set-up leashed tool. In ice climbing, your swing is extremely important.
You need to be able to drive the tool into the ice powerfully and in a precise manner. At the same time, you need to minimize the energy that it takes to do so.
Because of the leverage that they provide, leashed ice climbing tools make getting a good placement with your tool far easier. Falling in ice climbing is something that must be avoided at all costs, and ice climbing leashes help with this. Even when the designs of ice axes developed over the years and we saw slightly bent shafts, the leash was key in being able to climb steep ice. There was almost more design and technology going into designing the leash as there was in the ice axes themselves!
Then came fully curved shafts with a heel spur or grip rest on the end, to help rest the climbers grip onto, stopping your hand slipping off the end and in turn allowing you to climb steeper ice with less energy.
At the start of seeing the grip rest, climbers still mostly used a leash for added security. As the ice season winds down, we headed to Hidden Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park, a spot that we have often used as a practice area in the past.
On the last Sunday in March we found the ice at Hidden Falls to be in surprisingly good condition considering the warm temperatures the Front Range had been experiencing. This was the ideal place to test out this new aspect of the sport, although I confess to having several misgivings about the whole idea.
The thought of being on a long, multi-pitch route with the potential to drop an ice tool causes me nightmares the tethers that some climbers have adopted to solve this problem seem to me to take away some of the flexibility gained by going leashless in the first place. Also, the manufacturers have disclaimers stating that the likelihood of falling while climbing increases if not using leashes — which I find remarkable. Still, there must be something to this new trend, so I took a few laps on the ice of Hidden Falls with borrowed tools and was pleasantly surprised.
One way to reach the climb is to walk to the ranger station and continue on the Thunder Lake Trail, then cross North St. Vrain Creek and head up to the climb. Using this approach, the falls can be difficult to spot. From the winter parking area, walk southwest along the road toward the Wild Basin Ranger Station, passing the Finch Lake Trailhead at mile 0. Continue to the Copeland Falls trailhead, on the left at mile 1.
Take the Copeland Falls Trail as it parallels the creek close to the south bank, passing Copeland Falls and continuing to mile 1. Look for the ice a short distance above the trail, on your left. Head up to the ice.
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