Climbing is human instinct, and it’s something many aspire to. All learning and training related to climbing aim to help people enjoy it better and more safely. Meanwhile, improving climbing skills places significant emphasis on hands-on experience. In the West, where outdoor sports are highly developed, climbing has become a way of life, widely admired. Climbing in different places exposes you to varied conditions and styles, allowing you to experience the joys of climbing, nature, and culture. It’s also an essential journey for becoming an outstanding climber. We recommend mastering certain technical and theoretical foundations, and climbing as much as possible under good safety conditions—climb, climb, and climb again.
As the days inch closer to the Year of the Dragon, how will you welcome this eagerly anticipated new year? For outdoor enthusiasts who spend their days befriending nature, the answer is, of course, to climb. Climbing is the only way to experience the joy of reaching the summit; it’s about standing atop mountains with an open heart; it’s about embracing ice and snow, as a blessed snowfall foretells a fruitful year; and it’s about dancing—otherwise, where would you find that exhilarating feeling? So gear up with a helmet, polarized glasses, ice axe, crampons, and a safety rope, then leap toward the ice wall. Swing your ice axe with flair, letting all the fancy moves take a backseat to the figure silhouetted against the white cliff...
This winter, right now, let’s scale the ice walls and dance with joy as we approach the summit—warriors of ice and snow that we are.
When you hear the words “ice climbing,” do images of the thrilling scenes from the movie Vertical Limit come to mind? To most, ice climbers seem like reckless daredevils. But in truth, there are those passionate ice warriors who love this sport fiercely. As an outdoor activity that challenges nature and pushes limits, ice climbing brings immense excitement and a deep sense of achievement with every new height conquered.
Those spectacular icefalls, when viewed from afar, look like a frozen river of white suspended in the sky. As your crampons grip the ice wall and your ice axe strikes firmly into it, chunks of ice break off and tumble down with crisp sounds. There’s achievement, thrill, and joy... Now, you too can experience that same passion with proper safety measures. While enjoying the fun of climbing, try the elegance of ice ballet, letting yourself be captivated while perched on the icy edge of a cliff—an unforgettable experience.
Ice climbing originated from mountaineering in snowy regions and shares many similarities with it. Of course, there are differences: mountaineering is more of an aerobic activity requiring high endurance, while ice climbing leans toward anaerobic exercise, demanding equally high levels of technique, explosive power, and stamina. Therefore, although ice climbing evolved from mountaineering, modern ice climbing is rarely practiced at high altitudes. Before the 1970s, climbing ice walls was a major obstacle in mountaineering expeditions, with many climbers failing due to encountering them. By the late 1960s, European climbers, drawing on years of experience, invented ice axes with serrated picks and crampons with hardened front spikes. Using these tools, climbers gradually discovered the joy of ice climbing. From the 1980s onward, ice climbing competitions gained popularity in Europe and America, sparking a global winter sports trend.
Ice climbing combines competition, challenge, and spectacle, making it another widely loved winter outdoor sport after mountaineering and skiing. The adventure, thrill, skill, strength, endurance, perseverance, and courage embodied in ice climbing allow every participant to fully unleash their potential and experience the thrill of conquering fear and limits. With its unique charm, ice climbing deeply attracts those daring to challenge extremes, drawing more and more enthusiasts to this mesmerizing sport known as the “ballet on ice.”
In most northern regions of China during winter, waterfalls that once cascaded down freeze into ice sculptures and frozen murals dozens of meters high. On these icy cliffs, you might see people—dressed in thick nylon outerwear, equipped with ropes and carabiners, wearing smooth plastic helmets, with metal claws on their feet and steel hooks in their hands—slowly ascending the ice walls. That’s right, ice climbing demands extremely high-quality gear, truly “from head to toe.” Ice climbing equipment generally falls into two categories: general mountaineering and rock climbing gear such as ropes, harnesses, mountaineering boots, and quickdraws; and specialized ice climbing gear including helmets, ice axes, ice screws, and crampons. A single ice climbing trip often requires carrying thirty to forty kilograms of various professional equipment. Ice climbing also demands considerable strength in the limbs and core, with key movements including hooking, pulling, pushing, pressing, kicking, stepping, hanging, and stomping.
Outdoor ice climbing is highly challenging and dangerous, suitable only for experienced climbers. Regulated ice climbing venues, however, offer professional instructors to guide and accompany visitors, ensuring higher safety. Before climbing, assess whether the icefall or ice wall is solidly frozen; secondly, ensure proper protection with essential gear like harnesses and helmets to guard against falling ice and prevent accidents.
Siguniang Mountain Shuangqiaogou
Shuangqiaogou is arguably China’s premier ice climbing destination, sitting at an altitude of around 3,800 meters with a 35-kilometer scenic road leading directly to the valley floor. The mountain streams there form over a hundred icefalls in winter. These icefalls generally feature long routes, gentle angles, and soft ice, making them ideal for recreational climbing.
Independent icefalls and ice walls are scattered along both sides of the road, with 60–70 climbable icefalls available. Most are located on the east-facing side of the road, receiving less direct sunlight. These areas have more icefalls, harder ice, and relatively more reliable protection points. The other side basks in afternoon sunlight, offering beautiful scenery to enjoy after climbing. It’s said that the areas near Wuse Mountain Villa, the primary school, and Nianyuba are the best spots for beginners to train.
Shuangqiaogou offers a balanced range of difficulty levels and an abundance of climbing routes to meet the needs of ice climbers of all skill levels. There are dozens of peaks over 5,000 meters in elevation, such as Camel Peak, which has steep slopes unsuitable for novice climbers. Moreover, ice climbing is extremely physically demanding, and Shuangqiaogou’s open and flat terrain makes it advisable to drive to the base of the glaciers.
Self-drive route: From Chengdu, take the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway to Dujiangyan, then the Dujiangyan-Wenchuan Expressway to Yingxiu, followed by Provincial Highway 303 (a secondary ecological road) passing through the Wolong Panda Base. Cross the Panda King Summit, Mount Balang, to reach Siguniang Mountain—a total distance of about 200 kilometers.
Sichuan Hailuogou Glacier
Hailuogou originates from a glacial melt valley on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, known as the King of Sichuan Mountains. It flows from southwest to northeast into the Moxi River, a tributary of the Dadu River. Stretching 30.7 kilometers in length and covering 220 square kilometers, the valley encompasses natural wonders such as glaciers, alpine snow peaks, hot and cold springs, pristine forests, wildlife, and premium flowers and herbs.
Sichuan Hailuogou Glacier is China’s first glacier park, located at the foot of Mount Gongga in Luding County, western Sichuan. It is the largest glacier park in China and the world’s lowest-altitude glacier, as well as the longest of the 71 glaciers on Mount Gongga. The massive icefall spans 500–1,100 meters in width and 1,080 meters in height, making it the tallest and most spectacular icefall discovered in China to date. The glacier tongue extends 6 kilometers into the primal forest, creating the unique spectacle of the Hailuogou Glacier coexisting with the forest.
Hailuogou Glacier is the closest and most accessible low-altitude modern maritime glacier to a major city, with very convenient transportation. It also boasts numerous hot spring groups of varying sizes, among which the hot springs at Camp Two are the most renowned.
Self-drive route: From Chengdu, take the Chengya Expressway, exit at Duoying Station on the Chengya Expressway, pass through Tianquan, cross the Erlangshan Tunnel to reach Hailuogou Scenic Area—a total distance of about 360 kilometers, taking approximately 4–6 hours.
