After an unfortunate hiatus from climbing I finally got back out there this weekend for some ice climbing on Highway 215 in North Carolina. It was my first time ice climbing in NC and it was some gold ol’ stress free fun. The approach is non-existent considering you are belaying from the ditch beside the road and the runs are a decent 50-60 feet. I have no idea of the names of the routes or their grades but I have minimal ice climbing experience and I found it challenging but doable.
While I was there I had the opportunity to try out some CAMP Awax tools. I normally climb with Petzl Aztars which are solid tools that I would neither classify as heavy nor light. Compared to my Aztars the CAMP Awaxwere ridiculously light. I played around with them a bit and they felt balanced and not flimsy considering their light weight. By the time I used them the ice had softened up a bit so I didn’t get to use them on “bullet-proof” ice but on the softer ice they held up quite well.
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-Jon
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Hello again!
Did u lead the climb or did u hang in the rope from the top? Lead climbing so close to the street would be a bit scary i think. Nice Pictures by the way. Greets from Austria
nah Andi, that highway doesn’t seem to have all that much traffic on it
ah, ok