Ice Climbing & Mountaineering

Upcoming Courses

CHECK BACK IN WINTER 2024!

Courses are a great option for students who wish to work on specific skills and meet other climbers. 

Private Guiding is fully customized one-on-one guiding to help you meet your climbing goals, develop technical skills, or explore a new area. Any of the courses listed below can be adapted for private guiding any day of the week.

Ice climber in blue jacket swinging an ice climbing tool while looking up at the camera.

Ice Climbing

Intro to Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is a unique and exciting winter pursuit: if you’re looking for a new way to enjoy winter in New England why not give ice climbing a try? We will introduce you to the systems and techniques for scaling ice flows and frozen waterfalls using crampons and ice axes in a fun and relaxed environment.

Two ice climbers wearing backpacks stand in front of a steep ice flow.

Women’s & Femme’s Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is a great way to challenge yourself, build confidence, and meet like-minded individuals. Our Women’s and Femme’s Ice Climbing outings provide the opportunity for you to push your comfort zone in a safe and supportive group of femme-identifying folks.

Ice climber in blue pants and jacket reaching up with an ice climbing tool on an ice climb.

Ice Anchors & Top Rope Systems

Build your climbing skills and enhance your ice climbing confidence and competency. This course will teach you how to set up top-rope systems for ice climbing and will introduce the use of ice screws for anchors and redirects.

Advanced Ice Climbing Skills

Our advanced skills courses are perfect for developing your ice climbing technique, experiencing new and exciting ice climbs, and challenging yourself in this exhilarating sport.

Mountaineering

Person in a blue jackets belays a mountaineer walking up a snow slope.

Intro to Mountaineering

Learn the fundamentals of safe winter travel over snow and ice! Components of instruction include the use of crampons and ice axes, rope management skills, glissading, and self-arrest techniques. This course is great if you are looking to explore winter hiking in New England or if you are looking to train for bigger mountaineering objectives far and wide.

Person leaning back on a rope while a second person kneels in the snow to belay them on a snow slope.

Crevasse Rescue

Learn the fundamentals of crevasse rescue! This is the perfect opportunity to equip yourself with skills and knowledge for traveling in potential crevasse terrain and responding to crevasse rescue scenarios. Course content covers knots, anchors, rope management skills, and hauling techniques.

Other Ice Climbing Opportunities

Ice climber clipping a carabiner to an orange rope while ice climbing.

Personalized Guiding

We offer fully customized one-on-one guiding to help you meet your climbing goals, develop technical skills, or explore a new area. Any of the courses listed above can be adapted for private guiding.

Nine people grouped together and smiling with arms raised in from of an ice flow.

Group Ice Climbing

If you want to add climbing or other outdoor adventures to your offerings Petra Cliffs can help! We offer group climbing to camps, school and youth groups, non-profit organizations, and more.

Smuggs Ice Bash

Vermont’s Annual Ice Climbing Festival hosted by Petra Cliffs. Three days of ice climbing clinics, exciting guest speakers, a drytooling competition, raffles, and camaraderie.

Our Ice Climbing Destinations

Ice climber in a blue jacket reaching up while climbing an ice route.

Bolton Quarry, VT

The Bolton Quarry offers two tiers of ice flows from shorter easier climbing on the lower tier and steep climbing on tall walls on the upper tier. Depending on the conditions you can find fat hero ice, complex mixed climbing, or delicate curtains. The Bolton Quarry provides a great progression of climbs so you can warm up, try hard, and have fun all day long.

Smuggler’s Notch, VT

Smuggler’s Notch is a mecca of ice climbing in Vermont with over 70 climbs ranging from top-ropeable single pitches to long multi-pitch routes with world-class exposure. The many different aspects and elevations in Smuggs mean that there is almost always ice to be found. The view from the top of the Notch is worth the trek in: Smuggs rewards the often snowy approach with stunning views in all directions.

Climbing steep ice in the Adirondacks

Adirondacks, NY

The Adirondack Park is roughly the size of New Hampshire and offers a lifetime of ice climbing ascents. Join Petra Cliffs guides as they take you on a tour of New York's finest road side ice. Short approaches means more time on the ice and less slogging, allowing you to log more vertical. Let our guides show you their favorite places to climb in the northeast!

Crawford Notch, NH

Crawford Notch is home to the famed Frankenstein area, Mount Willard and may other classic ice climbs. It is a must climb area for all aspiring alpinist. Let our guides take you up a classic like Chia, Standard, The Penguin, Willy's Slide, Cinema Gully or many more!

Mountaineering School FAQ’s

  • Registration in a Petra Cliffs outdoor program/course, private guiding, or other outdoor adventure:

    Includes: Professional rock guide and all technical climbing equipment (harness, helmet, shoes, belay devices, ropes and all other appropriate technical equipment).

    Does not include: Personal gear, food, water and clothing (see equipment list for what to bring), transportation to/from climbing locations.

  • Gratuity for the guides is not included in the booking price. Tipping is an individual decision and you will receive top-notch service regardless, however our guides do accept and appreciate tips (most commonly via cash or venmo). It is customary to tip the guides at the end of the day, and we recommend tipping 10-20% of the trip price which is common in the climbing and skiing industry. Please note that you are under no obligation to tip, but it is highly recommended.

  • For all guiding and courses Petra Cliffs provides the required technical climbing equipment (harness, helmet, shoes, belay devices, ropes and all other appropriate technical equipment). If you have your own gear feel free to bring it!

    All you need to bring is personal gear, food, water, and clothing (see course equipment list).

  • Make sure to read the course description thoroughly, any suggested prerequisites will be clearly listed. If you still have questions you can always email outdoor@petracliffs.com to see if a course would be a good fit.

  • Booking a private guide lets you customize the experience more: you get a say in where you go and what you cover. Private guiding also means there won’t be anyone besides you (and friends/family): you get the guides undivided attention.

    Signing up for a course can be a great way to learn in a small group and meet some new people. Courses are discipline specific and often follow set curriculum.

  • For most programs you will meet your guide at the parking lot for your objective of the day. This means you will need to provide or secure your own transportation to and from the meeting location. The exact meeting location will be provided by your guide prior to your day of guiding. PLEASE NOTE: Petra Cliffs is not able to provide transportation to and from meeting locations.

  • If Petra Cliffs must cancel your program due to current conditions or dangerous weather, we will either (1) pivot to working indoors at Petra Cliffs, (2) reschedule at no additional cost, or (3) refund your payment. Programs will run in most conditions; if needed, programs will alter destinations as some climbing areas stay more protected during inclement weather compared to others. If the weather becomes excessively foul while a program is underway, programs can pivot to moving indoors at Petra Cliffs or working on rope and technique skills under a sheltered outdoor area. There are many options for adapting program itineraries based on the weather while still getting good value from your time and guide.

  • If for any reason you must cancel your registration, you will receive a full refund if cancellation occurs up to two weeks before the program start date. If cancellation occurs less than two weeks before the start of the program, you can either receive a refund for 50% of the payment (minus an administrative fee, if applicable) or reschedule for a different date ($50 reschedule fee). If cancellation occurs less than 48 hours before the start of your program, or if you do not show up on the day of the course, full payment will be forfeited. This cancellation policy is in place to ensure that we can guarantee consistent work and pay for our guides. If you must cancel, please email outdoor@petracliffs.com or call the gym at (802) 657-3872 as soon as possible.