Ice Climbing and Climate Change
ice climbing is getting hot
I studied Earth science through college and grad school in New England, but I kept getting distracted by ice climbing. After graduating, during winters ‘14/‘15, ‘15/‘16, and ‘16/‘17, I guided ice in the Mount Washington Valley. During that last season, I started to feel the guiding life wasn’t the right long term prospect for me, so I applied for and won an Early Career Grant from National Geographic for a project titled “The Effects of Climate Change on Ice Climbing in the Northeastern United States.”
This work blossomed into a wonderful — albeit extended — collaboration with Liz Burakowski, Graham McDowell, and Taylor Luneau. We evaluated the historical impacts of warmer winters on ice climbing in the Mount Washington Valley (using Al Hosper’s amazing archive of repeat photography, NEClimbs.com, coupled with historical meterological data from the Pinkham Notch observation station) and simulated the likely impacts of future warming on ice climbing season length. We also conducted a survey and focus group with stellar local guides to assess the impacts of warmer and colder winters on guide and client experience, and assess guides’ adaptive capacity under a future of generally warmer winters.
The work was supported by the Petzl Foundation, Black Diamond Equipment, and The American Alpine Club in addition to National Geographic. In 2023, we ended up publishing a research article, extended policy feature in the AAC’s Guidebook, and a film about the project. All linked below.
Research Article: The implications of warmer winters for ice climbing: A case study of the Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire, USA
American Alpine Club’s Guidebook Policy Feature: Ice Evolution
freeze // thaw: Ice Climbing in a Changing Climate: