A really fun day out with Sarah H. and Ian F. in one of my favourite areas in the Ghost, Valley of the Birds. I had some fun with new to me video editing tactics here, let me know what you think. If you just want to enjoy the ride great, or it might be useful to stop and see where I return to "sag" (hanging straight armed off my top tool so my trunk is loose) to fix my feet or adjust my position. People tend to get stuck in "tight" positions rather fixing them. I spent most of the '90s feeling awkward and weird on ice; it wasn't necessary!
There is no one "best" way to climb ice well, but it's usually clear when someone is locked on and enjoying the climb., and to me that's good ice climbing. They are relaxed, moving upward near continuously, and just happy to be outside doing something cool. As a guiding guest of mine said recently, good ice climbing feels like, "You belong there." She said that after massively improving her movement in just a couple of days. Good sticks, good feet, go up! For me the goal of ice climbing now is to enjoy the movement, the wild positions and places, and the people I'm with. If I do that and come back safe then that's good ice climbing. I did a whole series of videos on some tactics I've found that help people feel more like they belong on ice, and am stoked they are helping people. If you want to judge your own ice climbing just ask if you are solid, in balance and feel like you belong. You'll know the answer by how you feel. Swing 'em!