Ice climbing soars in popularity as climate change increases danger | KECI - NBC Montana
Ice climbing soars in popularity as climate change increases danger | KECI
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Over three million Americans ice climb every year according to the Outdoor Industry Association, up from just 50,000 participants in the early 2000s.
“Anybody can ice climb,” said Matt Zia, a local mountain guide. Zia has been ice climbing for over ten years and he said as the sport has increased in popularity, participation has grown more diverse.
“As a mountain guide I (have) seen an increase in other black, brown, indigenous guides,” said Zia. “That’s really cool (for) me to see that community keep building.”
Inclusion and accessibility within the sport are things he promotes in his role as the Executive Director of the Montana Mountaineering Association. This helps organize BIPOC, LGBTQ+, adaptive, and women’s only ice climbing clinics as part of the organization’s annual Ice Fest.
“All of those are spaces where people who have been historically excluded from these spaces can come and have that space,” said Zia.
They’re all clinics that sold out this past year. But as the sport continues to soar in popularity, so do the risks.
“Warmer winters are going to sort of increase some of the hazards associated with ice climbing,” said Zia.
Diminishing structural integrity of the ice, as well as ice and rock fall are a few of the increased hazards that make routes more variable and unpredictable.
In Southwest Montana, rising temperatures have also contributed to shorter ice climbing seasons. The start of the season being pushed later into the year, and the end of the season coming earlier.
“Ten years ago it was certainly not uncommon to be climbing pretty consistently in October,” said Zia. “Over the past couple of years, I’d say it’s more like early November, if not mid-November.”
But for now, it’s not enough to put a damper on enthusiasm for the sport.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.