Be Like Water: The Art Of Low Impact Ice Climbing With Stas Beskin

Stas Beskin is known for soloing big bold climbs, such as Rainbow Serpent and Fearful Symmetry, two of the most iconic WI6s in the Canadian Rockies.It's one thing to solo big flows, it's another to do it on freestanding pillars about as wide as your shoulders. But he does that too. And he does so without swinging his tools.Stas' conception of ice climbing revolves around displacing as little ice as possible. It's an adaptive strategy that means different things in different situations, but it's always about fitting one's body and style to the ice in front of you – it's about being attuned to the environment and trying to fit it, not the other way around... Resources and links:Stas is a rock and ice climbing guide, specializing in multi-pitches. If you'd like to book a day out with Stas, you can connect with him at wildice.ca.For a bit more about Stas, Ian Welsted, an ACMG alpine guide, wrote a great profile in the October/November 2022 issue of Gripped.In this video, Stas shares techniques for scratching and climbing thin pillars. And here is an article (one of many) about hard mixed routes he is putting up.Find the rest of the notes, timestamps, resources, and more on the episode page. Credits:Original photo used in cover image by Caro Ouellet (@ouellet.caro).Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!). Patreon:For the price of a beer per month, you can help us produce episodes like this and much, much more. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast this season, consider supporting us on Patreon.  Credits:Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries! Become a member:Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.   (For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!). 🗣️ Leave us a review!:You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others.