| Combines | Ice and bare rock |
| Tools | Ice tools + crampons on rock |
| Graded | M scale |
| Difficulty | Advanced |
Mixed climbing combines ice and bare rock on the same route, climbed with ice tools and crampons — including ‘dry-tooling’ on rock. It bridges ice and rock climbing, is graded on the M scale, and lets climbers link icy and rocky sections of winter and alpine routes.
How it works
You swing ice tools into ice and hook them on rock, front-pointing with crampons throughout. Pure rock sections climbed this way are ‘dry-tooling’.
Ice vs mixed
Pure ice is ice climbing (WI grade); mixed adds rock (M grade). See ice vs mixed.
Frequently asked questions
What is mixed climbing?
Mixed climbing tackles routes that combine sections of ice and bare rock, using ice tools and crampons throughout. You swing tools into ice and hook them on rock edges and cracks, linking the two mediums on a single pitch. It's graded on the M scale.
What is dry-tooling?
Dry-tooling is using ice tools and crampons on bare rock, with no ice involved — hooking the picks on edges and torquing them in cracks. It's the rock component of mixed climbing and has become a discipline in its own right, with dedicated training crags.
What's the difference between ice and mixed climbing?
Ice climbing is on ice only and graded WI; mixed climbing combines ice and rock and is graded M. A frozen waterfall is ice climbing, while a route weaving between ice smears and rocky walls is mixed.
Sources
- Mixed and ice climbing — American Alpine Club