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1) Don't sharpen your tools yet. Each year its so much fun to gear up for your first day on ice by going through the ritual of sharpening your crampons and ice tools. This is a great skill and its awesome to practice it to have it dialed. But early season ice is often thin especially in the catskills. Wait to sharpen your tools for your first big project of after you've been out a few times. I
2) transitions are key in the mountains. they enable us to move quicker and safer. Rope management is a critical skill as we transition between pitches or top rope areas. Practice coiling your rope at home so you have this wire when it comes to the outdoors. Expect to always be carrying your rope across your pack in a butterfly coil. Ropes weight a lot too. If your buying a new rope make sure its dry treated and light. Nothing larger than a 9.8. The sterling velocity is a great rope but most brands work well.
3) Train, cross train: The best training for ice climbing is ice climbing but we can't always do that cross train by climbing rock indoor and out door as much as possible this fall. Focus not on the hardest project but mileage for endurance. Climbing with a small pack weighting 8-12 pounds can add to the pump just don't over do it. Hiking stairs with a pack is great too.
4) Get your gear dialed. Get ice clippers (BD or Petzl) and a v thread tool (Grivel or Petzl). Other items you should have in your pack include hand warmers, head lamp, balaclava, neck gaiter and extra gloves, food, water and hard candy. One guide tip I learned from guides buy a pair of cheap work gloves at the local hardware store. they work great for dry-tooling and ice climbing on warmer days.
5) First Aid. Pick up a first aid kit at your local climbing shop. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Add some gloves, advil a few other nic nacs and your ready to get some basic first aid training. A Red Cross First Aid or Wilderness First Aid (WRA) course will give you added confidence. They are offered all over the tri-state area. There is also a Wilderness First Aid course taking place in the Gunks the weekend of Nov. 21-22. I'll be there taking it for my second time. I highly recommend it.
the nightly winter ritual of drying out ice gear.
my new favorite climbing blog: http://themountainworld.blogspot.co
