Combining the skills of ice climbing and rock climbing, mixed climbing-or M-climbing-allows for travel over all types of terrain, under any condition. Though mixed climbing has always been an essential part of mountaineering, the focus of this challenging sport has shifted from the means of achieving a summit to what is essentially the wintertime equivalent of sport climbing-with bolted, often overhanging, ice and rock routes being climbed using leashless tools, employing acrobatic and athletic moves.
Mixed climber, alpinist, and author Sean Isaac is at the forefront of this new movement. He has established more than sixty new ice and mixed routes and pioneered alpine mixed routes to summits around the world. Mixed Climbing is the complete manual for learning the newest techniques in the most rapidly evolving type of climbing today. Everything you need to know is here, from recommendations on equipment to complete instruction in all the disciplines of mixed climbing, including advanced ice technique, drytooling, moving over mixed rock and ice, and advanced mixed climbing techniques. Also included are training exercises to get you into condition for the specific rigors of this specialized sport.