Vertical Chill

Image above: Looking up at the two storeys of ice to climb which seems short but, in reality, took quite a bit of effort! [Saturday 10 April] | [View all photos]

With Swee going indoor ice-climbing for the first time I tagged along to try it out too and it was quite the activity for both of us!

The venue for this was Vertical Chill, tucked away in Covent Garden, which had two storeys (8 metres) of ice for us to climb up. After getting changed into their winter gear we got our safety instructions and some basic tuition of how to ice-climb  before being let loose.

Having done rock-climbing before, I thought that it would be quite similar but was quickly proven wrong. Not least of all having loose ice spray against my visor as I swung each ice pick into the wall! On my first climb, it was quite messy but I did manage to haul myself to the top to much exhilaration. And Swee did a great job getting to the top herself on her first climb – especially as she’s never climbed before.

I managed to get three more climbs in before our hour-long session up. Was amazed how quickly the time went as it didn’t feel that we were in there for that long but we both really felt it in our arms when we finished as our muscles were exhausted from the repetitive action of swinging the ice picks into the wall. We felt shattered but both of us really enjoyed the experience and I’d personally love to go back and do it again if anyone is up for it. :)

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