STRAIGHT UP AND ON ICE

Ice climbing was not as easy as it looks. I'd been rock climbing for five years and worked with ice axes and crampons on a mountaineering trip. But this was my first time on vertical ice. I had assumed that, with all my experience, it would be easy. But as I clung to the axes, halfway up a frozen 100-foot waterfall in the Allegheny Mountains, I learned otherwise.

I continued to work my way upward, crystals exploding into my face as I swung another blow. (I still hadn't gotten the hang of looking away at the last second.) Instructor Tim Anderson, of Donegal, Pa., encouraged me until I reached the top of the 100-foot cascade.

Most ice climbers are rock climbers looking for a way to pursue their passion for climbing during the winter. It's different from rock climbing, however, because it can't be accomplished without gear: You can climb rock with your bare feet and hands, but the only way to climb ice is with the aid of sharp metal. The challenge is making it to the top without being exhausted by the effort -- or injuring yourself with all the spiked, pointy equipment you use to get there.

"Ice is a very unnatural medium to climb on," Anderson observes. "Unlike rock climbing, you're completely dependent on your tools. And with the lack of people and the severity of the terrain, it often feels like you're on a different planet."

The majority of ice climbing takes place on frozen waterfalls or on cliff faces encased in frozen groundwater. (It also takes place on glaciers, but you won't find many of those hereabouts.) Road cuts, though not particularly picturesque, can sometimes provide a place to ice climb. Mostly, though, it's waterfalls: The frozen flow that climbers scale looks like white wax dripping down the sides of a candle. Getting there often involves hiking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing several miles through snow, slush and scree to reach the climb.

"Ice climbing is a lot more than just making it up a vertical waterfall," Anderson is quick to point out.

Ice climbers use two axes specifically designed for ice climbing (they have shorter handles than mountaineering axes), ice climbing crampons (with a different shape and configuration of points than those used on hard-packed snow), a climbing harness and, of course, ropes and carabiners. A helmet and a good pair of sturdy hiking or mountaineering boots are also required, as is winter clothing.

Like beginning rock climbers, beginning ice climbers use a top rope anchoring system. Two ropes are secured to trees or other fixed structures at the top of the climbing area, then another rope, the climbing rope, is threaded through carabiners (the D-shaped rings used in mountaineering) attached to the anchor ropes. This system allows a person on the ground (the belayer) to arrest the fall of the climber by stopping the climbing rope with a braking device.

Anderson says all beginners make the same mistakes. Foremost among them is trying to muscle your way up the ice instead of using its topography to your advantage. "Try to think of it more as rock climbing," he tells students. "Look for the pockets and indentations to hook the ax into instead of always hammering."

Proper handling of the ice ax doesn't always come easy, either. If a climber doesn't keep a tight grip as the ax absorbs the impact of a blow, it will glance off the ice instead of penetrating it. Anderson reminded me that I need not grip the ax once I had secured a hold with the blade; straps on the handles are fixed around your wrists to keep you from losing the tools, and you can use the straps to support your weight and rest your fingers between moves.

Of course, the salient feature of ice climbing -- ice -- is a lot less reliable than rock. The main danger is that the ice will fracture, leaving nothing to hold onto. Air bubbles in the ice cause it to break easily. Frozen water ice -- as opposed to glacial ice -- is generally white, but if it's whiter than usual it means that it contains too much air. Only with experience can one learn to distinguish between normal white ice and really, really white ice. The best and most solid ice looks blue when closely inspected, Anderson explained, even though it looks white from a distance.

As the afternoon drew to a close, I tried climbing another section of the main cliff. I moved more deliberately this time, stepping where I could and occasionally hooking the ax into a pocket. It was still physically demanding, but I finally found a rhythm, making only one blow to drive in the ax on each move while looking away from the spray of fragments. As the temperature rose, I could hear the water dripping beneath the frozen curtain. No longer fixated on the mechanics of my technique, I was overcome by the strangeness and beauty of the situation -- suspended high above a carpet of snow on a great big icicle.

MOUNTAIN SPORTS ADVENTURE SCHOOL -- 107 Sidney Rd., Annandale, NJ. 908/735-6244. The school offers ice climbing instruction at the Delaware Water Gap on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The region includes 20 climbing areas. The cost is $149 per person and includes all equipment rental. www.gorockclimbing.com.

EARTH TREKS CLIMBING CENTER -- 7125-C Columbia Gateway Dr., Columbia, MD. 800/2546287. The center offers guided, three-day ice-climbing instructional trips to the Catskill Mountains and the Adirondacks for $375 per person. www.earthtreksclimbing.com.

POTOMAC APPALACHIAN TRAIL CLUB, MOUNTAINEERING SECTION -- 118 Park St. SE, Vienna. 703/242-0693. The club conducts trips to local ice climbing areas such as White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah National Park. It also leads trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and to the Adirondacks. www.potomacmountainclub.org.

MOUNTAIN DREAMS INTERNATIONAL, INC. -- 5500 Walnut Street, Pittsburgh, PA   800-553-0991.  Ice climbing instruction provided in central PA near Donegal. www.mountaindreams.com/home.phtml