Ice Climbing Rating System

• WI 1: Flat – like a lake… and no routes are graded WI 1.
• WI 2: Low angle ice or very short pitches up to 80 degrees.
• WI 3: Sustained pitches up to 80-degree ice with good resting places. Requires skills for placing protection.
• WI 4: Sustained pitches of vertical or off-vertical ice. May have some run-outs between protection.
• WI 5: Long pitches of vertical ice requiring good protection placement.
• WI 6: Full pitches of dead vertical ice. Featured or requiring awkward stances and movement.
• WI 7: Full pitch of thin vertical or overhanging ice. Requires exceptional skill. 
• WI 8: Hardest climbs of the world.

Ice climbing is when ascending and/or climbing inclined ice formations. Ice climbers might climb on frozen waterfalls, glaciers or large rocks covered with ice. Special equipment like ice axes, ropes, ice screws and crampons are used to make the ascend on ice possible. Snow and ice are ever-changing environments that make climbing challenging and exciting.
This activity sounds technical but is really accessible to beginners for a taster with the right equipment and guides and at the right place. So you can get the thrill while feeling perfectly safe!