Are you an ice climber who loves days when your abs and biceps get a real workout? Do you want to be sure you can last indefinitely in WI4 and above?

Ice and mixed climbing with Jeff Mercier means learning beautiful placements and movements, being able to read the aesthetics of a line, and accepting that you will never climb the same route twice. That’s the beauty of ice and mixed climbing: it’s always new.

This clinic offers a unique opportunity to climb and learn alongside Jeff Mercier, an international figure in ice climbing, mixed climbing, and dry tooling.

Designed for climbers who want to improve their technique and efficiency in winter vertical terrain, this clinic combines high-level expertise, accessible teaching, and supervised practice.

On the program

Fundamental and advanced techniques for ice and mixed climbing

Movements with ice axes and crampons (precision, energy conservation, placements)

Reading the ice and choosing trajectories

Managing stress, commitment, and safety on the wall

Educational objectives

Improving ice and mixed climbing skills

Developing the technical and safety skills essential for moving efficiently and confidently in mixed terrain

Climb WI4 or higher ice routes.

Know how to belay.

Be able to endure long periods of time…

Be in good physical shape.

Schedule

7:30 a.m.: Meet at parking lot P1 (Festiglace reception area) – you will be greeted by the volunteer assigned to your clinic, who will guide the group down into the canyon to pick up your equipment from our partners.

8:00 a.m.: Meet your guide at the reception area in the exhibitors’ village (down in the canyon).

Please be on time so that the group can pick up the equipment and get the most out of the clinic.

Required or available for loan:

Harness, helmet, ice axe (preferably with mixed blades), crampons, climbing lanyard, one or two carabiners

Warm clothing, Gore-Tex, several pairs of gloves, thermos, snacks or dinner, down jacket, base layer, hot pad

Don’t have any equipment or want to try out other brands besides your own? Now’s the time to visit our partners.

Our partners will be happy to lend you the following equipment starting at 7:30 a.m. at their booth in the exhibitors’ village.

Mammut: boots, helmets, harnesses

Petzl: ice axes, crampons, helmets, and harnesses

CAMP: crampons, ice axes

La Sportiva: boots

Black Diamond: crampons, helmets, harnesses

155^$ per person

Who is Jeff Mercier? A native of Haute-Savoie (France), mountain guide and rescue worker with the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne (High Mountain Police Unit), he is a mountaineer and climber specializing in ice climbing, mixed climbing, and dry tooling. He is internationally recognized for his achievements and his role in the development of modern ice climbing and mixed terrain techniques. At 54 years old, he is tireless and has won the Festiglace ENDURO twice (2024, 2025). He has climbed all the routes at Pont-Rouge without gloves—what a phenomenon!