Smuggs Ice Bash
Vermont’s Annual Ice Climbing Festival
Hosted by the Petra Cliffs Climbing Center & Mountaineering School in Smuggler’s Notch Vermont.
19th Annual Smuggs Ice Bash
Jan 30th - Feb 1st, 2026
Visit the Smuggs Ice Bash on Instagram @thesmuggsicebash or Facebook for the most recent updates on the event.
Schedule of Events
Friday Night Kickoff Party & Drytool Competition
The 15th annual Drytool Comp is brought to you in partnership with Forecast Equipment! Kick off the Ice Bash weekend with us at our legendary action-packed Friday night drytooling competition! Watch as some of the East Coast's strongest climbers put their skills to the test on challenging obstacles including hanging features, stalactites, and more, using nothing but their tools and determination.
Starting at 6pm @ Petra Cliffs Climbing Center
$20 entry fee, includes 1 raffle ticket
Clinic participants get discounted tickets: use code ICEISNICE when buying your ticket
Petra Cliffs Members get discounted tickets: use code MEMBER10 when buying your ticket
Bring cash for additional Raffle Tickets, raffle proceeds benefit CRAG-VT
Beverages provided by our gracious sponsors
Live DJ to keep the party going!
Check out the photos from the 2025 Comp!
*Interested in competing? Email outdoor@petracliffs.com
Saturday Clinics
Clinics ranging from intro and exploratory to advanced and technique focused.
Saturday Base Camp Bash & Guest Speakers
An evening of community, guest speaker presentations, and stoke in celebration of ice climbing. Meet other climbers, check out our event sponsors, and get inspired by unique conversations and exciting guest presenters. A cash Raffle to benefit CRAG-VT will take place during the evening presentations, bring cash for additional raffle tickets.
Base Camp Bash tickets are $25 for basic entry or $35 for entry and dinner.
Clinic participants get discounted tickets: use code ICEISNICE when buying your ticket
Petra Cliffs Members get discounted tickets: use code MEMBER10 when buying your ticket
Happy Hour & Vendor Village 4 PM - 6 PM
Presentations start at 6 PM
Beverages provided by our gracious sponsors
Sunday Clinics
Clinics ranging from intro and exploratory to advanced and technique focused.
2026 Guest Speakers
Keith Sidle
Since 2017, Keith Sidle has eagerly pursued near-mythical ice climbs in the eastern Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland. Armed with (sometimes functioning) snowmobiles and an industrious spirit, Keith and a colorful cast of climbing companions have explored pristine river valleys, endless logging roads, and bottomless snow in search of the biggest, most remote ice climbs they can find! After 9 trips and an equal amount of successes and failures, Keith is excited to share these stories and instill a little more of the adventurous spirit in those looking to travel off the beaten path! When he’s not exploring remote ice climbs in Northern Quebec, Keith can be found guiding in New Hampshire, fly fishing, or tinkering on his truck.
Arlene Blum
Arlene Blum PhD, environmental health scientist, author, and mountaineer is founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute and a Research Associate in Cell and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley. Arlene led the first American, and all-women’s, ascent of Annapurna I, considered one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult mountains, co-led the first women’s team to climb Denali; completed the Great Himalayan Traverse across the mountain regions of Bhutan, Nepal, and India; and hiked the length of the European Alps with her baby daughter on her back. Arlene will share her favorite images and stories from her climbs of remote and beautiful high peaks and her scientific research and policy work to reduce the use of harmful chemicals.
