I’d never been so proud to rip my pants. It was obvious it was my first time ice climbing, as I showed up in my bright white Columbia ski pants, the same pair that had taken me down black diamonds in Utah and through off-piste powder in Switzerland.

One typically doesn’t, as I learned the hard way, wear white ski pants while ice climbing. My guide from Yamnuska Mountain Adventures was gracious with his jesting as he helped me strap on my crampons and armed me with ice picks that would help me climb through a Canadian canyon outside of Banff. Each satisfying stab and kick in the ice wall made me fall deeper in love with the sport, and I returned to the base of the canyon with a smile frozen in place … but also with muddy pants, shredded below the knee from crampon slips.

© Kristy Alpert

The rush to experience winter in a new, more extreme way is picking up across the country, with an estimated 3 million Americans ice climbing each winter and even more trying out different extreme winter sports. Skiers craving first tracks turn to trusted companies like Elemental Adventure to explore the world’s greatest heli-skiing destinations, like the Himalayas in India or the Tordrillo Mountains in Alaska.

Ski resorts have even begun diversifying to welcome travelers keen to push their boundaries and try something new. In Park City, visitors can join in on daily snowkiting lessons to learn how to harness wind power to fly, glide and jump across snowy terrain. At the French alpine resort community of Samoëns, winter swimming has taken off, where icy lap pools and mountain lakes create the ultimate rush for bathing-capped swimmers. The European-loved sport of skijoring — skiing while being pulled by a galloping horse — made its way to Little Jennie Ranch in Wyoming, while North American-born cat skiing, which brings skiers to remote runs via snowcat, has become super popular in Niseko, Japan.

These extreme winter sports promise a sense of freedom just not attainable any other way … and the chance to push boundaries; grow personally; test the limits of human endurance; and yes, learn important lessons like why clothing choices matter … especially while ice climbing.