I looked at the synthetic ice at Boulder Mortys, and was even handed an ice axe to take a couple of whacks. My impression was that it was not worth the effort. You can train for ice climbing by working your grip strength, upper body strength, and endurance on the synthetic rock walls, which are a lot more fun. The make believe ice took the tools pretty well, but the picks were a little hard to remove (I know that exists in the real world, but do you really want to practice it???). Also, if you make a placement that is too shallow or close to a prior placement, the pick could shear out, leaving the adze or hammer to pop you in the nose (see above parenthesis). It's much better to wait for the real deal, where you can add fear, cold, and misery to the mix. Now that's ice climbing...
