The Durango Herald | December 2006

First timers take on Ouray’s fabled ice

By Gregory Moore | Herald Outdoors Editor

When the Ouray Ice Park opened on Dec. 16, the narrows of the Uncompahgre Gorge just upstream of town were sprinkled with eager climbers, many of whom were sinking ice tools and kicking crampons into their first ice of the season.

But no one was more eager to climb than a group of novice climbers who descended into the park’s Schoolhouse section to try the sport for the first time.

That descent has been made easier than in previous years by the park’s brand-new ladder, a sturdy steel structure that’s bolted to the rock wall of the gorge.

Still for the uninitiated, negotiating the ladder in crampons can be daunting. And that first look over the towers and spires of ice that descend from the top of the gorge to the creek below is guaranteed to send the acrophobic back to town for a less adventurous afternoon of bar hopping or shopping.

“You definitely find out right away if you’re okay for this sport,” said Clint Cook, who together with his wife Ryan, owns San Juan Mountain Guides, the Ouray-based guide service that successfully bid for the exclusive climbing concession in the park in October of 2001.

But the heights didn’t bother Mike Macleod, a local who was ready to find out what the buzz was all about.

“This is my first time, though I’ve been in Ouray for three years,” said Macleod, who works from home as a computer programmer. “Not being an ice climber in Ouray these days is like being in Moab and not being a mountain biker.”

Following an orientation on the proper use of ice tools and other equipment, Cook sent Macleod - securely belayed - on his first trip up the ice.

“Ice climbing is all about your legs and your center of gravity,” Cook said as he both encouraged and coached Macleod. “It’s all about keeping your center of mass up over your feet. There’s a lot of hip movement involved, and you should try to keep even feet, keep a stable stance on the ice.”

Macleod worked his way up the route before him, making the transition from some steeply sloped ice into the vertical with no hesitation.

“It’s a blast,” he said after rappelling down from a height of about 30 feet. “And it’s so beautiful from up there. From here it looks like it all has a slope, but when you go up, it’s straight up.”

Another Ouray local, Bruce Gulde, was on the ice for the first time. Like Macleod, he quickly got the hang of moving skyward, and sent an occasional chunk of ice to the floor of gorge as he swung an ice tool and kicked in the toe spikes of his crampons.

“I did some rock climbing about 20 years ago and said, ‘I don’t really care for it,’” said Guide, who was wearing a sweatshirt available from the Rocky Mountain Scenics story he operates in town with his wife Tamara. “Ice Climbers: a few cubes short of a full tray” was silkscreened on the front.

“Then I moved to Ouray and decided to try ice. For me, this is more fun than rock climbing, and I think I’ll try it again.”

Other novices in Cook’s group, including Gregg Martin of Durango and Joel Shiltz of Montrose debated that point for a moment. More fun than rock climbing? Easier as well?

There was no strong consensus, but one detail was clear to all. With an ice tool in each hand, a secure top-rope belay and crampons on each foot, an ice climber has the ability to sculpt a path up the icefall, less dependent on the contours, cracks and ledges that dictate a rock climber’s route.

“It’s a combination of both,” said Cook, adding that accomplished ice climbers work with what the ice provides. “You can encounter a huge combination of ice quality up here. The blue ice is more solid. It has a higher water content, and the grey stuff is hollow. So it’s a real combination of reading the ice and fitting your body into what the ice is doing.”

And reading the ice at Ouray is key. Because every night, when Rob Holmes - the park’s “ice farmer” - opens the spigots, the parks contours and challenges are renewed.

While Martin was a newcomer to ice climbing, he also had rock climbing experience. And he was struck by his ability to keep moving skyward regardless of the challenges the ice presented to him.

“With ice, it feels like nearly everything is doable,” he said. “It really helps when you’re standing up straight and close to the ice, but at times the toes can feel pretty precarious.”

For Shiltz, who spent most of his years in Milwaukee before taking his aircraft mechanic’s skills to Montrose, climbing the ice was Rocky Mountain dream come true.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said. “When I saw the ad for the free clinic in the Montrose paper, I called Clint and Ryan and said, ‘Hook me up.’”

Shiltz, who has a five-year-old son, said he can’t wait to introduce his son to the sport.

Five is too young, Cook told him, but he added that there are no set rules to determining who is ready to try the ice.

“It all depends on size and maturity levels,” he said. “I’ve had 9-year-old girls who have done whole series of these routes with one tool and no problems. And I’ve had 15-year-olds who couldn’t leave down here for five minutes.

“There’s more to think about than with rock climbing. Sharp objects and tools, crampons and falling ice. With rock climbing, you can let the kids just go for it.”

Macleod, the only beginner in the clinic who brought his own ice tools, scaled a longer, more difficult route before the group headed for the ladder.

Off belay at the bottom, he had a quick answer when asked if he’d discovered a new favorite hobby.

“Oh definitely,” he said, all smiles. “I’m afraid so.”