The Denver Post | January 2004

Climb aboard for adventure thrills

Ice Festival has activities for all interests, abilities

By Lillian Ross | Special to the Denver Post

Find a box canyon with vertical walls, hose them down again and again to create thick pillars of ice, and before you’ve finished, climbers from around the world will be clamoring to make ascents.

That, in a nutshell, tells the story of the Ouray Ice Park, the world’s first arena devoted exclusively to the esoteric sport of ice climbing. Located in the Uncompahgre Gorge in Ouray, deep in the San Juan Mountains, the park opened to free climbing in 1995 after some intense preparation.

In the winter of 1993-94, a handful of ice-climbing devotees began “growing ice,” donating time and money to establish a system of hoses, valves, shower heads and timed sprays tapped from a pipeline running atop the Uncompahgre Gorge.

The park attracts climbers of every ability. There are classic challenges, such as Tangled Up in Blue, but the park is best know for The Schoolroom, where low-angle terrain creates a perfect beginners’ area of thick, blue ice.

Every winter, ice climbers from all over the globe come to Ouray. They arrive in such great numbers that it was possible to form a nonprofit organization to manage the park, assuring a reliable and constant source of water, and a new plumbing system. Thanks, in part, go to the Ouray Chamber Resort Association.

But the park’s primary fundraiser is the Ouray Ice Festival, a three-day climbers’ rendezvous. This year’s event will be Jan. 15-18, with a competition scheduled for Jan. 17.

Spectators can watch approximately 30 of the best male and female climbers in the world compete on a difficult mixed route for the title of overall winner. Judging is based on categories such as beauty of line, efficiency, security, artistry and difficulty. In another event, the competitor who reaches the highest point or tops out on the route is declared the winner.

The festival will open the evening of Jan. 15 at the Ouray Cinema with a showing of the documentary “Farther Than The Eye Can See.” It depicts the summiting of Mount Everest by blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer. A $5 donation to the Ice Park entitles filmgoers to movie admission and free beer.

Those attending the festival will have the opportunity to watch exhibitions and attend outdoor bazaars, interactive climbing clinics, silent auctions for new equipment and gear, potluck dinners, all-you-can-eat breakfasts, a fashion show and the Saturday evening Ouray Ice Breakers’ Ball.

For four days after the Ice Festival, the spotlight will turn to Chicks with Picks, a host of women’s ice climbing events and clinics.

Ouray is tucked into a narrow canyon in southwestern Colorado in the rugged San Juan Mountains. The town of 800 is named after the chief of the Tabeguache Ute Indians, a diplomat who maintained peace between his tribe and the pioneers.

During its mining heyday, Ouray had no fewer than 30 saloons and bordellos; with four churches in town to balance the equation.

Ouray embraces its heritage with painstakingly restored historic landmarks, such as the 1898 St. Elmo Hotel, now a cozy nine-room bed and breakfast. One step into the warm, Victorian parlor and visitors have stepped into another era.

More contemporary lodging can be found at the Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs, on the banks of the Uncompahgre River.

Natural hot springs are a feature of the Ouray area. At the town’s pool, a popular fixture since 1927, visitors can swim laps, dive or just soak in the odorless mineral waters - a must after a day at the Ice Park. This public pool also touts its fitness center.

Casual Ouray won’t let palates go wanting. From a soup and sandwich deli and bakery cafes, to fine dining on Colorado game dishes, visitors can enjoy a tasting cornucopia.

Buen Tiempo’s reputation precedes it with excellent Mexican cuisine with flair.

At The Outlaw, a steakhouse that also has seafood, Italian dishes and vegetarian entrees, visitors will enjoy the feel of the Old West, especially with many John Wayne posters gracing the walls. The Ouray courthouse was used for courtroom scenes in the movie “True Grit,” and the Duke spent many hours playing cards at The Outlaw.

If ice climbing isn’t your cup of tea, rent some cross country skis or snowshoes, take a snowmobile tour, go ice skating or sledding, and punctuate all your activities with a dip in the hot springs pool.