leads trips all winter to such well-known spots as the 183-metre-tall Bridal Veil Falls in the climbing mecca Keystone Canyon. Novices and pros can find a challenge on 180-plus ice climbing routes in the area. The International Mountain Climbing School offers guided climbs up challenging routes like Pinnacle Gully as well as clinics throughout the White Mountains. Wyoming Mountain Guides can arrange tours. The South Fork of the Shoshone River Valley has one of the largest concentrations of multi-pitch ice climbs in the Lower 48. Adirondack Rock & River makes the sport accessible with lodging and an ice park exclusively for clients. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and innovator of ice-climbing tools, put this area on the map in 1969 when he ascended a route now named Chouinard’s Gully. Now that I’d scaled a frozen waterfall, I felt like I could do anything. Staring off at the snowcapped mountains, I understood Calhoun’s obsession with the ice and her dedication to sharing it with others. Back in town, I thawed my frozen limbs and achey muscles in natural hot springs at Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs ( doubles from INR 9,932) and sipped a Box Canyon Brown Ale from Ouray Brewery. Thankfully, Ouray offers plenty of ways to burn off an adrenaline rush. A rooftop gathering at the Imogene Hotel, in downtown Ouray. I let out a big whoop of accomplishment, then realised I had to lean back, push off the ice, and get lowered down, which was almost scarier than climbing up. But Calhoun coached me towards secure holds, and I discovered that, when I found the rhythm of two kicks and two swings, the climbing became meditative. Halfway up the 21-metre face, I considered calling it quits. The last thing I wanted to do was let go of one hand, but Calhoun encouraged me to occasionally shake out my arms to keep my blood flowing. Icicles crashed down nearby-a reminder that ice is anything but predictable. Taking a deep breath, I swiftly kicked my right boot up and into the wall, followed by the left, sinking the razor-sharp blades of my crampons into the ice like fangs. The pick planted with a reassuring thunk, locking into the ice. The group cheered me on as I swung my ice axe overhead, remembering to initiate a sharp downward movement from my elbow and add a flick of the wrist to nail a secure hold. Soon it was my turn to ascend Pic of the Vic, a near-vertical, 40-metre ice wall, my most challenging climb yet. I volunteered to climb first as a partner belayed me by staying on the ground to hold tension in my safety rope.īy day two, we’d graduated to steeper walls. From below, pillars and cauliflower-shaped ice formations, which shimmered blue and white, were so captivating that my nervousness shifted to curiosity. Our grip had to stay relaxed to avoid cutting off blood flow to the fingers, which can result in a painful phenomenon known as the screaming barfies. In an area called the School Room, Chapko demonstrated how to kick our crampons into the ice, then swiftly swing one ice ax at a time overhead. A 30-minute hike from the entrance of the park to the bottom of the gorgeallowed us to practise walking in our crampons, which turned our feet into wolverine claws. Some had ice-climbed before others, like me, were complete newbies. Pastries in the window of Artisan Bakery & Café, on Ouray’s Main Street.Įarly on my first day in town, I was joined by three other Denver-area women in their 30s and 40s for a two-day beginner’s clinic.
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