Ouray Ice Climbing

The winter snowpack is the worst it’s been in a decade and the temperatures have been well above typical January levels but most of the ice routes in Provo Canyon are looking good. I think this is mainly due to snow melt from above that drips down to the shady north facing cliffs and freezes up. I drive up the canyon about once week to check out the popular routes always expecting to see them all melted out but they’re sticking around.  Good for me and good for the hordes  of climbers that I saw on Stairway to Heaven last weekend. 


Anyone that has any interest at all in ice climbing knows that Ouray CO is one of the destinations you need to visit.  I planned a trip with my pal Rick Miske to spend a couple of days climbing ice in Ouray between Christmas and New Years.  Rick has spent a good amount of time climbing ice in Ouray so he was our guide. For Rick's take on the trip and lots of great photos check out his blog http://climbingfamily.com/blog/2011/12/31/ice-climbing-in-ouray-december-2011/

Schoolroom - Rick kindly offering some mints

I don’t think any of the ice in the Uncompahgre Gorge, the river gorge that makes up the Ouray Ice Park, is naturally occurring. Some enterprising individuals started farming the ice there a few years ago and have expanded the number of routes each year since. All along the top of the gorge are lines of insulated sprinkler pipe hooked to shower heads. Each night the Ouray Ice Park volunteers head out and turn on the water to make more ice. Very cool. 


We got up early the first morning and headed to the schoolroom area. We were one of the first few people to set up a top rope on the anchors at the top of the 80’+ routes.  Since Rick and I normally climb at night it was kind of cool and different to see so many other people drop down and set up ropes to climb. Over the course of the two days we we traded ropes with a few people, making it easy to swap routes and try out some new things without having to pull the rope and set up another anchor. Everyone was really friendly(with the exception of a couple of Brits that decided to take over one of the routes we were going to do).  The 1st pitch of ice that we normally climbing in Provo is around 50’ so the added 30’ or so made the climbing much more sustained and the couple of ledges on the way up offered a very welcome rest.  The route we spent our time on in the school room had about 50’ of strait vertical climbing with some variety to try out the different forms of ice that were found. On one run I decided to move out onto a curtain then continue upward.  My feet had popped a little lower on the route, but my ice tools stuck so I managed to hang on. By the time I’d made it about 10-15’ above the bottom of the curtain my arms were pretty pumped and I had to call for Rick to take so I could get a rest. I intended on hanging on to the ice a little and just having Rick take up some of the pressure, but apparently I was more tired than I thought because when I relaxed my stance a bit I popped off the ice. Then got a surprise when my weight pulled Rick forward about 10 ft. and I continued my downward plunge. Rick managed to get his feet stuck to the ice on the (luckily) frozen stream and stopped my fall. We had a bit of a chuckle about that one. 

Random Strangers in the Scottish Gullies. 

After a few runs in the Schoolroom we headed over to the Scottish Gullies. The Scottish Gullies area offers a lot of variety. The routes are a tad shorter, around 65’ for so, but the cliff face in the gorge meanders in and out with jutting rocks which create some really cool and fun ice formations.  After the route we wanted to climb was snaked by the guys I mentioned earlier we moved over to a fairly low angle climb. Because the obvious route line was lacking in technical difficulty we played around on the walls and ice formations that were on either side.  Finished up the day with around 500 vertical feet of climbing and saved something in the tank for the next day. Rick and I recharged with a giant plate of pasta and chicken. I think we both over ate, knowing that we were probably in a calorie deficit for the day.   After a soak in the spring fed hot tub and we were feeling pretty good. 


The next day we got up early again, knowing that the weekend would bring a lot more people out to climb. We hopped on the route in the gullies that we had wanted to climb the day before. I was surprised to see how much more ice had formed from the sprinkler shower overnight. Everything that had been knocked off the day before had been replaced and then some.  The route, I think it might be called Aye Laddie had 3 main lines and a variety of other options to choose from. Everything from a slopey easy start to a little mixed/thin ice. Steep ice to smooth hard bulges or lower angle blobby ice to hook your tools into.  Except for one climb on a neighboring rope we spend the whole day exploring the variety and options this route had to offer. I literally climbed until my arms could handle no more.  


It was an awesome 2 days in Ouray and I hope to return in in late Feb. to get some more climbing in. It’s a great little town with lots of restaurants and just about the best climbing gear shop I’ve seen. The only problem is that everything is marked up to tourist prices.  I’ll save my money for MountainWorks. 

Gear

There are a few trusty, dusty souls out there that will make do with just about anything. And I think that most of us will make do if we have to. You know the type, and maybe you are one, the guy with the 20 year old boots, fraying plaid work shirt and trucker ball cap someone gave him in 1987. There he is mixing it up in the mountains just like you (and me). The difference is you have on a $35 wicking poly base layer, under your $200 soft shell jacket that's paired with $60 hiking pants and $220 boots.  Not to mention the GPS device and ultra lightweight trekking poles, juxtaposed with his stuck he picked up somewhere on the trail making him look like a latter day Moses. I love the mountains enough to be that guy, but I'm not.

I'm lucky enough to be in a position to pick up some really cool gear here and there. We budget for new gear in my house and love each piece we pick up. It might be a nice down jacket, shiny pair of crampons or a great new climbing rope. I think it's as fun to get the new gear as it is to use it, well almost. I know there are a lot of gear hounds out that there that have to have the latest, greatest, lightest, strongest, whatever. They're almost like a Rodeo Dr. shopper buying that new pair of shoes that she'll only wear twice before they're out of style. I'm not this guy either. I think the main reason that I enjoy new gear so much is that I can hold in my hands my next big adventure, or a Summer's worth of outings in the mountains. It's like buying a dream, a dream that will most likely happen because when I look to the east I see the place where my live out my dreams, the Wasatch and Uinta mountains.

A new pair of Scarpa Mont Blanc boots isn't just a heavy pair of brightly colored orange boots. They're the gateway to ice climbing in Provo Canyon and topping winter peaks. Overnighters in the backcountry and limitless trekking wherever I want to go. If you just dropped a Franklin on a new set of quickdraws you might like the new unblemished shiny-ness and the lightweight dynex runners, but what you hold in your hands is hours of fun high up limestone cliffs. Climbing until you can't grip a thing and laughing with your friends.

I'm a bit excessive when it comes to checking on reviews for gear. I do a lot of internet searches for everything I buy. The things I'm concerned with are: Cost, value for money, quality, durability, fit (clothing) real world use of the product. I'm always most concerned with quality and value for money. I know that there are always going to be really high quality things, but often these are almost double the price of other products of a very similar quality. If I can decide that the loss of quality is not too detrimental I'll go with the lower priced product. If though the best product really is the best and others just don't even come close I'll usually save up and buy the best stuff. It usually lasts longer and offers me a better user experience.

Anyone that has read this blog has probably noticed that I try to highlight some piece of gear that I've used in a recent outing. I've found in my years of researching products that I really like to read blog reviews of products. You tend to get a more authentic review with the pros and cons of something. I hope that my blog can be of value to someone who happens to be researching reviews on a certain product. I'm going to try to do more of this in the coming months. I spent the last year replacing a lot of old gear and adding gear for new hobbies. I hope to have lots of photographic and video evidence of the gear being used on the mountains or crag.

Upcoming reviews:
Black Diamond Epic 45 winter backpack
Petzl Ergo Ice Tools
Five Ten Anasazi Blanco climbing shoes
Petzl Sama Harness
Black Diamond Storm and Spot headlamps
Goal Zero Nomad 7, Guide 10, Light-a-life, Estrella, Sherpa 120
DMM Alpha carabiner
Blue Water Lightening Pro 9.7 rope
Marmot Trient jacket

And a lot more. It's going to be a good Winter.