Ice Climbing
Ouray Ice Park
We made our annual pilgrimage to Ouray Colorado again in January of 2002. The is Mecca for many iceclimbers with hundreds of routes on the edge of town. They are in the Uncompahgre Gorge and are created by spraying water down the canyon walls. There are climbs of all difficulties that can be toproped or lead from the base.
I first tried ice climbing in the winter of '98. It is very similar to rock climbing, only far more difficult. This is Missy and I climbing side by side in Ouray, Colorado. Here we are climbing in an area called the schoolroom. A great area for tope roping and learning.
Here I am doing my "Alpine Hero" imitation in trying a little bit of mixed climbing. Mixed climbing involves both rock and ice. The hardest part of this route was getting out from the rock cave and on to the ice above.
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Lincoln Falls
On this trip Missy, Bobbie Borowski, Mike Butler and I went to Lincoln Falls on Mt. Lincoln. On a normal day the approach is short but steep. On the day we went, it had snowed a foot or more the night before and the road was closed part way. So we snow shoed in for about two miles to get to the approach. Mike and I climbed around to the top and set an anchor off a tree to top rope.
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This is me at the base of the Lincoln Falls climb. There is actually much more ice hidden under the snow that fell the night before. This trip was really late in the season, and the ice was very poor quality compared to a few weeks before.
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Missy on her first winter alpine excursion. She first tried ice climbing this winter, and was surprised to enjoy it so much. She didn't really enjoy the long approach so much, but was quite a trooper anyway.
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I take a break enjoying the view down toward the reservoir. The falls are on the side of Mt. Lincoln, at around 12,000 feet.
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Bobbie takes her turn on the ice. She and Mike Butler first came to Lincoln Falls two weeks prior to our trip for a class with Quest Adventures. The said the ice was much better then, with less snow too.
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Mike and Bobbie take a lunch break below the falls. It was a great day of climbing without anyone else there, and snow falling off and on throughout the day.
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