With time off work for the holidays my partner and I decided to spend some time in Ouray climbing and enjoying the town. With everyone else celebrating Christmas and other traditions we were treated to a crowd free park the day after Christmas. We were two of the first people to arrive that morning aside from two other groups so we relished in having choices for which line we would pick.

We opted to spend the day in South Park where we enjoyed the quiet until much later when other groups started showing up. As we were climbing we recognized the group who dropped a rope right next to us! We had a blast swapping ropes and climbing different routes as we caught up from not seeing each other in some time. 

After climbing in South Park we moved to another area to climb and then called it a day. It was a great quiet holiday spent in the quaint town of Ouray!

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Support the Ice Park:

In early 2021 at the end of the season, the Ouray Ice Park was dealt a devastating blow: 12,000 pounds of rockfall spontaneously fell from the cliffs above the most iconic entrance into the Park, the Trestle, which accesses one of the most popular parts of the Park, the Schoolroom. The rockfall also took out their water supply line that feeds the ice farming infrastructure to the south end of the Park. Because of this, 70% of their ice climbing routes are now offline. 

As a small non-profit, Ouray Ice Park, Inc., was forced to pony up more than $50,000 to replace the bridge and the water supply. A massive project, urgent timeline in order to complete prior to next season’s opening, and a very large bill to pay without means. 

Luckily, the ice climbing community showed up and supported their GoFundMe campaign in enormous proportions, enabling them to increase for a stretch goal and necessary park renovations. 

Without these repairs, their 2022 operating season and the world-renowned Ouray Ice Festival and Competition will be in jeopardy. I’m elated the community stepped up to collectively help our beloved Ice Park. 

There’s still time to donate to their GoFundMe campaign or support the park directly. 
https://ourayicepark.com/‍