OURAY ICE PARK 2016-17 by Barbara Kondracki

O U R AY I C E PA R K . C O M

C O M P L I M E N TA RY

GUIDE

2016-17

annual

22nd ice

details inside

festival

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7 WELCOME 8 ABOUT OURAY ICE PARK 10 OURAY ICE PARK HISTORY 12 ABOUT OURAY 14 WHAT’S NEW AT THE OURAY ICE PARK 16 TECH TALK 17 ICE PARK ETIQUETTE 19 ICE FARMING 101 20 PROFILE: VOLUNTEER ROB SAVOYE 21 ICE PARK VOLUNTEER POWER 22 MEET THE STAFF 24 MEET THE BOARD 26 MAP

54 IN MEMORIAM

29 FESTIVAL CONTENTS

COVER ART BY MIXED MEDIA ARTIST KELLIE DAY I like the way words mix with images, and often add Chinese take-out containers, chocolate wrappers and torn pages of books to my paintings that can be serendipitous to the viewer. If you look closely, you’ll find all kinds of surprises. All of my paintings are original mixed media pieces. I often begin a painting with collage because it adds so much texture and depth to the canvas. I love to allow the collage to peek through the painting. You might find part of a sufi poem, or a saucy romance novel, in the leaves of a tree or a mountain top. To learn more about my art and my story, visit me at kelliedayart.com.

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PUBLISHER PeakEventPublications.com EDITOR Samantha Tisdel Wright DESIGNER Barbara Kondracki

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20% DISCOUNT FOR ICE PARK MEMBERS RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE DIRECTLY THROUGH THE HOTEL TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT

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Welcome to

Ouray Ouray Ice Park! and the

s a long-time local who has been lucky enough to call Ouray home ever since I was a kid, the impact of the Ouray Ice Park has been unimaginable. The sport of ice climbing has awakened our sleepy mining town as an international destination. People from around the world now dream of coming to Ouray to climb the amazing pillars of ice that form along the Uncompahgre Gorge. Some even decide to stay and make this special place their home. Since its inception almost a quarter century ago, it is hard to imagine Ouray without the Ice Park. It’s an incredible accomplishment and one I am proud to be a part of. The Ouray Ice Park is a precious, yet limited asset, maintained by a small group of dedicated staff and volunteers. While you are climbing or relaxing in the Park’s viewing stands, take a look around you, and marvel at what has been created! Perhaps the most famous thing about the Ouray Ice Park is our infamous Ouray Ice Festival. Now in its 22nd year, this highly regarded international event brings people from around the

world to experience the Park and Ouray. During the Fest you can mingle with some of the most elite climbers in the world and watch these daring athletes test their skills during the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition and Hari Berger Speed Climbing Competition. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to climb like the pros by participating in clinics led by some of the biggest names in ice climbing. And don’t forget to check out the latest and greatest ice and mountaineering gear with demonstrations presented by the leading and most renowned climbing companies. On behalf of the Ouray Ice Park Board of Directors, our staff and the City of Ouray, we thank you for visiting the Ouray Ice Park. To those of you returning, we can’t wait to catch up. Most importantly, we look forward to sharing the Park and all of the wonders of Ouray with you. – Lora Slawitschka President, Ouray Ice Park Board

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About the

Ouray Ice Park

ow celebrating its 23rd year, the Ouray Ice Park is one of the premier ice climbing venues and training grounds in the world, echoing with the sound of myriad languages and accents, and countless picks swinging into ice, for three-and-ahalf magical months each winter. The Ice Park offers three vertical miles of ice and mixed terrain in over 200 routes and 14 distinct climbing areas equipped with dozens of fixed anchors and access points, all concentrated within a one-mile span inside the Uncompahgre Gorge. Shaded cliff faces, a gravity-fed municipal water supply, subzero overnight temperatures and an intrepid gang of “ice farmers” conspire to create the exquisite frothy ribbons of steep blue ice that spill down into the Gorge. Deep within its depths, you would never guess that a highway snakes past just over the lip of the canyon, and that a busy little town is just a few minutes’ walk away.

The Ice Park’s innovative gravity-fed plumbing system has improved exponentially since the 1990s, when locals first cobbled together a system of hoses, valves, shower heads and timed sprayers along the rim of the Gorge. Today, using approximately 7,000 feet of pipe and exactly 235 spray nozzles, over 200,000 gallons of highly pressurized spring water is sprayed and dribbled on the canyon walls on a typical winter’s night, creating a wonderland of billowing blue glacial curtains and drippy frozen chandeliers that beckon to ice climbers of all abilities. Amazingly, the Park has always been free and open for public use. It is jointly owned by the City of Ouray and a mix of other private and public landowners, and managed by Ouray Ice Park, Inc. (OIPI), a nonprofit organization that relies solely on memberships, sponsorships and donations to maintain this unique world-class attraction.

In the heart of Ouray, a short walk to the ice park.

970.325.4938 · MatterhornInnOuray.com · 201 6th Ave, Ouray, CO 81427

P HO T O B Y R HY S R O B E RT S

O U R AY I C E F E S T I VA L For three days and nights each January, the tiny town of Ouray becomes an absolute ice climbing mecca. Hundreds of spectators line the top of the Uncompahgre Gorge to watch the world’s best ice and mixed climbing talent power their way up the competition route. During daily vendor exhibitions, Ouray Ice Festival attendees have the opportunity to demo the latest ice tools, apparel and gear from the outdoor industry’s leading retailers. And, with over 100 interactive and educational climbing clinics to accommodate every skill level, Festival participants are sure to have an experience to remember whether they are raw beginners or experienced ice climbers. Nightly events include multimedia presentations by leading climbers, music, food, dance parties and a live and silent auction overflowing with screaming deals of the latest outdoor gear! The Fest is an integral part of the Ouray Ice Park, perpetuating its world-class reputation while generating more than half of the annual operating capital needed to run the Park.

A N N UA L M E M B E R S H I P Although the Park is free to climb in, it is not free to maintain. Become a member today and support your favorite ice climbing venue! Ouray Ice Park members enjoy numerous benefits, including discounts on clinics at the 2017 Ouray Ice Festival, a complimentary Gear Card for the 2017 Ouray Ice Festival, discounts with local Ouray businesses and tons of good climbing karma! M E M B E R S H I P I S AVA I L A B L E AT S E V E R A L L E V E L S :

• Basic membership – $40. That’s less than half the price of a single day ski lift ticket.

• My psych is high! – $75. Still less than a single

day of resort skiing and you get an awesome engraved stainless steel Ouray Ice Park pint mug!

• Ice Ambassador – $150. This level includes all

of the benefits listed above, plus a 2016-2017 Ouray Ice Park t-shirt and a bonus perk of 10% off guided programs with San Juan Mountain Guides ($100 limit per year).

For more information about how to become a Ouray Ice Park member please visit: ourayicepark. com/membership.

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ERIC JACOBSON

Welcome to the Ice Age BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT

The History of the Ouray Ice Park

here are plenty of apocryphal tales out there about the birth of the Ouray Ice Park, but Bill Whitt knows all the dirty details of how it really happened. “I wish I had a buck for anybody I ran into who said they started the Ice Park,” Whitt said. “I just laugh, and say, ‘That was a good idea, man. I’m glad you did.’” Back in 1991, Whitt (a California wind-surfing bum turned ice climber) and local trial attorney turned real estate developer Gary Wild bought a hotel together in Ouray called the Victorian Inn. Things were plenty busy in the summer, but in the winter there was no point in even staying open. “It was a full-on ghost town. You could lay down on Main Street in the middle of January and not get run over,” said Whitt. So, the story goes, they started the Ouray Ice Park. “I was thinking, there has got to be another way to bring more people here in the winter,” Whitt explained. “If we could bring a dozen rooms a month out of this, it would be awesome.” Ice climbers like Whitt were already poaching a handful of routes in the Uncompahgre Gorge, on formations that formed from a drippy pipe, a leaky reservoir above the gorge and meltwater runoff from County Rd. 361. The idea was simply to divert the water to more places in the canyon, to make more ice. But first, they had to solve the access issue. Much of the land skirting the Uncompahgre Gorge belonged to Eric Jacobson, the owner of the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant, whose century-old infrastructure delivered water from an upstream dam to the powerhouse in town via a pressure pipeline alongside the Uncompahgre Gorge. As luck would have it, the powerhouse was right across the river from the Victorian Inn. As Whitt tells the story, Jacobson and Wild were not crazy about each other. But then one day, “Gary walked over with a six-pack, sat down with Eric, they 10

started drinking beers, and it was like, ‘I love you, man,’ and boom, it was solved. They worked it out. Without that, there would never be an Ice Park.” Jacobson got on board with the concept, even giving Whitt and Wild permission to weld taps onto his pipeline along the lip of the gorge to make more ice. But the water in the penstock came straight out of the Uncompahgre River, and formed icicles that were neon orange, not sparkling blue. “They looked disgusting, so we gave that up almost immediately,” Whitt said. Instead, they looked to the old city reservoir as a water source. “There was a lot of trial and error,” Whitt said. “Nobody had done anything like this before. It was a grassroots effort personified.” It was also a pain in the ass. “We’d run hoses and stuff, and that worked great for half a night, then they’d be frozen solid. So we’d strip the hoses, take them down to the Victorian Inn, put ‘em in the hot tub, defrost them, then take them back up and hook them up again.” Miraculously, it worked. The ice started growing. The ice climbers flocked to Ouray. They ate at the Buen Tiempo. They stayed at the Victorian Inn. They bought ice screws and axes at Ouray Mountain Sports. Over the years, Whitt and Wild fine-tuned their plumbing system, tapping into the city’s water tank up the hill (with the city’s blessing) and diverting overflow water from the tank to the Ice Park. Wild, who had an engineering background, designed a clever valve system to deliver water more effectively over the lip of the gorge. That system has continued to evolve and become more and more sophisticated over the years as the park has grown to span about a two-mile stretch of the Uncompahgre Gorge. “Everyone thought we were mental,” Whitt said. “They said it would never make any money and it was the stupidest thing ever. There are still locals that wish we never started it.”

T I M E L I N E : K E Y H I S TO R I CA L M O M E N T S AT T H E O U R AY I C E PA R K 1970s Ouray is on the map as an ice climbing destination.

1991 Informal development of the Ouray Ice Park begins when hoteliers Bill Whitt and Gary Wild string out an odd assortment of garden hoses and shower heads. Eric Jacobson, owner and operator of Ouray Hydroelectric, acquires the property in the Uncompahgre Gorge that comprises the southern portion of the current Ice Park as well as an easement on both sides of his penstock through the rest. 1995 The Ouray Ice Park is officially founded.

1996 Ice climbing pioneer Jeff Lowe organizes the Arctic Wolf Ouray Ice Festival in appreciation for the expanding wealth of accessible terrain in the nascent Ouray Ice Park.

Ouray Riverside Inn & Cabins r! Yea l l nA Ope

1997 Ouray Ice Park, Inc. (OIPI) is formed to provide formal organization to what previously had been a loosely organized grassroots effort. 2001 OIPI upgrades the Park’s infrastructure and taps into overflow from the City of Ouray’s water supply tank to significantly increase the ice farming effort. OIPI takes over the Ouray Ice Festival from Jeff Lowe. 2005 Female competitor Ines Papert wins the Ice Festival’s difficulty competition. The Ouray Ice Festival tops attendance records with more than 5,000 visitors and participants. 2009 OIPI signs an operating agreement with the City of Ouray, recognizing the City as the lead government agency at the Park. 2010 Freakishly warm, wet weather in December creates hazardous climbing conditions, forcing a temporary closure of the park. 2011 Josh Wharton is the first competitor to win the Ouray Ice Festival competition three years in a row. Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) awards a $193,000 grant to help the City of Ouray purchase a key parcel of United States Forest Service land within the Ouray Ice Park.

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2012 The City of Ouray becomes the proud owner of 24 acres of former USFS land in the heart of the Ouray Ice Park. The deal, which has been 14 years in the making, gives the city greater control over the icy engine of its winter economy. 2013 A brand-new climbing feature debuts at the 18th Annual Ouray Ice Festival. The 3.5 ton, 25-foot-tall steel climbing wall overhanging the Uncompahgre Gorge near the Lower Bridge enhances the complexity of the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition and makes it a lot more spectator friendly. 2015 Hundreds of beetle-infested white fir trees are cut down in heavily forested portions of the Ouray Ice Park, and new engineered anchor systems are installed along the rim of the Uncompahgre Gorge. 2016 The historic hydroelectric penstock that runs alongside the Uncompahgre Gorge suffers a spectacular blowout during the 2016 Ouray Ice Festival, spewing bright orange water down into the Uncompahgre Gorge as the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition is underway. No one is hurt.

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About

Ouray

uray, the self-declared outdoor recreation capital of Colorado, nestles like a little jewel in the heart of the San Juan Mountains with worldclass winter adventures beckoning in all directions and soothing natural hot springs to greet you when the day is done. The town was settled by miners in the 1870s

and takes its name from the Ute leader Chief Ouray, whose people frequented the area’s “sacred healing waters”. The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to architectural landmarks like the recently renovated Wright Opera House and Beaumont Hotel, both dating back to the 1880s.

W H E R E TO S O A K

W H E R E TO P L AY

Ouray Hot Springs Pool – Ouray’s million-gallon municipal outdoor hot springs pool is closed for renovations and repairs this winter, but its fitness center will remain open daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Day passes cost $12. (1230 Main St., Ouray; 970/3257073; ourayhotsprings.com)

Backcountry Ice Climbing – Beyond the Ice Park, the surrounding San Juan mountain range is home to one of the greatest concentrations of water ice climbs in North America. Steep relief and deep shady gorges provide a superb venue for backcountry ice climbing. Old mining roads carved into the sides of mountains provide access to that terrain today. Ouray’s backcountry climbing scene begins at the Skylight area near the Camp Bird Mine up County Road 361. The road is plowed throughout the winter, and open to the public (conditions permitting) as far as Senator Gulch, where there is a gate. The Skylight climbs are a short walk up the road from there. Quite a few other classics are within walking distance of town, or a short drive up or down the road – try the Dexter Slab, Bear Creek Falls, Horsetail Falls, Skyrocket and Cascade Falls. Further afield, more classic climbs beckon near Telluride (Ames Ice Hose, Bridal Veil Falls) and Silverton (Stairway to Heaven and Whorehouse Ice Hose). Ice farmed in the shadows of the Uncompahgre Gorge within the Ouray Ice Park tends to stay consistently good, but that’s not always the case with climbs out in the wilds, where conditions are ephemeral, making a good day of climbing something to be treasured.

Orvis Hot Springs – This small, clothing-optional facility just south of Ridgway offers a variety of indoor and outdoor soaking areas, including a natural outdoor pond where geothermal spring water bubbles up out of a meadow under the shadow of 14,150 ft. Mt. Sneffels. Try the “lobster pot” if you dare! Open daily 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Overnight lodging and massage are offered. Overnight guests have 24-hour access to the pools. (1585 County Road 3, Ridgway; 970/626-5324; orvishotsprings.com) Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa – The Historic Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa, on a quiet side street in Ouray, sits directly over the emanation points of several natural hot springs ranging in temperature from 78-128 degrees. Enter the spa’s underground vapor cave and soaking pool for a dark, steamy otherworldly soaking experience. Outside, enjoy a small hot springs swimming pool with untreated water so pure you could drink it, and the “Lorelei,” a secluded outdoor soaking pool available by reservation only. Overnight lodging and a full range of spa treatments are offered. (625 5th St, Ouray; 970/325-4347; wiesbadenhotsprings.com)

Backcountry Skiing – The most accessible terrain in Ouray County is found on both sides of US 550 at the top of Red Mountain Pass. For a lift-served taste of backcountry bliss, head over the pass to Silverton Mountain.

P HO T O B Y S AMAN T HA WR IGHT

Nordic Skiing –Seven miles south of Ouray on US 550/Red Mountain Pass, Ironton Park offers a free, well-maintained Nordic trail system on relatively flat terrain that winds through a ghost town and old mining ruins. Closer to town, the 2.5 mile Ouray River Trail system is also often groomed for Nordic skiers, conditions permitting. Top of the Pines, near Ridgway, has spectacular vistas of the Sneffels Range and five miles of winter trails groomed for Nordic skating and classic flat-track skiing (small user fee required). ouraynordic.org, topofthepines. org, ouraytrails.org Winter Hiking – The Ouray Perimeter Trail creates a loop around Ouray, taking in Ouray’s most scenic attractions such as Cascade Falls, the Amphitheater, Ouray Ice Park and Box Canyon Park, while providing beautiful vistas of the town and surrounding peaks. Much of the trail remains boot-packed (or even snow-free!) and accessible throughout the winter season. There are numerous access points along the trail, so the entire five miles or so does not have to be hiked to return to town. It is easy to take in one or two segments at a time, or if you have the time and energy, do the entire loop. The Ouray Ice Park trail, typically accessed from Camp Bird Road (County Road 361) just up the hill from the upper bridge across

the Uncompahgre Gorge, has been incorporated into the Ouray Perimeter Trail system, and offers an insider’s glimpse of the Ice Park with no crampons required. ouraytrails.org/city-ouraytrails/perimeter-trail San Juan Hut System – Five backcountry huts dot the northern flanks of the stunning 14,000 ft. Sneffels range from Ouray to Ridgway to Telluride, offering access to a network of over 60 miles of backcountry and Nordic trails. Hit one hut at a time, or bop from one to the next in a tour that can cover between four and 11 miles per day. sanjuanhuts.com Alpine & Heli Skiing – About an hour’s drive from Ouray, the highly acclaimed Telluride Ski Resort offers mountains of fun for skiers, snowboarders and backcountry enthusiasts, with over 2,000 acres of beginner, intermediate and advanced skiing terrain with a vertical drop of 4,000 feet. Revelation Bowl offers lift-served backcountry skiing, while the Surge Air Garden is a snowboarder’s playground of berms, banks, tabletops, pyramids and a competition-sized halfpipe. Telluride Helitrax provides Heli Skiing and Heli Boarding adventures. tellurideskiresort. com, helitrax.com.

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What’s New at the

Ouray Ice Park? T W E A K S TO P LU M B I N G SY S T E M M E A N MORE ICE Last year posed numerous problems for the ice farmers at the Ouray Ice Park. A persistent warm spell in December meant that they had a smaller window of opportunity to make ice leading up to the Ice Festival. New restrictions imposed by the City of Ouray meant that there was also less water available at the time that the Ice Park really needed it, and tough decisions had to be made about where to run the water. The good news is that lots of improvements have been made to the Ice Park’s plumbing system over the off-season. Ice farmers can now more efficiently build ice up in particular areas of the park that need a little TLC, or even take specific segments offline temporarily to conduct midseason maintenance and repairs. There’s good pressure and flow on the south end of the park now, leading to the potential for more and better ice in that area than last year, and even some expanded terrain in the lead-only area – and a few new mixed climbing routes. This will hopefully help to ease some of the overcrowding issues that we saw in the Park last year. B E E T L E K I L L U P DAT E We regret to report that a beetle epidemic continues to decimate the forest in the heart of the Ice Park. The onslaught began several years ago, as drought-stressed white fir trees – the predominant evergreen species in the Upper Uncompahgre River Valley – began succumbing to swarms of fir engraver beetles. The U.S. Forest Service pegs the current mortality rate at about 50 percent and predicts that when all is said and done, most of the white fir trees growing around Ouray – including those within the Ice Park – will die. While individual trees can be sprayed, at considerable expense, to inoculate them against infestation, entomologists agree that barring a weeks-long winter deep-freeze (which could kill

beetle larvae as they develop in the cambium layer of the tree between the wood and the bark), nothing can be done to stop the onslaught. In the fall of 2015, the City of Ouray and the Colorado State Forest Service landed a $20,000 federal grant and hired contractors to conduct extensive “sanitation” logging in an effort to conserve the remaining forest and mitigate obvious safety hazards in some of the hardest hit portions of the Ice Park. The project wrapped up in September 2016. So get ready to see a different Park than you were used to! It looks better than it did, in that there are far fewer dead trees to be seen. That being said, there used to be a lot of trees...and in some parts of the park, there are now very few. More sanitation logging has already begun and will continue in the near future in the Ice Park’s “South Park” climbing area. In the meantime, it is very important not to use white fir trees as anchors in the Ice Park anymore. (Use the newly installed structural anchors, instead.) That tree might look healthy, but it could be swarming with beetle larva or succumbing to root fungus, and rotting from the inside out. H O W CA N YO U H E L P ? The construction of the new structural anchors throughout the Ice Park has been costly and labor intensive. The Ouray Ice Park is deeply thankful to Rab USA, Grivel, San Juan Mountain Guides and many individual donors for helping to fund the project. OIPI plans to launch a new capital campaign this year to try and save some of the remaining beetle kill “flagship” trees – like the biggest one above Pic of the Vic – and to continue replacing anchors throughout the Park. Follow us on Facebook for updates. P E N S TO C K B LO W O U T – Y E A H , T H AT HAPPENED! The inter-connectedness of the Ouray Ice Park and the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant got a Technicolor spotlight during the 21st annual Ouray Ice Festival last year. The fest was in full swing, and the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp was underway, when bright orange water started gushing out of an exposed portion of the penstock (a pipeline associated with the hydro plant) near the lower bridge. Nobody was injured in the blowout. Although the Park was crawling with people, just one climber happened to be directly beneath the ruptured

P HO T O B Y R HY S R O B E RT S

pipeline, and he was able to quickly scramble out of harm’s way. As the spray of water grew into a torrent, OIPI board members worked to evacuate ice climbers who were stranded in the bottom of the gorge, and Ice Park staff managed to shut off the valve that controls the flow of water through the penstock, nearly two miles away from the burst, and under lock and chain. Ouray Hydroelectric Plant owner Eric Jacobson explained that the portion of pipe that blew out dates back to the late 1920s, and was stitched together along its bottom with a line of rivets that had degraded due to the acidic nature of the Uncompahgre River. The hydro plant stayed shut down for several weeks after the Ice Fest while repairs were made. During that time, water that would normally have been diverted through the penstock was allowed to take its natural course. For the first time in the Ice Park’s history, climbers experienced the full flow of the Uncompahgre River in the bottom of the gorge, making for challenging climbing conditions. Some climbs were closed during repairs, and the ice farmers maintained a series of plank bridges for the rest of the season. The blowout increased awareness about the intrinsic relationship between the hydro plant and the Ice Park, and sparked concern about the risks that go along with that. “Part of ice climbing is expecting the unexpected,” Jacobson cautioned. “We are trying to make it within our abilities as safe as we can.” Jacobson is committed to continuing to update and repair the Penstock now and in the near future

to ensure the sustainability of his power plant and to prevent future blowouts. He doesn’t want the water flowing through the bottom of the canyon either! OIPI supports all of his efforts – including the renovation of Dick’s Chalet over the past two years – and appreciates his commitment to the Park and the sport of ice climbing through his continued graciousness in allowing the Ice Park to coexist with his hydroelectric facility. 2 0 1 6 W R I G H T A WA R D S The Ouray Ice Park was honored to be selected as a runner-up for the 2016 Wright Awards, honoring the best and brightest stars in Colorado’s vibrant outdoor and lifestyle industries. OIPI Board Member Ralph Tingey, Festival Coordinator Nicole Chehayl and Director of Operations Dan Chehayl took part in a celebration at Denver’s Space Gallery on Oct. 18, 2016 and participated in a Q&A with fellow runner-up Bonzai Designs, a Grand Junction company offering team-building zip line and high adventure courses, and overall winner South Main, an intentional recreational outdoor community. T H A N K S , V O LU N T E E R S ! The Ice Park has enjoyed a lot of good volunteer help from local mountain guides to help with the annual pre-season deveg (removing tree and brush growth from the climbing areas) and other laborintensive tasks. Once it starts snowing and the ice starts growing, local mountain guides also pitch in to help clear snow off the ice. Thanks, guides!

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Tech Talk

BY DAN CHEHAYL | OURAY ICE PARK OPERATIONS MANAGER

FINDING AND SETTING ANCHORS AT THE PARK

he Ouray Ice Park has a lot of climbs, and a lot of anchors. In each section you can expect to find what you need to set your climbs up safely and efficiently. In some areas you may need a lot of anchor materials, while others require minimal amounts of material. There are also a few places in the Park where a 70M rope will not be long enough to have both ends touch down for rappelling or a slingshot belay. These areas are Grad School, Five Fingers, In Between the Bridges, and the Upper Bridge Area. Top-belaying is the preferred method in these areas. Always double check if you are not sure. There are still a few climbs, mostly in the Upper Bridge Area, where trees can be used to set your anchors. Throughout the rest of the Park the white fir trees have been heavily affected by beetle kill and we strongly discourage you from using trees for anchors in these areas! In all areas of the Park that have been affected by beetle kill, there are bolts that you can use to set your anchors. If these bolts are not completely obvious or have not been dug out yet after a big

storm, a good trick is to look for yellow fiberglass wands that mark the proximity of the bolts, then dig around in that area to locate them. In South Park and New Funtier, there are new concrete anchor pads that were installed last season. Each of these anchor pads has four bolts with the intention of the two pairs on each side to be used independently. For example, two bolts to one side will be used to set up a climb directly below or to one side of the anchor pad, the other two bolts are to be used to set up a totally different climb on the other side of the pad. Also remember to not run moving ropes over any of our pipes! The resulting friction can cut holes in the pipes. Do not anchor to any man-made materials other than bolts anywhere in the Park, with the exception of the Lower Bridge at the climb called “Escape Artist”, and the steel bar anchors in the Lead Only Area. The anchors we have at the Park were designed to be far enough apart to prevent climbing too close to other parties. Have fun and set safe anchors!

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Ice Park

Etiquette

BY DAN CHEHAYL

OURAY ICE PARK OPERATIONS MANAGER

ust like on the ski slopes or your local biking and hiking trails, there are some basic steps you can take here at the Ouray Ice Park that will make your experience and that of everyone around you a better one that will be fair for all. Following the Ouray Ice Park rules is the perfect place to start! The Park doesn’t open until 8 a.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. on weekends, and it always closes at 4 p.m. Always wear crampons and a helmet in climber only areas and while in the gorge, and please remember that there are no dogs allowed in the gorge. There is no reserving of anchors and there are no unattended ropes allowed. Basically, if you are not climbing on a rope, or using an anchor, even for a couple of minutes, you should take it down so that others can enjoy that climb. Closed climbs and areas are closed for a reason, so please respect these closures at all times. Closed areas are clearly marked with bamboo, poly rope and signage. Please set up only the number of routes you can efficiently use. For example, a party of two should only have one rope set up at a time. You should be moving onto a new route at least every three hours. If you are planning on leading a route, you should have the anchor at the top of that route occupied so other climbers know that you are below and climbing. If you see an anchor with no rope on it, there is a potential that someone is leading the route below it. Soloing is discouraged. For your own safety, it is a good idea to always be alert and aware of climbers near you. Keep your head up, and never turn your back to the ice. Belayers should always position themselves in an area where they are out of the line of fire from falling ice. While you are climbing, whenever you knock loose a piece of ice you should be yelling “ICE!” to alert all of those around you to the potential danger, and never throw the ice to one side or the other. Instead, let it drop below you. Knocking ice down for the sake of knocking it down is frowned upon. The ice farmers are working hard to build that ice and try and get it to connect to the rest of the climb. Another thing to keep in mind is the proximity of yourself to other climbers. If someone is way up on a route and your rope is

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nearby, you should probably wait until they return to the ground until you start your ascent to minimize the potential of you getting hit by their ice chunks. This is also true when a climber is down low on a route and you are in the same proximity as them, where you will be lowering from the top; wait until they get back up to avoid knocking ice down on them. Often times climbing side by side is a convenient way to address the previous two situations. There are many different styles of climbing, belaying, and setting anchors, if someone is doing something different than you are used to, that doesn’t mean it is wrong. If you are very concerned for their safety either contact the Ouray Ice Park staff or politely have a conversation with them. Please use the outhouses and porta-potties to relieve yourself. If you do take a pee in the Park, kick some snow over it and do so away from the ice, anchors and any other Park infrastructure. Smokers, please be aware of and respect those around you. There is no weed smoking allowed in the Park. Parking is only allowed in town, at the turn on county road 361 between the rescue barn and the upper bridge, or at the large parking area located at the turn on U.S. Highway 550 across from the Five Fingers area. Drop-offs in any area other than the two parking lots are not allowed; the ice farmers and staff need this access. The only exceptions to this are for handicap access and with special permission from Park staff. Remember you are in Ouray and we are all at the Park to enjoy and challenge ourselves. Be happy, say hello, and watch out for each other. Together we can make everyone’s experience one to remember for a lifetime! Here’s to winter! #getyouraxeingear

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OURAY SILVER MINES Reviving Ouray’s Mining Heritage

Ice Farming 101:Living the Dream, Embracing the Suck I

n the quiet chill of dawn, three ice farmers head out into the Ouray Ice Park to shut down the mile-long irrigation system that has been spraying water on the steep walls of the Uncompahgre Gorge all night. It’s difficult, stressful, high-stakes work, done in frigid conditions at the very edge of a deadly drop-off. Sunlight slowly filters into the ice-lined canyon, along with climbers from around the world. But the ice farmers spend their days hucking ice, cleaning anchors, brushing accumulated snow off of the climbing routes, checking water lines and monitoring climbing in the park. At the end of the day, as twilight casts blue shadows across the Uncompahgre Gorge and the cold seeps in, the ice farmers set out along the canyon rim once more, activating valves and shower heads to let water spray, dribble, drip, and freeze, on the walls of the gorge again. “There is a certain element to being a good ice farmer that requires a lot of love for the community – because being here at 6 in the morning and getting sprayed with 32-degree water, you have gotta have some love to be able to go on like that,” said Ouray native Logan Tyler, who took over as lead ice farmer this year. “This shit is hard. Hard and dangerous. But we embrace the suck. We all embrace it.” Tyler and the Ouray Ice Park (founded in 1995) have basically grown up together. He

climbed here for the first time when he was only 10 years old. In high school, he joined the climbing team, and then went on to become a climbing coach himself for four years while continuing to pursue his own climbing objectives, and later working as a cell phone tower crew foreman. “For a long time, climbing dictated my life,” Tyler said. “But really, it’s a way to cope with all of the other challenges in life.” Now 27, he farms ice by dawn, day, and dusk, and runs his own long board and skate board manufacturing company, Red Mountain Riders, by night. The mental toughness, tenacity and technical skills Tyler learned as a climber have definitely helped him to be good at his job. However, he emphasized, “Ice farming has nothing to do with climbing – it’s more about problem solving. You have to be a jack of all trades, and you’d better know how to turn a valve. We are all creative, and that’s what this place needs. You can’t Google this shit. There’s no YouTube video.” Which suits Tyler and his crew just fine. “The excitement of what we do here is awesome,” he said. “I feel such a sense of gratitude that I get to make my livelihood not only helping out the community but improving the lives of my fellow climbers. And I get to do it in Ouray. Ultimately, it really is a dream job.”

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VOLUNTEER PROFILE

Rob Savoye: the Behind-the-Scenes Wizard of the Ouray Ice Festival BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT

very January, on the brink of the Ouray Ice Festival, Rob Savoye shows up in town with his manic energy and brilliant brain and makes stuff happen. You’ve probably seen him, with his frozen beard, working around the edges of the Uncompahgre Gorge, pulling wires or fiddling with pissy audio equipment. This year will mark Savoye’s 22nd straight year of volunteering at the Ice Fest. It all started in Nederland, Colo., Savoye’s hometown, where Jeff Lowe used to have a climbing shop. “I am a technical dude, and I used to fix Jeff’s computer,” Savoye explained. “Jeff told me he was going to do an ice climbing exhibition in Ouray,” and the rest was history. Turns out, Savoye was Lowe’s perfect foil for pulling off those first few Fests. Aside from being a technical ninja and an ice climber from way back in the dawn of the sport, Savoye also had a lot of experience working music festivals. “I thought Jeff could use some experienced festival help,” he said. He was right. Over the years, Savoye has done tons of different things at the Ouray Ice Festival. He built

the permanent power and AV system in the Fest area that is still in use today. He was also a radio tech, back before cell phones were common. And for a bunch of years he helped Mark Miller do the comp rigging. He’s also helped monitor the climbing comp, and he’s been a belay slave. For several years he built an entire streaming video system for the fest. “It was a huge amount of work,” he said. Now, he’s scaled back to “just” doing the power and sound setup each year. He also sets up and runs the timer for the comp. And he’s on standby at all of the evening events, ready to help his climber friends get their laptops set up to do slides and video presentations. “I tried to retire but they won’t let me,” he laughed. The one thing Savoye has learned after all these years of helping out at the Ice Fest is that everything is important – “even the stuff that no one is paying attention to and doing. That stuff is what makes the Ice Fest successful,” he said. “The Ice Fest is pretty dialed in. It’s the most ‘together’ fest of its kind.”

It Takes a Village Ice Fest Runs on Volunteer Power

he Ouray Ice Festival is quite the production. Just like an alpine expedition, it takes vision, passion, meticulous planning, lots of lead time, and a whole lot of teamwork to make it happen. A core team of Ouray Ice Park board members and employees do a lot of the heavy lifting before the fest gets underway. But the event itself could not succeed without the help of the 140 or so volunteers who show up every year, without fail, often in awful weather, to make it happen. The Ice Fest has lots of moving parts, and happens in lots of different places all at once, so our volunteers are deployed throughout the Ice Park and Ouray. Setting up the vendor area is especially timeand-laborintensive. It involves putting up tents, tending to specific vendor booth needs, and shoveling lots, and lots, of snow. Around the Ice Park, volunteers also help belay at the Kids Wall, serve food in the concession area, drive shuttles back and forth from town, and patiently answer questions or process gear cards at the info booth. Local volunteer climbers and guides rig all of the routes for the 80-plus clinics at the Ice Fest each year. “They give up tons of time to help out and set the routes, walk the park, and help the ice farmers make sure everything’s ready to go,” OIPI Board President Lora Slawitschka said. Belaying the comp is a particularly thankless volunteer job. “You are down in the pit of despair, with no sun. It’s cold all day and you’re down on the river, which is hopefully frozen...” Slawitschka said. It’s also a high-pressure job, making sure the competitors are safe and dialed into what is going on. As night falls, the volunteers are at it again, working the door at the evening presentations, pouring beer, and checking IDs to make sure you’re 21 or over before you guzzle it. For their efforts, they get some swag, and the satisfaction of helping make the Ouray Ice Festival the best event of its kind on the planet. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! “A lot of folks come back year after year,” said Slawitschka, who herself volunteers countless hours of her time to the Fest each year. “They love the event and are part of the climbing tribe.”

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MEET THE OURAY ICE PARK STAFF

uray Ice Park, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1997 to provide formal organization to what previously had been a loose grassroots effort to maintain and promote the Ouray Ice Park. The organization is overseen by a hard-working volunteer Board of Directors and six awesome employees. DAN CHEHAYL, ICE PARK OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Ice Park Operations Director Dan Chehayl is no stranger to the Ouray Ice Park. This is his sixth season working here, beginning as an ice farmer and graduating to Park Manager before assuming his current position. Chehayl first came to Ouray as a college sophomore with a group of friends from Sterling College in Vermont. He came back as often as he could over the next couple of years and eventually moved to Ouray in 2007. That first winter, he worked at Mouses Chocolates and ice climbed obsessively. Then, after a year in Telluride and a brief stint back east, he came back to Ouray for good, winning a job as an ice farmer with former Ice Park Manager Kevin Koprek. These days there is not much Chehayl doesn’t do at the Park, from overseeing the ingenious plumbing system and the staff that maintain it to working with his wife Nicole securing sponsorship funds and memberships for the Park. Besides climbing the ice he farms, one of Dan’s favorite things about working for the Ouray Ice Park is watching the ice grow and take shape throughout the winter. “It’s like the cliffs in the gorge come to life; every day is magical out here in the park!” he said. NICOLE CHEHAYL, FESTIVAL AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Nicole has worked for the Ouray Ice Park for five years. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Sustainable Business. Over the past six years Nicole has worked for a variety of nonprofits in the outdoor industry in various capacities. Nicole enjoys working with the small but committed staff and board at the Ouray Ice Park. She loves watching the organization continue to grow and the impact it has on Ouray and the greater climbing community.

REBECCA DOLL, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Becca, a Kansas native, has made the San Juans her home after living in southwestern Colorado for seven years. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology and Ecology from Western State Colorado University. After completing an intensive undergraduate career she landed a seasonal temp job as a Wildlife Conservation Technician for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife for a couple years. During the winters she would ski bum in Crested Butte. Subsequently, she decided to abandon her sprouting professional pursuit and instead pursue her outdoor passion for skiing and climbing. She moved to beautiful Ouray in 2014 where she enjoys her small mountain lifestyle and her amazing, supportive community. LOGAN TYLER, LEAD ICE FARMER Born and raised in Ouray, Logan began climbing at a young age, experiencing all that the San Juans and their surrounding environs have to offer while developing himself into a gifted climber. He has competed in the Ouray Ice Festival’s Elite Mixed Climbing Comp and at Vail’s Teva Mountain Games, often as the youngest competitor in the league. Logan has transferred his climbing skills and passion to all aspects of his life as well, coaching students on the Ridgway Secondary School’s climbing team and serving as a foreman on a Midwest tower crew. This is Logan’s third season working for the Ouray Ice Park and he is honored and beyond stoked to be leading the ice farmer crew this year! Logan is also the founder and co-owner of Red Mountain Riders, a company manufacturing high-quality handcrafted longboards.

PH O T O BY D A N CH EH AY L

LUCAS CARRION, ICE FARMER Lucas moved to Ouray in August 2014 after finishing his fourth summer working for a nonprofit pack outfit in the Sierra Nevada backcountry. It was there that he developed a love for mountain life and climbing. Lucas swung his first ice tools in New Hampshire, and further developed his climbing skills on rock and ice in Ouray and the deserts of southeastern Utah. His favorite ice climbs are La Ventana in the Ouray Ice Park’s Five Fingers climbing area, and Whorehouse Hoses in Eureka.

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XANDER BIANCHI, ICE FARMER Born and raised in the corn fields of northwest Indiana, Xander first explored Ouray in 2010 on a road trip through Colorado. It was here in the shadow of the San Juans that the seed was planted for many more journeys westbound. After scrapping together a mechanical engineering degree in 2012, he threw a sleeping bag in his car and set out for the mountains. The next few years were painted with a mosaic of nomadic brush strokes, until shelving the prospect of an engineering career and moving to Ouray in 2015. Since then, Xander has focused his energy on a different side of life - one full of white velvet mountains, rusty desert canyons, and two worn out soles.

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MEET THE OURAY ICE PARK BOARD OF DIRECTORS

he OIPI board of directors collectively devotes well over a thousand hours throughout the year to fulfill OIPI’s mission. Although the ice climbing season at the Ouray Ice Park runs from roughly mid-December to late March, OIPI is hard at work planning the next season shortly after the Park closes each spring. LORA SLAWITSCHKA, PRESIDENT Lora moved to Ouray when she was nine months old and her parents purchased the Ouray Chalet Inn on Main Street. She has lived here for most of her life (except for those erroneous years in Florida) and took over the family business when her parents retired in 2001. She loves Ouray with all her heart and could not imagine living and working anywhere else.

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CLINT ESTES Clint has lived in Ouray County for 13 years and has been involved with the Ouray Ice Park and Ouray Mountain Rescue Team for the majority of that time. A former American Alpine Club grant recipient and “washed-up” alpine climber, Clint’s passion for climbing and adventure has taken him around the world. His job today as the owner of On-Sight Construction demands the majority of his time but he still does his best to get out to climb when he can. Clint graduated from CSU with a water science degree, focusing in snow science. It’s this background that he hopes to apply to the making the Ice Park’s future sustainable. RALPH TINGEY Ralph joined the National Park Service in 1965 and worked as a climbing ranger at Jenny Lake until 1981 when he transferred to Denali National Park in Alaska. Over the course of his career, he worked in many of Alaska’s parks, and served as Associate Regional Director from 1994 to 2006 prior to his retirement. Ralph has been an avid climber most of his life. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Alpine Club, and as Chairman of the Alaska Section of the AAC. Ralph raced a dog team for many years, including three times on the 1000-mile long Yukon Quest from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Ralph now lives in Ridgway, Colo. MIKE GIBBS Mike began volunteering for the Ouray Ice Park in 1995 and was one of the seven original founding OIPI board members. He has served as both president and vice president of the board of directors, recently rejoining to serve on the board once again. Mike is the owner/operator of Rigging for Rescue, a technical rope-work training organization.

BILL LEO Bill moved to Purgatory Ski Area in 1982 to pursue his love of skiing, climbing and kayaking. His company, Unordinary Adventures, put in one of the early backcountry ski huts in the San Juans. An avid telemark skier, he did several first descents of local plum lines during those early years of backcountry skiing. He has also been a Class V commercial raft guide doing Upper Animas trips in those early days as well. Bill has lived in Ouray since 1996 as owner of Ouray Mountain Sports and is a past president and board member of OIPI who recently rejoined the board. He brings a wealth of knowledge of the history of the Ice Park and a passion for the continuing success of the park as well. He also currently does the grooming for the Ouray County Nordic Council.

TOM KAVANAUGH Tom developed his love for the outdoors as a professional rafting guide in Colorado. It was during this time that he was introduced to climbing and mountain biking. Over time, both sports turned from an activity to an obsession. The Ouray Ice Park brought him to southwestern Colorado and will forever anchor him to this community. With a new home and wife in hand, Ouray County is where he calls home. These days, when heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not managing the Ouray Hot Springs Pool, on a backcountry call with the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team or volunteering as an EMT, you may be able to find him in a remote area of the state either suffering up an ice climb or barreling down the finest alpine singletrack.

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Canyon Access

Ladder over Penstock

Winter Toilet

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SOUTH PARK

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Canyon Access

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Winter Toilet

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NEW FUNTIER

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THE OURAY ICE PARK IS 100% DONOR FUNDED Visit online to become a member and help us keep the Ouray Ice Park free! OurayIcePark.com

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Ice Park Office

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Lower Bridge

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LOWER BRIDGE

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KIDS’ WALL

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22nd ouray ice annual

festival

30 HOW TO ICE FEST 33 ICE PARK RULES 34 ICE PARK ACTIVITIES 36 THE COMPETITIONS 37 ATHLETE PROFILE: AARON MULKEY 38 PROFILE: ROUTE SETTER VINCE ANDERSON 40 SPECIAL EVENTS 42 PRESENTATION: INES PAPERT 43 PRESENTATION: HAYDEN KENNEDY 44 TRIBUTE: KYLE DEMPSTER AND SCOTT ADAMSON 45 BEYOND THE ICE FEST 46 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE 47 SEMINARS 48 FRIDAY CLINICS 49 SATURDAY CLINICS 50 SUNDAY CLINICS 51 FESTIVAL SPONSORS 52 LOCAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

PH O T O BY RH YS RO BERT S

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Ice Fest

How to W

elcome to the Ouray Ice Festival – an annual gathering of the tribe that has become the premier event of its kind for people who are hooked on ice climbing, or want to learn more about it. Funds raised at the Ouray Ice Festival are used to maintain and operate the Ouray Ice Park. The Fest can be roughly divided into two categories:

off, it’s best to leave your car in town and walk, or take the Ice Fest shuttle, up to the Ice Park. Please note that overnight parking is prohibited on Main Street in Ouray throughout the winter to facilitate snow removal. Vehicles left on Main Street overnight will receive a citation, and may even get towed, which would really suck, so please don’t do it!

• By day, the action happens at the Ouray Ice Park

G E T T I N G TO T H E I C E PA R K On Foot: Starting at the southern terminus of Main Street, turn right (west) on Third Avenue, and walk two blocks or so down the hill toward the Box Canyon Lodge and Victorian Inn. When you get to the bottom of the hill, veer left at the Box Canyon Falls exit, and follow the road up the hill for a few hundred meters. After a brief hike, you’ll emerge on a path on the west side of the Uncompahgre Gorge that leads straight to the heart of the Ouray Ice Park and Festival Headquarters. Alternatively, starting at the southern terminus of Main Street, you can simply walk up U.S. Highway 550 for about one-fourth mile until you get to the Ice Park entrance (County Road 361), just around the corner from the first switch-back. By Shuttle: Catch a ride up to the Ice Park on one of the free Ice Festival shuttles that will be running continuously along Main Street from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Friday through Sunday. The shuttle route starts at the Ouray Visitors Center near the Hot Springs Pool, and ends at the Ice Park entrance, and includes a Third Avenue spur. Shuttles are marked with magnetic Ouray Ice Park logos. Designated pickup spots include Citizens State Bank at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Main Street, and the bottom of Third Avenue (near the Victorian Inn and Box Canyon Lodge). Or, you can just flag the shuttle down as you see it coming, and it will stop for you!

and includes exciting climbing competitions, an Outdoor Gear Expo, Kids Climbing College and adult walk-up climbing, interactive climbing clinics and more. In the evening, the action shifts to town. There’s lots going on – multimedia presentations with big-name climbers, music, dance parties and a live and silent auction overflowing with screaming deals of the latest outdoor gear!

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Here’s all the beta you’ll need to make the most of the 2017 Ouray Ice Festival: NEW THIS YEAR Breaking with tradition, the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department will not be offering a spaghetti dinner on Friday night at the Ouray Community Center. Instead, festival participants are encouraged to venture into town and grab a bite to eat at one of Ouray’s fine restaurants before heading back to the Community Center for that evening’s scheduled Festival activities. Dinner is also on the town on Saturday night. Ouray is not quite up to speed with Uber yet, but there is an awesome new shuttle service in the area! Call Western Slope Rides at 970-6265121 or email westernsloperides@gmail.com to schedule your ride to the airport or your favorite backcountry adventuring spot. We are offering a limited quantity of VIP AllAccess Passes for this year’s Ice Fest, which come with some very cool benefits. (More info below.)

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PA R K I N G The parking lot across Highway 550 from the Ouray Ice Park entrance is generally reserved for sponsors and festival staff only during Ice Fest weekend. There is also no parking permitted along US Highway 550. So unless you are getting dropped

I N F O B O OT H Got questions? An info booth in the Outdoor Gear Expo area near the Lower Bridge is staffed with friendly and helpful volunteers throughout Ice Fest weekend. Here, you can pick up your gear card (if you didn’t already order it online), maps, programs, schedules and comp order, buy Ouray Ice Festival memorabilia and check out the custom-made trophies that will be awarded to comp winners at the Asolo Award Ceremony on Sunday.

G E A R CA R D S Want to demo the newest, greatest ice climbing gear, or even a new down puffy? Get a Gear Card! An integral part of the Ouray Ice Festival, the Gear Card allows clinic participants and other Festival attendees the opportunity to demo jackets, tools, boots, crampons, harnesses, gloves, etc. from Ice Festival sponsors throughout the weekend. Purchase a Gear Card online ahead of time at ourayicepark.com/passes/ for $5 or stand in line at the Festival (at the Thursday night Kickoff Party, or at the Info Booth at the Ice Park starting on Friday morning) and pay $10. Ouray Ice Park members and All Access Pass holders get a complimentary Gear Card with their membership. The gear card works like a library card; provide your credit card number as collateral, then check out gear for free and return after your clinic or at the end of the day. Simple! Gear card holders agree to the authorization of the credit card number provided to be charged retail value of item(s) demoed and NOT returned to the specific vendor by 2 p.m. on Sunday.

39th ANNUAL FESTIVAL MAY 26-29, 2017

A L L- A CC E S S PA S S P R O G R A M Maake it easy on yourself this year and pick up a $60 All-Access Pass that gets you into all of our awesome evening events for one cool price. Pass holders receive the following benefits: • Admission to evening events (please arrive early as passes do not guarantee entrance once venue capacity is reached); • Shorter admission lines at evening events; • Complimentary Gear Card; • Print of the gorgeous 2017 Ouray Ice Festival Poster, “The Love of Climbing” (while supplies last). Festival attendees who do not purchase an All-Access Pass will still have the opportunity to purchase individual tickets (subject to availability) at the door for each evening event. V I P A L L- A CC E S S PA S S P R O G R A M Want to take your support of the Ouray Ice Park to a whole new level? Purchase the all-new 2017 Ouray Ice Festival VIP All Access Pass. VIP All Access Pass holders receive all the benefits of an all access pass holder plus: Exclusive access to our Sponsor Party on Thursday night (this event is not open to the general public) Access to an exclusive warming hut at the Outdoor Gear Expo with hot chocolate and coffee >>>

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>>>

• Access to a special competition viewing area on Saturday and Sunday • Front row seating at all seated events • Ouray Ice Park Ice Ambassador level membership with included swag • Recognition as a high level supporter on our website • We are only offering 10 of these high-level passes

for $1,000 apiece. Get yours at ourayicepark. com/passes/. F I N A L B E TA Check the white board at the Outdoor Gear Expo, or the San Juan Mountain Guides tent, for up-to-the-minute information about which clinics still have openings (or visit mtnguide.net). Clinics are $59, Seminars are $119. Backcountry Full Day Seminars are $179. Ouray Ice Park Members receive $10 off each clinic or seminar. The Info Booth has extra lists of the final comp order for the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp and Hari Berger Speed Comp, as well as up-to-date information about who’s winning. We’ll be live-tweeting and posting updates on Facebook throughout the weekend. S P E C TAT I N G A N D P H OTO G R A P H Y Two bridges (known simply the Upper Bridge and the Lower Bridge) span the Uncompahgre Gorge in the central part of the Ouray Ice Park. Both bridges offer spectacular viewing and photography opportunities of the climbing action in the icy depths of the gorge. There are also several strategically placed spectator stands along the rim of the gorge. Direct sunlight into the gorge is limited to midday. If you are not equipped with proper climbing equipment (helmet, crampons, etc.), please stick to the roads, bridges, and viewing stands, as outcroppings over the gorge are slippery and perilous.

U S E F U L CO N TA C T I N F O Ouray Ice Park 970/325-4288, ourayicepark.com San Juan Mountain Guides 800/642-5389, mtnguide.net Ouray Chamber Resort Association 970/325-4746 , ouraycolorado.com Avalanche info, avalanche.state.co.us

R E C YC L I N G Recycling at this year’s Fest and throughout the whole season is sponsored by Alpine Bank of Ouray. Help us reduce our eco-footprint through recycling and other forms of waste reduction. We hope that all festival participants will join in our mission to responsibly recreate! Look for recycling stations located at the Ice Park and the Ouray Community Center. While at the Festival, please sort your waste stream and get it into the right container, and bring your own water bottle. FOOD & DRINK Food and drinks (both hot and cold) are available for purchase at vendor booths near the Ice Park entrance, featuring a nice mix of tasty fare from local restaurants and nonprofits. The food vendor area is a great place to take a break from all the action, sit down for a spell at a picnic table, or warm your hands over a fire ring. Please note that no alcohol is allowed in the Ice Park. WIFI, CELL PHONE RECEPTION Cell phone reception is available for major cell phone carriers in Ouray and – believe it or not – throughout most of the Ice Park! There’s even WiFi at Dick’s Chalet near the Upper Bridge. In town, free WiFi can be found at the Ouray Community Center, Ouray Public Library, and other select locations including Mouse’s Chocolates, Roast & Toast and the Backstreet Bistro. Insider’s tip: keep your cell phone in an inner pocket; it might not work if it gets too cold! CO M M E M O R AT I V E P I N T G L A S S E S Like to drink beer? This year you can swill it from our 22nd anniversary commemorative pint glass and steel sponsor mugs, included with the price of admission at our evening events. Collect all three! At the Thursday evening kickoff party, Rab will be providing steel pint glasses for your beer drinking needs. At Friday night’s gathering of the tribe at the Ouray Community Center, pick up your commemorative pint glass courtesy of the Ouray Ice Park. On Saturday, Patagonia Provisions will be providing steel commemorative mugs. Cheers!

Road Conditions, 877/315-7623, cotrip.org Ice Conditions mtnguide.net/resources/ouray-ice-conditions Western Slope Rides 970/626-5121, westernsloperides@gmail.com

PA R K R U L E S – Crampons and a helmet are required for all persons in “Climber Only” areas. –You must clearly occupy a top anchor prior to climbing any route in the Ouray Ice Park. –No rope and/or anchor shall remain established for more than 3 hours. –Do not anchor to any man made structure without a clearly labeled anchor tag or yellow wand. –Dogs must be leashed at all times and not left unattended. –Absolutely no dogs allowed below the top of the gorge. –Please read all “Area Specific Rules” prior to entering a given area. –Be courteous and respect your fellow climbers. –Per Section 13-7-K of Chapter 13 of the Code of the City of Ouray, Colorado: “It shall be unlawful for any person to commit the following acts within the Ice Park: • To enter the Uncompahgre Gorge or be climbing without wearing crampons and a helmet or be in an area designated as “climber only” without wearing crampons. • For an individual under the age of 18 to enter the Park without a supervising adult. • For any owner or custodian of any animal to fail to have the animal under effective and immediate control of the owner or custodian by leash, cord, chain or other restraining device at all times that such animal is within the Ice Park. No animals, except service animals, are permitted at the bottom of the Uncompahgre Gorge. • To attach climbing anchors to any manmade structures within the Park, except for established fixed anchors such as chain and bolt anchors. Anchors may not be placed on or impede with the ice producing system. • For any unauthorized individual to enter or remain within the Ice Park after 5 p.m. or before 7:30 a.m. from December 1st through March 31st for the purposes of climbing. • To leave top-line ropes unattended or unused. • For non-commercial groups of eight or more persons to occupy more than two climbing routes, as designated, in a specific area, or occupy any one route for more than three hours. • To conduct any commercial activities or uses within the Ice Park subject to Section 13-22 of the Ouray City Code without permission from the City.”

Bissen

n. bis’sin: bite, morsel

Cocktails, Beer, Wine, Small Bites Walk to Ice Park

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Ice Park

Activities OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO

FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 8 A.M.-3 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 8 A.M.-3 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 8 A.M.-2 P.M. NEAR THE LOWER BRIDGE AT THE OURAY ICE PARK Every year, the outdoor gear manufacturers that sponsor the Ouray Ice Festival travel to the Fest to let participants demo their latest and greatest products. Used to be, it was just boots, tools and crampons. But now, you can pretty much demo anything including base layers. So if you’re in the market for a new puffy belay jacket, for example, a handful of sponsors have a fleet of them for you to demo. The Outdoor Gear Expo is a hive of activity during Ice Festival weekend – a colorful tent village perched alongside the rim of the Uncompahgre Gorge, with hundreds of ice climbers and onlookers strolling around, trying on gear and just hangin’ out. The Gore-Tex tent provides couches and heaters. It’s a great place to warm up and get out of the weather. The Outdoor Gear Expo is not a gear swap; you will find little for sale, but there’s plenty of swag . So go ahead, feel the sponsors’ love.

KIDS CLIMBING COLLEGE

SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 10 A.M.-3 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 10 A.M.-3 P.M. AT THE KIDS WALL NEAR THE UPPER BRIDGE Sponsored by San Juan Mountain Guides, the popular Kids Climbing College offers free ice climbing instruction to kids ages 7-17. The KCC is staged at the Kids Wall – a beginners climbing area located near the Upper Bridge and Memorial Kiosk, right off of County Road 361 (Camp Bird Road). Four to five ropes will be going full-time both days. Participants receive 15 minutes of instruction each, with a professional guide, on a first-come, first-served basis.

PH O T O BY D A N CH EH AY L

It’s easy to sign up your kids, and San Juan Mountain Guides provides all the technical gear they’ll need.

FREE ADULT WALK-UP CLIMBING AT THE LA SPORTIVA ZONE FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 10 A.M.-3 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 10 A.M.-3 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 10 A.M.-2 P.M.

Want to try ice climbing without committing to a half-day or full-day clinic? La Sportiva’s free adult walk-up mini-clinics are taught by high-level athletes, no registration required. All technical gear is provided. They will be set up next door to the Kids Climbing College at the Kids Wall, near the Upper Bridge and County Road 361.There’s never been a better time to grab some tools and give ice climbing a try!

INTERACTIVE CLINICS

FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 9:30 A.M. & 12:30 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 9:30 A.M. & 12:30 P.M. SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 9:30 A.M. & 12:30 P.M. SIGN UP ONLINE AT MTNGUIDE.NET/OURAY-ICECLIMBING/OURAY-ICE-FESTIVAL-CLINICS/ The Ouray Ice Park is pleased again to partner with San Juan Mountain Guides to provide interactive climbing clinics and seminars for the 2017 Ouray Ice Festival. Throughout the weekend over 80 unique, informative, cutting-edge ice and mixed climbing clinics and seminars will be offered. Most clinics take place inside the Ice Park. A great lineup of all-day backcountry ice climbing seminars are also available this year. Want to do a guided ascent of Stairway to Heaven, Skylight or Whorehouse Ice Hose? Here’s your chance! Clinics and seminars are taught by professional athletes and guides with the most knowledge and the best instructional techniques in their fields, with sponsors including Black Diamond, Outdoor Research, La Sportiva, The North Face, Patagonia, Mammut, Scarpa, Gore-Tex, and many more. Each clinic offers a unique opportunity to pair vendors and their sponsored athletes with a passionate audience of amateur climbers. Clinics are 2.5 hours long, and are offered twice a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Schoolroom, Trestle, Kids Wall, Popsicle, Fingers, and Scottish Gullies areas with offerings for beginner, intermediate and advanced ice climbers. Seminars are 5.5 hours long, and are offered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in South Park and the Shithouse Wall areas. All of these areas will be closed to the public and competitors all day Friday and Saturday, and until 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Clinics and seminars fill up fast – typically a couple of months before the Ice Fest even gets underway – but some slots always open up at the last minute due to cancellations. Check the white board near the San Juan Mountain Guides booth at the Outdoor Gear Expo for last-minute openings, or visit mtnguide.net/ouray-iceclimbing/ouray-ice-festival-clinics/. The clinics and seminars are a screaming deal. Half-day clinics cost $59 per person, full-day seminars cost $119 per person and backcountry seminars cost $179 per person. Ice Park members enjoy modest discounts when they register. How it works: Once you are at the Ice Fest, make sure you have all your gear together at least 15 minutes before the start of your clinic/ seminar. To get a Festival gear card to demo gear from sponsors, go to the Festival Information Booth with your driver’s license and credit card. Once you have your Gear Card, go to the different sponsors to demo all of the required gear. Bring your own gear as well if you have it, especially harness, helmet and crampons. Once you have all your gear together, go to the appropriate clinic sponsor tent. (For example, if you registered for “Clinic #3 Intermediate Ice. La Sportiva. Will Mayo. FRI 0900,” head to the La Sportiva tent at 8:45 a.m. with your gear, ready to sign a release form and head out into the Park with your fellow clinic participants and awesome instructor.) R E Q U I R E D PA RTI CI PA NT E QUI P ME NT L I ST (for climbing, anchor, and other on-rope clinics):

• UIAA Certified Climbing Helmet • UIAA Certified Climbing Harness • 2 Ice Tools and Crampons • Ice Climbing Boots • Belay Device and locking Carabiner

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P HO T O B Y R HY S R O B E RT S

The

Competitions ELITE MIXED CLIMBING COMP

SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 9 A.M.-3 P.M. OURAY ICE PARK, LOWER BRIDGE/OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO AREA For many fans, the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition is the highlight of the whole Ice Fest weekend. The competition showcases the finest alpinists and sport climbers in the world exhibiting jawdropping, head-scratching feats of strength and agility as they pit themselves against a uniquely challenging route in the heart of the Ouray Ice Park. Men and women climb the same mixed route that blends natural and artificial features including vertical rock and ice inside the Uncompahgre Gorge, and a 25-foot steel climbing tower overhanging the gorge. The tower made its debut in 2013, with the aim of spicing up the competition and making it more spectator friendly. Route-setter Vince Anderson has served up a different climbing challenge on the comp tower each year for many years. This year Anderson will collaborate with local longtime competitor, and 36

no stranger to Vince’s routes, Andres Marin. Last year, more than thirty climbers from around the world competed, but only Coloradan Ryan Vachon topped out on the difficult route which featured a diagonaling crack formation, sidepulls and other sparsely placed little gems. Sam Elias and Kyle Dempster rounded out the men’s podium, while Czech climber Lucie Hrozova won the women’s competition and finished third overall. Joining her on the women’s podium were silver medalist Angelika Rainier from the South Tyrol region of Italy and American Katie Bono, finishing third among female climbers and 16th overall. Spectators can take in the action from viewing platforms and bleachers along the rim of the Uncompahgre Gorge. Competitors have 12 minutes to complete their climb. Place is determined based upon the highest controlled point reached. If more than one climber makes the full pull, the one with the fastest time wins. Applications for the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition open in late October and competitors are notified by year’s end whether they got in. The names of competitors are made available to the

public in early January, shortly before the Ice Fest gets underway. Check our website and social media at that time to get an up-to-date list of who’s climbing. As they ascend the cold, hard ice, climbers will be competing for cold, hard cash; $9,000 will be divvied among the top three male and female competitors in the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition this year.

ATHLETE PROFILE

HARI BERGER SPEED COMP,

Aaron Mulkey loves going to new places and figuring out challenges on the fly. He is the kind of guy who likes to get after it aggressively, whether it’s cardio training or heading out into the wilderness with his kayak or ice climbing tools to break new ground and discover unexplored ice and rapids in remote locations. His partners call them Mulkey Missions. “They generally entail many, many hours of hiking and not a lot of climbing or kayaking,” Mulkey admitted. And they are brutal, for the most part. “The easy stuff has been done,” he pointed out. “You’ve gotta earn it now.” And earn it he has. Since he started ice climbing nearly two decades ago, the Wyoming hardman has completed nearly 60 first ascents across the American West and earned a reputation as the “Patriarch of Cody Ice”. But on a balmy November morning at the Ouray Ice Park before the snow has started to fly, Mulkey has foregone his penchant for new places. Instead, he is running endless dry laps on Mighty Aphrodite, dialing in the moves he’ll need to conquer the lower, “warm-up” section of the comp route with speed, efficiency and finesse when he competes in the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp at the 2017 Ouray Ice Festival. “A lot of it comes down to confidence,” he said. “The unknown is really always the game changer.” Mulkey has competed in Ouray twice before, finishing toward the back of the pack in 2011 and 2014. Competitions are generally not his thing. He does it, he says, to push himself out of his comfort zone. “My biggest challenge is people,” he explained while taking a quick breather on the edge of the Uncompahgre Gorge. “I’m not used to people watching me and I’m very self-conscious of that. It’s something I battle with mentally every time I come here. I have to push myself to accept that it’s okay to fail. People don’t always expect you to be successful at everything. Everybody has their weaknesses, and this is for sure one of mine.”

SPONSORED BY LOWA SUNDAY, JAN. 22, STARTING AT 9 A.M. OURAY ICE PARK, LOWER BRIDGE/OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO AREA For the fifth year running, LOWA will sponsor the Hari Berger Speed Climbing Competition at the Ouray Ice Festival to honor the legendary fallen athlete who won three Ice Climbing World Championships while wearing LOWA boots. Berger’s legacy lives on each year at the Ouray Ice Festival, when competitors race each other up twin pillars of ice in the depths of the Uncompahgre Gorge. Speed climbing is hugely popular on the World Cup scene in Europe. Judging from its reception at the Ouray Ice Fest over the past several years, it’s a hit here, too! The competition is fast and furious, with $7,000 in prize money up for grabs. Unlike the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition, this is an open comp; anyone can sign up to compete! The event attracts a nice mix of big names and local heroes pitted against each other. The action takes place down in the same vicinity as the Elite Mixed Climbing Competition, on routes consisting solely of ice. Berger died in 2006 at age 34 near his home town of Salzburg, Austria when an ice pillar he was climbing collapsed. His girlfriend Kristen Buchman gave birth to their daughter, Zoe, the day after he died. Berger was a regular at the Ouray Ice Festival, known for his expansive smile and virtually effortless ascents of difficult comp routes. “The wheel of living and dying turns with such savage cruelty sometimes,” wrote climber Will Gadd of Berger’s death. “Hari was a good man – a good climber, a moral human and, as he often demonstrated while staying at our house, a good cook. I’m sure he would have been a fantastic father to his daughter.”

Aaron Mulkey

Patriarch of Cody Ice BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT

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Route-Setter Vince Anderson Dishes Out Pain And Punishment BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT

ver the past nine years, Vince Anderson has developed a reputation for setting provocative, physically punishing, spectator-pleasing competition routes at the Ouray Ice Festival that allow passage to only a handful of competitors (and sometimes, none at all). Since assuming the position back in 2009, “the climbing ability of the athletes has increased steadily – probably faster than the ability to define harder routes in the Ouray Ice Park,” said Anderson, a Ridgway-based climbing guide, alpinist and author of the definitive Ouray Ice Park Guide. “We have found making something realistically hard enough for the world’s best would require more than what nature has provided us.” Thus, the addition of the 3.5 ton, 25-foot tall prefabricated steel comp tower four years ago. It may have offended the aesthetic sensibilities of some purists, but organizers predicted the tower would serve as a launching pad for future Ice Fests by creating a more challenging and crowd-pleasing venue for world-class competition. So far, that has proved to be the case. Route-setting for the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp requires a fine balance between creating something that is fun to watch and really hard (but not quite impossible) to climb. Anderson prefers to create climbs that simulate conditions you would find out in the backcountry. That wasn’t so hard, back when the competition took place exclusively down inside the Uncompahgre Gorge, and he could look to the cliff face itself as a source of inspiration. Now

P HO T O S B Y S AMAN T HA WR IGHT

that the comp tower has been introduced, it’s a bit trickier, but not impossible, to re-create the physical experience of swinging an ice tool into a dab of ice, or torquing up a crack. Out of all the routes Anderson’s designed so far so far, his favorite is “Krampus” from the 2015 Ice Fest, named after Santa’s “dark helper” who in certain European countries is charged with the task of punishing bad children, swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them, in baskets, to a fiery place below. In contrast to the 2014 route, “Gold Digger”, which was strewn with eye-candy including three dangling gold nuggets and a donkey-shaped piñata stuffed with cheese balls, and 2013’s “Naughty Aphrodite” which featured a phallic tuna log swinging from the bottom of the tower, Krampus offered just a smattering of footholds, a few little smears of artificial ice, and three long brackets of angle iron coated with Rhino Liner (a polyurethane coating) to simulate a mossy crack. Nobody in the entire field of competitors made it to the top – including Will Gadd and Angelika Rainier who won the men’s and women’s contests, respectively. Anderson took some grief that year for designing a route that was just too hard. But that’s the way he likes it. “As the route-setter, you are like a medieval inquisitor from the Grand Inquisition,” he explained, his mouth twisting into a baleful smile. “You get to design this torture chamber for people, and watch them suffer. How cool is that?”

AARON MULKEY WORKING ON THE FIRST ASCENT OF SUPER FLY M8, PILOT CREEK, WYOMING

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Special

Events KICK OFF PARTY

THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 7:30-9:30 PM DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM OURAY COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE.) $10 Join us at the Ouray Community Center for the Ouray Ice Festival Kick-off Party sponsored by the American Alpine Club and Rab. There will be beer from Upslope Brewing Company, food and prizes, and opportunities to hang with local and visiting climbing royalty. Plus, live music by Rapid Grass, the high-energy five-piece Colorado bluegrass band that won the 2015 Rockygrass band competition! This party brings in a “Who’s Who” from the climbing world, highlighting the Ouray Ice Park’s unique, ongoing partnership with the AAC. This is a great, grassroots gathering that tends to attract a huge turnout. $10 cover charge includes a free pint glass from Rab. Let’s kick this party off right! Plus, beat the rush and pick up your gear demo card.

SILENT AUCTION, INES PAPERT PRESENTATION

FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 7:30-9:30 PM DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM OURAY COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE.) $20 After you’ve had a nice dinner in town, head up to the Ouray Community Center to bid on silent auction items donated by the Ice Fest’s corporate sponsors. All auction proceeds go directly to support the Ouray Ice Park, keeping it free and open for all of our enjoyment, so bid high, folks! The evening culminates with a highly anticipated multimedia presentation by elite German alpinist Ines Papert, who will be talking about her latest climbing exploits and presenting her new film Riders on the Storm. (see Page 42 for more info).

PH O T O BY RH YS RO BERTS

LIVE AUCTION, HAYDEN KENNEDY PRESENTATION, TRIBUTE TO KYLE DEMPSTER & SCOTT ADAMSON, JEFF LOWE AWARD SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 6:30-9 PM DOORS OPEN AT 6 PM OURAY COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE.) $20

On Saturday night, dinner is on the town again. Ouray’s restaurants are poised to feed the masses and turn over tables quickly, so you can hustle back to the Ouray Community Center by 6:30 p.m. for our keynote presentation by the talented Hayden Kennedy (see Page 43 for more info) plus a tribute to fallen climbers Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, and the presentation of the fifth annual Jeff Lowe Award. The $20 cover charge includes a steel pint glass from Patagonia Provisions, beer from Upslope Brewing Company and a fantastic live auction with goods ranging from the latest climbing gear to signed photographs and ice axes once wielded by climbing greats.

PETZL PARTY – “ALPINE HIPPIES” SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 10 P.M.-1 A.M. OURAY COMMUNITY CENTER, 320 6TH AVE. $20

The annual late-night Petzl party is a raucous affair, and definitely one of most heavily attended events of the whole Ice Festival weekend. Part rave, part costume party, it’s a racy evening that pulls in Ice Fest regulars and Petzl Party groupies from throughout the region. The party always has a theme; this year it’s “Alpine Hippies” so bring on the bell-bottoms! $20 cover charge includes beer.

ASOLO AWARD CEREMONY

SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 2 P.M. LOWER BRIDGE/OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO AREA AT THE ICE PARK The ASOLO Award Ceremony is like something right out of the Olympics as the winning athletes from the Elite Mixed Climbing Comp and Hari Berger Speed Comp take their places on a podium carved from ice to receive custom trophies made

by Ouray glass and metal artists Sam Rushing and Jeff Skoloda. Before you point your camera toward the podium, take a look around you – there’s likely to be a “Who’s Who” of the climbing elite in the crowd.

SLIDESHOWS & FILM PRESENTATIONS FRIDAY/SATURDAY NIGHTS, JAN. 20 & 21 OURAY COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE.)

We’ve got a stellar lineup of presenters this year, showcasing two of the biggest names in the world of alpinism. Ines Papert takes the spotlight on Friday night with inspiring stories of her climbing adventures around the world, plus a screening of her new film, “Riders on the Storm.” And we’re super-stoked to feature the crushing Hayden Kennedy as our keynote speaker on Saturday night. Plus, a tribute to Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, beloved members of the tribe who went missing while attempting to climb Pakistan’s Ogre II in the Karakoram last August. (For more information about the presentations, see pages 42, 43, 44).

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Multimedia Presentation: Riders on the Storm

Ines Papert

Friday, Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m. Ouray Community Center (320 6th Avenue)

nes Papert rides between storm and silence in the solitary walls of the world, shifting the realm of what is possible with her iron will, and showing what it means to be an extreme climber and mother. The German woman that Alpinist magazine has called “one of the world’s most accomplished climbers” returns to Ouray once again this year both to compete, and to present Riders on the Storm, a fascinating journey through her multifaceted world of alpinism. Papert’s new multimedia presentation takes its name from the 1300-meter-high east face of the Torres Central in Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia – the legendary 1,300-meter big-wall route upon which Papert and Mayan Smith-Gobat attempted the first free ascent in February 2016. They almost lost their lives in the effort when, high up on the wall, a piece of rock the size of a refrigerator came flying down past the two sleeping women, destroying their portaledge, leaving Papert to question how far she can actually go before putting her team and herself in danger. “I don’t think any mountain in the entire planet is worth to die for,” she concluded. “This is why I won’t go back again. I love to live. And there are so many big climbs to go for.”

Putting Patagonia behind her, Papert joined Slovenian climber Luka Lindič last October to complete a successful ascent of the difficult southeast face of the Kyzyl Asker, a remote 5842-meter granite peak bordering China and Kyrgyzstan. They christened the new route “Lost in China”. “It’s a beautiful, huge ice climb that had been attempted many times, but never finished to the very end,” Papert said. It was her own third attempt to complete the route, which has beckoned to her since 2010, when she had to retreat just 300 meters shy of the summit due to heavy snowfall and avalanches. A second attempt a year later was also futile due to health problems on her team. “Finally we summited!” Papert said. “I think it was deserved. Failure is part of climbing. In addition so is patience, and sometimes a third attempt.” Papert looks forward to sharing her stories from the edge at Friday night’s gathering of the tribe. “What I am doing inspires people a lot – especially female climbers who often have too many doubts about their skills,” she said. “To convince, push, and inspire female climbers with what I am doing adds another dimension. – Samantha Wright

FEATURE PRESENTATION

Hayden Kennedy Saturday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. Ouray Community Center (320 6th Avenue)

t’s late November, and Hayden Kennedy is in the crux of his busy season – scaling the rooftops of the Front Range in his side gig as a Christmas light installer. (Cue the spoof trailer “First Light” by Duct Tape Then Beer productions and Arc’Teryx featuring Kennedy and his partner in crime, Jesse Huey, as they tear into the suburban perils of rigging rooftop holiday decorations. “It’s visionary. It’s truly on the edge of what we could call climbing,” quips Huey with square-jawed valor.

“You can train for the Karakoram, for Alaska, for the Andes, but nothing can prepare you for this.”) Kennedy grew up in Carbondale, Colo. among the climbing royalty of his father Michael Kennedy’s generation. “It was not your normal upbringing,” he said. “But it felt pretty normal.” And it sparked his own audacious alpine ambitions. He climbed his first multipitch climb, the Kor-Ingalls route on Castleton Tower, when he was 13. He was petrified the entire day. Rather than deter him, the experience solidified his obsession. Today, Kennedy is a multi-discipline crusher best known for his achievements in the alpine, including the first “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre’s southeast ridge and a new line up the south face of Ogre 1 with his close friend and mentor Kyle Dempster in 2012. Kennedy makes his home in Boulder, where his lucrative seasonal side gig allows plenty of time to train and plan for his next alpine adventure. He’s not quite sure what that will be, yet. A longanticipated seven-week mountaineering trip to India, slated to take place last fall, was sidelined by the death of Dempster and Scott Adamson on the Ogre 2 in August. “All that happened just before I was leaving,” Kennedy explained. “The whole India expedition became super unimportant. It’s been an emotional fall.” The last time Kennedy was a presenter at the Ouray Ice Festival was in 2013. He had just returned from the pointy summit of Ogre 1 and was full of stoke about the successful mission. A lot has changed since then. “I would say I have a lot of mixed feelings about alpinism for the last couple years,” he admitted. “My feelings are more poignant than they were before.” Kennedy’s presentation on Saturday night will be “all about Kyle, all the things that we’ve done together,” he said. And, he promised, “I’ll throw in a bunch of funny photos and videos.” The central theme will be partnership. “Because that’s really what this kind of climbing does,” Kennedy said. “It brings people together and you have the most intense and beautiful partnerships. That’s the most amazing part of climbing.” – Samantha Wright

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TRIBUTE TO

Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson Road to Karakol/Desert Ice

Saturday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m., Ouray Community Center, (320 6th Avenue)

t was a headline that rocked the climbing world: “Kyle and Scott are not coming home; renowned climbers may never be found.” Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson disappeared in August 2016 on their second attempt to reach the top of Ogre 2 in Pakistan via its treacherous north face. A crowd-funded search launched Aug. 28 for the missing climbers was called off by their families after helicopters found no signs of the men or their equipment on the mountain they started climbing Aug. 21. Both Dempster, 33, and Adamson, 34, hailed from Utah and were beloved, respected members of

the climbing community. Dempster, a regular at the Ouray Ice Festival, twice won the coveted Piolet d’Or, most recently in 2013 when he scaled Ogre 1 with Hayden Kennedy and Josh Wharton. Adamson made several first ascents in Nepal and Alaska, and stoked the climbing world by discovering gorgeous ice-climbing routes in Zion National Park. On Saturday night, the Ouray Ice Festival pays tribute to these fallen climbers, showcasing two documentary films that memorialize their spirit of adventure.

DESERT ICE

THE ROAD FROM KARAKOL

Stashed away deep in a labyrinth of Zion sandstone slots, Scott Adamson leads climbing partner Jesse Huey and 3 String Productions to his micro mecca of fleeting desert ice climbs on a snowy morning in the winter of 2014. In full exploration mode, Scott repels in, pulls the ropes, and fully commits to the veneer thin ribbons of ice lacing the vermillion canyons of one of America’s most beautiful pieces of geography. Some called it the best water-ice discovery in the last 20 years. “What these guys found, they’ve shown us possibilities and hope,” said the film’s co-writer Pete Takeda. “That’s what we feed on. That’s what we live for. That’s what drives us, is the possibility of climbing something like this, that is so beautiful. And somewhere in that is wrapped up the whole reason why we do this shit.”

“Remember there is just one question in this life: when the road comes to an end...will you keep pedaling?” – Kyle Dempster In the summer of 2011, Kyle Dempster traveled by himself to Kyrgystan, a former Soviet Republic in the heart of central Asia. His goal was to bike across the country, while climbing as many Kyrgyz peaks as possible. Things get occasionally hairy, as they will on any trip worth calling an adventure. The tone is set with the opening scene, in which Dempster appears butt-naked beside a raging river, explaining to the camera that he’ll need to swim across. Filmed and narrated by Dempster himself with the small Sony point & shoot camera, The Road from Karakol captures the quixotic spirit of the journey, and has been hailed as the most personal and inspiring bikepacking film ever made.

3 STRINGS PRODUCTIONS 11:51 MINUTES

DIRECTED BY FITZ CAHALL 25:36 MINUTES

Beyond the Ice Fest D E M O DAY S Ouray Ice Park Demo Days feature top brands in the outdoor industry, offering participants the opportunity to test-drive great gear throughout the ice climbing season. Black Diamond hosts a Demo Days event at the Ouray Ice Park on Presidentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day Weekend, Feb. 18-20, 2017. Look for Black Diamond at the upper bridge near the Kids Wall from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with the newest ice climbing gear and apparel on hand for trying out in the Park. Visit ourayicepark.com and the Ouray Ice Park Facebook page for updated information from top brands throughout the season. K I D S C L I M B I N G CO L L E G E Held at the Ouray Ice Park several times throughout the winter season, the Kids Climbing College (KCC) is a super fun, free way for children ages 7-17 to try their hand at ice climbing. The 2017 KCC will be set up during the Ouray Ice Festival on Jan. 21 and 22 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with additional dates on the second Saturday of January, February and March ( Jan. 14, Feb. 11 and March 11) from 10 a.m.-2 p.m . The action happens at the Kids Wall, a specially developed 40-foot high, 140-foot wide roadside slab of ice located above the Uncompahgre Gorge near the Ice Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upper bridge with easy walk-in access. It features a dozen different routes with various levels of difficulty for beginners to more experienced climbers. The KCC is free, on a first-come-first-served basis. San Juan Mountain Guides provides all of the technical gear. Participants should bring: an adult to sign paperwork, warm clothes, gloves, winter boots and a warm hat (ski clothes work well for climbing). Participants and their families should park in the designated Ice Park parking areas and walk up to the Kids Wall.

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For more information please visit San Juan Mountain Guides at mtnguide.net. PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

THE 22ND ANNUAL OURAY ICE FESTIVAL

SCHEDULE THURSDAY, JANUARY 19

KICK-OFF PARTY

SPONSORED BY RAB, AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB AND UPSLOPE BREWING COMPANY LOCATION: COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE) TIME: 7:30 - 9:30 PM DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM PRICE: $10.00 FRIDAY, JAN. 20

OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 8AM-3 PM

OURAY ICE FESTIVAL CLINICS LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 9:30 AM & 12:30 PM

OURAY ICE FESTIVAL ELITE MIXED CLIMBING COMPETITION LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 9 AM-3 PM

PRESENTATIONS, JEFF LOWE AWARD, LIVE AUCTION

BEER PROVIDED BY UPSLOPE BREWING COMPANY LOCATION: COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVE) TIME: 6:30-9 PM, DOORS OPEN AT 6 PM PRICE: $20 PRESENTATION 1: A TRIBUTE TO KYLE DEMPSTER AND SCOTT ADAMSON - ROAD TO KARAKOL/DESERT ICE PRESENTATION 2: FEATURED PRESENTER HAYDEN KENNEDY

PETZL PARTY!

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK (NEAR UPPER BRIDGE) TIME: 10 AM-3 PM

BEER PROVIDED BY UPSLOPE BREWING COMPANY LOCATION: COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVENUE) THEME: ALPINE HIPPIES TIME: 10 PM-1 AM PRICE: $20

PRESENTATION, SILENT AUCTION

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

FREE ADULT WALK-UP CLIMBING

BEER PROVIDED BY UPSLOPE BREWING COMPANY LOCATION: COMMUNITY CENTER (320 6TH AVENUE) TIME: 7:30-9:30 PM, DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM PRICE: $20 PRESENTATION: INES PAPERT PRESENTS RIDERS ON THE STORM

OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 8 AM-2 PM

OURAY ICE FESTIVAL CLINICS

SATURDAY JANUARY 21

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 9:30 AM & 12:30 PM

OUTDOOR GEAR EXPO

FREE ADULT WALK-UP CLIMBING

OURAY ICE FESTIVAL CLINICS

FREE KIDS CLIMBING COLLEGE

FREE ADULT WALK-UP CLIMBING

HARI BERGER SPEED COMPETITION

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 8 AM-3 PM LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 9:30 AM & 12:30 PM

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK (NEAR UPPER BRIDGE) TIME: 10 AM-3 PM

FREE KIDS CLIMBING COLLEGE

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK (NEAR UPPER BRIDGE) TIME: 10 AM-3 PM

LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK (NEAR UPPER BRIDGE) TIME: 10 AM-2 PM LOCATION OURAY ICE PARK (NEAR UPPER BRIDGE) TIME: 10 AM-3 PM SPONSORED BY LOWA LOCATION: OURAY ICE PARK TIME: 9 AM

ASOLO AWARDS CEREMONY LOCATION: LOWER BRIDGE TIME: 2 PM

FULL DAY SEMINARS TIME

SPONSOR

ATHLETE # SEMINAR

JANUARY 19, 2017 0730-1530 0730-1530 0730-1530 0730-1530 0730-1530 0730-1530 0730-1530

SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES SJ MTN GUIDES

MICAH LEWKOWITZ ELIAS DE ANDRES MARTOS JIM TURNER DAVE AHRENS ANDRES MARIN PATRICK ORMOND CLINT COOK

THURSDAY

T1 GUIDED ASCENT: WHOREHOUSE ICE HOSE T2 GUIDED ASCENT: SKYLIGHT AREA T3 PERFECTING ICE MOVEMENT SKILLS T4 INTRODUCTION TO ICE CLIMBING T5 INTRO TO MIXED CLIMBING T6 LEARN TO LEAD ICE T7 GUIDED ASCENT: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN JANUARY 20, 2017

0930-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500 0800-1500 0800-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500

OSPREY LOWA HYPERLITE MAMMUT GORE-TEX LA SPORTIVA CAMP LOWA ADIDAS

MARCUS GARCIA CARLOS BUHLER JAYSON SIMONS-JONES DOUG SHEPHERD ANGELA HAWSE KARSTEN DELAP SCOTT BENNET CHAD PEELE JEFF WITT

A INTERMEDIATE ICE B NOVICE ICE C INTERMEDIATE ICE D LEARN TO LEAD ICE E LEARN TO LEAD ICE: WOMEN’S SPECIFIC F BACKCOUNTRY ICE CLIMBING: SKYLIGHT AREA G BACKCOUNTRY ICE CLIMBING: OURAY AREA H SELF-RESCUE SKILLS CLINIC I INTRO TO ICE CLIMBING JANUARY 21, 2017

0930-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500 0800-1500 0800-1500 0930-1500 0930-1500

PETZL RAB STERLING OUTDOOR RESEARCH OUTDOOR RESEARCH ADIDAS CAMP GRIVEL

PATRICK ORMOND FABRIZIO ZANGRILLI JIM SHIMBERG GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN ELÍAS DE ANDRÉS MARTOS JEFF WITT SCOTT BENNET SHINGO OHKAWA

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

J INTRO TO ICE CLIMBING K NOVICE ICE L INTERMEDIATE ICE M LEARN TO LEAD ICE N BACKCOUNTRY ICE CLIMBING: SKYLIGHT AREA O BACKCOUNTRY ICE CLIMBING: OURAY AREA P FAST N’LIGHT ALPINISM Q INTERMEDIATE ICE

FOR SEMINAR DETAILS VISIT MTNGUIDE.NET/OURAY-ICE-CLIMBING/OURAY-ICE-FESTIVAL-CLINICS

P HO T O B Y DAN CHE HAY L

PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

CLINICS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

TIME

SPONSOR

ATHLETE

0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500 1230-1500

ARCTERYX PATAGONIA GRIVEL BLUEWATER ROPES GRIVEL LA SPORTIVA PETZL LOWA BLUEWATER ROPES BLACK DIAMOND OUTDOOR RESEARCH CAMP GORE-TEX HYPERLITE RAB LA SPORTIVA CHICKS SCARPA ASOLO SCARPA OUTDOOR RESEARCH RAB GORE-TEX LOWA RAB ARCTERYX OUTDOOR RESEARCH TRANGO GRIVEL PETZL OUTDOOR RESEARCH ARCTERYX ARCTERYX BLUE WATER ROPES STERLING ROPE PARADOX SPORTS

ROGER STRONG VINCE ANDERSON ALAN ROUSSEAU CHAD JUKES SHINGO OHKAWA WILL MAYO ANDRES MARIN INES PAPERT CONRAD ANKER DAWN GLANC SARAH HUENIKEN KATIE BONO CLINT COOK RYAN VACHON AARON MULKEY DALE REMSBERG ELAINA ARENZ KITTY KALHOUN KAREN BOCKEL JOSH WHARTON SHINGO OHKAWA AARON MULKEY CLINT COOK INES PAPERT RYAN VACHON JESSE HUEY MARGO TALBOT BEN CLARK ALAN ROUSSEAU CONRAD ANKER PATRICK ORMOND ROGER STRONG KATIE BONO DAWN GLANC DALE REMSBERG CHAD JUKES

# CLINIC

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

INTERMEDIATE ICE STEEP ICE INTERMEDIATE ICE NOVICE ICE INTRO TO ICE INTERMEDIATE ICE STEEP ICE MODERATE MIXED INTRO TO ICE LEADING INTRO TO ICE INTRO TO ICE INTRO TO ICE FOR WOMEN ADVANCED ICE INTRO TO ICE INTRO TO MIXED CLIMBING INTERMEDIATE ICE: FOOTWORK FUNDAMENTALS NOVICE ICE: FOCUS ON FOOTWORK INTERMEDIATE ICE: FOCUS ON FOOTWORK WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SPECIFIC: FOCUS ON FOOTWORK STEEP ICE TECHNIQUES NOVICE ICE: FOCUS ON FOOTWORK SKILLS FOR THE ICE LEADER INTERMEDIATE ICE HARD ICE MODERATE MIXED NOVICE ICE INTRO TO ICE FOR WOMEN INTRO TO ICE NOVICE ICE ADVANCED ICE BELAYS & TRANSITIONS FOR MULTI-PITCH ICE ANCHORS INTERMEDIATE ICE: USING YOUR HIPS INTRO TO MIXED CLIMBING INTRO TO ICE LEADING ADAPTIVE ICE CLIMBING

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 TIME

SPONSOR

0900-1130 ARCTERYX 0900-1130 HYPERLITE 0900-1130 CHICKS 0900-1130 ZAMBERLAN 0900-1130 PETZL 0900-1130 BLACK DIAMOND 0900-1130 TRANGO 0900-1130 HYPERLITE 0900-1130 ASOLO 0900-1130 SCARPA 0900-1130 OUTDOOR RESEARCH 0900-1130 ARCTERYX 0900-1130 BLUEWATER ROPES 0900-1030 SCARPA 0900-1130 MAMMUT 1230-1500 HYPERLITE 1230-1500 ADIDAS 1230-1500 OSPREY 1230-1500 TRANGO 1230-1500 OUTDOOR RESEARCH 1230-1500 MAMMUT 1230-1500 ARCTERYX/GORE-TEX 1230-1500 PATAGONIA 1230-1500 LOWA 1230-1500 ARCTERYX 1230-1500 BLACK DIAMOND 1230-1500 GRIVEL 1230-1500 RAB 1230-1500 PARADOX SPORTS

ATHLETE

ROGER STRONG 37 JANETTE HEUNG 38 ELAINA ARENZ 39 ELLIOT BATES & 40 JONATHAN MILLER DALE REMSBERG 41 HAYDEN KENNEDY 42 ARI NOVAK 43 JAYSON SIMONS-JONES 44 KAREN BOCKEL 45 JOSH WHARTON 46 MARGO TALBOT 47 JESSE HUEY 48 CHAD JUKES 49 KITTY CALHOUN 50 DOUG SHEPERD 51 JAYSON SIMONS-JONES 52 MARCUS GARCIA 53 KAREN BOCKEL 54 ARI NOVAK 55 MARGO TALBOT 56 DOUG SHEPERD 57 DALE REMSBERG 58 KITTY CALHOUN 59 CARLOS BUHLER 60 ROGER STRONG 61 HAYDEN KENNEDY 62 ALAN ROUSSEAU 63 AARON MULKEY 64 CHAD JUKES 65

CLINICS

THEME

INTERMEDIATE ICE USING YOUR HIPS FOR MAX BALANCE WOMEN’S SPECIFIC: FOCUS ON FOOTWORK NOVICE ICE ADVANCED ICE INTERMEDIATE ICE STEEP ICE TECHNIQUES INTRO TO ICE LEADING NOVICE ICE – WOMEN’S SPECIFIC MODERATE MIXED WOMEN’S SPECIFIC: INTRO TO ICE LEADING SKILLS FOR THE ICE LEADER NOVICE ICE ICE SCREW PLACEMENTS & ANCHORS BELAYS & TRANSITIONS FOR MULTI-PITCH ICE ICE SCREW PLACEMENTS & ANCHORS INTERMEDIATE ICE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT SKILLS LEASHLESS CLIMBING FOR TOOL TECHNIQUES INTERMEDIATE ICE ADVANCED ICE LEADING STEEP ICE MODERATE MIXED FOR WOMEN INTRO TO ICE LEADING ADVANCED ICE NOVICE ICE NOVICE ICE: FOCUS ON YOUR FOOTWORK BELAYS & TRANSITIONS FOR MULTI-PITCH ICE ADAPTIVE ICE CLIMBING

FOR CLINIC DETAILS VISIT MTNGUIDE.NET/OURAY-ICE-CLIMBING/OURAY-ICE-FESTIVAL-CLINICS

PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

CLINICS SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 TIME

SPONSOR

ATHLETE

THEME

0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130 0900-1130

THE NORTH FACE ADIDAS GRIVEL RANGO BLUEWATER ROPES LOWA LA SPORTIVA BLACK DIAMOND PETZL TRANGO PETZL ASOLO OUTDOOR RESEARCH ARCTERYX ADIDAS LA SPORTIVA OUTDOOR RESEARCH RAB CAMP BLUEWATER ROPES

CONRAD ANKER 66 JEFF WITT 67 SHINGO OHKAWA 68 ARI NOVAK 69 CHAD JUKES 70 CARLOS BUHLER 71 JIM SHIMBERG 72 HAYDEN KENNEDY 73 DALE REMSBERG 74 MARCUS GARCIA 75 ANDRÉS MARÍN 76 KAREN BOCKEL 77 PATRICK ORMOND 78 KATIE BONO 79 JAYSON SIMONS JONES 80 WILL MAYO 81 SARAH HUENIKEN 82 AARON MULKEY 83 SCOTT BENNET 84 KARSTEN DELAP 85

INTERMEDIATE ICE INTERMEDIATE ICE: MOVING WITH EFFICIENCY INTERMEDIATE ICE: FOOTWORK FUNDAMENTALS NOVICE ICE INTRO TO ICE CLIMBING INTERMEDIATE ICE STEEP ICE TECHNIQUES LEASHLESS CLIMBING FOR TOOL TECHNIQUES RESCUE CLINIC: THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE MIXED CLIMBING INTRO TO MIXED CLIMBING INTRO TO ICE CLIMBING: WOMEN’S SPECIFIC STEEP ICE TECHNIQUES INTRO TO MIXED CLIMBING INTERMEDIATE ICE BELAYS & TRANSITIONS FOR MULTI-PITCH ICE SKILLS FOR THE ICE LEADER ADVANCED ICE NOVICE ICE LEARN TO LEAD ICE

FOR CLINIC DETAILS VISIT MTNGUIDE.NET/OURAY-ICE-CLIMBING/OURAY-ICE-FESTIVAL-CLINICS

P HO T O B Y DAN CHE HAY L

OURAY ICE FESTIVAL 2017 SPONSORS TITLE AND FOOTWEAR

OFFICIAL APPAREL AND EQUIPMENT

TITLE MEDIA

OFFICIAL

HARI BERGER SPEED COMP SPONSOR

OFFICIAL ROPE SPONSOR

OFFICIAL BEER SPONSOR

SUPPORTING

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

GEAR SPONSORS JULBO STIO PROTOGEAR

CLIMBING ADVOCACY PARTNERS

ACCESS FUND CITY OF OURAY CHICKS CLIMBING AND SKIING

AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB LEAVE NO TRACE OURAY HYDROELECTRIC PARADOX SPORTS

PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

LOCAL BUSINESS PARTNERS CLIMBING ICON

The Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa & Lodging

FIRST ASCENSIONIST

OURAY LIQUOR

ROUTE SETTER

OURAY HOT SPRINGS POOLS AND FITNESS CENTER (CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS)

OURAY RV PARK AND CABINS LEAD CLIMBER

ARTISAN BAKERY CITIZENS STATE BANK OURAY GOLD BELT BAR & GRILL OURAY VACATION RENTALS

KHRISTOPHER’S CULINAIRE THE MASTERS LAW FIRM, P.C. MOUNTAIN FEVER

DUCKETT’S MARKET GUIDE GARAGE HIGH COUNTRY LEATHERS

OURAY HARDWARE & MERCANTILE

BELAYERS

WHITTWORKS PAINTING

NORTH MOON GALLERY OURAYLE HOUSE BREWERY ROCKY MOUNTAIN CANNABIS WESTERN SLOPE RIDES

OURAY EMPORIUM HOTEL OURAY RAY’S JERKY

MAXIM IS PROUD TO BE THE OFFICIAL ROPE PARTNER OF THE OURAY ICE FARMERS

www.maximropes.com

PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

IN MEMORIUM

Gary Falk

Kyle Dempster

Exum guide Gary Falk spent his life seeking to blend his passions for guiding, the outdoors and the family he adored. “In the eight years I knew him, Gary strived for that balance of life—that perfect concoction of family, work, friendships, and personal pursuits,” his wife Kate remembers. Falk succeeded brilliantly in this quest – whether he was camping with his newborn son, guiding high-altitude volcanoes in Mexico and Ecuador, or completing the Grand Traverse (10 Teton peaks) in half a day. Falk died in a climbing accident while guiding in the Tetons on July 23, 2016. The loss of the seasoned guide, a dedicated husband and father, has devastated the communities of Ouray and Jackson Hole – where the Falk family made their winter and summer homes – and the outdoor community at large. Falk was in his 12th year as an Exum guide, and worked year-round in the Tetons, San Juans, Southern Utah and Red Rock, Nevada. He leaves behind his wife, two beautiful young children and many, many friends who mourn his loss. Contributions to the Gary Falk Memorial Fund can be made at www.gofundme.com

“I have an addiction, well actually, I have many addictions but this one is my most recent and involves alpine climbing,” confessed Kyle Dempster in a blog post back in 2008. That addiction took the humble coffee shop owner from Salt Lake City to the wildest corners of the planet where he blazed new routes up the world’s loftiest peaks – from the 21,820-foot Tahu Ratum in Pakistan to the north face of the 21,070-foot Xuelian West in the Chinese Tien Shan, to a new route on the 23,901-foot Ogre I in Pakistan with Hayden Kennedy and Josh Wharton. Incorrigible adventurer, free spirit, barista, accidental filmmaker, winner of two Piolet d’Or awards, Dempster was a diehard climber (and cyclist, as his documentary The Road From Karakol attests) and a visionary in his field. He was also a beloved member of the Ouray Ice Park tribe who had both competed and presented at the Ouray Ice Festival. Dempster (33) and his climbing partner Scott Adamson (34) went missing on Aug. 22, 2016 during an attempt on Ogre II in Pakistan. An intensive search was called off on Sept. 5. This was Dempster and Adamson’s second assault on the north face of the formidable 22,835 peak, after they nearly died trying last year. “I count on seeing my future — all purpose is directed toward staying alive,” Dempster wrote after that experience. “After all, life is awfully fragile, and something as trivial as a tiny stick breaking in the woods can change its course.”

CONTENTS CONTENTS || WELCOME WELCOME || ABOUT ABOUT US US || HOW HOW TO TO || SCHEDULE SCHEDULE || MAP MAP || ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES

CONTENTS FESTIVAL | ACTIVITIES | EVENTS | COMPETITIONS CONTENTS || WELCOME WELCOME || ABOUT ABOUT US US || ICE HOW TO | SCHEDULE | MAP | ACTIVITIES

A great place to relax and have fun.

Ridgway-Ouray Lodge & Suites is near the intersection of Highway 550 (The Magnificent San Juan Skyway) & 62 at 373 Palomino Trail

970-626-5444 or 800-368-5444 P.O.. Box 608 • Ridgway, Colorado 81432 • Fax 970-626-5898 www.RidgwayLodgeAndSuites.com • Reservations@RidgwayLodgeAndSuites.com 51 51

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PRESENTATION | FEATURE | SCHEDULE | SPONSORS & BUSINESS PARTNERS | MEMORIAM

55 51

Ouray Chalet Inn

centrally located in downtown Ouray

great rooms warm hospitality short walk to Ice Park

ouraychaletinn.com

1-800-924-2538 or 1-970-325-4331

THE LOCAL EXPERTS ICE . SKI . ALPINE . AVY

SAN JUAN MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN 56

800. 642. 5839

www.mtnguide.net