Saturday, February 3, 2024 | Country Acres South • Page 1 PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #278 Madelia, MN 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN 56378
SOUTH Saturday, February 3, 2024
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 2, Edition 17
Scaling new heights
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Brad Kremers, of Big River Climbing Guides, climbs at the Winona Ice Park in Winona. The park is one of three ice parks in Minnesota and one of five in the U.S.
Winona Ice Park offers uncommon climbing opportunities BY AMY KYLLO STAFF WRITER
climbed is part of Winona Ice Park. It is the second-largest ice park WINONA — It is a in the U.S., featuring clear day, and a climber 1,000 linear feet of ice is ascending a 100-foot which offers multiple ice wall built into an levels of difficulty. The old quarry. Reaching park is one of three ice the top, they can see for parks in Minnesota and miles up and down the one of five in the U.S. Mississippi River from Eric Barnard, who their vantage point on owns Big River ClimbSugar Loaf Bluff, as ing Guides, helped they stand hundreds of establish the ice park. feet above Winona. Barnard is part of the The ice that this Recreation Alliance outdoor enthusiast just of Winona, which is
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Publications bli ti The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
contracted to build and maintain the park each year. “The gift of climbing is that when you go ice climbing, ... that’s the only thing you’re thinking about,” Barnard said. “You’re not thinking about deadlines, or my mortgage is due. None of that is in your mind.” Barnard and Jamie Schell are two of the six people who maintain the ice.
This month in the
COUNTRY: Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on February 17, 2024
Schell, Ice stretches down the who is Winona. It is the seconwall at the Winona Ice Park in helping for a featuring 1,000 linear fee d-largest ice park in the U.S., t of ice. second year, is new to the role. This hike from Sugar Loaf year, in mid-January, Trailhead. Barnard said Barnard said. “There’s the group spent two weeks steadily running they use around 2,000 so many things that can go wrong. So, it’s just a feet of pipe to get the water down the wall really finite skill set of to build the ice. Schell water to the park. “You have to have people who know how said in normal cold to farm ice.” people who are just weather conditions, it crazy enough to want would take about 10 days to build the wall. to run thousands of gallons of water in The Winona Ice Ice park page 2 the middle of winter,” Park is a 20-minute
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Unexpected aspects of adulting Amy Kyllo column
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Rural decor Caledonia
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Learning excellence Hayfield