OURAY — There were thrills and partial chills at the 14th annual Ouray Ice Festival. Thousands of people from all over the world attended to watch or partake in the competition and were pleasantly surprised with the weather. The small mountain town had plenty of sunshine, and the temperature was nearly 30 degrees.
Todd Mueller, a San Francisco resident, traveled by car to Ouray from the Bay Area with his wife Lisa earlier in the week to take in the festivities for the third straight year. He said he was more than comfortable with the decent weather.
“Last year we didn’t have enough warm clothes and just froze out here the first day, so we had to buy a bunch of winter stuff,” Mueller said. “The weather has been great this weekend, which makes the atmosphere much more enjoyable. I love it.”
Kelly Schwartz, a Grand Junction resident, said she and her family made the trip to Ouray in the early morning Saturday. The family, which moved from Phoenix in Oct., was “amazed” when they saw some of the ice climbing action firsthand.
“Our two boys and our daughter were just in awe when they saw people climbing the huge sheets of ice — so were my husband and I,” Schwartz said. “We’ve been running around since 9 a.m., and five hours later, our energy levels are coming down. The kids are starting to say they are getting cold. This is where you miss that hot Arizona weather, but this whole thing is quite an experience. The ice, the snow, it’s a beautiful area.”
The Ouray ice park was filled with people from all over, enjoying all sorts of activities. In addition to the main competition that started in the morning, there were climbing clinics for those who didn’t have much experience and even a kids’ climbing contest.
As the main competition at the park’s High Bridge got underway, bystanders looked on as their jaws dropped in amazement. Twenty different climbers from around the globe were scheduled to partake in the climb.
“I could never do that,” said Denver resident Randy Calams, as he watched climber Mike Shelton. “First of all, the height is scary by itself. But to be able to do what these guys do is an unbelievable skill. ESPN should be covering this because you have to be completely in shape to do it. These climbers are great athletes.”
While some came to enjoy the events, others were looking to be a part of them.
Scott Westphall and 16-year-old son Riley traveled from Chicago to check out the ice climbing action, as well as the North Face’s ice axe throwing competition. Those able to hit the bulls eye received various North Face gear as prizes.
Westphall spent his childhood in Juneau, Alaska, and Durango. He first learned to throw an ice axe from his Dad when he was 15 years old living in Alaska. During a business trip to Grand Junction six years ago, he heard about the Ouray Ice Festival and decided to make a trip down after a Friday night business meeting.
“You had to be creative in Alaska,” Westphall said. “When I came here a few years back, I knew about Ouray because I lived in Durango, but didn’t know what to expect of the festival. This whole thing was really cool when I got here. I knew instantly I had to take my son here at some point.”
And Scott was right. His son Riley said the festival was one of the “coolest” things he had ever been to and that he hoped to participate in it in future years.
“My grandpa has shown me before how to throw an ice axe,” Riley said. “I definitely want to come back next year and be a part of the competition itself.”
But the main ice climbing and ice axe throwing competition were only the tip of the iceberg.
Kids got in on the action as well, as the park also provided a free demo for children of all ages to learn the basics of ice climbing. All kids were given free gear and the opportunity to climb nine different kid-friendly courses.
“It was a lot of fun,” said 13-year-old Kevin Lang of Des Moines, Iowa.
His mother, Lenore, said the park’s willingness to provide a safe and fun way for kids to participate was what the world needed more of.
“It’s a dangerous thing to do, but the park provided great instructors and a safe way for kids to do something in the outdoors,” Lang said. “We need more festivals like this that get everyone outside and away from a television or a video game console.”
Festival-goers also had a chance to win cash prizes in a pull-up contest, which was judged based on how many pull-ups a contestant could do in one minute. Later that evening, the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department had a fund-raiser dinner. For a $15 donation, people were served a lasagna dinner with their choice of a variety of beers, while listening to live music provided by bluegrass artist Kort McCumber.
