 |
 |
 |
|
The joy of ice climbing in Ouray |
|
Thursday, January 12, 2012 08:23 |
|
Photo by Collin Szewczyk, Glenwood Springs Post Independent
By COLLIN SZEWCZYK, GLENWOOD SPRINGS POST INDEPENDENT
OURAY — If it's January in western Colorado, one sport screams — quite literally — for attention.
While most are out enjoying the slopes, a hard-core few are drawn to frozen waterfalls, with the desire to propel themselves upward using crampons, axes and adrenaline.
Ice climbing is, by most accounts, a difficult and misunderstood challenge.
Some can't fathom how — or why — a sane human being would want to endure frigid weather, long approaches and unstable conditions just to climb up a wall of vertical ice.
I can't even explain it, and I've been doing it off and on for the last four years.
It's usually freezing when you begin your approach, miserable when you first begin to cramp up during the climb, terrifying and painful when loose ice comes crashing down on you, but then exhilarating and magical when you make it to the top.
Read full story
|
