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Ice climbing enthusiasts
have been coming to Ouray, Colorado since the seventies to ply their
craft on a few of the steep classics that formed on the sheer walls
of the Uncompahgre Gorge. Climbs such as "Stone Free"
and "Tangled Up in Blue" were the stiff test pieces in
the gorge located at the south end of the sleepy alpine hamlet.
Wooden shafted ice axes, flexible crampons, leather boots, wool
stocking caps and gloves, and a considerable degree of skill and
moxie comprised the tools of the day. Although the equipment changed
dramatically over the next 15-20 years, the ice climbing challenges
in Ouray remained very much the same. It wasn't until some enterprising
local climbers came upon the idea to manipulate a nearby water source
and start spraying it over the edges of the mile long gorge that
the Ouray ice climbing scene began to evolve into its present state.
Unbeknownst to many climbers, the portion of the
Uncompahgre Gorge where the Ouray Ice Park is located lies mostly
on private property. Eric Jacobsen, owner and operator of Ouray
Hydroelectric, purchased the property in a bankruptcy auction from
a defunct utility company in 1992. Eric is among the rare breed
of benevolent private property owners sympathetic to climbers and
their desire to climb on his property. Eric's only caveat was that
he had to have adequate liability insurance coverage provided for
himself and his company in order to allow climbing on his property.
Under a unique land-use arrangement, the County of Ouray insured
Eric and Ouray Hydroelectric under its insurance umbrella and Eric
in turn leased to the county the use of the land for recreational
purposes for $1.00 a year until 2008. This was the critical ingredient
for laying the foundation of the Ice Park.
In the fall of 1994, Bill Whitt, Gary Wild, and Mike
O'Donnell strung out some half inch pvc pipe and the odd assortment
of garden hose and sprinkler heads and began to farm ice in the
gorge. The results surprised even the pundits: long steep flows
of crystal blue ice on previously blank rock; the Ouray Ice Park
had arrived. Word spread quickly among the small ice climbing fraternity
and that winter of 1994-5 saw many climbers come down to Ouray to
test out the newly formed terrain.
The Ouray Ice Park was built entirely by an enthusiastic
volunteer work force as well as donated materials and capital. Ouray
Ice Park, Inc. (OIPI) was formed in January of 1997 in order to
provide some formal organization to what had previously been a loosely
organized grassroots effort. OIPI is a non-profit corporation that
includes nine volunteer board members who are considerably skilled
at ditch-digging and plumbing systems. The Ouray Ice Park as we
know it today is a shining example of what a volunteer organization
can accomplish with little capital but a lot of enthusiasm and vision.
OIPI has continued to improve and expand the Ice Park each year
through memberships, corporate sponsorships, and funds raised by
the annual Ouray Ice Festival.
The Ouray Ice Festival, held each Martin Luther King
Jr. holiday weekend in January, is an eclectic gathering of ice
climbers, gear manufacturing exhibitors, and ice climbing voyeurs
simply thrilled to watch at a safe distance from the precipitous
edges. The festival was first held in January of 1995 and is promoted
by ice climbing pioneer Jeff Lowe. The festival is now entering
its eighth year and is widely recognized as being the premier gathering
of its kind, with familiar faces returning annually to climb, socialize,
test out the latest equipment, or watch the pro's try to scratch
their way up Jeff's latest exhibition route test piece. Over half
of the annual operating capital needed to run the Ouray Ice Park
is raised each year by the Ouray Ice Festival and it's corporate
sponsors. As the Festival has grown so too has the Ice Park, and
the relationship has directly resulted in the fine ice climbing
venue that we are all able to enjoy each winter here in Ouray.
The Ouray Ice Park is entering its eighth season
of operation and this year will mark the greatest expansion and
capital improvement project that the OIPI board has embarked upon
thus far. All of the existing pipe in the park is being replaced
including large portions with galvanized steel. Additionally, the
long-standing dream of expanding the park to the south beyond the
popular "Schoolroom" area appears to be coming to fruition.
Affectionately referred to as "South Park", this expansion
will increase the climbable ice in the park by approximately 25%
and significantly add to the total of intermediate terrain thereby
reducing the pressure in the "Schoolroom." If you have
been a volunteer worker or sponsoring member of the Ouray Ice Park
give yourself a big pat on the back for helping to make all of this
happen and if you'd like to get involved and give something back
to the Park please contact OIPI at P.O. Box 1058 Ouray, CO 81427
or www.ourayicepark.com
. Enjoy your Ouray Ice Park!!
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