Ouray
is famous among climbers for its ice-climbing park, the first such
installation in the world. A group of
enterprising locals have laid down a mile-long network of pipes and
sprinklers
along the edges of the Uncompaghre Gorge, just on the outskirts of town. During winter they turn on the taps at night
and spray water down the sheer walls of the gorge.
The result is lots of steep, fat, blue
ice. See how many climbers you can spot
in this photograph.
|
Here’s
Gordon rappelling down at the northern end of the gorge.
|
After
a day playing around in the ice park we headed up into the mountains
for
some real
climbing. Gordon was particularly keen
on trying “The Ribbon”, a steep and narrow WI4 a few miles south of
town.
|