Ouray ice climbing
January 15-17, 2011
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We flew to Grand Junction (on miles!), rented a car and drove to Ouray on Friday night. There were six of us: me, Melissa, Mary, John, Natalie and Linda. Most hadn't ice climbed a ton, so the accessibility of Ouray's ice park was unbeatable! We got lucky with conditions, as the park only opened a week before our trip - for the annual ice fest. Literally a 5 minute walk from our hotel (Victorian Inn), there were hundreds of ice and mixed climbs to choose from. It was fairly crowded, but that was expected for a long weekend. We still managed to climb almost everything we wanted to...

The town also has fantastic hot springs, and a new brewery!

The return trip was slightly more exciting, due to a 1.5 hour delay at Grand Junction which caused us to miss our connection. We almost got stuck in Denver for the night, but we managed to get on a later flight standby! United pulled us through, despite the earlier frustration...

  Welcome to Ouray First ice, 2 minutes walk from the hotel... The ice starts here...  
  Welcome to Ouray First ice, 2 minutes walk from the hotel... The ice starts here...

  Shithouse wall in Ouray (Mary, John, Natalie and Linda are down there!) The first climb we ran laps on, some kicked out but steep ice  
  Shithouse wall in Ouray (Mary, John, Natalie and Linda are down there!) The first climb we ran laps on, some kicked out but steep ice

  Lower bridge area (note the nice pillar!) Wild and skinny pillar just next to the Lower Bridge (we did it the next day)  
  Lower bridge area (note the nice pillar!) Wild and skinny pillar just next to the Lower Bridge (we did it the next day)

  In the School Room Natalie in the New Funtier  
  In the School Room Natalie in the New Funtier

  The cool river at the bottom of the canyon John  
  The cool river at the bottom of the canyon John

   
 

  Nice pillar  
  Nice pillar

   
 

  Getting to the business Getting out of the canyon  
  Getting to the business Getting out of the canyon

  Last morning in Ouray  
  Last morning in Ouray

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