Redstone Winterfest – The Local’s Lowdown

Your picks are sharp, your bags are packed, and you’re ready to come check out the newest ice climbing festival in Colorado, the Redstone Winterfest. But hold on there stranger, it’s a littler more wild out here than say, Vail, and there’s a few things you should probably know before venturing to Redstone this coming weekend.

1) The ice climbing is part of a larger event that has been going on for some time now, which includes a 5K snowshoe race, a chili cook off, and snow sculptures, among other things.

2) There are many more routes in Redstone than are covered in the latest guidebook. As such, there will be a free “Underground Guide” available at the vendor’s area in front of the Redstone Inn. I suggest you pick this up if you want to explore all that the area has to offer.

3) Approaches can be long to some of the routes. The distance is often deceptive when staring up from the valley floor, but climbs like Crystal Visions, Dancing in the Moonlight and Tomato Chimney are all over an hour of hiking, more if the snow is deep and the trail isn’t broken in. Also, there is a lot of private property on the valley floor, please be respectful of landowners and stay discreet when walking to and from climbs. If you aren’t sure if what you are doing is ok, check with a local or go climb something else. We have a good relationship with most landowners here and would like to keep it that way.

4) Petzl, Black Diamond, La Sportiva and Grivel will have demo gear available, if you want to check stuff out, get there early. The fun begins at 10am on Friday, 9am on Saturday. Don’t miss out on a great chance to swing someone else tools at the ice and rock. (yes we swing at rock around here, you’ll see when you get here.)

5) There is a ton of gear being given away, from a Nemo tent to web-o-lets from Mountain Tools. There is an ice tool pull up machine (sounds like medieval torture to me) and there will be ongoing competitions for gear.

6) While you may be concerned that there isn’t much to do after sundown in these parts, there is in fact some happening night life taking place that you should be a part of. First off, on Friday night the disco cover band Sparkle Motion is playing in Carbondale at the bar formerly known as the Nugget. (can’t remember what they are calling it now.) Dress up in your best disco attire and come on out for a damn good time. Saturday night, the movie North Face will premier at the Redstone Inn, at 6pm and 8pm, seating is limited so get there early.

As far as conditions go, the pillar and gully routes are fat, including Hidden Falls (WI 4-5), Glenwood Falls (WI 4), Avocado Gully (WI 3), the Drool (WI 4+), Milton Falls (WI 3), Hayes Creek (WI 2), the Redstone Pillar (WI 4) and the Whole Package (M5 WI 4). Some melt freeze climbs have been coming in over the last week, and the dry tooling is good to go. If you want to try the hybrid routes, you’ll need rock shoes as well as either fruit boots or boots/crampons. (Strange, I know.)

That should about cover it, see you out on the ice!