The 4th Annual Glenwood Ice (and Snow) Festival

Well, yet another underground festival has come and gone. This one is a little tame compared to StoneyFest, but still a great time. For the last four years, we’ve had an informal ice (and skiing) festival centered out of Glenwood Springs. Folks come to join us from all over the West, and usually we have a pretty solid crew. We’ve climbed at Rifle and Glenwood Canyon, but the last two years have favored the quick and easy access at Coal Creek for our festivities. Several unknowing climbers were lucky enough to happen upon our barbeque and ample supply of PBR, which always brings a smile.

With many new mixed lines (topo coming soon, hopefully), there are now even more options at this road side crag, from the proud pure ice of Cold Heaven, to M10 test pieces out a steep cave. Saturday we spent the day scraping up steep rock and swinging our tools at plastic ice (and sometimes the rock!), as the snow fell in near blizzard conditions. The new mixed climbs are fun, though most are M8 or higher, so bring your guns. The usual party Saturday night was a blast, with several short films and slideshows, all around great entertainment. Sunday brought sunshine, and some of the deepest snow of the season in the backcountry. But I wont bore you with the details 😉

The ice in Redstone is still looking good, so get it while you can!