is this for real?

October 14th.

where?? what?

Portland Rock Gym.

- Black Diamond, Petzl, Grivel, La Sportiva, Vasque, Arcteryx, Patagonia and maybe DMM on hand with demo gear (if you are a vendor interested in attending send an email to pdxicefestival@gmail.com

- Informal comp with newbie, womens, and experienced divisions.

- You don't have to compete if you don't want to.

- Slideshow

- Thousands of dollars worth of gear will be raffled (multiple raffles) with all proceeds going to THE ACCESS FUND. If you send an email to pdxicefestival@gmail.com with your name stating you will be attending you will automatically be entered in a special raffle open only to people who preregister for some sweet prizes (no entering this raffle at the event).

- Informal instruction from Roger Strong and other top ice/mixed climbers for those who have little or no ice/mixed experience.

...and if you still needed a reason: FREE BEER FREE BEER FREE BEER

too bad it is the same weekend as the Ropeup. WTF? you asked me to work around your date and then went ahead and scheduled this on the same date as Ropeup? Not cool.

I did my best to avoid cc.com date conflicts but at the end of the day working with PRG and all the reps to try and find a date that worked for everyone required some serious juggling and this was the only date we could come to agreement on.

Is moving rope up not an option at this point?

no.

uh, yah, i noticed the same problem, now for the eternal question, debauchery or progression, ahhhh

not sure which you are referring to, but climbing in the gym with foam is not progression

neither is this job i'm in right now, but it may lead to better things one day . you advocating the ropeup then?

I'm not advocating anything

You can go to RopeUp or spend a weekend in a gym. Your choice.

one day of the weekend mind you

True, true... but still

All I'm saying is this and I'm finished with this topic. I set the Ropeup date way back on August 4th (and I actually scheduled it around the date you originally set this thing for). Ropeup is a party put on for CC.com by CC.com that has no sponsorship other than the companies that support this website. It was a pretty good time last year, and I'm sure its going to be fun once again. The beer is just as free this year as it was last year, but this time we're accepting donations for Kurt's recovery fund.

Too bad you had to pick this date, I'm sure both events will have an impact on the other's attendance. Best of luck with your fest.

But still what? We're raising money for the access fund. Who wouldn't want to support that?

This whole thing is grassroots... everything I have gotten for this event has been begged, donated or is coming out of my own pocket (like kegs). The PRG has graciously accommodated us even though we have no money to rent the place... local shops are stepping up with donations... bottom line is we don't have any corporate sponsoring either... but MD and I didn't want to have it any other way... grassroots!

I agree that it totally sucks that this is the same weekend as rope up but with the exception of me last year no one from OR showed up at Rope Up... what are guys worried about?

I'll leave it for you to figure out why it isn't cool. Like I said, best of luck. The Access Fund is a great cause.

Ice fest...? Rope up...? Ice fest...? Rope up...? hmmm... I choose Ice Fest, thanks for John for setting everything up!! Should be a good time!! Maybe next year the dates will work out better...

There will be no next year. Go to rope up so I can have a better chance of replacing a piece of my tattery climbing equipment for free.

free beer! sounds good.

Anyone interested in carpooling from the EastSide? We could start drinking on the drive over!

.

I'll go just to put John in his place. 2nd place, that is! haha!

I'd be down with some seattle-area carpool. looks like this may be the one preseason drytool thing this season. stoke!