southernmtguide Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Anyone from the Pacific Northwest headed to the Ouray Ice Fest this week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 you drivin? last i looked, it was a)full and b) about 1100 miles from Spokane. that's a ton of driving. i have to be back tuesday morning for class. alternately, banff is only about 350 miles... i think it's calling me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernmtguide Posted January 14, 2004 Author Share Posted January 14, 2004 No, flying out there tonight with a group of friends from the office. It probably will be too busy to get in much climbing, but we are looking to demo out a new tool or two. After last weekend at Banks Lake, my first visit there, I wish I could just go there again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 i was in ouray tuesday and wednesday. it was already getting busy, but you could still find plenty to climb. if you want to climb this weekend get up way early or leave the park. i'll be out on saturday to watch some of the competition and meet up with a few friends. god that place is great! and there's lots of good bc stuff nearby too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swaterfall Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I helped set up the tents for the fest yesterday and the park was packed at 9am. I'm not planning on climbing there much for a while. There is sure to be lots of cool stuff to demo though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 I've been here since last Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelawgoddess Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 we got out early this morning (by 7am or so) and were able to snag some fun wi4/4+ lines in south park before the bulk of the climbing masses descended upon virtually every piece of ice in the vicinity. i tried to demo some new warmer boots to no avail ... one place didn't have any small enough; the other only had one - as in one boot out of the two normally found in a pair. oh, well. watched some of the comp but didn't see anybody finish the route. good times, good food, good people all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Try out Montrail's Ice 9 boot and crampon system. It's a pretty warm boot. There's a women's version and they come in small sizes. Ouray is Donini's home, and I'm sure Montrail will have plenty of presence there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 We snagged a route on Shithouse Wall around 8 am Saturday (Tucks, I believe). Then the sun came out and ice started to calf off. After 7 straight days of ice climbing, we decided to bag it after a couple laps. Many people were real cool about sharing ropes. Other people were not (there was a very loud discussion at the Gazebo Wall around lunch ). The Swiss guy topped out on the comp route in ~18 minutes after doing multiple consecutive figure fours. He crawled over the lip after clipping the anchor biner and just lay there for several minutes. Announcer said he had just finished up a run of the flu. Impressive. Yates demoed a new detachable leash system involving a biner lashed to the tool and stiff wire loop strapped to the wrist. A friend has a pair and they work pretty well. Omega-Pacific showed a new prototype cam which has multiple unfolding cam sections, so the range is HUGE. Vasque had there new boots (the yellow singles and red doubles). I tried a few pitches on the yellow. The sole and shell around the foot is rigid, but the ankle is pretty stiff as well lateral. The rep said the production boots were different than the demos and were more flexible. There is a new company called The Magic Line which is making high end alpine gear. I bought a wool-lined (baaaaa) schoeller jacket with hood at the silent auction. They said that they will be coming out with an ice glove that is cut with curved fingers to the shape of the ice tool grip. (Yeah, I think the company name is pretty pretentious. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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