With the attainment of our permit to Rocky Mountain National Park, our season has begun and we are super excited to share some trip reports with you. Please feel free to call us to discuss our programs and possible climbing objectives in RMNP. It was a fat winter and spring in the park, that made…
Andres grew up in Ibague, Colombia. His passion for guiding has allowed him to guide in all types of terrains, such as rock, alpine, skiing and high altitude. In 2011 he and his partner received the Mugs Stump Exploratory Grant to go and climb new peaks in the Southern part of Kyrgyzstan on the Kyrgy…
When it comes to Ice Climbing, the San Juan Mountains can be hard to beat. With Classic Routes located in our backyard and with the Ouray Ice Park essentially located in our front yard, its hard to justify traveling to climb in other renown areas. There are far and few areas that are worth the…
Rarely formed Route in Silverton’s Eureka Canyon by Mark Miller, SJMG Senior Guide Today Dave and I headed to Dukes of Hazzard in Silverton’s Eureka Canyon. Having never been on it before, I was pretty excited to get a good look at it. It ends up being two very nice, but distinctly different pitches. Pitch 1…
A Guide’s Perspective by Lindsay Fixmer AMGA Certified Rock Guide & Assistant Alpine Guide Upon arriving in Ouray, CO early this December for the winter ice climbing season, I have lived in the OR Conviction Pant. Equally suited for approaches through knee-deep snow, drippy backcountry ice climbs or sunny dry tooling routes, the Conviction pant…
Trip & Condition Reports from SJMG Senior Guide Mark Miller Recently, SJMG Senior Guide Mark Miller got a few days off of guiding locally here in Ouray & the San Juans. He took the opportunity to see how things were forming up and grab some conditions reports on a few of our local area hardman classics…
Classic Line Back In Condition Climbed Ames with Kevin today. The first pitch is in the fattest and most protectable condition I have ever climbed it. The second pitch has a few interesting cauliflowers to work around, but mostly protects well and the chimney is too full of ice to need rock gear. The third…
Classics are IN and Getting Climbed After a bit of nervousness with respect to how the trajectory of this early ice season was going to play out, I’m happy to report that cold weather is back in a big way in Ouray and the San Juans. Consequently, our ice conditions have improved dramatically in the…
Early November Ice Conditions Report It’s that time of year again – ice season is fast approaching. Winter has returned to the San Juans – with snow and ice starting to come into condition throughout the range. Make sure to bookmark our San Juan Ice Conditions webpage. We will be doing twice weekly updates starting…
Chris Parker- Online Editor for Rock & Ice, visits his old stomping grounds of Durango, Colorado. Although things have changed, somethings have stayed the same. Here is his story on the ever-growing rock climbing scene of our home and how it has developed in recent years. Always feel free to check out our…
If you are anything like me: mid-20s, student loans, car insurance, rent- the whole 9 yards, then you’ve encountered the same monstrosity- the price for an adult season pass. You don’t get the “student discount” anymore and its not going to get any cheaper-unless you are skiing as a senior, which is novelty for anyone at that point. You’ve admire people who…
Rappel Ice Routes with Confidence by IFMGA Guide Pat Ormond V-Threads are a great way to rappel ice routes without having to leave gear if good fixed anchors don’t exist. They are strong, quick, and easy. With minimal practice, you can get it right first try every time. [fancy_numbers variation=”deepblue”] I look for the best…
Classic San Juan Backcountry Ice Recently one of our guys and guests climbed some cool stuff up in the Skylight/Camp Bird area just minutes outside of Ouray. Check it out! [vimeo url=”http://vimeo.com/82232322″ width=”600″ height=”400″ title=”0″]
Techniques for Efficiency With backcountry ice climbing here in the San Juans and around Colorado already in full swing, we thought it would be a good time to highlight this video – Belays & Transitions for Multi-Pitch Ice – offering a few tips and tricks for increasing your speed and efficiency on multi-pitch ice routes.…
Yesterday Thad and I decided it was finally time to get out and start swinging the ice tools. We headed up Camp Bird Rd. outside of the ice climbing mecca of Ouray, Colorado and climbed the classic route ‘The Talisman’. It may be in fat condition right now but it still offers quite a pump! On…
An Early Season Climb of The Ribbon Wow! We are feeling grateful in the San Juans! Based on the wet September and the cycles of snow, cold night time temperatures, and sunny days in October, the ice flows are really shaping up beautifully. Hopefully, this pattern continues, and then solidifies into an epic winter with…
With a couple of big storms in early October we have laid down a nice base for decent early season turns. I don’t feel like it is a a real ski season unless I get started in the early fall. Skiing this time of year can be surprisingly good, but there are a couple of…
Current Snow Levels in the San Juans A few of us have been out and about in the San Juan Mountains during the last week – including Chicago Basin in the Weminuche Wilderness. Recently the area has experienced a few significant storms that had a decidedly winter component to them. Below average temperatures and above…
Every year Denver University’s Alpine Club takes a trip down to southwest Colorado to ice climb in Ouray and ski in Telluride. This year the weather ended up working out great for them. The skiers got some fresh powder and the ice climbers got to climb super fat ice in warm temps. As always it…
Mike just came out for a few days of ice climbing in Ouray. We started out in the Ouray Ice Park and then headed out to the backcountry for the next two days. Our first backcountry route was Dexter Creek Slabs just north of Ouray. Right now we have a winning combination; Dexter is in…