Check out the video “This Way”. Yep that’s our friend and 2013 Michigan Ice Fest presenter Will Gadd! After seeing this we are ready for ice and to hang out with Will this year!
Category: Events
2013 Course Registration Is Now Open!
Registration for all of Michigan Ice Fest courses is now open! This is a record early open for us, so sign up today as these classes usually fill by the holidays. Call 906-226-7112 to reserve a spot in one of these outstanding courses.
Our clinics are the perfect opportunity to gain experience and knowledge from some of the best climbers in the world! We have scheduled our athletes to teach our Saturday through Sunday courses. All courses Thursday and Friday will be taught by local climbers. If you are interested in signing up, act quickly as space is limited! All clinics meet at the upper level of Sydney’s for introductions and to distribute equipment.
The courses are one day courses- please sign up for the day you would like to take the course.
THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS IF PARTICIPANTS CANCEL!
THESE SPOTS FILL UP FAST!
Introduction to Ice Climbing: Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun 9:00am
Learn equipment selection, tool placement, stance, and ice climbing technique. Lots of climbing time provided. Space is limited for this course. $120 per person includes gear
Women’s Introduction to Ice: Sat/Sun 9:00am
We have some great instructors for this all-women’s intro to ice. Join one of our athletes for this hands-on course aimed at developing basic ice climbing skills. $120 per person includes gear
Introduction to Leading on Ice: Sat/Sun 9:00am
This class is designed to introduce the beginning ice climber to the gear and techniques associated with leading on ice. Students will learn proper use of gear and equipment and will be shown different techniques and when to use them. Upon entering this class the student must have knowledge of the basic gear and techniques associated with ice climbing. $120 per person includes gear
Building Top Rope Anchors: Thu/Fri 10:00am
One of the essentials of safe climbing is the ability to create and/or identify safe anchors. This course will give you hands on instruction on how to build a solid top rope anchor. The course is designed to give you knowledge and background information and to give you actual anchor building experience under the watchful eye of our instructor. Through the course of the day, you will have the opportunity to build anchors, and have your anchors critiqued. By the end of the day you should have the confidence to set up your own anchors in just about any situation. $120 per person includes gear
Kid’s Climb: Sat 10:00am
Ages 9-14 will be able to join the fun and learn how to climb ice! Participants will learn about ice climbing in a safe and super fun environment! Space is limited so sign up early. $40 per person includes gear.
Munising Ice Climbing Guidebook- Hey This Is Hard Work!
For those climbers who have ventured north to climb the wonderful ice formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, they know that the area has a history of hard to find, and easily mixed up routes. Jon Jugenheimer and I have decided to combine forces and generate a third edition to the climbers guide to Munising Ice.
Late night work sessions have made us come to realize that developing a guidebook is time consuming, frustrating, expensive, but very rewarding. The previous two guidebooks served their purpose, but with recent route development, and an increase in the sheer numbers of new ice climbers, we feel that this new book will give justice to the history of the area, and introduce “old timers” to some new climbs!
This past weekend Jon and I put in 15 miles of shoreline exploration marking GPS coordinates for the major ice formations in the park. The lake was angry with huge waves crashing up against the rocks with a thunderous booms, making for a great sound track to this productive day.
With the snow starting to fly and ice sure to follow, the new edition of the Munising Ice Climbing Guidebook should be finished by late November. The book will be available for purchase at your favorite climbing stores and we will be having a special guidebook release party at the 2013 Michigan Ice Fest!
Benjamin Erdmann
I call the Matanuska Valley of Alaska home, living the simple life in a cabin smaller than most folks master bedroom… though I tend to chase weather patterns across this awesome Earth (sometimes following sun and dry rock, sometimes shade and frozen smears of ice). I am 25 years old, and age quickly above 20,000ft(see photo, ha!)
You, Bill Thompson, took me ice climbing for my first time at age 15… and Ive absolutely hooked ever since. I’ve flailed and sent in the Great Range of Alaska each year since I was 18. Completely fallen in love with Patagonia and have participated in climbing trips from the far southern tip to the northern border. Last year I spent 3 months in Nepal exploring and climbing in the rarely visited north west Api Nampa region.
I have rappelled hydro electric dams, wind turbines, the Space Needle, and the pipelines in the oil fields of the North Slope in Alaska where I currently work as an Industrial Rope Access Technician, which funds these far fetched adventures.
I am happiest when life is reduced to sleeping on the ground and eating beans and rice.
Ben will be presenting a slide show of his climbing adventures Thursday night of Ice Fest!
Just Announced! Will Gadd To Attend Ice Fest 2013!
2013 Presenter
Michigan Ice Fest is proud to announce that good friend Will Gadd will be joining us again (use Canadian accent when saying “again”) instructing our courses and headlining the Saturday evening presentations. We are so fortunate to have our Gold Sponsors Black Diamond Equipment and Arc Teryx sending Will to the event! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
All-round action hero Will Gadd is a living legend in the truest sense, continually pushing the boundaries of ice climbing after having won every major title from the World Cup to the Winter X Games.
A veteran of the sport, Will continues to seek new adventures and has boundless energy – not bad at all for the Canadian man now in his mid-forties. In 2010 he proved his pedigree once more by climbing a 130ft ice wall solidly for 24 hours at the Ouray Ice Festival in Colorado, reaching a total height of 25,414ft.
Eager to rise to a fresh challenge, Will also broke the world distance record on a paraglider not once, but three times. He was also the first person to cross the US by paraglider after a gruelling seven-week trek. His hunger for adventure doesn’t stop there – he can turn his hand to almost every outdoor sport and has been featured in the media for his numerous feats in rock and ice climbing, kayaking, mountaineering, caving, Nordic and Alpine skiing and mountain biking.
These days Will likes to set himself more creative challenges and has successfully climed icebergs off the coast of Labrador as well as conquering the longest vertical ice climb in Nepal. “I’ve done enough, won as much as I need to,” he says. “I’m at a point now where I feel like I have a lot less to prove. The coolest things are now beyond competition. All I want to do now is take high level skills and go to interesting places.”
2012 Michigan Ice Fest Recap
The 2012 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and 337 participants were greeted with extremely mild temperatures and what turned out to be a lean ice year. Eight different states were represented this year with participants traveling as far as Kentucky and Colorado- coming to Munising to enjoy the camaraderie of Midwest climbers and the chance to climb at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The big story this year has been the weather and the randomness of what climbs were formed. Go figure…..the ultra classic Dairyland was in, but Memorial Falls was not, Sweet Mother Moses was in but Tannery Falls was not.
THURSDAY
New this year, the Fest started with an Introduction to Ice Course, and a Top Rope Anchor Course on Thursday where participants spent the day learning he tricks of the trade out at the Curtains. Many folks new to the Fest were excited to get out on the ice and a chance to climb the vertical pillars that are so common in the park.
We kicked off the festival on Thursday night with the first ever “Participants Slide Show: Beers with Bill” while enjoying a tasty beverage climbers were treated to a collection of slides submitted by Ice Fest participants and set to music.
FRIDAY
With temps still in the mid 30’s climbers hit the trails in search of ice. Several groups headed out to Miners Lake Falls, Miners Beach area as well as being dispersed along the lakeshore trail. The fest also saw an increase in rentals as many took advantage to check out gear and climb in small groups throughout the park. Two more courses, an Introduction to Ice Course, and a Top Rope Anchor Course were filled and went out for a day of instruction and climbing.
Friday evenings festivities started off with a climbing social and free beer sponsored by Ames Adventure Outdoors, Scarpa and Osprey. Due to a family illness, Roger Strong was unable to make it to last years Fest, but fortunately for us Gold Sponsor Arc Teryx sent Roger out this year to instruct and present. Roger thrilled the crowd with slides and video from his days as a crab captain on the first two seasons of the Discovery Channels Deadliest Catch, climbing ice bergs, ice routes in the northwest, and finally an amazing story of a serious ski accident he was involved in last year.
Because of a monster snowstorm in Colorado, perennial Ice Fest athlete Mark Wilford was unable to attend so our second slide show of the evening had to be cancelled. The rest of the evening you could find people browsing the booths of Bob The Mountaineer and Down Wind Sports looking to score a few deals!
SATURDAY
As usual we got the ball rolling early with equipment hand out for Ice Fest Courses. The Intro to Ice, Lead climbing, Women’s Intro to Ice and the Kids courses all filled up fast and participants were treated to instruction provided by Roger Strong, Barry Blanchard, and Vince Anderson. After getting the courses set and on their way it was time to hook up participants with demo gear. This year the line to pick up gear was exceptionally long running down stairs and winding through the restaurant. For the first time in Ice Fest history we were able outfit everyone who showed up to demo gear! All of our demo sponsors really stepped up this year by sending larger demo kits and it was certainly appreciated!
The Demo area at the Curtains also saw changes this year with a shortage of ice to climb. Most years we are able to hang ten ropes for participants to climb….this year we squeaked by with five ropes. Hundreds of climbers were challenged throughout the day with a variety of difficult climbs set up.
After a long day of climbing, everyone converged upon Sydney’s for the Saturday evening social and free beer provided by La Sportiva. With a standing room only crowd, our first presentation of the evening was from Vince Anderson. In 2005, Vince, along with Steve House pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 8126-meter (26,660-foot) Nanga Parbat. The 4100-meter (13,500-foot) face had never before been climbed in alpine style and their alpine-style ascent is one the boldest Himalayan ascents to date. Vince’s humor, delivery, and passion in telling this remarkable story was inspiring and had the crowd in awe. A huge thank you goes out to Gold Level sponsor Patagonia for sending Vince to the Fest!
Our final presentation of the night was from Ice Fest favorite Barry Blanchard. A fantastic story teller, Barry reminisced about past climbing partners, including Kevin Doyle and Guy Lacelle -really hitting home on what makes a special climbing partner/friend. Many beautiful slides showed classic Canadian Rockies routes that were pioneered by Barry and his friends. The highlight of the presentation for many was Barry giving the insider details on his work as a climbing adviser and safety rigger on a number of Hollywood films including Cliffhanger, and Vertical Limit!
After the shows we introduced Sommer Edwards and Izabella Tancredi as the 2012 Sue Nott Scholarship winners. Down Wind Sports has created the Sue Nott Scholarship with the purpose to promote, inspire, and introduce young females to the sport of ice climbing. The girls had to submit a letter of why they wanted to participate, a letter of recommendation from someone other then their parents, and their report card. Sommer and Izabella were selected from the largest group of girls ever to submit applications and were provided with free entry into the fest and the Women’s Intro To Ice Course. Way to go girls!
As usual the evening concluded with the Michigan Ice Fest raffle where we gave out over $4000.00 of gear and clothing to some very excited climbers. Soft shells, belay parkas, BD Stinger Crampons, Sterling and Petzl ropes, Osprey Packs, and La Sportiva Nepal Evo ice boots were only a few of the items raffled off! A big shout out to Patagonia, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardwear, Sterling, Black Diamond, Petzl and Osprey for providing such killer raffle prizes!
SUNDAY
More mild temps greeted our Intro to Ice and Intro to Leading participants which made for comfortable classes all day long. The effects of climbing hard all day Saturday and a late night of socializing must have took it toll on climbers as the demo area was a very laid back all day Sunday allowing climbers their choice of routes for most of the day.
All in all it was another great Michigan Ice Festival and we appreciate all of the patronage we get from Midwest climbers. We are proud to say that over the weekend we were able to sign up 31 new members to the American Alpine Club, and the Access Fund and exposed hundreds of first time climbers to the sport of ice climbing.
The reason our event is so successful is because of the assistance we get from all of our sponsors. If you were at the event and had fun, enjoyed the presenters, or loved the killer raffle prizes please drop the following sponsors a note to tell them that you appreciate them supporting the Michigan Ice Fest!
Patagonia josh_nielsen@patagonia.com dixiemarree@patagonia.com
Arc Teryx jwilmers@msn.com
La Sportiva iachey@sportiva.com
Black Diamond tj.kolanko@bdel.com
Scarpa Brian@goaao.com
Petzl brad@pembaserves.com
Osprey Brian@goaao.com
Grivel PeterM@LIBERTYMOUNTAIN.com
Be sure to keep up with what is happening with the Michigan Ice Fest through our blog at michiganicefest.com or on our facebook page!
SAVE THE DATES!
ICE FEST 2013 January 31st-February 3rd
Gold Sponsor Black Diamond Bucks Up- Increases Demo Kit and Sends Bubba!
For years Black Diamond has been very generous by sending huge amounts of demo gear so that participants can test out the latest and greatest ice climbing gear. BD, like our other Gold Sponsors, has sent amazing athletes to our event ensuring that we get the highest quality instructors, and are entertained in the evening with inspiring stories of climbing around the world. This year BD graciously sent Barry “Bubba” Blanchard.
Barry Blanchard is known world wide as the modern father of Canadian alpine mountaineering and hard ice climbs. Recent additions to his backyard are M16 on Howse Peak and his long awaited ascent of Infinite Patience on the Emperor face of Mt. Robson.
Barry has traveled around the world in search of Alpine adventure, these travels have include new routes on the North face of the Droites, in Chamonix, and two successful Everest expeditions. Most impressive was his bold Alpine style attempt of the massive Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat; the team came very close to summiting before having to turn around due to stormy weather. An epic descent followed including the accidental throwing away of the ropes and the lucky discovery of some new ones! Barry is an internationally certified UIAGM guide and frequently works as a safety coordinator for Hollywood.
We also took a sneak peak to see what was in the BD demo kit and boy are we ever ready to give the Black Diamond Stinger Crampons a ride!
Designed to tackle serious ice and mixed lines on winter crags and alpine faces the world over, the BD Stinger is a lightweight stainless steel crampon with a replaceable monopoint. An asymmetrical design fits the contours of modern mountain boots, and thin, low-profile heel and toe wires offer a precise fit for less weight.
- Asymmetrical stainless steel design is lightweight, won’t rust and fits the contours of modern boots
- Mono frontpoint is replaceable at low cost and can be changed quickly and easily in the field
- Hooded frontpoint and aggressive secondary points are optimized for precise, secure placements
- Low-profile micro-adjust heel level offers precision fit
- Thin, low-profile toe bail and thinner, shorter heel wire for improved fit with modern boots
- Includes front and rear dual-density ABS
Like what you see? Have we got a deal for you! For the first time ever offered an Ice Fest special of 25% off all hardwear at the event. Forgot to pick something up this weekend? We can extend the Ice Fest discount this week- call or email the store for your hook up! Once again a big thank you goes out to Black Diamond for another year at being a Gold Level Sponsor!
Gold Level Sponsor Steps Up- Arc’teryx Roger Strong And The M280 Harness
One of our gold level sponsors Arc’teryx is really stepping up to the plate this year by sending one of their team athletes, Roger Strong to instruct and present a slide show Friday night.
Roj’s former career was a captain of a commercial crab fishing vessel in the Bering Sea of Alaska: a job he did for over 20 years (You can see him profiled and posing on the first two seasons of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.)
He’s been climbing for nearly 25 years and feels lucky to have climbed all over the globe, opening new rock, mixed, alpine and big wall routes in Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Roj loves being on anything vertical, steep and long, mixed with horrible weather to keep him feeling like he’s still getting his ass kicked on the boat somewhere. He attributes any success that he’s had in the mountains to his close relationships with his wife, family and friends coupled with the rigors he’s endured on the deck of the crab boat.
Besides Roger, Arc’teryx is also sending some of their popular climbing harnesses to demo so participants will be able to check these out and go “hang” out at the demo. Arc’teryx designed the M280 Mixed Climbing Harness to give demanding ice and mixed climbers a lightweight, comfortable feel with all the
features they need and nothing more. Thanks to revolutionary WST construction, this Arc’teryx harness disperses weight throughout the entire width of the waist belt, so it doesn’t need bulky padding. The M280 Harness includes two gear loops to hold your draws and four ice clipper slots to help carry screws and holster tools. Arc’teryx also used mesh leg loops to decrease bulk even further and shave weight to a mere 9.8oz.
Don’t forget to check out one of these sweet harnesses at some point Ice Fest weekend!
Another bonus is that Down Wind sports will also be stocking an array of Arc’teryx clothing in the store and between slide shows participants will be able to shop for killer deals!
Thanks Arc’teryx for committing to support Mid West ice climbers and sending Roger to this years Michigan Ice Fest!