Michigan Ice Fest Recap 2014

February 5, 2014 Bill

The 2014 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and 411 participants ascended on Munising Michigan for what has been the best ice conditions we have seen in decades! Climbers from ten different states, and two different countries were represented this year with participants coming to enjoy the camaraderie of Midwest climbers and the chance to climb the beautiful ice formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island!

THURSDAY

For the second year, the festival got underway on Thursday with an Introduction to Ice Course, and a Top Rope Anchor Course where participants spent the day learning the 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. Other early arrivers jumped at the chance to get out on Grand Island and take advantage of the lake ice that was formed enabling access to some seldom climbed formations. An all day snow and somewhat mild temperatures made for an enjoyable day of cragging!

Thursday night with a cold brew in hand, climbers were treated to a collection of slides submitted by Ice Fest participants and set to music, during the second annual “Participants Slide Show: Beers with Bill II”. After the show many hung around Sydney’s hatching plans for an early morning departure and dreams of climbing the big routes along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

FRIDAY

Waking up early Friday morning with temps hovering around 11 degrees and a stiff wind blowing snow across Lake Superior, climbers hit the trails in search of ice. Several groups headed out the Lakeshore Trail, and others walking, skiing or snowmobiling out to Grand Island The fest also saw an increase in demos as many took advantage to check out gear and climb in small groups throughout the park. Three more courses, an Introduction to Ice Course, a Top Rope Anchor Course as well as a Rigging and Rescue course taught by Ben Erdmann 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 the American Alpine Club, La Sportiva and Montane. The first presenter was Ben Erdmann originally from Marquette, and now a proud climbing bum. When not working on the pipelines, he is putting up new routes in the mountains of Alaska, running up big walls in Yosemite, and pioneering first ascents in Patagoina. We are so proud of Ben and what he has accomplished in his climbing career!

We are so glad that Gold Sponsor Black Diamond sent Sam Elias out this year to instruct and present. This is Sam’s second appearance to the festival and rounded out a night of “Michiganders” as Sam originally hails from the Detroit area. Sam thrilled the crowd with shots and video from his amazing expedition climbing Mount Everest!

The rest of the evening you could find people browsing the booths of Mountaineer Bob, The Access Fund /American Alpine Club, socializing with other climbers from around the country, introducing themselves to the athletes and reps, and heading over to the Down Wind Sports booth looking to score a few deals!

SATURDAY

As usual we got the ball rolling early with equipment hand out for Ice Fest Courses. One of the unique aspects of the Ice Fest is the opportunity of taking a course from one the most accomplished climbers in the country. Sent to the festival from one of our Gold Level sponsors, these athletes work with our participants to give them the tools to be successful. Talented, patient, funny and some of the nicest guys in the industry- these climbers are what make Michigan Ice Fest so darn fun! Two 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 Will Mayo, Mark Wilford, Ben Erdmann, Kelly Cordes, and Sam Elias.

DEMOS

Year after year the leading manufactures of ice climbing gear and clothing step up to the plate and send loads of demo gear to our festival for participants to “try before buying”. We really appreciate the effort and the amount of gear these companies send to help ensure that the demo is a success and that we are able to outfit many first time climbers. Again this year, our Gold Sponsor Fits Socks hooked up demo participants with brand new socks to keep their feet warm at the demo! Thanks Fits for joining us this year! Besides our long time sponsors of the demo- Sterling Ropes, Black Diamond, Petzl, Scarpa, Salewa, Grivel Liberty Mountain, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Hopp Outdoors, and the Ridge Roamers, this year we saw new sponsors Asolo, Trango and Camp USA joining us!

After getting the courses set and on their way it was time to hook up demo participants with demo gear. This year the line to pick up gear was shorter then usual and everyone was able to get outfitted and get out on the ice!

Gold Level sponsor Black Diamond graciously supplied their Stance Belay Parkas to the Michigan Ice Fest staff to keep the belayers warm and happy during the hundreds of belays throughout the weekend. The Stance is filled with two independent layers of lightweight, highly compressible PrimaLoft insulation that provide sleeping-bag level warmth, even when wet. The two-way center front zip lets you wear the jacket over your harness while belaying, (check out Matt belaying above) and oversized hand, chest and internal drop pockets accommodate gloves, and other essentials like snicker bars!

The Demo area at The Curtains saw lots of first time ice climbers learning the basics on some of the many routes that were set up. Cold temperatures and added a bit of a challenge for the participants but determination and grit got most climbers to top out on their first climbs. Hundreds of climbers were challenged throughout the day with a variety of difficult climbs set up, and excitement filled the air as climbers celebrated their success.

After a long day of climbing, everyone converged upon Sydney’s for the Saturday evening social and free beer provided by La Sportiva and Montane and the American Alpine Club. Before the shows we introduced Olivia and Ava as the 2014 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. Ava and Olivia 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. It is always one of our favorite parts of the whole weekend- way to go girls!

With a standing room only crowd, our first presentation of the evening was from Will Mayo. A huge thank you goes out to our Title Sponsor La Sportiva for hooking us up with a class act like Will. A plethora of amazing ice and mixed routes filled the screen as Will described various routes he has established and climbed over the years.

Our final presentation of the night was from Ice Fest favorite Kelly Cordes. With his third time returning to the fest, Kelly is a fantastic story teller, keeping the crowd entertained with his exploites, adventures, and accidents over the years. An amazing show, if you ever get a chance to see a Kelly Cordes presentation- don’t miss it!

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, Petzl ropes, Cassin crampons Mountain Hardwear Packs, Patagonia Footwear and fleece, Salewa shoes 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, Montane, Dry Ice Tools, Prana, Osprey, Marmot, MSR, Outdoor Research, Skhoop, Cassin, Julbo, Sherpa, Alpinist, Red Bull, Black Rocks Brewery, ThermaCell, Fits Socks for providing such killer raffle prizes!

SUNDAY

More cold temps greeted our Intro to Ice and Intro to Leading participants which made for challenging 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 42 new members to the American Alpine Club, and the Access Fund and exposed hundreds of first time climbers to the sport of ice climbing.

As you look back on your Ice Fest experience we ask you to think about the companies and organizations that you saw this weekend- and if you liked what you saw or tried during the weekend we encourage you to buy local. Buying local in the Midwest supports the Reps that came, and in turn helps to keep the Michigan Ice Fest alive and healthy. Having remorse for not buying those mountain boots? Down Wind Sports is still offering the Ice Fest discount for the next week. Give them a call at 906-226-7112 or use promo code icefest at their online shop.

We also want to thank all those who volunteered their time, energy, and hard work throughout the weekend. Without these folks Ice Fest would simply not happen. A big shout out to Edith Nelson, Maddog Lynch, Mario Molin, Linda Wappner, Bryan DeAgustine, Rob Harwood, Neil Poglese, the Schneiderhan’s and Megan Ostrowski.

The reason our event is so successful is because of the assistance behind the scene 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 dixiemarree@patagonia.com Jimmy.Hopper@patagonia.com

La Sportiva iachey@sportiva.com

Black Diamond Holly.Merriman@bdel.com bodhiagency.jon@gmail.com

Scarpa shunnie@scarpa.com mark@scarpa.com

Petzl james@figure8sales.com codette@petzl.com

Grivel peterm@libertymountain.com

Sterling Rope marketing@sterlingrope.com

FITS Socks help@fitssock.com

Mountain Hardwear BPittam@mountainhardwear.com JPedersen@mountainhardwear.com

Salewa info@salewa.us nrgsales1@gmail.com

Montane matthuff@sport-hansa.com

Asolo cbf106@asolo-usa.com

Camp USA glen@camp-usa.com

Trango CKlinke@gthi.com

Thank you so much for being part of the Michigan Ice Fest this year! 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 2015 February 5-8th

Title Sponsor La Sportiva To Send Will Mayo!

December 9, 2013 Bill

For years La Sportiva has been very generous by sending huge amounts of demo boots so that participants can test out the latest and greatest ice climbing gear.

La Sportiva, our Title Sponsor, has also 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 they are graciously sending Will Mayo.

“The most captivating aspect of climbing is the manner in which it demands complete focus on the present. In climbing, during a crux section, it’s only right now; it sounds banal, but it actually seems like a rare and precious thing in our day-to-day lives. Everything else just falls away from one’s mind and one is completely engaged in the moment. Climbing allows for a healthy reset of the mind which allows for clarity upon return to our daily grinds. Besides, it’s just plain fun!”

Will has been very busy over the years ticking off notable ascents including:

Le Mulot (WI 6+) and Speedy Gonzales (WI 6+) in Sept-Iles, QC

Three ascents of La Pomme d’Or (WI 6) in La Malbaie, QC

Eight ascents of Omega (WI 5+) on Cannon Cliff, NH

Personal record of 1 hour 27 minutes car to car solo at night of The Black Dike (WI 5), Cannon Cliff, NH

Solo ascent of French Reality (WI 6+, 5.8), Stanley Headway, BC

Solo ascent of Polar Circus w/Pencil (WI 6), Icefields Parkway, AB

Second ascent of The Fecalator, the hardest traditional mixed climb in North America (M10)

First ascents of Superfortress (M13), The Flying Fortress (M13) and Red Beard (M12), Vail, CO

First ascent of the five pitch sport mixed route Nophobia (M11), Waiparous, AB

Onsight first ascent of traditional mixed climb Silhouette (M9, WI 6+), Mt. Evans, CO

Will is an insurance agency owner, father of two teenage girls and is sponsored by La Sportiva and Petzl. We look forward to having Will join us for the 2014 Michigan Ice Fest and thank everyone at La Sportiva for all of their support over the years!

La Sportiva New Title Sponsor!

December 6, 2013 Bill

We are so excited to announce that the Michigan Ice Fest now has a Title Sponsor- La Sportiva! Not only do they make incredible climbing gear and clothing, they were the first climbing manufacturer to come to our event back in the days where there were only a handful of participants at the event. Back in the early days, Mark Wilford of La Sportiva, generously donated his time and talents to help build a solid foundation for our festival. This year we think (those early days are a bit hazy) Mark and Sportiva have been involved with the Michigan Ice Fest close to 19 years. Look for exciting things to happen between Michigan Ice and La Sportiva for years to come!

La Sportiva

In the Twenties Thirties and Forties, Narciso Delladio hand-crafted wooden clogs and leather boots for many lumber-jacks and farmers of the Fassa and Fiemme valleys, who trusted his skilled hands. Very important is the date of a participation certificate at the Milan Trade Fair in 1928. During the Second World War, Delladio custom produced mountain boots that were supplied to the Army. Dating back to this period is a patent for a special lacing system, that later will be used by the most important footwear factories.

After the war, the demand for boots increased, obliging Narciso to hire new workers: the good name of “Calzoleria Sportiva” crossed the boarders of the valleys and reached the cities of Trento and Bolzano.

In the Fifties, his son Francesco began to work for the company, and by doing the right thing at the right time he started building a new workshop on the outskirts of Tesero, where today is located a large industrial area. In the new and roomy building they began to design and develop ski boots, for a fast growing sport, requiring more technical boots. The market opened up quickly and Francesco Delladio introduced the brand name “La Sportiva” firstly in the Milan Exhibition, then throughout Europe, with a winter collection characterized by audacious technical and aesthetic solutions, and a summer collection of traditional mountain boots.

In the Seventies, with the arrival of plastic boots, “La Sportiva”, after a trial season, had to discontinue the production of ski boots, for financial reasons; the investment would have been too high and therefore the production was limited to mountain boots and cross-country skiing footwear. In the meantime the sons of Francesco began to work in the company: Lorenzo, Luciano, Marco. The desire to create, to stand out and to make a name for oneself in an ever increasing market is a characteristic present in the Delladio family.

During the Eighties the focus of the firm moves towards the climbing sector due to an intuition which will prove to be a winner. An innovative shoe characterized by the colors purple and yellow was devised and produced to become the forerunner of a long series of avant-garde products, which very quickly will seal the success of the brand name world wide.

2013 Michigan Ice Fest Recap

February 6, 2013February 7, 2013 Bill

The 2013 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and 434 participants braved winter blizzard conditions to ascend on Munising Michigan for this annual gathering. Eleven different states, and six different countries were represented this year with participants coming to enjoy the camaraderie of Midwest climbers and the chance to climb the beautiful ice formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

THURSDAY

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. Other participants battled snow to get out after some of the classic lines that drop into Lake Superior along the Lakeshore Trail.

We kicked off the festival on Thursday night with the second annual “Participants Slide Show: Beers with Bill II” while enjoying a tasty beverage climbers were treated to a collection of slides submitted by Ice Fest participants and set to music. Ben Erdmann, a local climber who moved to the great state of Alaska, entertained us with a beautifully presented slide show of his climbing adventures in Alaska, Yosemite and Patagonia.

After the slide shows concluded we began to celebrate the release of a new ice climbing guide book for Munising. An Ice Climbers Guide To Munising Michigan Michigan was available for purchase, and guidebook authors Jon Jugenheimer and Bill Thompson were available to answer any questions about the book.

FRIDAY

Waking up early Friday morning with temps hovering around 11 degrees and a stiff wind blowing snow across Lake Superior, climbers hit the trails in search of ice. Several groups headed out the Lakeshore Trail, and others checking out new routes listed in the guidebook. The fest also saw an increase in rentals as many took advantage to check out gear and climb in small groups throughout the park. Three more courses, an Introduction to Ice Course instructed by Joe Josephson, a Top Rope Anchor Course as well as a Rigging and Rescue course taught by Ben Erdmann 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 Scarpa and Trango. We are so glad that Gold Sponsor Scarpa sent Fabrizio Zangrilli out this year to instruct and present. Fabrizio thrilled the crowd with shots and video from his days climbing and guiding throughout the world.

A first time Michigan Ice Fest athlete, Joe Josephson was welcomed into the Michigan Ice Fest family and proceeded to entertain folks with slides of routes he pioneered up in the Canadian Rockies as well as some of his recent work- the beautiful video Genesis 40 Years of Ice Climbing In Hyalite Canyon. Joe is also the organizer of the Bozeman Ice Festival– something we should all visit soon! If you missed the show check this out!

The rest of the evening you could find people browsing the booths of Bob The Mountaineer, socializing with other climbers from around the country, introducing themselves to the athletes and reps, and heading over to the Down Wind Sports booth looking to score a few deals!

SATURDAY

As usual we got the ball rolling early with equipment hand out for Ice Fest Courses. Two 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 Joe Josephson, Mark Wilford, Fabrizio Zangrilli, Zoe Hart, and Will Gadd.

After getting the courses set and on their way it was time to hook up demo participants with demo gear. This year the line to pick up gear was exceptionally long but once again this year all of our demo sponsors really stepped up by sending larger demo kits and everyone was able to get outfitted and get out on the ice!

The Demo area at The Curtains saw lots of first time ice climbers learning the basics on some of the routes set up. Cold temperatures and constant snow fall added to the challenge of the climbs. Hundreds of climbers were challenged throughout the day with a variety of difficult climbs set up, and excitement filled the air as climbers celebrated the success of their first climbs.

After a long day of climbing, everyone converged upon Sydney’s for the Saturday evening social and free beer provided by La Sportiva and Montane. Before the shows we introduced Rachel Hahn and Madison Almquist as the 2013 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. Rachel and Madison 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. Super special this year, Evi Nott, Sue’s mother, flew in from Colorado to meet the girls and to climb with them over the weekend! It was a special part of the weekend for the organizers and we were so excited that Evi was able to come join our ice climbing family. Way to go girls!

8449647212_86183a9cc1_z — Evi Nott and Maddie

With a standing room only crowd, our first presentation of the evening was from Zoe Hart. A huge thank you goes out to Gold Level sponsor Patagonia for flying in Zoe from her home in Chamonix France. A fast pace show, Zoe kept folks entertained with stories of climbing in the mountains, sharing adventures with Sue Nott, and funny videos of her exploits with her husband Maxime Turgeon.

Our final presentation of the night was from Ice Fest favorite Will Gadd. A fantastic story teller, Will spoke of his family and early adventures, kayaking and paragliding, climbing ice bergs, a new adventure television show he is a “guinea pig” for, and a highlight for the crowd- ice climbing with Tim Emmett on the spray ice wall near the 463-foot Helmcken Falls in British Columbia. An amazing show if you ever get a chance to see a Will Gadd show- don’t miss it!

Missed the show? Check out this video of the incredible climbing that will is doing on spray ice!

As usual the evening concluded with the Michigan Ice Fest raffle where we gave out over $5000.00 of gear and clothing to some very excited climbers. Soft shells, belay parkas, Ice Axes, 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, Arc Teryx, Sterling, Black Diamond, Petzl and Osprey, Montane, Fits Socks for providing such killer raffle prizes! As a side note the 2013 Michigan Ice Fest marked the second time in our history that we had a marriage proposal during the weekend- see it is true, you can fall in love at the Michigan Ice Fest! (she said yes!)

SUNDAY

New this year, our Gold Sponsor Fits Socks hooked up demo participants with brand new socks to keep their feet warm at the demo! Thanks Fits for joining us this year!

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 44 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

Sterling Rope marketing@sterlingrope.com

FITS Socks help@fitssock.com

Mountain Hardwear BPittam@mountainhardwear.com

Salewa info@salewa.us

Montane matthuff@sport-hansa.com

Loki loki@lokiusa.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 2014 January 30st-February 2nd

La Sportiva Marks Another Return To Ice Fest

February 5, 2013 Bill

There has been one vendor who has been with us since day one and it has been La Sportiva. For 19 years Mark Wilford and La Sportiva have been coming up to help teach our Intro To Ice Courses and to provide some of the best ice climbing boots in the industry at our demo site.

Mark Wilford

Who’s the one guy you can guarantee you’ll see at the fest? Mark of course! A long time supporter of the festival, Mark is considered one of the most proficient and diverse alpinist/rock climbers in the world. With more than 30 years of experience, he has accumulated a long resume of bold rock ascents, alpine solos, Alaskan climbs and Himalayan expeditions. Among his most notable climbs are the first American solo ascent of the Eiger North Face, a first ascent route on Nameless Tower, a winter solo of the Diamond on Long’s Peak and first ascents in Alaska’s Saint

Elias Range. Although he has participated in sport climbing and ice-climbing events, Mark is considered a staunch traditionalist when it comes to the style and ethics of climbing. “Whatever that means these days,” he jokes. “I just like to climb. I just love climbing.”

8388502780_992717a769_z — Mark Wilford in the early 90's soloing the East Channel of Grand Island

If you are headed out to the demo site you may have seen dozens of the Nepal Evo’s. We had plenty of these award winning boots in men and women’s styles. When the brutal cold winds come blowing in from across lake Superior, the La Sportiva Nepal EVO GTX Mountaineering Boot will be your foot’s best friend! La Sportiva combined a waterproof breathable Gore-Tex membrane, an insulated lining , and a durable leather upper to keep your feet warm and protected for many summits to come. The Vibram sole, featuring the Impact Brake System, provides tough traction on slippery inclines, while the 3D Flex ankle allows for maximum sole-to-surface contact on the steeps. An adjustable, removable tongue offers a comfortable, customizable fit for any foot shape.

Once again a huge thank you goes out to La Sportiva for joining us again and continuing to support Mid West ice climbers and sending Mark back to this years Michigan Ice Fest!

New Gear- La Sportiva Clothing

January 29, 2012 Bill

Many folks are familiar with La Sportiva as a leading manufacturer of trail running shoes, climbing shoes, and technical mountaineering/ice climbing boots. Known as a world leader in the climbing shoes and technical mountain boots market, Sportiva now makes its official entrance into the technical outdoor apparel market. In 2011 La Sportiva went all in with a launch of a sick ski line, and now it only makes sense that for this upcoming season they would expand and start offering a technical outerwear clothing line! Based on their past performance on quality and innovative designs…we can’t wait to get our hands on some of these pieces!

The collection of softwear is dedicated to ski mountaineering race, alpine touring and free-ride skiing. La Sportiva ski mountaineering products will be available in specialist stores by the beginning of the 2012/2013 winter season.

La Sportiva’s winter apparel collection has been carefully designed by a team of mountain specialists in the R&D department and comprises hard-shell, soft-shell, thermal layers, mid layers and base layers divided into well defined lines.

The Upper Peninsula is famous for it’s fresh snow and secret backcountry stashes and we can’t wait to field test some of the clothing and let you in on the the goods! (the clothing not the backcountry stashes!)