2016 Michigan Ice Fest Is In The Books- Here Is The Recap

February 19, 2016 Bill

The 2016 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and 611 participants ascended on a stormy and cold Munising, Michigan for what was undoubtedly the largest gathering of ice climbers in the Midwest ever! Climbers from at least 19 different states and 3 different countries were represented this year, as participants traveled from far and wide to enjoy the camaraderie of Midwest climbers and the chance to climb the beautiful ice formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!

TUESDAY
For the first time in MIF history, we set up an exhibitor display and opened registration on Tuesday at our new headquarters, The American Legion Hall. Participants had the opportunity to shop products, interact with athletes, and talk shop with sales reps from some of the leading manufacturers in the outdoor industry. Registration was set up and again this year, our Gold Sponsor Fits Socks hooked up our early course sign ups with brand new socks to keep their feet warm during classes. Thanks Fits for joining us again this year!

WEDNESDAY
The festival was officially underway on Wednesday as several full courses headed out with our professional athletes. New to the class roster this year was a Backcountry Adventure Class, which offered participants an opportunity to head out onto the lakeshore to climb above the open water of Lake Superior. The class also provided some transportation methods unique to the UP, including snowmobiling with local legend “Singing Carl” and riding in the awesome “Forward Frank” tank provided by Roam Automotive.

Roam from Down Wind Sports on Vimeo.Brutal winds and road-closing snow conditions did not deter many folks who were new to the Fest, as most were too excited at the chance to climb the vertical pillars of Pictured Rocks to let a little snow stand in the way. A casual climbers social on Wednesday night at the American Legion beckoned those that had climbed all day as well as those that had just arrived in Munising, and plans for more type-II fun were made for the following day.

THURSDAY
With an unrelenting storm blowing across Lake Superior, participants headed out into the elements for a full day of climbing and clinics. With the single-digit temperatures, many visiting climbers took advantage of the multitude of belay parkas that were available to demo from Patagonia, Adidas, Arc Teryx, and Rab.

Great stories kept coming in all day of climbers hitting the ice in what some would call “spicy” conditions as the storm intensified throughout the day. Many exposed to the harsh conditions along the lakeshore, where they took on the full force of the storm, came back with tales of white out conditions, waves crashing at their feet, and bullet proof ice. All in all, a great adventure!

In the afternoon, there were two off-ice clinics offered. The first from professional climber Carlos Buhler, who presented an interactive seminar on Expedition Planning. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the logistics of planning that trip of a lifetime from one of North America’s most accomplished mountaineers.

The second seminar of the afternoon was both interesting and extremely important, as Asolo Boot representative Henry Barber led a discussion on boot design and how technical features and proper boot fit enhance warmth and climbing performance. Henry even measured and custom fit each participant during the seminar.

Our two evening slideshows highlighted our new venue, The Mather Auditorium. Scarpa athlete Scott Bennett presented beautiful slides of his first trip to the Pakistani Karakoram. With two strong and experienced partners, the team made two big first ascents: Changi Tower (6500m) and the Southwest Ridge of K6 West (7040m). Inspirational to say the least!

Arc Teryx athlete Katie Bono rounded out the evening with a show on her climbing career, living in Canmore, climbing with amazing partners and her first American Women ascent of the Vail test piece The Lightning M13.

We were barely 48 hours into Ice Fest and the stoke was already high!

The evening’s social kicked off with a sampling from our official beer sponsor- The Ore Dock Brewing Company. There’s really nothing we like more after a long day of climbing than to relax with our friends and enjoy a beer. Dairyland Coffee Mile Stout- named after one of our favorite climbs, was tapped and enjoyed by many.

FRIDAY
Waking up early Friday morning in the grips of a major blizzard, climbers hit the trails in search of ice. Several groups headed out the Lakeshore Trail, while others walked, skied or snowmobiled out to the backcountry climbs. The fest also saw an increase in participants demoing gear as many took the opportunity to check out equipment and climb in small groups throughout the park.

Most clinics were filled to capacity including one of our newest offerings: the Backcountry Adventure. In addition to the new class offerings, we were fortunate to secure 14 professional athletes — almost triple the amount of previous years — to instruct our clinics and offer some amazing learning opportunities for our participants, all of which wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsors. Even with the cold temps, blowing wind and frozen hands, it seemed like everyone who came through the doors of the Legion on Friday night were all smiles and full of stoke!

New this year we added mini slide shows at the Ice Fest headquarters which offered a more intimate setting to highlight some of the recent adventures our athletes have participated in. Angela Vanwiemeersch told of her exploits climbing rarely formed ice routes in Zion National Park and Sam Elias on Rooted– his exotic trip to climb in Lebanon. Both shows were standing room only! Henry Barber Presentation

The Friday evening programs at Mather started off with legend Henry Barber chronicling his storied climbing career cumulating with his amazing first ascent of the Vettifossen a 900-foot frozen WI 6 waterfall in Norway.

Our final show was brought to us by our new Title Sponsor Black Diamond. BD was kind enough to send us Dawn Glanc who mesmerized us with tales of amazing ice climbs in Greenland.

For Party1 the rest of the evening back at headquarters, you could find people browsing the booths of Mountaineer Bob, American Alpine Club, socializing with other climbers from around the country, sampling Black Diamond Brown Ale from the Ore Dock, introducing themselves to the athletes and reps that were scattered around the room or, of course, talking about the crazy weather that soon became the common denominator of all Ice Fest 2016 stories.

SATURDAY
Demo4 - Scott Bennett 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 to take a course — whether entry-level or advanced — from one the most accomplished climbers in the country. Sent to the festival from 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 people in the industry- these climbers are what make Michigan Ice Fest so darn fun (and welcoming!)

The weather remained as a top conversation starter as the white-out blizzard shut down M28 for nearly an entire day, and even Sand Point Road for Friday evening. While most of the country was experiencing “El Nino” we were experiencing “El Tovio”….a real, UP winter that is. Logistical problems aside, everone got to their appointed classes and proved, once again, that Midwest climbers are a hardy bunch.

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 high winds greeted the participants but most climbers were able to top out on their first climbs. Hundreds of climbers were challenged throughout the day with a variety of difficult climbs set up, as morning excitement to get on the ice quickly gave way to afternoon exhaustion that can only come from climbing hard in single-digit temps and Lake Superior gusts.

With a long day of climbing — for some, their third or fourth in a row — everyone converged upon Mather Auditorium for the highly anticipated Saturday night presentation by Tim Emmett and the World Premier of the Michigan Ice Film. Prior to the shows we introduced our 2016 Sue Nott Scholarship winners. Down Wind Sports has created the Sue Nott Scholarship with the purpose of promoting, inspiring, and introducing young females to the sport of ice climbing. The girls had to submit a letter regarding why they wanted to participate, a letter of recommendation from someone other then their parents, and their report card. Three girls were selected this year (triple the amount of previous years!) and were given free entry into the fest, as well as a spot in the Women’s Intro To Ice course. Recognizing these young athletes in front of hundreds of Ice Fest attendees is always one of our favorite parts of the whole weekend- way to go ladies!

With a packed auditorium of over 700 people Tim Emmett started the evening off with an entertaining presentation of base jumping and ice climbing. The crowd was in awe as Tim described what it was like to be able to climb at Helmcken Falls, BC, where a 500 foot waterfall sprays the underside of a gargantuan cave, forming some of the wildest ice formations that we’ve ever seen. Inspirational, funny and motivational — if you ever get the chance to see Tim present- GO!

Finally, the weekend’s most anticipated event was cued up, as Aaron Petersen presented his labor of love, the Michigan Ice Film , to a sold out crowd! Three years of filming culminated into the world premier of the film, which was set against the crashing waves of an inland sea, and packed with humor and action from some of the biggest names in climbing alongside a cast of hardy locals. It is the untold story of one of the world’s largest concentrations of climbable ice in a scrappy corner of the American Midwest: Munising, Michigan. For a lot of people this was the highlight of the weekend. A big congratulations goes out to Aaron and all of the people who devoted so much time and energy to making us proud to be not only Michiganders, but Midwest ice climbers. Haven’t seen it yet? Click the link above to see this feature length film!

After the show the excited crowd gathered on the city shuttles and headed over to the Legion. With an incredibly packed headquarters the evening concluded with the now famous Michigan Ice Fest raffle where we gave out over $7000.00 of gear and clothing to some very excited climbers. Soft shells, belay parkas, ropes, crampons, parkas, packs, tools, screws, and ice boots were only a few of the items raffled off to the biggest Saturday night crowd we’ve ever had!

SUNDAY
The classic UP weather finally broke, the highway opened and a wee bit of sunshine warmed climbers as they headed out to Sunday classes and the demo. The effects of climbing hard all day Saturday and a late night of socializing must have taken its toll on climbers as the demo area was very laid back all day on Sunday. This afforded climbers their choice of routes for most of the day.

With all the changes we’ve seen this year and with over 100 new registrants, 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 54 new members to the American Alpine Club, and exposed hundreds of first-time climbers to the sport of ice climbing — not to mention all the professional athletes who were able to experience the cold and masochistic world of Midwest ice climbing for the first time.

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 on 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. Feeling some retrospective 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.

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.

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 and their support for the Michigan Ice Fest!

Patagonia
Allison.Allen@patagonia.com

La Sportiva
erussell@sportiva.com

Black Diamond
tyler.willcutt@bdel.com

Scarpa
mark@scarpa.com

Petzl
dburleson@petzl.com

Grivel
peterm@libertymountain.com

Sterling Rope
marketing@sterlingrope.com

FITS Socks
help@fitssock.com

Asolo
cbf106@asolo-usa.com

Camp/Cassin
glen@camp-usa.com

Lowa
brmreps@aol.com

Dry Ice Tools
Ben@furnace-industries.com

The North Face
abrown@lakeshorereps.com
mrobbins@lakeshorereps.com

Arc Teryx
justin.sweeny@arcteryx.com

Mountain Hardwear
noklobzija@mountainhardwear.com

Adidas
dkay@agron.com

And finally we can’t thank our athletes enough. Over the years they have shared their expertise and knowledge to hundreds of Michigan Ice Fest participants giving them a solid foundation to help them to enjoy the sport we love and to help keep them safe while out climbing. The 2016 lineup was as strong as it has ever been- to the following we are forever indebt. Many of these athletes are guides and would love to see Michigan Ice Fest participants in the future. Want another adventure? Be sure to click on their links to see where they might be able to take you!

Henry Barber
Scott Bennett
Katie Bono
Carlos Buhler
Anne Gilbert Chase
Karsten Delap
Sam Elias
Tim Emmett
Dawn Glanc
Kim Hall
Anna Pfaff
Jim Shimberg
Angela VanWiemeersch
Mark Wilford
Jeff Witt
Heidi Wirtz

Thank you so much for being part of the Michigan Ice Fest this year! The festival is a gathering of our tribe and we are so thankful that climbers from all over the Midwest continue to come up and celebrate everything that is Michigan Ice. We hope you had an enjoyable experience and you can be sure that we are already working on bringing you the best Ice Fest in 2017! 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!

NEXT YEAR’S DATES!

ICE FEST February 14-19th 2017

Michigan Ice Fest 2015 Recap

February 12, 2015 Bill

The 2015 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and 492 participants ascended on Munising Michigan for what was the largest gathering of ice climbers in the Midwest ever! Climbers from 13 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

The festival got underway on Thursday with Introduction to Ice Courses, 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 the Lakeshore Trail and take advantage of the great ice conditions. Sunny and 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 third annual “Participants Slide Show: Beers with Bill III”. 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 20 degrees, 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. Introduction to Ice Courses, a Women’s Into to Ice, a Top Rope Anchor Course as well as a Rigging and Rescue course were filled to capacity and went out for a day of instruction and climbing.

Friday evenings programs started off with a climbing social and free beer sponsored by Salewa. Exciting news of a new guidebook coming to the Canadian side of Lake Superior and a short slide show on climbs in the Agawa Canyon area started off the evening’s festivities. The first presenter originally from Marquette, was Ben Erdmann and now a proud climbing bum. Fresh off the mountains of Patagonia, Ben entertained the crowd with shots of his adventures. We are so proud of Ben and what he has accomplished in his climbing career!

We are so happy that Title Sponsor La Sportiva sent Will Mayo out for a second straight year to instruct and present. For the last few years Will has been literally on fire putting up and climbing some of the hardest mixed routes in North America. Friday evenings presentation was highlighted by Will’s trip to Alaska with Josh Wharton – the two completed a new route on Huntington, Scorched Granite (4,200′, M7 AI6), just two days after leaving home in Colorado!

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, Anna Pfaff, Raphael Slawinski, and Barry Blanchard. Again this year, our Gold Sponsor Fits Socks hooked up course participants with brand new socks to keep their feet warm during classes! Thanks Fits for joining us again this year!

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. Besides our long time sponsors of the demo- Sterling Ropes, Black Diamond, Petzl, Scarpa, Salewa, Asolo, Camp, Cassin, Grivel- Liberty Mountain, Patagonia, Hopp Outdoors, University of Minnesota, and the Ridge Roamers. Saturday morning saw long lines of participants winding through Sydney’s waiting to score their gear. It was close but we outfitted nearly 275 participants with the latest ice gear! We thank everyone for their patience and we are working to secure more demo gear for next years event.

Gold Level sponsors Black Diamond and Patagonia graciously supplied their Stance Belay Parkas to the Michigan Ice Fest participants to keep the participants warm and happy throughout the weekend.

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. Mild temperatures and a light snowfall greeted 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 Dry Ice Tools. During the shows we introduced Leigha as the 2015 Sue Nott Scholarship winner. 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. 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. Leigha was selected from the applications and was 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 Leigha!

With a standing room only crowd, our first presentation of the evening was from Cold Clear Cinema on a new film project called Michigan Ice. Producer Aaron Peterson premiered the trailer and answered questions on the film. Be sure to make it to the 2016 Michigan Ice Fest as we will have the world premiere of this beautiful film!





Raphael Slawinski followed with a wonderful show highlighting the spectacular climbing in the Canadian Rockies as well as his amazing climb of K6 in Pakastan. A plethora of amazing ice and mixed routes filled the screen as Raphael described various routes he has established and climbed over the years. A huge thank you goes out to our Title Sponsor Black Diamond for hooking us up with a class act like Raphael.

Our final presentation of the night was from Ice Fest favorite Barry Blanchard. One of North America’s top alpinists, Barry read excerpts from his new book The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains. Entertaining, funny, and poetic, Barry never disappoints delivering a great show. Questions and a book signing followed this amazing show.

As usual the evening concluded with the Michigan Ice Fest raffle where we gave out over $6000.00 of gear and clothing to some very excited climbers. Soft shells, belay parkas, Sterling Ropes, Cassin crampons, Mountain Hardwear parkas, Patagonia packs and jackets, GoPro, Petzl Nomics and La Sportiva ice boots were only a few of the items raffled off!

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 34 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.

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 Maddog Lynch, Mario Molin, Linda Wappner, Bryan DeAgustine, Neil Poglese, the Schneiderhan’s, Ian Hahn, Colten Morre, Alec Berghoef

Patagonia dixiemarree@patagonia.com Jimmy.Hopper@patagonia.com

La Sportiva erussell@sportiva.com

Black Diamond Holly.Merriman@bdel.com

Scarpa mark@scarpa.com

Petzl james@figure8sales.com codette@petzl.com

Grivel peterm@libertymountain.com

Sterling Rope marketing@sterlingrope.com

FITS Socks help@fitssock.com

Salewa info@salewa.us nrgsales1@gmail.com

Asolo cbf106@asolo-usa.com

Camp USA glen@camp-usa.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!

NEW DATES!

ICE FEST 2016 February 11-14th

Patagonia Sends Barry Blanchard To Michigan Ice!

September 17, 2014 Bill

Michigan Ice Fest is proud to announce that our good friend Barry Blanchard 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 Sponsor Patagonia for sending Barry to the event!

Barry Blanchard is known world wide as the modern father of Canadian alpine mountaineering and hard ice climbs. Often described as the “Bonatti of the Rockies,” and Canada’s greatest alpinist, the Canmore-based writer and photographer spends his time romping around the globe in search of adventure on high alpine faces. Barry is an internationally certified UIAGM guide and frequently works as a safety coordinator for Hollywood. He has been featured ice climbing in the IMAX Extreme film and Vertical Limit. His exploits include the first ascent of the epic North Pillar of North Twin, first ascents in winter on the north faces of Les Droites and two successful expeditions to Mt. Everest. In 2002 he opened a new route on the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson. It was Barry’s seventh start over many years, and partners Eric Dumerac and Philippe Pellet insisted on the name Infinite Patience (VI, WI5, M5, 5.9). In addition to recent routes on the southwest face of East Kahiltna Peak, the southeast ridge of Mt. Asperity and the north face of Bravo Peak.

As if it is not enough just to have Barry at our event- this year will be a bonus as Barry’s new book, The Calling A Life Rocked by Mountains will be available!

With heart-pounding descriptions of avalanches and treacherous ascents, Barry Blanchard chronicles his transformation from a poor Native American/white kid from the wrong side of the tracks to one of the most respected alpinists in the world. At thirteen, he learned to rappel when he joined the 1292 Lord Strathcone’s Horse Army Cadets. Soon kicked out for insubordination, he was already hooked on climbing and saw alpinism as a way to make his single mother proud and end his family’s cycle of poverty. He describes early climbs attempted with nothing to guide him but written trail descriptions and the cajones of youth. He slowly acquires the skills, equipment and partners necessary to tackle more and more difficult climbs, farther and farther afield: throughout the Canadian Rockies, into Alaska and the French Alps and on to Everest, Peru, and the challenging mountains in Pakistan. From each he learns lessons that only nature and extreme endeavor can teach.

Gripped Magazine called his memoir, The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains (Patagonia, October 2014), “the most anticipated book of 2014.” The Calling is the story of the culture of climbing in the days of punk rock, spurred on by the rhythm of adrenaline and the arrogance of youth. It is also a portrait of the power of the mountains to lift us – physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually – and the depths of relationships based on total trust in the person at the other end of a rope.

The book includes climbs with top climbers such as Kevin Doyle, Mark Twight, David Cheesmond and Ward Robinson, with killer photos and even Barry’s song playlist! Thanks again to our Gold Sponsor Patagonia for making it possible for Barry to be at this years Michigan Ice Fest!

Gold Level Sponsor Patagonia Back For Another Year!

January 30, 2013 Bill

Once again we are proud to have Patagonia as a Gold Level sponsor for the 2013 Michigan Ice Fest! Patagonia has always sent some of the most amazing athletes to instruct and give presentations to our event and this year is no exception. This year Patagonia ambassador Zoe Hart will be joining us all the way from her home in Chamonix France.

Zoe Hart

Zoe is the fourth American woman to earn her International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations status, the highest level of credential available to professional mountain guides. When she’s not guiding or climbing in her backyard, Chamonix, France, Zoe’s on international expeditions or climbing trips throughout North America. Although Zoe considers herself a climbing “jack-of-all-trades,” alpine climbing is her passion.

Career Highlights

Ascent of the 1938 Route on the North Face of the Eiger, Switzerland
First Ascent Cracker Pterodactyl 5000 (VI 5.10+, 900 m) Jebel Misht, Oman
Ascent of the Dru Couloir on the Dru, France
Ascent of the Over Couloir on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc, France
Ascent of the Northwest Face of Half Dome in a day, Yosemite, California Ascent of the West Face Couloir, Aguille Du Plan (ED2, M6, WI5, 700 m)

First Female Ascent and Speed Record (since broken) of Deprivation, Mt Hunter, Alaska (IV 5.8 A3 AI6)
Ascent of Cryophobia, Ghost, Canada (M8, WI 6, 225m)
First Female Ski Descents in the Karakoram on the Chasing Glaciers Expeditions, Pakistan
First ascent of Big Wednesday (VI 6), Ben Nevis, Scotland
First ascent of Alpine Princess, Ben Nevis, Scotland

On top of sending Zoe, Patagonia is also going all in on some sweet swag! What you may ask? Well let’s just say there will be some lucky climbers sporting new soft shell jackets, R1 insulation and of course belay jackets! Have never owned a piece of Patagonia clothing? At the Michigan Ice Fest you will get a unique opportunity to demo some of the nicest ice climbing clothing ever produced as Patagonia will be sending their demo fleet just so we can try it out! Stop by Sydney’s before heading out to the ice and demo a belay parka, soft shell jacket and more!

Patagonia DAS Parka

When your belaying in the middle of a fridgid snow storm, on the shores of Lake Superior, give thanks to Patagonia for the Men’s DAS Parka. This lightweight puffy features a weather-resistant shell and high-lofting PrimaLoft One insulation that keeps you warm even if it gets wet. The oversized hood fits over all types of helmets, and the two-way zipper lets you get at your belay device while keeping the jacket zipped. Large handwarmer pockets and interior mesh pockets store your chilly hands or water bottles, and Patagonia included a stuff sack for when it’s time to climb. This brilliant piece of gear is an Ice Fest Staff favorite!

A big Thank you goes out to Josh and the rest of the gang and Patagonia for taking the time to care about us mid west climbers!

THANK YOU!