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

Friday Evening Sam Elias Presentation- Rooted

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 Bill

This is going to be a good one from one of our favorites! After a day of climbing stop by the headquarters, grab a refreshment and head on up to the classroom to be inspired by one of the most well rounded athletes out there.

Rooted — A VICE Sports and The North Face produced project to Lebanon with climber Sam Elias to explore not only the amazing landscape of the small middle eastern country, but also to discover and connect with family history and share the passion of a life built around being outdoors, climbing and skiing.

Friday Evening 6PM – American Legion Hall

Slideshow – Presentation Sponsored by Black Diamond & The North Face

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.

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

Detroit’s Own!

January 2, 2014 Bill

Come meet Sam Elias at this years Ice Fest….or better yet sign up for a course taught by Detroit’s own Sam Elias!

Michigan Ice Fest 2011 Is In The Books!

February 8, 2011February 8, 2011 Bill

The 2011 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books and turns out it was a record breaking year! 511 participants converged on Munising Michigan to participate in the 28th annual Michigan Ice Fest. Twelve different states were represented this year with participants traveling as far from Texas and California coming to enjoy banner ice conditions this year. Almost all of the classic ice formations were in this year and Lake Superior froze over enough to allow the most adventurous climbers to access Grand Island.

FRIDAY

New this year, the Fest started with an Introduction to Ice Course on Friday where participants spent the day learning he tricks of the trade out at the Curtains. The evenings festivities started off with a climbing social and free beer sponsored by Scarpa and Osprey. Due to a family illness, Roger Strong was unable to make it to the Fest (but he has promised to come to next years fest), so the evening presentation was provided by Sam Elias. Sam gave out a shout to his Michigan roots which drew a huge roar from the crowd, and then proceeded to show slides and video of his skiing and climbing exploits around the world. One thing for sure, after watching the presentation, participants came away with how talented of a climber Sam is! The rest of the evening you could find people browsing the booths of:

The American Alpine Club

The Ice Pit

Jeff Lowe’s Metanoia Movie Project

Outward Bound

Peabody Ice Climbing Tower

SATURDAY

Saturday we got the ball rolling early with equipment hand out for Ice Fest Courses. As usual, the courses filled up fast and participants were treated to instruction provided by Mark Wilford, Steve House, Sam Elias, Majka Burhardt, and James Loveridge. 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. Some folks were unable to get gear and we realize that this is an on going problem and yes, next year we are taking steps to alleviate this problem.

The Demo area at the Curtains also saw changes this year with brand new ropes donated to the festival by Sterling Ropes! Hundreds of climbers were challenged throughout the day with a variety of difficult climbs set up. Also new this year was the Adventure Medical Kits and Jetboil Medical Station. A big thank you goes out to Peter Richards and Peter Zenti for manning the station all weekend tending to a few nicks and cuts! Saturday at the Demo we also saw Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel giving ice climbing a shot. Jim and his crew were at the festival doing a story on winter activities in the Upper Peninsula. The show should air sometime in April.

After a long day of climbing, everyone converged upon Sydney’s for the Saturday evening social and free beer provided by Down Wind Sports. With a standing room only crowd, our first presentation of the evening was from Majka Burhardt. Majka beautifully narrated her show of growing up and her early days of climbing, follwed by her exploits of unexplored sandstone towers in Ethiopia which resulted in her book Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, short listed for the Banff Book Award. Midwest climbers, keep an eye out for her second book, Coffee Story: Ethiopia, which will be released in spring 2011.

Our final presentation of the evening was from Steve House. Steve is no stranger to the Michigan Ice Fest as this was his third visit to our festival. His presentation started out with a dramatic video of him soloing two Classic, hard routes on New Hampshire’s Cathedral Ledge. With jaws hanging, the audience sat and watched this incredible footage that was shot in February of last year. The second portion of the show was of Steve and Vince Anderson’s ascent of Nanga Parbat’s infamous Rupal Face, which is widely considered to be the greatest alpine wall in the world. And if that wasn’t enough, the show finished off with an account of Steve’s 80 foot fall in the Canadian Rockies while attempting to climb Mt. Temple. The accident left him with multiple life-threatening traumatic injuries which he is still recovering from today.Missed the show? You can read up on Steve’s exploits by checking out his book Beyond the Mountain. The book won the Mountain Literature Award at the Banff Mountain Book Festival and the UK’s Boardman-Tasker Prize. It’s a great read and the book maintains a 5-star rating by it’s readers.

SUNDAY

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 all day long. The additional effect of having the Packers in the Super Bowl also caused our visiting Wisconsin climbers an excuse of bailing out early to prepare for their Super Bowl Parties!

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 20 new members to the American Alpine Club, raised $200.00 for the Jeff Lowe movie project 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 lfryer@sportiva.com

Black Diamond tj.kolanko@bdel.com

Scarpa Brian@goaao.com

Petzl brad@pembaserves.com

Sterling Ropes John@sterlingrope.com

Kayland brent@novationna.com

Suunto timharwood@comcast.net

Osprey Brian@goaao.com

Adventure Medical Kits brad@pembaserves.com

Jetboil timharwood@comcast.net

SAVE THE DATES!

ICE FEST 2012 February 2-5th

Athlete Profile- Sam Elias

December 10, 2010February 15, 2011 Bill

We are so excited to have one of our own Michigan boys presenting at this years ice fest! An accomplished all round climber, Sam placed second to Josh Wharton at last years Ouray Ice Fest Competition. Check out his finals route here!

The following is a brief interview from Black Diamond Equipment, one of Sam’s sponsors.

I was born on August 25, 1982 in southeastern Michigan, where my family still resides. I currently live in the state of Colorado. Climbing is a driving passion for my life. I have been fortunate to feel an innate connection to its practice from the beginning, and I have structured my life so that I can be dedicated to it.

Before climbing, my life was consumed with alpine skiing and ski racing. I have skied for nearly 25 years now, since I was 2 ½ years old. I began racing at the age of 12, and when I was 16 I moved from Michigan to Salt Lake City, UT to attend a ski racing academy. After that, I was recruited to ski race for a small liberal arts college in Idaho. I still ski frequently, both on and off piste. It is such a pleasure to be outside and in the mountains, and I experience a great sense of freedom and peace there.

I was introduced to climbing through sport climbing, and it is my main pursuit. However, I enjoy many styles; traditional climbing, bouldering, deep water soloing, and most recently ice and winter mixed (M) climbing/dry tooling. The quest to understand myself through climbing has deeply enriched my life, and for this I am eternally grateful. As a result, I feel a responsibility to continue to explore within the pursuit for as long as I am motivated and capable.

In addition to practicing as an athlete, I have had many fortunate employment positions within the climbing and greater outdoor industry. I have worked as an instructor and manager for a climbing gym, a retail sales floor employee, a ski shop manager, an inventory buyer for a specialty outdoors store, and now as a tech rep for Black Diamond. I have found that these opportunities bring a balance to my climbing life. They have allowed me a way to contribute back to the sport and the industry. I am a very strong advocate for not only climbing, but the outdoor industry as a whole. I believe firmly in the necessity of its function, and I am very proud to be a part of it.

Birthday?

August 25, 1982

Year you first started climbing?

Well, it’s a long winded answer…The first time that I ever climbed was in 1995, from then until 2000, I went climbing only a handful of times. In the Spring of 2000, I began climbing slightly more consistently with increasing frequency until the Spring of 2005, when I moved to the Red River Gorge to work at Miguel’s Pizza and climbing became my lifestyle.

Three climbing achievements you are most proud of?

I am proud to be a pretty good rock climber, a pretty good ice climber, and a pretty good drytool/winter mixed climber.

Memory/story of the first time you ever went climbing?

I was 12. It was at a summer camp somewhere in Colorado. My parents had sent me there from our home in Michigan with a couple of my friends. I remember having to wear a helmet, and thinking that was so uncool. They set up topropes and tied each of us in when it was our turn. I remember being on the wall. I didn’t understand what I was experiencing, but now, looking back through my memories, I can describe it. I wasn’t scared, I wanted each climb to go on forever, I did not want to come down. It just felt so natural.

Favorite climbing area and why?

The Red River Gorge, Kentucky. I moved there in the Spring of 2005 to climb and work at Miguel’s Pizza. Climbing was not necessarily a priority for me at that point. I was a decent climber, but I was inexperienced. I moved there primarily to slow my life down, and to reconsider things, to find something. I learned so much about myself and I changed my life in that place. Climbing was an integral part of that transformation, and from then, I have tried to continue along that same path.

Best climbing experience?

There is no one “best” for me. I try to understand that all of the experiences I have ever had exist within me, at this moment in this day, thus I try to focus on the positive and try to make each day out the best.

Worst climbing experience?

Ha ha. Though I try to make each day the best…sometimes I fail. In 2001, I took a small fall off of the bouldering wall at my college. My left foot caught the edge of a pad enough to roll it, but not catch any weight. I landed with all of my weight on the rolled left foot, and broke my ankle, as well as tore cartilage and ligaments. I have had 2 surgeries, but there is little cartilage left in my ankle. It affects me everyday, and it seems that not much can be done.

What’s your dream trip? Where? With who?

Simple and slow paced climbing trip anywhere with rock and beaches with expansive water. Only with the closest friends, who know some of the faults and subtleties of my personality, but still keep me around despite them.

Guilty pleasure?

Red wine, dark chocolate, Avery beer

BD gear you use every time you go climbing?

Spring, Summer, and Fall: Ozone harness, Livewire quickdraws, Survivor Chalkbag, Gorilla Chalk pot, BD Brush set. Winter: Xenos harness, Fusion and Cobra axes, Cyborg and Raptor crampons, Express Ice Screws, Firewire Quickdraws, Tracer helmet.

Something that annoys you while climbing?

Rock and/or Icefall. Barking dogs, Crying babies, or the sound of my belayer’s voice carrying on a conversation with some one on the ground.

What/who inspires you in climbing?

I am most inspired by those that are of middle to old age that have had longevity within the sport. Those that have transcended the need to feel improvement or progression, or rather they have reverted back to a child-like appreciation for simply moving over rock or ice. It demonstrates true passion and devotion, and sacrifice as well. I hope to be among them in the years to come.

Favorite aprés-climb meal?

Beer, then pasta with meat sauce, a salad, and red wine, then dark chocolate with almonds in it.

Favorite climbing flick?

Hard Grit

What’s in your iPod?

Ambient, Down tempo, Electronica, Techno, Trance, Hip Hop, and Rap.

Strangest place you’ve ever woken up?

The ‘White House’ in the Red River Gorge. It is part of the land that Miguel owns, just up the road from the pizza shop. It is really old, and there is no running water and marginal electricity. I lived there for the climbing season in 2005. Some say it is haunted, some say that they have seen ghosts in there. I love that house, but it is strange for sure.

Strangest person you’ve ever woken up with?

Chamo in Mira Flores, Venezuela. He is an old, very short Venezuelan farmer that would wake up every single morning when the rooster started crowing, usually around 4. He’d grab his machete, and head off to the farm. He allowed us to sleep on his porch, so that we could climb in La Puerta, an amazing canyon of paper white limestone with tufas and stalactites. (See “Low Hanging Fruit” in Rock & Ice magazine #180)

Three things you’d never roadtrip without?

Wallet, contact lenses, and clothes (enough so that I’m not naked)

What’s your dream job?

I always wonder what it would be like to be an artist, or a chef, or a surgeon.

How are you training when you are not climbing?

I campus and hangboard. Indoor bouldering as well. Some yoga/stretching. Some weight lifting/oppositional muscle training…and of course rest.

If you could steal one thing and not get caught, what would it be?

The Hope Diamond

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive) who would they be?

Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, The Buddah, and Osama bin Laden. Sorry, that’s 4.

Which would you prefer: power of flight or invisibility?

Flight

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

Yes. 3 tattoos.

For more information, and to see what’s going on with Sam check out the Book of Sam.