photos by Jared Boyd

While not everyone agrees that a perfectly good way to spend ones winter afternoon consists of hanging around in the shade watching your buddy climb a frozen waterfall, some do. In fact, quite a few people enjoy the act of puzzling over where to place their next ice screw so that, in the event of a fall, they'll be slowed down, at least marginally. Several experienced and newbie ice climbers alike showed up to Cascade Canyon last Sunday for free pointers and a chance to demo the latest gear, all courtesy of local ice climbing purveyors Southwest Adventures. One of the first things new climbers were taught is that it's a no-no to fall. Nate Disser and Brendan Cusick, of Southwest Adventure Guides, definitely made an impression of the no-fall rule but also went on to teach climbers how to climb safer and more effectively, all while staying within their abilities. And yes, they even touched on mixed climbing/dry tooling. Proceeds from the event went to the American Alpine Association.