by Luke Mehall

The Ouray Ice Park may be some 70-odd miles from Durango, but this season it just got a little closer. Last fall, Nate Disser and Andrew Klotz, owners of the Durango-based Southwest Adventure Guides, acquired San Juan Mountain Guides, the concessionaire for the Ouray Ice Park.

 

Operating under the San Juan Mountain Guides banner, they are in charge of putting on the clinics at the annual Ouray Ice Festival, which started Wednesday and runs through the weekend. They are also responsible for delegating permits to other guide services who operate within the park, which is a nonprofit entity.

This week, with the ever-popular Ouray Ice Climbing Festival celebrating its 18th year, will surely be the busiest of the season for the newly merged outfit.

“The ice park is an eighth wonder of the world,” Disser said. “There’s nothing else like it. Ice climbers come from all over the world to experience it.”

Disser explained that no other ice climbing venue has as much accessible terrain as the Ouray Ice Park. Located just a few minutes from downtown, the park has more than 200 routes within 15 minutes of the entrance, varying from beginner to expert. There is even a Kids Climbing Park for aspiring youngsters. The full range of options will be utilized this week for the festival.

“It will be a big weekend, and there’s a lot to do beyond just climbing,” Klotz said. “The competition brings in the best ice climbers in the world, and there are slideshows, silent auctions and great parties.”

One of the main draws of the weekend are the clinics, which feature guidance from top climbers such as Conrad Anker, Ines Papert and Steve House. As the operator of the ice park, San Juan Mountain Guides is in charge of running all the clinics, including everything from introduction to ice climbing and intermediate ice for women to steep ice techniques.

Klotz said what makes the event so unique is that all weekend long, beginners and weekend warriors alike have the opportunity to rub elbows with world class athletes and heroes of the sport. “Ice climbing is a cool sport like that,” he added.

Right photo: Kevin Koprek, a guide for San Juan Mountain Guides, digs in at the Ouray Ice Park. Owned by Durangoans Nate Disser and Andrew Klotz, SJMG is responsible for hosting this week’s ice festival./Photo courtesy San Juan Mountain Guides

One of the centerpieces of the festival is the elite mixed climbing competition, which will be held on Sat., Jan 12, and involves both rock and ice in the same route. Some new elements are also being introduced this year, including a 25-foot overhanging manmade rock tower at the top of the mixed climbing route, and a speed climbing competition. In all, the world’s best ice climbers will be competing for more than $16,000 in prize money, including Durango’s Marcus Garcia, one of the area’s top climbers and coach of the local kids climbing program.

While the Ouray Ice Park is gaining popularity and increased use every year, the sport of ice climbing still has some serious inherent risks and is not to be taken lightly. “Ice is constantly changing,” Disser noted. “Falling ice is always a danger, and people also get hurt by taking lead falls.”

Disser added that fortunately, the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, which is one of the most technically proficient teams in the nation, has a building right next to the park. “That team is right up there with the best of the best, including the rescue teams in Yosemite and Banff,” Disser said.

Beyond the ice park, Ouray and the surrounding areas have some of the finest backcountry ice climbing in the country. San Juan Mountain Guides also operates on this terrain, which includes Ouray, Silverton and Telluride. Disser shared, “We can guide any classic ice climb in the area.”

He also added that a unique thing about ice climbing is that each climb varies from year to year, depending on how the ice forms. “It’s always different, sometimes a climb won’t even come in at all,” Disser said. “It keeps things interesting because the same climb never climbs the same way.”

Disser and Klotz also pointed out that in addition to the usual dangers of ice climbing, backcountry ice climbers also have to assess avalanche dangers, something all their guides are trained to do. As a service to the community, San Juan Mountain Guides maintains information on its website about the classic climbs of the region. Among those climbs are the Telluride’s Ames Ice Hose and Bridal Veil Falls, and Silverton’s Stairway to Heaven.

In addition to a busy ice climbing season, San Juan Mountain Guides also offers a variety of other guide services, including backcountry skiing, canyoneering and international expeditions.

San Juan Mountain Guides employs around 30 guides with offices in Ouray and Durango. The Durango office is based out of The Rock Lounge, the climbing gym owned by Nate’s wife, Keeton. The collaboration is a perfect match, according to Nate. “A gym is an ideal place to learn how to climb, and when people want to move outside, that is where the guide service comes in.”

Additionally San Juan Mountain Guides is constantly trying to broaden its reach to draw people from outside the San Juans. “We are selling the experience of coming to this area,” Disser said. “We’ve got some really cool unique towns, and the San Juans are a great resource for mountain sports.”

For more information about the Ouray Ice Park and San Juan Mountain Guides visit www.ourayicepark.com and www.ourayclimbing.com.