The Ouray Ice Festival is the biggest international ice climbing festival where expert ice climbers, ice climbing enthusiasts, and gear developing exhibitors gather to experience the thrill of ice-venture at the festival with all the safety measures. The festival is held at the Ice Park at Ouray every year since 1996. The pioneer of ice climbing, Jeff Lowe, promotes the event. The Ice Festival is always scheduled to start on the Thursday and drags till the Sunday before the Martin King Luther Day in January.
The festival span chart many climbing clinics from advanced to beginning, a great opportunity to meet and see some of world’s most renowned ice climbers in action, and check out the latest gears on the art. There are a lot more activities enlisted in the festival like walking on a tight rope across the gorge, the axe throwing competition, and many more such thrilling and adventurous activities. The festival organizers have groomed a special climbing wall for the kids. The festival features film screenings and slide show presentations, and special auctions for climbing gears.
This is a great opportunity to enhance the ice climbing skills and even to get ice climbing lessons for the novice. Some great ice crampons and other ice climbing equipments can be found at the auctions held at the Ice Park during the Ouray Ice Festival.
Directions Ouray Ice Park
The nearest airport to the city of Ouray is Montrose Regional Airport which is 35miles drive away from the town. The Ice Park is at the
southern end of the city where highway 550 begins to climb towards the Red Mountain Pass.
Weather Condition At Ouray
The town is not much humid in climate nature. Days are usually sunny through out the year. Average summer temperatures range between 70’s and 80’s during day and 50’s at night. July afternoons experience drizzles in the town.
The winter temperatures are usually 40’s on the high and higher teens on the low with an average snowfall of 140 niches accompanied with occasional heavy snowstorms.
Ice Festival 2011
Like every year the Ouray Ice Festival is all geared up with excitement and adventure and entertainment on the catalog for 2011 also. The Festival will be inaugurated on 6th January 2011, Thursday.
The event schedule for Thursday
6.30pm – 9pm Reach out Main Street Theatre at 630 main Street, next to the post office. Enjoy the locals night with presentation by Jason Nelson and Chad Peele, and a slide show.
Post 9pm à Reach out to 607 Main Street for live music, free beer, and much more on the chart to rock the evening.
The event schedule for Friday
8am – 3pm à Demonstration of the sponsors and gears at the Ice Park Lower Bridge.
9am – 3pm à Interactive sessions for the participants at the low bridge area near the Ouray Ice Park sponsors zone.
11am – 2pm à Mic’d demonstrations at the Low Bridge.
2pm – 4pm à Slackline exhibition.
5pm – 8.30pm à Reach out the Ouray Community Centre on 340 6th Avenue for
• Dinner and donation to the Ouray Ice Park and Ouray Volunteer Fire Department.
• The sponsors exhibit their latest collection of mountaineering goodies.
• Ouray Ice Park Silent Auction of ice climbing and mountaineering gears.
6pm – 8pm à Book signing with Majka Burkhardt and Steve House.
6.30pm – 8.30pm à Treadwall speed climbing competition for cash prize.
8.30pm – 10.30pm à Main Street Theatre at 630 main Street,next to the post office. Slide show presentation by Zoe Hart, Emily Harrington, and Sam Elias.
The event schedule for Saturday
8.30am – 4pm à Sponsors’ gear demonstration at the Lower Bridge
9am – 3pm à the best male and female ice climbers compete on a difficult route for the title of general winner
10am – 3pm à 8th Annual Kids Climbing College and adults will walk up to the demo tent at the Ouray Ice Park Kids Area on the Upper Bridge.
12noon – 2pm à North Face Ice Axe Throwing Contest on the Lower Bridge
5pm – 8.30pm à Reach out the Ouray Community Centre on the 320 6th Avenue for
• Music and beer and donation to the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department
• Auction of climbing goodies and supporting OIPI
9.30pm à Reach out to Main Street Theatre at 630 Main Street, next to the post office for the screening of “The Wildest Dream” a documentary.
9.30pm – 1.30am à Reach out Wright Opera House at 450 Main Street for the party with “Zombie” theme to observe the legendry singer Elvis Presley’s birthday.
The event schedule for Sunday
8.30am – 1pm à Sponsors’ gear demonstration at the Lower Bridge
9am – 1pm à Interactive climbing sessions at the Lower Bridge
10am – 1pm à Slackline exhibition and Mic’d demonstrations at the Lower Bridge
10am – 1pm à Enjoy live music play by Kort McCumber at the Low Bridge
10am – 2pm à 8th Annual Kids Climbing College and adults will walk up to the demo tent at the Ouray Ice Park Kids Area
1pm Ouray Ice Festival wind down
5pm – 8pm à Reach out to Main Street Theatre at 630 Main Street, next to the post office for slide show by Barry Blanchard.
For further details on the Ouray Ice Festival 2011 please log into the festival’s official website.
Tickets
All the events other than the ice climbing activities and competitions are chargeable.
• Admission fee to the locals night on Thursday is $15 including complimentary beer and seats.
• Admission fee to the slide show on Friday is $15 including complimentary beer.
• Admission fee to the screening of the documentary film on Saturday is $10 which will be donated to the development of the Ice Park.
• Admission fee to the slide presentation on Sunday is $15 including a complimentary beer.
Lodging At Ouray
Lodging at Ouray sometimes get a little troublesome to find as it is the haven for the outdoor natural sports enthusiasts, specially like during the Ice Festival. Here we give some of the names of lodging facilities available in Ouray – Hot Springs Inn; Box Canyon Lodge and Hot Springs; Ouray Victorian Inn; Rivers Edge Motel; Ouray Motel; Ouray Chalet Inn.
To get more information on lodging facility at Ouray please log into www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g33581-Ouray_Colorado- Hotels.html
Restaurants At Ouray
The city and its nature can provide enough to quench the thirst for outdoor natural sports but the town also provides some great restaurants and bars for the foodies, like Mouses Chocolates and Coffee, Ouray Brewery, Outlaw Restaurant, The Candy Co., O’Brien’s Pub, and many more.
For more details on the eateries and bars at Ouray please log into www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g33581-Ouray_Colorado-Hotels.html
Ouray Ice Festival is a great idea to have fun at the snow havens as Ouray is more often termed as the “Switzerland of America”. Learn to ice climb or boost up ice climbing abilities or cherish the intellectual indulgence or simply relish nature’s beauty at Ouray. But a visit to the Switzerland of America during the town’s biggest international festival is a must not to be missed.
Contact Details
For further details please contact the organizers of the Ouray Ice Festival
Address – Ouray Ice Festival / Ouray Ice Park
PO Box 1058, 68 Box Canyon Road, Ouray, Colorado 81427, US
Phone No. – (970) 325-4288
Email Address – oipi@ouraynet.com
Official Website – www.ourayicefestival.com
