It’s been five years since the last time I was in Ouray for the annual Ice Festival. The Ouray Ice Festival was first organized in 1996 by Jeff Lowe, and events such as the elite ice climbing competition, myriads of climbing clinics, slideshows and dinners generate proceeds toward the maintenance of the Ouray Ice Park.

I had a fabulous time in 2007, but I wasn’t sure if my newly reconstructed knee could handle ice climbing and the steep descents into the Park. However, all the other stars were aligning – I would be in Colorado for a NOLS Wilderness First Responder course and for a client board meeting. How could I be so close to Ouray and not at least take a peek?

After the final exam of the WFR course, I swung by Neptune Mountaineering on my way out of Boulder. After suffering year after year climbing in my Scarpa Inverno double plastics with intuition liners (the space age material that keeps your feet dry in tough mountain conditions, but can let your heels slide right up on technical terrain), I decided my Christmas present for myself would be a pair of more specific ice climbing boots and crampons. Perhaps if I suffered less, because I couldn’t trust my feet, I would ice climb more. I fully expected to be s.o.l. given the small window of time I allotted to shop for them, but I was pleasantly surprised with the wide selection of boots, including women-specific boots. A friendly fellow named Dan patiently helped me find the right fit of La Sportiva Nepal Evo’s and sized my new Black Diamond Stinger mono-point crampons so I could hit the ice climbing (Thanks, Dan!).

A painful solo six hour drive later, I was beat. I drove past my usual camping spot – the ice rink which is usually blanketed by snow – and was shocked to see the ice rink fully exposed and flood lights illuminating the entire area. Foiled! No way I could camp there! My BAMRU friends had mercilessly teased me when I would say things like “Why would you sleep indoors when you can snow camp?” I knew I would never live it down, but I texted Eszter, “Sooooo, about that space on the floor…”

The next morning I wolfed down an amazing breakfast burrito at Backstreet Bagel & Deli, parked near the Box Canyon trailhead, and hoofed it up the road to the vendor area, soy latte in hand. Ouray is located at ~8,000ft and I hadn’t been to altitude since my accident in April. I huffed and puffed up to the vendor area. Doh! But what vision graced my eyes when I crested the final hill??? The Arc’teryx tent! I ran/walked up to the tent and introduced myself to the wide eyed crew as a self-described “Arc’teryx whore.” They said they loved Arc’teryx whores and chided me for wearing Patagonia Alpine Guide pants. I swore that my Arc’teryx bibs were stashed in my rental and I would have worn them if it were colder. Of course, they couldn’t doubt my sincerity, gave me a special hat, and later treated me to a special hot chocolate and peppermint Schnapps pick-me-up. Brandon, the US sales rep, christened me with a new nickname, ArcHo. I dig it.

The festival provides a great learning opportunity by offering many half- and full-day clinic options. There are Intro to Ice, Steep Ice, Learning to Lead, women only, and many more clinics. I signed up for a the Outdoor Research Intro to Ice clinic because I wasn’t sure my post-surgery knee could handle ice climbing at all and was looking for a super mellow class. I also had some bad habits and could benefit from some remedial coaching. We had two instructors, Shingo and Dave, who were awesome. Before we even touched the ice, Shingo had all the students doing tool swing drills and demonstrated the “isosceles triangle technique.”

I hesitated getting on the ice, nervous about whether I would be disappointed by my knee or my fitness, but Dave seemed to notice and offered to give me a belay. I focused intently on swinging efficiently, hanging straight-armed and sticking my butt out to look where to place my feet, trusting my feet and standing up on them leaning my hips toward the ice. Dave shouted tips and words of encouragement as I slowly and efficiently worked my way up to the top…

It seemed my lack of strength and concern over my knee was actually making me a better climber! I found that more deliberate, thoughtful movements were efficient and less tiring. I was completely shocked that I reached the top without falling or having to hang. Second route, third route, then finally I had to hang to rest midway up the fourth route. I far exceeded my expectations and left the climbing area floating on a cloud.

After a long day of climbing, I hit the Ouray Hot Springs with the BAMRU crew. A $12 admission provides access to three pools: cold, warm and hot. Watching fluffy snow flakes drift down from the sky while alternating between the cold and hot pools was nothing short of magical.

The evenings in Ouray are filled with slideshows, good food, and a wee bit of debauchery. The main event Saturday night was the live auction of gear donated to benefit the Ouray Ice Park. Lots of great items were auctioned off, most staying below retail, such as down jackets, a tent, boots, axes, etc. Two of the most unique items were an ice axe signed by Ed Hillary which fetched $2,500 and a print of Vince Anderson taken by Steve House at the summit of Nanga Parbat went for $2,200.

Kelly Cordes, an American Alpine Journal editor, presented a thoughtful and hilarious slideshow musing on climbing, frustration of injuries, life in general, and most importantly, striped mullets. Having been through nine months of a difficult knee rehabilitation, I identified with much of what he said and was laughing and crying at the same time. Kyle Dempster presented a multi-media show about his solo climbing in Pakistan, solo bike touring and climbing in Kyrgyzstan, and several first ascents in China. The show was going way over the allotted time, but every time Kyle said “I will skip this part ‘cause it’s getting late,” the crowd would shout “no!”

After another half day of climbing on Sunday, I left Ouray for Denver with a heavy heart – sad to go after such a short visit, but feeling like I was part of the climbing community again…a community of people who’s lives are enriched by the challenge, thrill, and camaraderie of this unusual sport. With any luck, I‘ll be back next year, but I still insist on snow camping!