The Ice Carnival!

Submitted by Highlandtravler on Tue, 11/20/2007 - 17:51
I want to know just a little of what ice climbers(local,or non loco) think of the upcoming Bozeman Ice Fesitval. I thought it could be a fun way to meet up with the climbing community and take out some newcomers. While I mostly still think this, I have recently been wondering if it needs to be this big!? Is a banner across main street bozo truely necessary?(beleive it or not there is one, go see yourself!) Does crowding the main fork lot with 50+ cars improve our access? I don't wish to piss anyone off or discredit the amount of work that JoJo or SMCC have put into access issues. And by the way thanks alot for all of it, hyalite or elsewhere!! I know it's still going to be a fun event, BUT does ice climbing need to be main stream and crowded to be accessible? Spencer W.

Spencer I hear what you are saying, and part of me agrees with your lament... but just barely. The fact of the matter is, ice climbing isn't and won't be "main stream", even though the ice fest makes it seem like it is. There are plenty of venues in Montana alone where we can go climb and not see anyone if we don't want to... most people just don't commit to the effort involved, especially with Hyalite right there. Like Joe wrote in the Alpinist article, Hyalite has the highest concentration of natural ice climbing in North America. And by Montana standards, Bozeman is a city with a highway and an airport and a population boom and that all means more resident and visitor climbers every year. Hyalite is what it is, and the goods and the access are definitely no secret. Its one venue, and the ice fest is only one weekend... and the events are held at a small fraction of the flows. My recommendation for someone who is adverse to this type of loud scene: go to the beartooths this weekend and get sick on monster ice with nobody around. Otherwise, take advantage of the resources of the ice fest and have a blast. If nothing else its a better excuse than most to drink beer! Conor

I agree Conor - in my experience in the past few years there's always an initial rush of ice climbers in the fall usually ending around the new year. After that Spencer, Hyalite turns into a private playground especially on the weekdays! My 2c.
Spray