Ouray
January 2003
After returning to Omaha in September, 2002, we immediately began talking our friends into going back to Ouray with us for some ice climbing. After showing them the recon pictures we had taken, it didn't take a whole lot of arm-twisting to get them interested. We did a little homework and found a great house we could rent from the Victorian Inn. Divided eight ways it was incredibly affordable for everyone. Plus we've found it's always more fun and relaxing to have a place to cook and hang out together after a great day of climbing.
If you're wondering about the delicious ice climb in the picture above, it came from Mouse's Chocolates, which just happens to be one of the most incredible candy shops in the world! Really, their truffles are amazing!!!! Unfortunately, while this little beauty was decorating our dining room table, it got a little too much sun and came crashing down on top of the little ice climbers. This was truly one of the greatest tragedies in mountaineering history!!!
After getting settled in to our accommodations, we spent three days climbing in the park. It is a great place to get some vertical ice mileage under your belt. None of us had a great deal of ice climbing experience before this trip, and we all improved a great deal in just three days!
While I won't bore you with the details of each and every climb we did, you can check out the action and the cool surroundings in the following gallery:
