This winter’s unprecedented absence of snow and cold in Chicago did not deter a First Ascent climbers from venturing north to the south shore of Lake Superior for the 2017 Michigan Ice Fest. A newbie to ice climbing, Mila Ugryn recounts her experience on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula several weekends ago. Say hi to her when you see her climbing at FA, and if you have your own experiences you’d like to share via the FA Blog, please email blog@firstascentclimbing.com. To sweeten the deal, we’ll add 2000 FA Bonus points to your account if we publish the content you submit on our blog!
Dreaming of Ice
Eleanor Roosevelt is famously quoted: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Ice climbing was one of the things on my “Would love to, but don’t need to” list. Still, for me, I knew the experience would be a beautiful dream. When I saw a post on a on a Facebook group for Chicago climbers asking for a ride-share to the Michigan Ice Fest several months ago, I saw it as a sign. After some quick research and a couple of conversations with festival staff, I knew deep in my heart I had to go. I asked myself, “how hard can it be?”
With Roosevelt’s quote resonating, another one of my dreams would soon be coming true.
The “icing” on this weekend: Friends
Wonderful things are meant to be shared, and with my enthusiastic boyfriend and friends from First Ascent, we headed to Munising, Michigan for the weekend to climb on ice.
Although the festival lasts a whole week, our group decided to spend only a weekend there. This was our first year, and we wanted to just get a taste. After a six-hour drive on a Friday, we checked-in at the headquarters and caught a movie about Jeff Lowe’s famous climb of Metanoia on the Eiger mountain in the Bernese Alps. Our whole group got inspired, and afterwards we shared several stories and expectations for the experiences we were hoping for in the morning. One of our squad members had the pleasure of seeing Conrad Anker in a restaurant before dinner. We all knew this was going to be a great weekend.
Learning The Ropes
Though most of us didn’t have any ice climbing gear, the festival provided nearly everything for a nominal rental fee. Companies like Black Diamond, Arcteryx, The North Face, Cassin, Mountain Hardwear, La Sportiva, Petzl and Patagonia sponsored the festival with gear, making it easy to get on ice without a huge up front investment.
The Intro to Ice session with Mark Wilford gave us an excellent overview and a chance to climb multiple routes on a nice frozen waterfall. James Loveridge taught Sunday’s Ice Screw and Anchor Placement class, and we all made our own V-thread for the first time.
The weekend kept getting better and better. In his presentation, William Gadd inspired everyone with an array of unique experiences. The highlight: he’s the only person in the world to get a permit to climb frozen Niagara Falls. His enthusiasm about living life could only be equaled by listening to Conrad Anker talk about Meru, life, and climbing in the Himalayas.
Climbing on Thin Ice
Ironically, while we were busy ice climbing, Chicago was experiencing summer weather in the middle of February. We got to climb plenty of ice-covered routes, but the Michigan Ice Fest organizers closed off many routes due to unsafe conditions caused by warmer than average weather.
Both Conrad Anker and William Gadd mentioned in shift in weather during their presentations later that weekend. With our climate changing this noticeably, who knows what the future holds for the Michigan Ice Fest.
All in all, the weekend was incredible. The organizers of the Michigan Ice Fest are some of the kindest, most hard working people, and they really made this experience an unforgettable one for me. Though ice climbing was on my “Maybe” list, I can now say that doing it was a dream come true. Thanks to everyone who made that weekend such a blast for me and my crew!
By: Mila Ugryn
Photos by: Mila and friends