A ghost town in the middle of nowhere. That’s how people described Ouray during winters of the 1980s.

Nestled in a remote box canyon of southwest Colorado, “some mornings there wasn’t a single car on Main Street, no human form stirring in the frosty air,” according to an account written by Peter Shelton.

5 ice climbing venues around Colorado

“Then a remarkable and unlikely thing happened. People started coming to Ouray to climb man-made frozen waterfalls.”

The story goes a mountaineer by the name of Bobo peered into the dark depths of the Uncompahgre River Gorge just up Main Street. He spotted a blueish, towering slab of ice spilling from a leaky pipe. More of these were found across the old infrastructure — perfect for axes and crampons, a renegade crew discovered.

Thus began a grassroots mission to farm ice and create a climbing venue unlike anything in all of North America. In the coldest hours of the night, spray heads would be turned on, and the routes would form over the vertical crag.

Thus Ouray Ice Park was born — along with one of the sport’s premier events worldwide.

January will mark the 28th annual Ouray Ice Festival, an ultimate celebration of climbing and the venue that awakened the town from its winter slumber.

“The Ouray Ice Park is to Ouray what the ski hill is to Telluride,” said Peter O’Neil, executive director of the nonprofit running the free park. “Now (Ouray) is healthy and vibrant, and visitation is through the roof.”

Every year thousands of climbers journey to this pocket of the San Juan Mountains, this so-called “Switzerland of America.” For the festival, they come for the competition and the camaraderie of evening seminars, films, happy hours and parties. It’s a festive and scenic atmosphere that also appeals to non-climbers, who might join a clinic to test gear or simply spectate.

The show is slated to be bigger and better this winter.

Christmas tree harvesting opens in the Pikes Peak region

If all goes accordingly, ice makers will have more water to work with than ever in the park’s history. That’s after an agreement for the park to pump water from the creek, rather than rely on dwindling supply from the city tank. Curtains and daggers are set to span farther across the gorge, as are the walkways for access.

Climbers “can expect more routes, fatter ice and hopefully less crowding, because we’ll have more terrain to spread climbers throughout the park,” O’Neil said.

And so the 28th Ouray Ice Festival won’t only be a celebration of the past and present. It’ll be a celebration of the future.

A ghost town in the middle of nowhere. That’s how people described Ouray during winters of the 1980s.

Nestled in a remote box canyon of southwest Colorado, “some mornings there wasn’t a single car on Main Street, no human form stirring in the frosty air,” according to an account written by Peter Shelton.

“Then a remarkable and unlikely thing happened. People started coming to Ouray to climb man-made frozen waterfalls.”

The story goes a mountaineer by the name of Bobo peered into the dark depths of the Uncompahgre River Gorge just up Main Street. He spotted a blueish, towering slab of ice spilling from a leaky pipe. More of these were found across the old infrastructure — perfect for axes and crampons, a renegade crew discovered.

Thus began a grassroots mission to farm ice and create a climbing venue unlike anything in all of North America. In the coldest hours of the night, spray heads would be turned on, and the routes would form over the vertical crag.

Thus Ouray Ice Park was born — along with one of the sport’s premier events worldwide.

January will mark the 28th annual Ouray Ice Festival, an ultimate celebration of climbing and the venue that awakened the town from its winter slumber.

“The Ouray Ice Park is to Ouray what the ski hill is to Telluride,” said Peter O’Neil, executive director of the nonprofit running the free park. “Now (Ouray) is healthy and vibrant, and visitation is through the roof.”

Every year thousands of climbers journey to this pocket of the San Juan Mountains, this so-called “Switzerland of America.” For the festival, they come for the competition and the camaraderie of evening seminars, films, happy hours and parties. It’s a festive and scenic atmosphere that also appeals to non-climbers, who might join a clinic to test gear or simply spectate.

The show is slated to be bigger and better this winter.

If all goes accordingly, ice makers will have more water to work with than ever in the park’s history. That’s after an agreement to pump water from the creek, rather than rely on dwindling supply from the city tank. Curtains and daggers are set to span farther across the gorge, as are the walkways for access.

Climbers “can expect more routes, fatter ice and hopefully less crowding, because we’ll have more terrain to spread climbers throughout the park,” O’Neil said.

And so the 28th Ouray Ice Festival won’t only be a celebration of the past and present. It’ll be a celebration of the future.