Michigan Ice Fest 2009

This was the first time any of us had been to an ice fest. This one is held every year, usually at the beginning of February, in Munising, MI, which is pretty much half way into the UP, on the shore of Lake Superior.

Because it was our first time on the ice, we all signed up for the Intro to Ice class. The entry fee included all ice-specific climbing gear, and the majority of the day was spent learning ice techniques. And the fee was quite reasonable. The instructors even had good Patagonia down jackets to loan out for people who weren't as prepared as us for the cold weather. :)

Clay, Veronica, and I headed up Friday afternoon, for an 8 hour drive to the north. We arrived in near-whiteout conditions, around 1 am, with an air temp of -14F, and winds of 15-20mph.

Veronica had been accepted for the Sue Nott scholarship fund. The purpose of the scholarship is to promote, inspire, and introduce young women to the sport of ice climbing. This was Veronica's first time on the ice, and she loved it. She got to climb at a location called The Curtains, in roughly 17F temps.

Clay and I had our climb the second day of the trip, at a location called Twin Falls. Our temp was a little warmer, with a high of 25F, but we had some heavy snow fall, and a lot of spindrift.

We ended up meeting a Fort Wayne climber up at Ice Fest, Joel, who is an avid rock climber, and a frequent visitor to Earth Adventures. We had told him about the event, but had no idea he's show up, let alone be in our class with us.

All in all, Ice Fest was highly enjoyable. Even though the temps were cold, if you're active and have good gear, you won't really notice it. So, for anyone who thinks cold weather isn't for them, you have to try it at least once. If nothing else, you'll meet 400 other crazy people who think the cold isn't a bad thing either.

-- Jason