ICE REPORTS

Ice Report 1.23.2026

Welcome All Ice Climbers! Sorry for the report being later in the week than usual. We had a great weekend, it was our busiest ever- even topping last year’s fest! It seemed like everyone had a great time and there were still many routes with nobody on them. Since then we’ve been working hard to get everything refreshed. This weekend is bound to be much quieter since it’s not a holiday and Ouray’s Fest is happening. So come on over to some space and quiet. Things are a little fatter than last week and there are some new routes coming in, but overall last week’s report still sums it up. So, see that below!

LAKE CITY ICE FESTIVAL is around the corner……..

Saturday, February 7th!

Ice Climbing Festival

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Sat. Feb 7th, 2026

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Ice Climbing Festival 〰️ Sat. Feb 7th, 2026 〰️

ICE REPORT 1.14.2026

We had a great week for growing ice! We hit -5 a week ago and have been in the teens and single digits since then. Everything has been refreshed in the last few days. Many routes have fattened up and we have been able to add some new routes for this year. We have over 120 routes that are climbable -even more if you’re up for something thin or mixed!

It’s warming up again. Plan on the climbs being wet. Check the top of your route for hazards- detached ice or ice hanging from trees. If you see a hazard you can always pick another route OR best practice is to knock any loose ice down when you are at the top setting up. Have someone in your party at the bottom of your climb to make sure no one is within 50’ and remove any ice that looks precarious while rappelling down.

We are looking forward to Martin Luther King Jr weekend. It’s going to be busy! It usually is a busy weekend for us, and on top of that, Ouray is still working to get up and running. Let’s all do our best to keep everyone safe this weekend. Triple check before you rappel something to make sure there isn’t someone leading or otherwise right below you. Everyone be ready to climb close to your neighbor(but not too close!). Let’s keep that small-town vibe! Give all your fellow climbers a nod or a wave or strike up a conversation. This is not a big city commute, this is a relaxing and challenging experience to be shared with friends and strangers. Take some time to get to know your fellow climbers!

Pumphouse: Things are staring to fill in between the gullies and cracks, there are quite a few new routes on the open faces. The cave(left end) and lower point(right end) are looking great!

Devil’s Kitchen: Some of the gullies are finally coming in, but that could be reversed with the extremely warm afternoons we are having. Luckily there are only 10 or 15 routes in the whole park that are susceptible to afternoon melting during the middle of our season.

Roly-Poly: This spot has seen a lot of action this week! Many of the routes have gotten thicker. I was able to confirm with a friend this week that the longest climb in the park is at Roly-Poly. Most of it is definitely not steep, but it was a fun climb up through a forested gully with a short vertical section at the top. Total route length: ~70m(230’)!

Dynamite Shack: In addition to everything looking amazing here, there are some new(for this year) and scary routes coming in on the left side. Do look out for the huge hanging daggers in this area. One weighing several hundred if not thousands of pounds came down in the middle of the night last season.

Beer Garden: We had several days this past week without water on the right end of this wall due to a clogged pump. That coupled with another cycle of river flooding due to ice dams meant that this part of the wall got pretty stepped out. We got that pump cleaned out and we are running a lot of water to get it refreshed. There are so many other great climbs on this wall with some new ones starting to form on the left side.

Sherwin Groceries: This area is looking great! There were some people climbing some mixed routes and super thin ice cracks here this week. There are also a couple routes here that are getting fat!

Check out our latest addition: Shorty’s Minimart! Right below the Beer Garden Trail we are working on a wall that is probably 30-40’ tall. It’s going to be a great addition for school groups, beginners and first time lead climbers. There is a top access trail that is a lower fork of the Beer Garden Trail. The trail is not for the faint of heart, it is across an 80 degree cliff. Check it out!

Remember to look out for hollow spots right at the top of the cliff from where we spray the water especially when leading. Watch your feet! Our pipes and hoses can be punctured by crampons. Try to leave hoses where we have them. Remember these are imperfect assessments. Make sure you do your own homework. As always, all the climbing in Lake City is truly CLIMB AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Climb Safe! -Christian

Pumphouse

Sherwin Groceries

Ice Report 1/7/26

Welcome to the New Year and Welcome all Ouray refugees! We have been sad that our sister ice city and the OG ice park has been struggling. May colder days come soon. In the meantime, everyone is welcome in Lake City. We did have a very busy weekend. Thanks to everyone for coming out to climb! A note: busy for us means that about half of the routes in the park have a rope on them.

Since the last report, the weather has moderated some. We have had a lot of nights in the teens and a few in the single digits. That means we are growing ice! I counted routes a week ago and we had around 90 that were climbable! Since we were busy last weekend a lot of stuff got chopped out. We are working hard to refresh everything again.

Pumphouse: With daytime temps still being fairly warm, there are some cliffs that have been melting on us in the afternoons. But, a lot of the gullies and all the classic routes are in. The cave (left end of Pumphouse) looks great with some interesting pillars. The Lower Point is also climbable now (right end of Pumphouse).

Devil’s Kitchen: Our sunniest wall, therefore, the gullies here are coming in slow. We have made a lot of headway the last few days and some of the gullies are connecting to the bottom now. The upstream end of Devil’s has been solid for a month now -lot’s of ice and climbed less than Pumphouse.

Roly-Poly: This little spot has everything right now. Quick access, pillars, low angle, vertical, short climbs, and maybe the longest climb in the park (TBD).

Dynamite Shack: Loads of great routes are in. I still can’t believe how tall some of the faces are, I am in awe every time I cross the bridge.

Beer Garden: Things are looking good here. The river has iced over enough to finally access most of the middle right climbs. The open water that remains can be stepped over in a lot of places. There are some interesting and challenging lines on the downstream half of the wall with staggered curtains and detached fangs.

Beer Garden

Lower Point at Pumphouse

Devil’s Kitchen

Dynamite Shack

Sherwin Groceries: People have been really trying out this new area! There are some interesting slanting cracks and tall walls at this area. The water was off here for around a week. It’s back on now, refreshed and growing. Check out our latest addition: Shorty’s Minimart! Right below the Beer Garden Trail we are working on a wall that is probably 30-40’ tall. It’s going to be a great addition for school groups and beginners. There is a top access trail that is a lower fork of the Beer Garden Trail. The trail is not for the faint of heart, it is across an 80 degree cliff. Check it out!

Remember to look out for hollow spots right at the top of the cliff from where we spray the water especially when leading. Watch your feet! Our pipes and hoses can be punctured by crampons. Try to leave hoses where we have them. You are here to climb ice, it’s ok if you get a little wet!

Remember these are imperfect assessments. Make sure you do your own homework. As always, all the climbing in Lake City is truly CLIMB AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Climb Safe! -Christian

Ice Report 12/24/25

Merry Christmas to all ice lovers everywhere! Come climb the best (only?) ice anywhere in the lower 48. It’s been a T-shirt week at the ice park for sure! Probably the warmest Christmas of my middle-aged life here in Lake City. We haven’t really lost anything this week, but since we haven’t really gained anything either, read my report from last week. The changes have been minimal. Do LOOK OUT for falling ice! We are not having any major delamination issues, but definitely large chunks can fall from trees that have been sprayed or from chandeliers etc. Be aware that the top of climbs may also be somewhat slushy.

We were able to get Rolly-Poly running a week ago and there is a bit of new ice there, so look for that. There is a somewhat hidden low-angle gully that goes all the way to the top. I am thinking that it might become our new longest route, but it hasn’t been climbed yet.

Please refer to the last report for all other info. See you next year!

Climb Safe! -Christian

Sherwin Groceries is coming along nicely. There are already a few climbable routes. There is a log bridge toward the far end of where there is (vertical) ice now and you can probably walk across the frozen river almost anywhere. Top access to Sherwin Groceries is up the Beer Garden trail.

Henson Creek is crossable at all 4 areas and most climbs that start at the river channel are accessible with a little creativity- most of our climbs start on the river bank and are always accessible. Keep in mind you will probably encounter thin ice or variable conditions including chandeliers and jellyfish. Remember to look out for hollow spots right at the top of the cliff from where we spray the water especially when leading. Watch your feet! Our pipes and hoses can be punctured by crampons.

Remember these are imperfect assessments. Make sure you do your own homework. As always, all the climbing in Lake City is truly CLIMB AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Climb Safe! -Christian

Ice Report 12/16/25

We are stoked! Although the days were very warm this last week, the nights were decently cold and we were able to make some good ice. There aren’t any routes that I would give the “Phat” rating to, but some routes are “Fat” or at least “Sub-fat”. It’s still early season, but things are definitely starting to fill in.

Don’t just stay at Pumphouse, there are so many great routes farther up the canyon! That being said, there are probably 10-15 good routes at Pumphouse and Devil’s Kitchen now and plenty of places to get across the river.

Some people might have noticed a little new ice after Devil’s Kitchen, but before Dynamite Shack. That is one of our expansions for this year. We have been affectionally calling this area Roly-Poly. Technically, this is part of Dynamite Shack, but it still has it’s own name. This area had water running for a week or 2, but we had to shut it down because of one of the pump failures mentioned in the last report. If all goes well, this system will be up and running again by the weekend. Stay tuned!

Dynamite Shack is looking really great! 10-15 routes are in and the new bridge makes it easy to get to.

Beer Garden also has 10-15 routes that are climbable. There is a 50’ section of creek that still is open water. We put some logs across at different spots on the open water today. We are hoping that will accelerate the freezing. The water is only 12 inches deep anyway so get stoked and be creative and climb those great routes.

Even though we only had a few climbers this past weekend, people moved a lot of our hoses. Some of the places they put them created some big hazards and problems. Always do your best to leave our hoses where they are. If you have to move one for some reason or trip on one please do your best to put it back exactly how it was. Never spray them up in the air. Never point them away from the cliff or uphill. Never point them straight down at the ground. Some places we have very specific goals in mind. This time of year, one of the things we are trying to accomplish is building safety walls made of ice at the top of the cliffs. This makes our job and set up for climbers safer.

The ice at Pumphouse and Devils Kitchen has only been growing for a week. Despite the short amount of time, there are probably 5-7 routes that are climbable. The river is frozen enough to cross in several places.

All of the most iconic lines at Dynamite Shack are in! There are probably 8-10 climbable routes already! There is a new log bridge to get across the river at Dynamite

Beer Garden already has around 10 climbable routes. There still is some open water in the middle of the wall, but you can cross several places to get to most of the routes and to the top access trail.

Ice Report 12/9/2025

Welcome to the 25-26 Ice Season!

We are open and we have ice-and it’s growing fast right now! If you have heard that we don’t have any ice -don’t believe it! If you have read on the internet or even on our own website that we are closed -don’t believe it.

We have had our fair share of challenges this fall though. After tireless work all summer by Ben and Danny we are in the process of bringing 3 more pumps online and expanding a lot! We have had issues getting the electrician to complete the electrical work. We have had 2 pumps stop working. We have had heat tape quit working. We have had to drag dozens of frozen hoses for up to a mile and then carry good ones back out.

As most of you probably know by now, we are overcomers! (Yes, it’s a word) Because of that fact, despite the setbacks and a near tropical November, we have ice! Keep in mind that it is early season. Don’t expect to be able to sink those 22cm ice screws, probably not even your 13s in a lot of places.

And now, we are proud to announce our newest area: Sherwin Groceries! This area (a couple hundred feet past Beer Garden) has only had water flowing for a couple days, but it’s starting to take shape. Were excited to see ice on these walls for the 1st time. We are still waiting for the electrical to be completed for the second half of Sherwin Groceries so stay tuned!

Most years we have climbable ice by Thanksgiving, but this fall was exceptionally warm. REMEMBER Lake City Ice never actually closes in the spring or opens in the fall. If there’s any ice and you want to climb it, it’s fair game!

Climb Safe! -Christian