Description

Have you always wanted to try ice climbing, but didn’t want the commitment of having to travel for hours away from the Front Range to do it? Are you an experienced ice climber just looking for an opportunity to get more mileage closer to home? If you answered yes to either of the above, have we got a day for you!

Join Paradox Sports this January for a frozen adventure in our very own backyard, Clear Creek Canyon! Just a few short miles up US-6, there are a number of water flows that provide ice climbing of varying styles and difficulties. Since ice climbing is highly localized and conditions dependent, the exact location won’t be announced until closer to the program, but we’ll have two options that you can read about below.

Accessibility and Equipment

Option 1) “Secret Flow” is a hidden gully that has grown in popularity over the past few years after its secret was leaked online. Boasting a full 100’ height, it is easily the tallest single pitch of ice in the metro area and one of the most regularly forming flows around albeit inconsistent in its difficulties. The bottom ⅔ of the climb is a ramp of lower angle, rambling WI2 ice bulges and snow, however the final 35’-40’ steepen to WI3 and offer a nearly vertical and pumpy finish. The approach to Secret requires crossing an ice dam that blocks up Clear Creek, followed by a ½ mile bushwhack and hike up a frozen creek base with several steep and slippery sections. Given the involved approach and amount of low angle climbing, wheelchairs and folks with more serious mobility limitations are not recommended. Ideally, you should be able to hike this distance in varied terrain (snow/ice, mud, rocks, etc) with minimal assistance. If we end up with interest from our wheeled friends, then we’d likely pivot to Option 2 (if it is available).

Option 2) Clocking in at solid WI3, “Mickey’s Big Mouth” is a short but sweet roadside flow that gives you all the pump of a 35’ vertical ice curtain with very little approach time, making it a great candidate for wheelchair users, with a bit of assistance from the final road shoulder down to the base. This climb is a great spot to pull hard or tap delicately on varying formations of ice, but being roadside it can be very noisy due to traffic. It has also been somewhat irregular to form over the past few seasons and may or may not be there at all when the date rolls around. My (Sam’s) hope is it will be in, given a wet spring and summer but it will be impossible to predict until much closer to the program date. Sometimes it never forms in a season even with lots of surrounding moisture and cold temps.

Both options have pros and cons for our group needs and both offer very different styles and experiences, but both are awesome climbs and the closest ice in the metro area by a long shot. Either way, we can’t wait to offer another day of ice climbing this year and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a season of fat blue ice!

Winter temperatures in Colorado can vary greatly and, while we’ll hope for sunny skies, all participants should prepare for sub zero temperatures, wind, snow and sleet by packing lots of warm clothing and layers appropriate for being outdoors in the winter. Please review our packing list carefully and let us know if you have any questions or will be unable to acquire a required piece of clothing or equipment. For your protection – mountaineering boots, crampons and helmets (all provided, if applicable) will be required at all times prior to leaving the parking area. If you are unsure if any of your gear is appropriate for ice climbing, please contact sam@paradoxsports.org to discuss, so we can ensure we have you covered.

If you have any questions about this, or any other program, please reach out to sam@paradoxsports.org