Every winter for the past six years, Tim Foulkes has followed a consistent morning routine. After the Ouray resident’s alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m., he layers on long underwear, a soft-shell jacket and pants, a Gore-Tex coat, and waterproof mountaineering boots; grabs his helmet and a backpack stocked with ice tools, a gas torch, a pipe wrench, and crampons; and heads to what he calls “nature’s most beautiful art.”

As an ice farmer at Ouray Ice Park—a free, public climbing arena nestled in the Uncompahgre Gorge—Foulkes helps create and maintain the park’s two miles of frozen vertical terrain and more than 200 climbing routes. Starting each November, he and three other ice engineers transform the gorge walls into intricate arctic avenues by carefully streaming up to 600,000 gallons of water a day down its craggy cliffs. They repair burst or frozen pipes, tinker with water pressure levels, and traverse icy precipices to test stability and safety—often in the dark and in sub-20-degree temperatures. “We like to call ourselves alpine plumbers,” Foulkes says. “It’s one of the weirdest, coolest jobs on the planet.”

5280 January 2025
More From The Issue

The largest human-made public ice climbing venue in the world, Ouray Ice Park comes from humble—and unsanctioned—beginnings. In the late 1980s, local climbers and mountaineers noticed a massive wall of ice forming beneath a leaky cliffside pipeline that runs along the top of the Uncompahgre Gorge and carries water to a hydroelectric power plant. “They were going cowboy for a while, going rogue,” Foulkes says, “and just climbing on that sheet of ice.” Bill Whitt and Gary Wild—avid ice climbers and owners of the now-defunct Ouray Victorian Inn, the only hotel in town at the time—saw the frozen playground as a way to boost winter foot traffic and, in turn, the local economy.

It worked. After Whitt and Wild opened Ouray Ice Park in 1994, adventure seekers from around the world began flocking to the area each winter. Today, the park attracts an average of 20,000 climbers during its season (typically late December to March), and a recent economic impact study from Kent State University found that the park generated nearly $18 million for local businesses in 2021–’22. “Locals talk about being able to sled down Main Street back in the day without worrying about cars,” says Peter O’Neil, executive director of the park. “Now, it’s a bustling, vibrant place in the winter.” And never is the town more alive than during the Ouray Ice Festival—an annual three-day ice climbing spectacle that celebrates its 30th anniversary this month—when more than 5,000 climbers descend on the area to ascend the park’s frosty cliffs.

Ice climbing in Ouray Ice Park
Photo courtesy of Joseph Sanchez
Ice farming in Ouray Ice Park
Photo courtesy of Dan Chehayl
Ice farming in Ouray Ice Park
Photo courtesy of Pete Davis

 

But climate change, high maintenance costs, and a limited water supply threaten the future of the venue. “Temperature is our greatest issue right now,” Foulkes says, noting that ice farmers need night temperatures to consistently drop into the teens to create rock-solid terrain. The longer it takes for that to happen each winter, the shorter the park’s climbing season. “The ice park used to open before Thanksgiving,” Foulkes says. “Now we’re lucky to open before Christmas.”

Although it can’t control the weather, park leadership is working to combat stunted seasons by developing its own water supply. (Currently, the facility’s sole source is the city of Ouray’s excess—what’s left over after the town’s residents and businesses get their fill.) In 2022, the park, a nonprofit, launched the Our Water, Our Future campaign to raise the $1.4 million needed to create a system that would provide the venue with three to five times the amount of water it receives from the city. The initiative has raised $1.1 million so far. When the weather cooperates, more water would allow Foulkes and his fellow farmers to grow thicker, more heat-resistant walls earlier in the season—not to mention create 40 additional routes. “We want to make sure the ice park is around for the next generation of climbers,” O’Neil says.

Read More: First-Timer’s Guide: Ouray

From January 23 to 26, Ouray Ice Park hosts its 30th ice festival—a celebration of all things ice climbing and the park’s largest annual fundraising event. (O’Neil expects the 2025 edition to raise $160,000, which will help cover annual operating costs.) During the three-day event ($90 for an all-access pass), visitors can soak at a hot springs kick-off party at Twin Peaks Lodge, check out the latest outdoor gear at Vendor Village, learn new skills during pro-led clinics, and watch some of the world’s best climbers compete.

This article was originally published in 5280 January 2025.
Michelle Shortall
Michelle Shortall
Michelle Shortall is a senior editor at 5280, where she manages Compass and writes and edits home stories for 5280.com.