Mountain Trip is permitted to guide in the world-famous Ouray Ice Park, a one-of-a-kind ice climbing venue that hosts more than 100 man-made routes, 11 climbing areas, and three miles of vertical terrain, all within a one-mile span. Located just south of downtown Ouray in the stunning Uncompahgre Gorge, amazing walls of ice are “farmed” from more than 250 sprinklers above the gorge, keeping them in near-perfect condition throughout the winter season.
The Ouray Ice Park features an amazing spectrum of difficulty and styles, making it accessible to all abilities. A beginner’s area is perfect for first-timers and children, while steep and technical mixed climbing areas accommodate more advanced climbers. Regardless of your skill level, climbers will join our experienced and knowledgeable guides, who will lead the way for a fun and world-class day of ice climbing.
The park is open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon-Fri, and 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat-Sun. Due to a high volume of climbers on weekends, should you select a weekend trip, we highly recommend meeting your guide at 7 a.m. to gear up and beat the crowds.
To make a reservation, please click below.
Half-Day Weekend Half-Day Weekday
Full-Day Weekend Full-Day Weekday
For ice climbing closer to Telluride, see our Half-Day Telluride Ice and Full-Day and Hard Multi-Pitch Ice options.
If you have questions or are looking for more advanced instruction for mixed ice climbing, multi-pitch routes or hard alpine objectives, please contact the Mountain Trip office at [email protected] or (970) 369-1153.
The following is a list of guide-recommended gear for ice climbing with Mountain Trip. In general, you’ll want a selection of warm layers that work together. Clothing designed for a day of skiing is fine; however, dedicated ice climbing clothing is better. Whatever gear you choose, please make sure it fits well so you fully enjoy your experience in the mountains.
We provide all of the necessary technical climbing equipment: ice tools, helmet, harness, crampons and mountaineering boots. (Gaiters, lightweight gloves, parkas and backpacks are available upon request). All of our equipment is top-of-the-line gear. Climbers are also welcome to bring and use their own gear upon inspection by one of our guides.
In addition to what we provide and have available to rent, there is also a good selection of gear available in Telluride and Ouray. If you have any specific questions about what you might need, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Mountain Trip office.
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Climbing Boots | Technical routes or steep day climbs are often best climbed by wearing lightweight insulated boots. Waterproof and breathable, these give a climber more "feel" than do double boots. The caveat is that they are hard to keep dry over time, so certain double boots are better for technical alpine routes. Our favorite double boot for climbing technical routes is the La Sportiva Spantik, and a great single boot is the La Sportiva Batura 2.0 GTX. | |
| Gaiters | Gaiters are required unless your pants fit tightly around your boot, many boots have built in gaiters. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Base Layer Top | (1 or 2 sets) of Wool or Capilene light weight base layers. Long sleeve or short sleeve base layers work well. | |
| Light Fleece Hoody | Light/mid weight fleece (or wool) top with a hood. You will wear this over your light weight base layer. | |
| “Puffy” Light Insulated Jacket | Size this layer to fit over your light fleece hoody and wind shell, and it is often layered underneath your expedition parka. Synthetic is easier to deal with and not worry about getting wet than a similar down filled layer. A hood on this layer in mandatory! *** Guides Tip! Use two lightweight puffy layers in the early season or if you are worried about being cold. A Micro or Nano Puff jacket with a Ultra Light Down Jacket or Vest allows versatile layering options. | |
| Hard Shell Jacket | This jacket should be large enough to go over your light puffy jacket layer. You do not need the burliest/heaviest Gore-Tex jacket you can find, and we prefer the lightest weight versions. | |
| Soft Shell Wind Jacket | Many high alpine peaks are cold and dry. We are huge fans of very lightweight softshell wind jackets for high, dry, cold peaks. Weighing just a few ounces, these can be carried in your pocket or in the lid of your pack for rapid deployment. This layer is used in addition to your more waterproof hard shell jacket. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Base Layer Bottoms | (1 or 2 sets) of Wool or Capilene light weight base layers. | |
| Light Fleece Bottoms | As the air thins and the wind picks up, you'll want a bit more insulation on your legs. This should be a slightly warmer layer that can go over your base layer bottoms when it gets cold. | |
| Soft Shell Pants | Soft Shell pants are the workhorse on Denali, you'll be wearing these day in and day out on most expeditions. On peaks like Denali and Aconcagua, you can wear them in lieu of your hard shell pants for much of the expedition. | |
| Hard Shell, Waterproof Pants | When it's raining a soft shell pant just isn't enough and you'll need a waterproof "hard shell" pant, Gore-Tex or equivalent. These should be as light weight as possible, fully separating side zippers will help to get them on without taking off your boots. On some peaks, you might carry hard shell pants for the lower mountain, but switch to soft shell pants for the colder and drier upper mountain. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight Gloves | Warm, insulated gloves are the day-to-day workhorses on cold peaks or for cold days of ice climbing. We prefer gloves with removable liners for ease of drying. | |
| Medium Weight Gloves | A Mid-weight glove will generally be a softshell type glove with some light synthetic insulation. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Climbing Pack | Suitable climbing packs will be 30 - 45 liters in volume and have the capability of easily attaching crampons, and ice axes if used for a day of ice climbing or if needed for a peak ascent. For a day climbs, any pack in the 30 - 45 liter range will work, but we recommend that you consider the weight of the pack carefully. Overnight, alpine routes require larger (45L) packs that also let you strap your sleeping pad to the outside. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Climbing Helmet | Make certain it fits over your warmest hat and under the hood of your shell. The super-lightweight foam helmets are great, but can get crushed in your duffel bags during travel, so protect your lid! | |
| Climbing Harness | An aspect of technical climbing is hanging in a harness. Having a padded, comfortable harness will make you much happier than will a thinly padded, alpine harness, and, should you find yourself at a semi hanging belay, your legs are less likely to fall asleep from lack of circulation. | |
| Crampons | Select a pair 12-point Mountaineering Crampons that fit your boots well. Step-in or strap versions work equally well; just make sure they fit your mountain boots and overboots. You may need to lengthen your crampons to accommodate your overboots, please make sure you can make this adjustment in the field. Aluminum crampons are not acceptable for expeditions. | |
| Belay/Rappel Device | A plaquette style belay/rappel device. |
| Gear | Description | Guide's Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Two (2) One-Liter Water Bottles | You will need two, 1-liter plastic water bottles. Please bring wide-mouth bottles, such as those from Nalgene, as these are much easier to fill than bottles with small openings. | |
| Lip Balm | Bring a tube of quality lip balm with sun protection (SPF). | |
| Sunscreen | The sun can be intense in Colorado, so please apply high SPF sunscreen prior to your trip and bring a small tube along to reapply during the day. |
