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Ice climbing in Mount Washington Valley

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January 29, 2012|By Brian Irwin

The box canyon of Champney Falls is an ice climbing classroom, a training… (Dominic Casserly for The…)

NORTH CONWAY, N.H. - Champney Falls sits in a box canyon a mile and a half from the Kancamagus Highway, just west of Conway. In spring the falls puts on quite a show, but by late summer it dries to an unimpressive seep of water that oozes over a mossy cliff on the flank of Mount Chocoura. When the mercury drops the water locks up, forming a 50-foot-high wall of dazzling ice pillars and daggers on one side of the canyon wall. Iridescent blue ice glows in the slot, whose floor is flat and full of ice climbers belaying each other as their partners ascend the steep lines. Champney is one of the region’s best ice-climbing schoolrooms and is often used by guides during the annual Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest.

Climbing steep ice and snow is not a new notion. Adventurers in this country have been pulling themselves up veins of frozen water for about a century, but poor equipment and lack of formal instruction discouraged most people from trying it. In the 1970s, Yvon Chouinard, founder of the clothing company Patagonia and grandfather of North American ice climbing, unveiled new technology: redesigned steel picks that stick in the ice with ease. Almost overnight, ice climbing grew in popularity, fostering its own devoted community.

New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley is one of America’s climbing epicenters. It is surrounded by towering peaks, granite monoliths, and steep walls, many with world-class routes. With climbs of all difficulty levels and a handful of schools offering instruction, it’s the perfect place to learn the sport. And it’s the perfect place to celebrate ice climbing with an annual festival, which will take place next weekend, Feb. 3-5.

Nineteen years ago, the first ice climbing festival in North America opened here. Spearheaded by Rick Wilcox, owner of International Mountain Equipment in North Conway and part owner of its affiliated International Mountain Climbing School, Ice Fest began as an opportunity to network with other climbers. Wilcox describes it as “a celebration of the sport,’’ a weekend where devotees gather for three days of climbing, slideshows, and happy hours. Today Ice Fest has grown into an annual event drawing people from all over the country and beyond. “We’re following in Chouinard’s footsteps,’’ said Wilcox. “It’s a life pursuit.’’

A former climbing guide and Everest summiteer, Wilcox, 63, purchased International Mountain in 1979 and later acquired the climbing school that was run out of its attic. He was one of the first to take on some of the region’s most challenging ice climbs 30 years ago and continues to operate regular international treks to Africa and Asia.