Another mountain town turns to ice farming

In 1999 we were listening to an NPR story about an ice climbing park in Ouray, Colorado, a former mining town that has remade itself by farming ice when my daughters' mother turned to me and said, "wow, they should do that in the Open Cut."

Lake City is an old silver-mining town — population 432 — tucked in a valley in the San Juan Mountains. The Lake City Ice Park was created by a motley crew of carpenters and raft guides who shared a passion for the sport. They began “farming,” or creating their own ice in the Lake City area in the late 1990s — a scheme fueled by a mischievous curiosity and thousands of feet of hose. In Ouray, the climbers can scale more than 150 named routes along the Uncompahgre River Gorge at what has become the world’s largest man-made ice-climbing park. During the winter of 2021-’22, the Ouray Ice Park pumped $18 million into Ouray County. [Can ice climbing bring life to an isolated Colorado town in the dead of winter?]

The Ice Park in Ouray is a unique place that continues to bring ice climbers from across the world. Often called the Switzerland of America, Ouray is a year-round destination. You can learn about the work of the Rural Opportunity Office and what all the local businesses say… pic.twitter.com/n2CfDVGVGo

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) February 16, 2024

We're excited to be heading to this year's Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival, which supports the Montana community with education and mentorship on one of the most renowned frozen waterfalls in US ice climbing.https://t.co/Ius7GVChr5

📽️ Marcus Garcia#TheMountainPeople #WeAreRab pic.twitter.com/tYzeJgJgrl

— Rab (@rab_equipment) December 5, 2023