On Saturday, December 19th, the Teton Ice Park will be open to the public for business. The man-made ice waterfall is located at Parking Lot Rocks just outside Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyoming. Said to be the only ice climbing park at a ski resort in the US, the Teton Ice Park has a wall 100 feet wide and 100 feet tall. To add more dimension to the overall climbing experience, the wall has 40 feet of advanced vertical climbing as well as 60 feet of ice designed for beginners just getting into the sport.
The park will be operated by Aerial Boundaries and the ice will be maintained by a 3,000 gallon tanker truck of water, 250 feet of pipe, and lots of low-flow showerheads. Classes will be offered for all skill levels, and the park is free to the public (for experienced climbers with their own gear), though membership is encouraged to support the park.
Christian Santelices, the project leader for the Teton Ice Park, hopes to make ice climbing more accessible to the local climbing community. When talking about access to local climbing areas he says, “there is not easily accessible ice climbing here…everything is in avalanche paths and has long hikes in.” He hopes that will change with the development of the Teton Ice Park. So far, he has already secured sponsorship from Marmot, Exum Mountain Guides, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides and Rain for Rent.
You can read more about the development of the Teton Ice Park on the Jackson Hole News and Guide website.
-via Wend.
