MARTIN KIDSTON/Gazette Staff Wolfgang Schweiger, of Petzl, shows
off the outdoor gear company's latest gadgets on Saturday at the 13 annual
South Fork Waterfall Ice Festival in Cody.
CODY, Wyo. — They came in from the cold with rosy cheeks and matted hair. It had been a long day of climbing the South Fork ice, and now it was time to celebrate and reflect on what they had learned.
“The ice was great and the guide was awesome,” said Fred Caloggero, who spent Saturday learning the ins and outs of ice climbing on a pitch known as Cabin Fever.
“I'll definitely come back next year. This is a cool spot.”
Thirteen was a lucky number this year, with attendance at the 13th annual South Fork Waterfall Ice Festival being the largest yet.
By day, more than 100 climbers hit the ice in 12-degree temperatures, hoping to learn something new under the watchful eye of a climbing guide.
By night, as the snow set in and the beer flowed, the climbers talked of frozen waterfalls and climbing routes, heel position and ax placement.
Caloggero, who came from Golden, Colo., to attend the event, ended his day Saturday a better climber. The festival's atmosphere and intimate setting, he said, played to his advantage.
“We went up in these small, intimate groups, so everyone got one-on-one time, even though you're with four other guys climbing,” Caloggero said. “Our guide gave us some good tips and tricks, and he critiqued us going up and gave us some pointers.”
With the New Belgian beer on tap and the band Buffalo Head warming up on stage, climbers swapped stories and pored over the sponsor merchandise, including Petzl headlamps, carabiners and RAB outdoor clothing.
Others signed up for the evening's silent auction, hoping to win a Grivel climbing package, a pair of Sabertooth pro crampons or a Superlite camping bivi.
“I've been doing some alpine climbing and some snow climbs,” said Ted Ehrlich of Fort Collins, Colo. “But today reinforced what I should be doing. I'm probably more knowledgeable, but it takes a long time to become a better climber.”
Cody caterer Cabin Fever Smokehouse topped off the evening with a hearty serving of barbeque chicken, pulled pork, potatoes and biscuits. Climbers exchanged their helmets for knitted hats, their axes for plastic forks.
Despite a bit of snow and wind, festival organizer Don Foote called the weekend a success. While the 13th annual festival was larger than the year before, Foote was already looking to next year's event and how to make it better still.
“Each year you try to outdo it,” he said. “You try to do something a little different, mix it up, change it up a little bit.”
“But it'll be hard to beat this one. We got great support this year with climbing legends and icons and just good people. It's definitely a hard-core group of climbers.”
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