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Climbers miss ice

Access Fund lobbies city to 'farm' ice-climbing areas

By Kasey Cordell, For the Camera
December 6, 2004

Last winter, Louisville resident Tom Walker logged about 150 hours on Colorado's roads as he traveled the state in search of ice climbing.

If a proposal making its way to the Boulder City Council passes, Walker could be swinging his ice axes locally instead.

The Access Fund, a nonprofit group that works to keep climbing areas open while balancing environmental concerns, is working with local government to "farm" ice climbs in Boulder Canyon.

In the past, ice has formed in an area near Nederland, known as Castle Rock, from leaks in a pipeline carrying water to Boulder. As the city of Boulder has repaired leaks, the ice flows have begun to disappear.

The Access Fund proposal suggests installing a valve system that would allow some water to escape at these venues to ensure future ice climbing in Boulder Canyon.

"The ice climbing up in the canyon has been very bad in the last few years since Boulder fixed the leaks in the pipeline," Walker said this week. "This would add a significant amount of climbing locally."

Rock climbers and ice climbers collided in the late 1990s when hoses were attached to pipeline leaks to create ice floes over rock climbing routes. Arguments about damage by ice tools to rock and the ice's impact on fixed climbing aids eventually led authorities to shut the ice climbs down.

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