Ice Fest features world-class athletes, clinics, fireside chats — and an icy sculpture to be set on fire

Peter O’Neil knows interest in the sport of ice climbing has moved beyond the narrow niche of adrenaline junkies and thrill-seekers into a broader community realm when he gets invited to church.

Leaders at the Ridgway Christian Center and Ridgway Community Church asked the executive director of the Ouray Ice Park to talk to their congregations earlier this month about the park and the annual Ouray Ice Festival — how they operate and what they mean to Ouray County.

O’Neil was happy to oblige. He’s been evangelizing for years to anyone who will listen about the economic benefit the ice park brings to Ouray’s winter economy. He’s fond of saying the fangs of man-made ice that thousands of people climb in the Uncompahgre River Gorge every winter is to Ouray what the ski hill is to Telluride.

But to have the opportunity to bring his message to Sunday worshippers?

“I’ve never had the chance to reach out that way,” he said.

Hundreds of people — perhaps a couple thousand — are expected to descend on Ouray this weekend to discover for themselves what O’Neil is so passionate about.

The 29th annual Ouray Ice Festival begins tonight (Thursday) and continues through Sunday, offering spectators a chance to watch some of the best ice climbers in the world, participate in gear demonstrations, clinics, fireside chats and evening talks and even strap on a helmet and crampons and swing an ice tool into a frozen waterfall themselves.

“It’s a celebration of the sport of ice climbing. It’s a celebration of winter in Ouray that’s bringing people around the world to a gem of a location,” O’Neil said.

The festival is the Ice Park’s biggest fundraiser, accounting for nearly 40% of the nonprofit organization’s budget needed to run the park.

The highlight of the event is the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (better known as the UIAA) Ice Climbing Continental Open finals on Saturday, where elite male and female climbers will ascend a mixture of rock and ice and an artificial structure. The UIAA has held competitions during the festival in previous years, but this is the first time that climbers will earn points toward the federation’s World Cup standings, according to O’Neil.

There’s much more to do and see than the Saturday competition. The festival kicks off Thursday night with a screening of the film “Jirishanca,” a story about two alpinists’ ascension of the nearly 20,000-foot peak of Peru, and a pool party to follow at Twin Peaks’ Lodge and Hot Springs.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday feature gear expos, a walk-up climbing wall, clinics and fireside chats within the Ice Park. There’s an apres party Friday afternoon in the parking lot of Box Cañon Falls Park, where a 15-foot-high steel-framed sculpture from Ouray metal artist Jeff Skoloda will be encased in ice and set ablaze.

Friday and Saturday nights feature presentations from two well-known climbers — Canadian ice climber Will Gadd and professional alpinist and filmmaker Graham Zimmerman. Gadd will give a presentation titled, “20 Adventures of a Lifetime and Lessons Learned,” on Friday night, while Zimmerman will give a presentation on his new memoir, “A Fine Line.” Both events will be held at the Ouray Community Center. The famous — or is it infamous? — Petzl Party follows Zimmerman’s presentation Saturday night.

Sunday offers a youth climbing competition and a moment of silence in the afternoon at the Memorial Wall in the Ice Park to honor fallen climbers.

The festival has grabbed the attention of the Colorado Film Office, which will be in Ouray this weekend to shoot video for an upcoming travelogue about Ouray the state is producing in conjunction with Rocky Mountain PBS and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Most daytime events through the weekend are free.

Opening night events on Thursday, the Friday and Saturday evening presentations and the Saturday night Petzl Party are all ticketed. All-access passes are also available.

For more information, to see a schedule of events and to purchase tickets, go to ourayicepark.com.