After a great day of climbing in the Pikes Peak region, Eric, Branden, and I were driving back home in my car, when I suddenly get a text from my good friend Anthony. The text included a picture, with the sole caption “Go climb this”. The picture included one of the most beautiful pitches of waterfall ice I have seen in Colorado.

On Saturday, May 4th, Sam Jones, Andrew, and myself completed an unclimbed couloir in a remote area behind Pikes Peak, Colorado. Sam is an established route setter in the Colorado Springs area, and none of us have ever heard of any previous ascents of the couloir. The line we climbed is highlighted in red below.

As an avid ice climber, I can say my first trip to Ouray was long overdue. Most times, when I mention to friends (both climber and non-climber) that I love to ice climb, they usually immediately mention Ouray. For the most part, it’s because they are trying to draw a connection with ice climbing since most people don’t ice climb. Being my 3rd season on ice, I figured it was finally time to make a trip down to southern Colorado to see what all the fuss is about.

As an avid climber and aspiring alpinist, my most important task has been explaining to others, who are not climbers, why anyone would want to want to put themselves in such seemingly immediate danger. Places where one foot slip, one misstep, or a broken rock would mean certain death. Every climber puts themselves in positions such as this, but it is always in varying degrees. Climbing is a unique sport, in which, unlike any other sport, the consequences of death are all around you, objective danger is all around you. For the most part, your own safety and destiny is in your control.