The annual Bozeman Ice Festival kicks off tonight, Tuesday, December 10, with a free Community Night hosted by the American Alpine Club at 6 p.m. at the Lockhorn Cider House. The festival officially starts Wednesday, December 11, and continues through Sunday, December 15, with a variety of events, ranging from ice climbing clinics in Hyalite Canyon to entertainment in town, including presentations by top climbers, film screenings and parties. Many of the proceeds benefit a cost-sharing program between the Forest Service, Gallatin County and Friends of Hyalite that keeps the road into the canyon plowed and open through the winter. Other proceeds support the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.
If you’re an ice climber or keep up with the origin stories of some of North America’s most famous alpinists over the past several decades—such as Alex Lowe, Jack Tackle and, more recently, Matt Cornell—you’ve most likely heard of Hyalite Canyon.
According to a Crag Profile by Joe Josephson, “The House of Hyalite,” published in Alpinist 36 (2011), the ice climbing potential of the place wasn’t realized until about 1970 because the frozen wonderland was locked away for much of the winter owing to a stretch of road that was often rough to travel even in summer. Even after ice climbing started to become more popular, by the turn of the century the road was still a crapshoot.
In “The House of Hyalite,” Josephson wrote:
Any landscape is only truly valued—and it will only be protected in the future—if it is loved.
In the spring of 2007, tired of stuck cars, Forest Service officials planned a winter closure at the bottom of the road, some thirteen miles from the nearest ice. Local climbers had spent nearly four years trying to educate them about the importance of road access and just how great the ice was in Hyalite. Now, for the first time, we had to come up with a convincing, quantitative value for this resource. As I counted up the routes, I realized the canyon was more than just a backyard playground for a small group of locals. With over 215 climbs in a 3,350-acre area, Hyalite represented the most concentrated ice arena between Banff and Ouray, with some of the most reliable conditions anywhere in America.
On December 26, 2007, the county made an experimental plow to the end of the road. Climbers, skiers, ice fishermen, hikers, snowboarding teenagers and sledding Scout troops flocked to the canyon’s deep snows and thick ice. We called it the great Hyalite Love Fest. The Forest Service recognized the community’s overwhelming attachment this place. The road is now plowed from December 1 to March 31, contingent on funding.
There was an early hiccup with that new plan, however, documented in a 2007 Alpinist.com newswire: a spring mudslide resulted in an early closure of the canyon, and for the 2007-2008 winter, the road was only plowed to Hyalite Reservoir. I remember that season well because I spent the winter living with friends in Bozeman to ice climb as much as possible. I remember my friend Todd’s foot idling over the gas pedal of his Honda Accord as we stared down the tire tracks that sliced through the snow where the plowing ended beyond the dam, weighing our odds of making it through the meager track all the way up to the main trailhead. It was often the scariest part of the day. Even on other days with a borrowed SUV, it wasn’t a given that we would get through. And always, we hoped that we wouldn’t encounter another vehicle coming in the opposite direction.
Seeing how the Bozeman Ice Festival (BIF) has grown over the years along with the canyon’s general popularity, it’s hard to imagine those days now. I suspect many people today may take the convenient access for granted, having little or no idea of the collective efforts that continue to make it possible. Now BIF even includes a shuttle to the canyon and there are signups available for carpooling.
There is a magic about Hyalite, hinted at by various route names—Black Magic, the Scepter, Winter Dance—and the way it has been written about through the generations. Now that enchantment can be shared more widely. Who can guess how many future top alpinists may find their start here, or how many friendships will be forged in this place where metal points meet frozen water; how much of it would come to fruition if the canyon’s access had never been improved?
“There’s an essential feeling that can never be turned into a commodity—that can only be traded through common bonds and shared adventure,” Josephson wrote. “The road is one part of that experience, not because it makes the canyon more accessible, but because it brings all its climbers, at one point or another, to the same destination: the Grotto Falls parking lot.”
As far as this year’s BIF week, all the clinics are currently booked, but there is plenty of evening programming available.
There’s an Après Climb gathering each evening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Emerson Ballroom.
Wednesday features a free live storytelling event hosted by Broad Beta for women and gender queer people at 6 p.m. at Uphill Pursuits with Shayna Unger, Lindsey Hamm and Quinn Mawhinney. Meanwhile, Bridger Brewing is hosting a First Pour Party at 7 p.m. that includes a raffle.
The following events all take place at the Emerson Crawford Theater, starting at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Admission is $15 for each evening, or a VIP pass to all the films can be purchased for $38:
• Thursday: the Best of Reel Rock.
• Friday: the Bear Canyon Singers and Dancers open for a series of presentations and films by Scott and Shayna Unger, Sam Hennessey, Graham Zimmerman and Timmy O’Neill.
• Saturday: features films from the Kendal Mountain Film Festival.
Sunday evening features the Local Legends and Wrap Party starting at 6 p.m. in the Emerson Ballroom. Marcus Garcia will present a short film, Beyond the Climb, that explores “the relationships that span generations of climbers.” Admission is $30.
For event schedules and tickets, visit BozemanIcefest.com.
