Ouray Ice

Looking for an in-your-face climbing film featuring awe-inspiring moves by some of world's elite climbers? Look no further than Ouray Ice Festival showcasing some of the best mixed (ice and rock) climbing on the planet.

"I first ice climbed in Ouray in 1985, before the conception of the Ice Park," explains cinematographer Jay Smith. "Since it is only three hours away from my home in Moab, I spend many days there each winter ice climbing. In 2003, I was able to get myself in a spectacular camera position next to the competitors and captured some great footage unlike that which I'd ever seen before. This was largely because I am an ice climber and I was able to get myself in a camera position that most shooters could never get into. As well, this was very difficult real climbing - as opposed to climbing on an artificial wall, as in most competitions - being attempted on-site, with only one attempt. Every climber that viewed this initial footage was glued to it, largely because it was the world's best climbers trying their hardest."

It was no surprise, then, when Smith pulled together his friends and co-workers, director/ producer Rob Raker and editor Robert Kittila, to discuss the idea of capturing on film the intensity and creativity involved in this genre of the sport. The competition to be held at the upcoming 2004 Ouray Ice Festival immediately came to mind. The Ouray Ice Festival - consisting of ice-climbing clinics, gear demos and a climbing competition - is held annually in Ouray, Colorado, over the Martin Luther King weekend. Since being launched in 1996 by Jeff Lowe, the festival has grown in popularity and now draws crowds of 3000 people. The 2004 festival's first-ever cash prize lured an impressive cast of 24 elite international competitors (15 men and 9 women). All competitors tackled the same route, in the same conditions.

"Before making this film, we had seen films of difficult ice routes being climbed, but they were almost always as rehearsed climbs and therefore never looked very difficult," explains Raker. "In contrast, at this competition, every one of the 24 competitors would be climbing the designated route for the first time. Without prior knowledge of how to climb the route, there was a lot more struggling going on and many competitors fell off before getting to the top - providing a much more exciting experience for the viewers."

"Our goal was to capture the climbers' experience as intimately as possible. To do so we used three cameramen to shoot the action, with Jay and I hanging on the ice below the canyon rim at complementary shooting positions," Raker adds. "While shooting the event, we were struck by the variety of styles and approaches employed. As a result, in our story, we chose to focus on the contrasts in the styles of the only two competitors to complete the route. The excitement felt by the large audience watching the competition was clearly evident and it is part of our story."

The film shows the competitors, - especially Switzerland's Simon Anthamatten and Germany's Ines Papert - battling the conditions, the climbing route and each other as they race up this incredible route with strength, determination, and style. Anthamatten uses every possible manoeuvre he can to conquer each obstacle. His final move, a dyno in which he sticks his ice tool into the overhanging ice at the top to complete the route, brings the spectators to their feet and their cheering to another level. In contrast, Papert mesmerizes the crowd with her manoeuvres as she works methodically up the climb, moving with such fluidity that it almost looks easy. "Some of the things that competitors did to cop a rest - which was key to this competition - were absolutely incredible," enthuses competition judge Mike O'Donnell. "From taking their foot and throwing it over their ear and stuffing it in a hole, to getting a heel hook with their leg hooked under their arm in a figure-four and sitting there hanging… it was phenomenal."

"This project has turned into a labour of love, but we're excited about it," concludes Raker about the film. "We hope you enjoy it and come away with a sense of what this new genre of climbing is all about."