Experiences labelled with 'winter ice festival'
Every January since 1996, international ice climbers have flocked to the Uncompahgre River Valley in southwestern Colorado for the Ouray Ice Festival. Nicknamed "Little Switzerland," the Colorado town of Ouray (you-ray) plays host to a premier ice-climbing gathering at the world's first man-made ice park. Exhibitors and spectators alike come to the Ouray Ice Festival to enjoy and celebrate the art of climbing up a sheer wall of ice (sometimes supplanted with rock, wood and plastic) in the Uncompahgre Gorge. It's an experience unlike any other. Sitting at the other end of the famous Million Dollar Highway from Durango, Ouray is almost equidistant from Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque (all of which are nearly six-hour drives). It once was a booming mining town that ...
