In the past ice used to form at an open mining pit up in Thompson, Manitoba. However over the years the pit has filled with water and has wiped out most of the original climbs.
So where does that leave us? Well how about climbing in our province’s capital city? Did you know that you can go ice climbing in downtown Winnipeg? Yup, you heard me right. Ice climbing in downtown Winnipeg. Our friends over at the St. Boniface Section of the Alpine Club of Canada have a 20-meter tower that they spray and transform into a giant frozen waterfall along the banks of the Red River! How cool is that?
If you don’t feel like driving anywhere to ice climb, or you want to spend more time training for bigger climbs, do what I did and build your own ice tower. Stay tuned for another post all about building your own ice tower.
Now you may have noticed that we tend to ice climb on mostly man-made structures here in Manitoba. While there are some natural ice climbs out there, they are few and far between. We are always on the lookout for new areas to ice climb. If you know of any cliffs in Manitoba or Northwest Ontario where ice forms, send us a message. We’d love to come climb it!