Ouray Ice Festival

The Ouray Ice Festival turns the small mountain town of Ouray into a gathering of ice climbers from around the world for three days every January. In the Ouray Ice Park, elite athletes compete in the ice and mixed climbing competition in the Scottish Gullies, climbing natural rock, sheer ice and an overhanging structure called the Comp Tower while hundreds of spectators watch from the rim of the Uncompahgre Gorge. Pro climbers teach clinics for every level, sponsors lend the latest gear in the Vendor Village, and evenings bring presentations, films and parties downtown. The 32nd festival runs January 28 to 31, 2027, and is the park's largest fundraiser.

The festival opens Thursday evening with a pool party, spends Friday and Saturday in the Ice Park with clinics, gear demos, fireside chats and the competition, and wraps up at 1 PM on Sunday. Visitors choose a Demo Gear Card to borrow equipment in the Vendor Village, an Evening Event Pass for the talks and parties, or both, with 10% off both before December 31. Clinics are booked separately through local guide services, and $40 from each clinic goes to the Ice Park; extra courses run the week before.

Suits ice climbers of every level, from first-timers taking a clinic to experienced climbers trying sponsors' gear, and spectators who like watching elite athletes from the rim of the gorge. The program is built around the sport, with clinics, gear demos, the competition and evening talks and films, so visitors with no interest in climbing will find the draw is mainly the setting.

Attendees describe an amazing energy around the competition and a friendly crowd where fellow climbers welcome newcomers. Solo climbers report that striking up a conversation at the gorge is enough to get onto routes with others, and a first-time spectator remembers the day of competition, the vendors and the woodsmoke from the portable fire pits. Popularity has a cost: attendees note that the festival gets very busy and the clinics fill quickly.