Press Release
Thousands of people canoe or tube the Niobrara River in North Central Nebraska in the spring, summer and fall, but what do folks do in the winter when the scenic river freezes?
Some daredevils grab their ice axes, strap crampons on their boots and climb steep vertical cliffs—of ice.
Word is getting out about the river’s steep cliffs layered with ice so thick, they look like frozen waterfalls. They’ve earned the nickname “The Niobrara Walls,” and the area is becoming a hot spot for ice climbers in the Midwest and from some mountain states.
“It’s the best vertical ice this side of the Rockies,” said Tim Ryschon, a Valentine pediatrician and part-time ice climber. “It’s pretty spectacular.”
Ryschon grew up in Valentine but didn’t discover the Niobrara’s winter secret until he moved back to the area in 1995. His dad mentioned the ice cliffs in e-mails while he was living in Maryland, so he went to take a look for himself.
“I was just stunned that this ice was here and I had never known about it,” said Ryschon, 45, who has scaled rock and ice walls in Utah and Colorado.
In the summer, the nearly 200-foot cliff faces are wet from groundwater passing through soil and rock. In the winter, the water freezes and builds up layers of ice. The cliffs also face north and are often in the shade, which helps the ice last longer.
“To find a high-grade of ice outside of the mountains is truly extraordinary,” Ryschon said.
Some of the best spots may be in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, said Stuart Schneider, a National park Service ranger for the Niobrara Scenic River, but the refuge prohibits any form of technical climbing.
The cliffs Ryschon and his friends climb are upstream from the Allen Bridge on the Niobrara River Ranch, a resort owned by Lee Simmons.
“I thin it’s kind of exciting to have that kind of ice out here that people want to come out here from Colorado,” he said.
Simmons doesn’t charge ice climbers, but he’d love it if they’d stay in one of his luxury cabins.
Schneider said word is slowly getting out about ice climbing on the Niobrara.
“It’s kind of a novelty,” he said, but in time he believes people will come from Lincoln and Omaha and other Midwestern cities to climb the big ice.
The risky sport is popular in parts of the country that have established ice-climbing areas, and cities including Ouray, Colo., and Cody, Wyo., host festivals to promote it.
Ryschon wants to stage an ice-climbing festival on the Niobrara next January and is applying for grant money. There’s also been some interest from the tourism branch at the state Department of Economic Development.
He hopes to attract about 40 ice climbers and spectators who can watch them scale the ice cliffs and learn more about climbing, equipment and safety.
Climbers would bring their own gear, which includes ice axes, crampons, ropes, ice screws or anchors and plenty of rope.
The Niobrara ice cliffs are no place for beginners. They’re rated Class 4—the toughest are Class 6.
“It would be very hard for somebody to do it without proper training and equipment,” Ryschon said. “It’s extremely technical.”
Climbers can drive to the top of the cliffs on the Simmons stretch of the river, set anchors in trees or fence posts for safety ropes, rappel down to the bottom and start up.
In the mountains, they’d have to start from the bottom and attach safety anchors for ropes as they go up.
There’s also one other big difference. In the mountains, ice climbers fall or slide to the bottom and usually land in snowdrifts.
“When you fall into four feet of river in zero-degree weather, it’s cold,” Simmons said. “It’s not for light-of-heart climbers over there.”
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
