Thursday, January 14, 2010

Will Gadd Climbs 25,000+ Feet of Ice in 24 Hours!


A few days back I posted a story and video about Will Gadd climbing icebergs off the coast of Canada. At the time, I mentioned that he was one of the top climbers around and was especially proficient on ice. If there was any doubt to that claim, I think he put it to rest last weekend at the Ouray Ice Festival, where he climbed more than 25,000 feet of ice in a 24-hour period.

According to this story over a Climbing.com, Gadd completed 194 laps on the 40-meter Pick O’ the Vic route as part of his "Endless Ascent" challenge. Gadd was climbing to raise funds for the dZi Foundation, and managed to climb a total of 25,500 feet, on what is described as "near vertical" ice. A VERY impressive feat to say the least.

In other Ouray news, Josh Wharton was the overall winner for the second year in a row. Wharton topped out on a very challenging overhanging edge, and finished five minutes ahead of his closest competitor. German climber Ines Papert took home the top honors amongst the women, with a very strong and impressive performance as well.

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