The dust has settled and the 2017 Michigan Ice Fest is in the books! A new headquarters, super mild temperatures, our strongest lineup of professional athletes, and what was undoubtedly the largest gathering of ice climbers in the Midwest ever! Climbers from at least 20 different states and 3 different countries were represented this year, as participants traveled from far and wide to enjoy the camaraderie of Midwest climbers and the chance to climb the beautiful ice formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore!
We are very proud of what we accomplished at this years event as there were 67 participants who joined the American Alpine Club, funding was raised for the Pictured Rocks Climbing Academy, a record number of Sue Nott Scholarships were awarded, money was raised for Jeff Lowe, and a solid plan was set in place for establishing and funding a local Rescue/Response team for Munising. It is because of YOU, the participants of the Michigan Ice Fest, that great things are happening here.
As you look back on your Ice Fest experience we ask you to think about the companies and organizations that you saw this weekend- and if you liked what you saw or tried on during the weekend we encourage you to buy local. Buying local in the Midwest supports the reps that came, and in turn helps to keep the Michigan Ice Fest alive and healthy. Feeling some retrospective remorse for not buying those mountain boots? Down Wind Sports is still offering the Ice Fest discount for the next week. Give them a call at 906-226-7112.
We also want to thank all those who volunteered their time, energy, and hard work throughout the weekend. Without these folks Ice Fest would simply not happen. The city of Munising and all of the local businesses also need a shout out for their continued support and for embracing this event for decades. Please come up and climb this spring and stop in for a cold beer, hot coffee, or a nice meal and tell the folks in Munising that you are an ice climber and happy that this town hosts this festival!
The reason our event is so successful is because of the assistance behind the scene from all of our sponsors. If you were at the event and had fun, enjoyed the presenters, or loved the killer raffle prizes please drop the following sponsors a note to tell them that you appreciate them and their support for the Michigan Ice Fest!
Black Diamond (Title Sponsor)
tyler.willcutt@bdel.com
Patagonia
Allison.Allen@patagonia.com
La Sportiva
erussell@sportiva.com
Scarpa
mark@scarpa.com
Petzl
dburleson@petzl.com
Grivel
peterm@libertymountain.com
Sterling Rope
marketing@sterlingrope.com
FITS Socks
help@fitssock.com
Camp/Cassin
glen
Lowa
brmreps@aol.com
The North Face
abrown@lakeshorereps.com
mrobbins@lakeshorereps.com
Arc Teryx
justin.sweeny@arcteryx.com
Mountain Hardwear
JPedersen@mountainhardwear.com
Adidas
dkay@agron.com
Joshua Tree
dave@jtreelife.com
Trango
BPriest@gthi.com
Osprey
luke@midwestoutdoorsales.com
CiloGear
gcfw@cilogear.com
Salewa
bryan@wildonionoutdoors.com
And finally we can’t thank our athletes enough. Over the years they have shared their expertise and knowledge to hundreds of Michigan Ice Fest participants giving them a solid foundation to help them to enjoy the sport we love and to help keep them safe while out climbing. The 2017 lineup was an incredible collection of the elite of our sport- to the following we are forever indebt. Many of these athletes are guides and would love to see Michigan Ice Fest participants in the future. Want another adventure? Be sure to click on their links to see where they might be able to take you!
Scott Bennett
Carlos Buhler
Anne Gilbert Chase
Karsten Delap
Tim Emmett
Angela VanWiemeersch
Mark Wilford
Jeff Witt
Conrad Anker
Will Gadd
Sam Magro
Vince Anderson
Kendra Stritch
Tim Emmett
Ben Erdmann
Marcus Garcia
Ari Novak
Thank you so much for being part of the Michigan Ice Fest this year! The festival is a gathering of our tribe and we are so thankful that climbers from all over the Midwest continue to come up and celebrate everything that is Michigan Ice. We hope you had an enjoyable experience and you can be sure that we are already working on bringing you the best Ice Fest in 2018! Be sure to keep up with what is happening with the Michigan Ice Fest through our blog at michiganicefest.com or on our facebook page!
NEXT YEAR’S DATES!
ICE FEST February 14-18th 2018