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Ouray Ice Comp Results
By Dougald MacDonald
As a winter storm pounded the southern San Juan Mountains of Colorado, Ukrainian Evgeny Kryvosheytsev won the annual mixed-climbing competition at the 12th Ouray Ice Festival. Although the field was weakened by the absence of Austrian Harald Berger (killed in an ice fall last month), Canadian Will Gadd (injured), and German Ines Papert (retired from competition climbing)—representing three of the top five finishers in the last two Ouray comps—the festival still proved to be a major international attraction, and only two of the top seven finishers in 2007 hailed from the United States. Kryvosheytsev, a World Cup ice champion, was the only competitor to flash the finals route, which ascended WI5+ ice to an overhanging rock prow, and then—a new feature at Ouray—a 16-foot, overhanging plywood “diving board” with widely spaced, bolt-on holds, mounted to the lip of Uncompahgre Gorge. Kryvosheytsev yelled to the judges to ask if it was OK to hook the washer on one of the panel’s bolts and, getting the affirmative, yarded up the diving board and celebrated his win at the lip by bat-hanging from his toes hooked over his tools.
Continuing women climbers’ strong tradition at Ouray, Canadian Audrey Gariepy placed second overall in the competition. (Papert had finished second, first, and fourth overall in the comp’s previous three years.) Coloardan Josh Wharton was the top U.S. finisher, in fourth place. Ouray Ice Festival Open Competition - January 10-13, 2007 Combined Men’s and Women’s Finals 1. Evgeny Kryvosheytsev (UKR) Source: www.ourayicefestival.com, www.barrabes.com, www.telluridewatch.com
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