OUR STORY
The Ice Climbing Alliance is a Montana non-profit formed in May 2018 to own and operate the Bozeman Ice Climbing Festival. Although a new organization, our roots with the Ice Festival go back more than two decades to the very beginning.
The Bozeman Ice Festival (BIF) teaches on-ice instruction in Hyalite Canyon, one of America's longest and most influential histories in waterfall ice climbing. While sharing the beloved wilderness experience of Hyalite during the day, Ice Fest brings to town demos of the latest gear, world-class athletes and guides, inspiring films and evening entertainment, and the legendary camaraderie of the climbing tribe.
The Festival began as two separate events in the mid-1990s by Barrel Mountaineering and Northern Lights Trading Post. Considering recent weather trends, it is almost hard to believe but the first Barrel event was held the weekend before Thanksgiving. Barry Blanchard, Joe Josephson and Jack Tackle were the original clinic instructors. For a decade, Barrel put on one of the best ice festivals in the country as the sport exploded with new gear and generally became more accessible to a wider diversity of participants. The Northern Lights event, held after Thanksgiving, was a smaller event but with better ice – provided the road wasn’t snowed in already.
Our alumni include many of the best climbers in the world: Guy Lacelle, Jack Roberts, Alex Lowe, Kitty Calhoun, Pete Tapley, Roger Strong, Ian McLeod, Jack Tackle, Sarah Hueniken, Pat Callis, Steve House, Marc Twight, Conrad Anker, Will Gadd, Ines Papert and many more. Some, like Whit Magro learned to ice climb at BIF and are now teaching our clinics and putting up new routes around the world.
