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Homemade Manitoba Ice Wall

Ice Climbing in the Prairies, December 2013

Not all climbers can live near vertical terrain. Brad Friesen, who lives north of Winnipeg, was inspired by the St Boniface Alpine Club of Canada’s ice wall and built his own. “The tower was made using three hydro poles that were planted in the ground for the support. Then I framed up the wall and hung snow fence for the ice to form on. I had to build a custom sprayer that spanned the width of the tower. For spraying I started near the bottom and then slowly raised the sprayer as the ice formed,” said Friesen.

The nearest natural ice to Winnipeg is in North Western Ontario. ” I can crawl out of bed in the morning and go do laps to start my day,” said Friesen, “My tower isn’t the only tower in Manitoba. A friend of mine has one in his backyard, so I had several resources to gather info from.?

If you want to build your own ice climbing wall, check out Kris Koonar’s “How to” guide here.

Initial frame  Photo Brad Friesen
Initial frame Photo Brad Friesen
Ground up ice production Photo Brad Friesen
Ground up ice production Photo Brad Friesen

 

Complete ice wall Photo Brad Friesen
Complete ice wall Photo Brad Friesen
Manitoba climbing!  Photo Brad Friesen
Manitoba climbing! Photo Brad Friesen
Night ice  Photo Brad Friesen
Night ice Photo Brad Friesen

 

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