Ogden Ice Tower plans taking shape

OGDEN -- It's frightening to design something that's never been built before.

Architect Bill Salerno and Ogden Climbing Park Executive Director Jeff Lowe are accepting the risk and pushing forward to build the world's first refrigerated, year-round, ice climbing tower, to be located in downtown Ogden.

Lowe has spent much of his life accepting the risks associated with climbing and now the art of risk for him is getting the funding and support to make his vision a reality.

The construction of the tower was planned to begin Sept. 10, but several factors have pushed the ground breaking to early 2008. The property has to be acquired, more money needs to be raised and the design must be finalized before construction can begin.

"On all sides, except for fundraising, things are going well," Ogden Chief Administrative Officer John Patterson said.

The final cost for the tower is still to be determined, but is estimated to be just over $1 million. RAMP funds will contribute $200,000, but must be used within one year of the date issued unless an extension is granted.

Private donations from Lowe total about $100,000, according to Patterson. Ogden City is contributing $50,000 and an unnamed foundation may offer $250,000, although the foundation has not yet commited, according to Patterson.

Patterson is not worried about the progress of the tower and is confident that it will be built.

"It is going to go up. It will be built," Patterson said. "It has the ability to pay for itself."

Patterson said construction could begin with just one phone call committing funds to the project. Since the final price tag for the project is unknown it's uncertain how much more money is needed to complete the tower.

"In some respects we're just a phone call away," Patterson said.

Lowe was in Salerno's office on 25th Street recently, looking at a projection screen showing the design of the tower.

"Everything I ever do is new," Lowe said. "Through a lifetime of accepting risk ... you can create something like this. This is our mountain and we've got a good team."

Lowe admits he initially resisted moving the tower to downtown from its original proposed location at Big D sports park. He knew a downtown location might complicate and slow the process of completing the tower. The new location is at the intersection of Kiesel Avenue and 25th Street across from the Municipal Park.

The land will be purchased for an undetermined "nominal" cost from Key Bank. Originally the land was going to be donated, but liability concerns from Key Bank changed the deal so the city will own the land.

"I kind of resisted moving it downtown," Lowe said. "I just wanted to get it up."

After many revisions, Lowe believes the tower design is far superior to anything he could have imagined, but until it's operational, there's no guarantee how well it will work.

"We're still fine-tuning the design," Salerno said.

One of the biggest difficulties was figuring out a way to maintain ice in summer temperatures.

"How do we encase it?" Salerno said. "The only thing that made sense is let's just build a huge freezer."

The tower design uses large fabric doors to seal the climbing wall from the outside elements and keep the ice cooled by liquid nitrogen inside.

The doors can also be folded up on winter days, making the facility viewable from the outside. The tower will have limited hours during hot weather to help preserve the ice.

"It could be 100 degrees outside and we could make ice with the liquid nitrogen," Lowe said.

The material for the fabric door has been used in Alaska for entry door vestibules in extreme winter temperatures. On the outside of the three doors will be three giant photos depicting the history of ice climbing.

One panel photo will show climbing legend Charlie Fowler on alpine ice in the Teton mountains in the 1960s. Another photo panel will show Greg Lowe, Jeff's older brother, on Malan's Waterfall in Ogden around 1971. Finally Jeff Lowe will have his image facing 25th Street with a panel photo of a mixed ice and rock climb called "Octopussy" near Vail, Colo., from 1994.

With the doors open and bleachers in place, the venue could accommodate 2,000-3,000 spectators for World Cup climbing events that Lowe is planning. He also thinks the facility could be used during off-hours for product testing of outdoor equipment.

The interior of the tower will feature two double-sided climbing surfaces and a free-standing ice pillar. The roof of the tower will be climbable across the 20-foot triangular underside. Plans are also being made for a climbable stalactite to hang from the roof.

One of the climbing wall surfaces will feature another first for Lowe -- mixed ice and artificial rock. The combined surface will simulate outdoor mixed climbing.

Lowe's design is being produced by Pyramide USA and will use modular panels that can be changed to modify the climbing routes on the wall.

The one-meter square Fiberglas panels will be switched out in sections with special mesh panels that will hold ice. Pipes with sprinkler heads will spray water on the mesh-paneled ice sections.

The rock panels will degrade because of the sharp ice tools and crampons that ice climbers use. The modular design will allow for the rock panels to be rotated, moved or replaced.

"The great thing is you don't have to dismantle the wall to change where the ice is," Pyramide USA CEO Russell Moy said. "It's pushing the envelope of what we can do with our system. It's just taking what we do to the next level."

The new design is owned by Pyramide, but was initially thought up by Lowe. Others have shown interest in the design and Moy thinks it could work well as an attraction at ski resort towns.

Mixed ice and rock climbing is something that is usually for advanced climbers but both Lowe and Moy think the Ogden ice tower will offer the opportunity for everyone to learn the sport in a safe environment.

"It will take ice climbing from those environments that are quite threatening to people to a non-threatening environment," Moy said. "I think the natural progression from this is like an academy and then moving outside (to climb)."

"I really want to get the point across that it's for the community," Lowe said. "It's not just for hard-core climbers."