Minutes away are the boulder fields located in the foothills above the high school, and beyond there are the Schoolyard Cliffs, which offer all levels of climbing opportunities, from novice to highly technical.

"Indoor climbing walls are a perfect way to start. If people enjoy climbing indoors, then they may want to try something outdoors ... like bouldering," said Lowe.

"The most basic type of climbing is around boulders where you don't need all the special equipment and it's a way to get out and get some exercise. The boulders are also perfect training for longer climbs because you learn how to move around on rock."

Above the boulder field is the source of the rocks — the Schoolyard Cliffs.

Lowe said there are upward of 150 mapped routes on the cliffs for sport climbers. Here, too, some are excellent learning routes, with climbing equipment in place, and some are challenging to even the most expert of climbers.

In an effort to promote safe climbing in the Ogden area, Lowe has started the Ogden Climbing Parks, which is a nonprofit organization.

Along with training and offering guides and instructional services to climbers on private lands, he also has plans to build a year-round ice climbing tower. This weekend there will be a Climb Fest fundraiser in support of the proposed tower. In his early years, Lowe and his brothers started climbing the ice walls created in the winter by the waterfall at the head of Waterfall Canyon, which is located within hiking distance, along a prepared trail, from the boulder field. The waterfall is roughly 250 feet high and is a popular viewing spot in the summer.

Now, in the winter, Lowe farms an ice field on the north-facing side of the waterfall, where people can ice climb.

The year-round ice tower will be suspended from steel cables and will be located across from the municipal park. It will be 65-feet high and have three climbing surfaces — a sheer wall, a 70-degree wall for beginners and a combined ice and rock wall. The intent is to give people the opportunity to expand their sporting activities, which, of course, include bouldering and full-scale rock climbing.

All of the climbing opportunities are very accessible in the spring and summer and offer current and future climbers an excellent opportunity to learn all levels, from indoor climbing to boulders to choosing routes up sheer rock cliffs.

---

E-mail: grass@desnews.com