The Ice Coop
In an industrial neighborhood in North Boulder, Colorado, sits the Ice Coop, an indoor dry-tooling gym. Dry tooling is an off shoot of ice climbing, using the same tools with a twist - instead of ice, climbers scale rock. In an indoor setting, rock is replaced with plywood, easily punctured by the razor sharp front-points on the climbing shoes. On November 11th, the Ice Coop hosted the Turkey Takeover, an all day dry-tooling event filled with costumes, competition, and community.
Open since 2019, the Ice Coop is the largest of the three dry-tooling gyms in North America. The gym hosts competitions and open climbing, allowing athletes to hone their skills in a safe environment.
“The Ice Coop provides a community space like none other - everyone is there to share the awesome fun of drytooling, and to help each other learn and get better. It is one of the most collaborative gym environments I’ve ever been a part of, and provides so many people a place of belonging and community.” - Tyler Howe (above)
Ian Umstead figure-fours with an audience.
Tyler Howe (left) and Catalina Shirley (red helmet) spent the week before the competition setting routes and dialing in the event. Up until the day before, work was done to ensure that competitors had diverse and challenging routes.
Over 30 climbers registered, with three different competition categories - non-binary, women’s, and men’s. In the above image, Catalina Shirley briefs competitors before the start of the finals.
Tools of the trade; gloves, helmet, and ice picks
Mikah Day avoids getting a sneak peak at the finals routes. Mikah was one of the original climbers at the Ice Coop and says that “The best part of our community is the humility and welcoming vibes that we have. It can be a really intimidating sport so to have such amazing athletes who also understand how important it is to welcome new athletes into our our gym - that’s really special.”
Ryan McCauley hangs on during the prelims
Noah Bergman (left) discusses scores with Tyler Howe
An athlete warms up ahead of the preliminary round
The highlight of the day - Duncan The Dog
Sam Serra hangs off "The Coop" on the way to his win
Milo Corbus takes the competition seriously in his Unicorn Costume
A climber rests between routes
Corey Buhay goes big in her space suit
Lindsey Levine cuts feet on her way to a second place finish.