Telluride
"For hardmen seeking strenuous, multi-pitch waterfall climbs, Telluride is the place,"
-Charlie Fowler, San Juan Ice Climbs, 1991
elluride is not only one of the prettiest ski resorts in the world, it's one of the three biggest ice climbing centers in Southwest Colorado (along with Ouray and Silverton).
It boasts such mega-classic hardman routes as the Ames Ice Hose and Bridalveil, but a lot of exceptional-yet-relatively-unknown climbs as well. There are, in reality, about a dozen separate ice climbing areas within the general Telluride area, from areas lying within a couple of blocks of downtown to the more remote mountain valleys west of Telluride.
For ease, this section has been divided into a number of areas, starting with climbs in the area east of Telluride, then moving west, to Ilium and Placerville, then south to Ames, Ophir and Dunton.
Access issues, which are fairly big around Telluride, are discussed in each individual section.
In terms of lodging, drinking, gear, etc., Telluride's a ritzy ski resort now, so everything's pretty expensive. You can stay in Ridgway cheaper, or, better yet, camp. Dining out's pretty steep, but a brief visit to a restaurant at the end of the day is a nice break before a cold night in the back of the truck. There are also several shops in town that sell ice climbing gear.
Telluride East
Bridalveil Falls is undoubtedly one of the great ice climbs of North America, but there are a number of excellent, lesser known routes in this area that are well worth a visit, such as Upper and Lower Royer Gulch, and Ingraham Falls.
Unfortunately, the area is a complex patchwork of old mining claims, private and public lands, making climbing here no simple affair.
The Mine Road, which leads into the Bridalveil Creek Basin, is now a public right of way. The lands on the sides of the road, however, are mostly private. To make the issue more complex, some of the cliffs around the basin are on public land.
Ingraham Falls, Ingraham Creek and Bridalveil Creek, have generally not seen access disputes and climbers on them report few, if any, problems.
Bridalveil Falls is still open for debate. According to some, the falls and the streambed above are public. According to others, they're not.
What is definitely not public is the power plant above the falls and wooden deck at the top of the falls on the left. In other words, should you venture up Bridalveil and tie off to the deck, or walk across the deck to get back to the road, you're trespassing, and you'll likely (and justly) feel the wrath of the landowner. (There are reports of ice tools tossed off the cliff and other such retributions.) If you decide to climb the falls, stay in the streambed, using your axes/screws to belay, even though it's not as convenient as clipping into the deck.
Above the falls, you must stay in the streambed and hike southeast, up the streambed to reach the road. Once on the road, it's a half mile or so back down to the base of the falls.
Perhaps more important than access, ice climbers should be aware of the avalanche potential in this area, which can be pretty extreme after even a small snowfall. In short, the entire basin area can be pretty dangerous in midwinter.
Getting there: While all the climbs east of Telluride are pretty straightforward to reach, Upper Royer Gulch is reached from downtown.
To get to Upper Royer Gulch, follow Oak St. north, towards the red cliffs of the Cornet Creek Canyon. It is important to note that Oak St. does not intersect with Colorado Ave. (Main St.) in Telluride. Oak St. is the street where the Sheridan Opera House sits, and the block in front of the Opera House has been turned into a park. However, it's easy to get to upper Oak St. simply by going around the block on Fir St. or Aspen St., which lie west and east of Oak, then cutting back over to Oak. Follow Oak St. to its northern (uphill) end. Park without blocking any of the Oak St. driveways.
From here, Tomboy Road leads out east (right), across the hillside, to Royer Gulch. The road is closed to vehicular traffic in the winter, so you have to ski or hike. It's 2.2 miles to the ice climbs, which lie right above the road in a small amphitheater.
To reach Bridalveil and the Fang drive east (towards the mountains) on Colorado Ave. (Main St.). Colorado Ave is the same thing as Colo. 145 in downtown.
At the east end of the built up area, you'll pass Town Park, on the right (south) side of the road. There's a big sign. This is a good place to reset your odometer to 0.0.
From Town Park, it's exactly 1.0 mile to Lower Royer Gulch. A stream draining the gulch trickles down from the left (north) side of the road and under the road. There's a parking pullout on the right (south) side of the road. Park, and walk up the drainage to Lower Royer Gulch.
To reach the Fang, continue east on Colo. 145, for another 0.3 miles past Lower Royer Gulch (1.3 miles from Town Park). The Fang will be off to the right (south) across the valley and will be obvious.
1.6 miles east of Telluride, you'll reach the Pandora Mill and the start of the disputed territory. As mentioned, the road—which goes up into the basin, but is gated off in the winter—is public and there are no access issues involved with traveling up it.
Anyway, after skirting the gate at the Pandora Mill, ski or hike the twisting Mine Road up 1.2 miles. Ingraham Creek flows in from the left (east) and leads to Ingraham Falls. Grunt up the streambed (which is often considered a route in itself) to reach the base of Ingraham Falls.
The base of Bridalveil is another 0.6 miles up the road, and spills out of the cliff just right of the power plant atop the cliff. Bridalveil Creek offers a number of short falls between the base of the falls and the Pandora Mill which can be accessed from various points on the Mine Road.
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Water Ice Ratings:
WI 1 A walk, basically. You only need crampons.
WI 2 A steep walk, where a tool can be useful
WI 3 Sections of steep ice are encountered. Vertical ice can occur, but it is generally in short steps of a few feet with plenty of rests between. Crampons and two hand tools are needed.
WI 4 More continuous sections of steep ice are encountered, with rests being only on stances between vertical sections of ice. You'll want a rope.
WI 5 Vertical Ice. Rest stances might occur, but are few and far between. Placing protection generally means hanging off tools or the rope.
WI 6 Overhanging ice. Can also include vertical ice that is very rotten and cauliflowered ice, where protection is sparse.
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Routes
Upper Royer Gulch Left
(WI 4-4+, 300 feet)
Not climbed very often as it gets nailed by the sun. A stream trickles down from the left. Done as three or four pitches, the first slab is often hollow and rotten.
Approach time: From the top of Oak St., allow 40-60 minutes, by ski or boot.
Season: Midwinter.
Descent: Descend by walking off right, around the top of Upper Royer Gulch Right, then descending an easy gully back to the road.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: None.
Access issues: Tomboy Road is a public right of way, however, much of the land around Tomboy Road is private. Stay on the road!
Upper Royer Gulch Right
(WI 4-4+, 250 feet) 
This is the classic route for which climbers visit the Upper Royer area. It lies right of the previous route, and climbs easy ground (WI 3) to a platform, about 80 feet up. Then, another lead tackles the crux (WI 4-4+), which climbs a steep wall into the gully above.
Approach time: From the top of Oak St., allow 40-60 minutes
Season: Midwinter.
Descent: Descend by walking off right, then descending an easy gully back to the road.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: None.
Access issues: Tomboy Road is a public right of way, however, much of the land around Tomboy Road is private. Stay on the road!
Lower Royer Gulch
(WI 3-4,120 feet)
This route actually consists of two 60-foot pillars, both about the same: Big cones leading to 10 feet or so of vertical climbing.
Approach time: 5 minutes
Season: Midwinter.
Descent: Walk off right.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145, through the trees.
Access issues: Stay in the creek on the hike up to it.
The Fang
(WI 5, 100 feet)
The approach is pretty straightforward. From a parking spot on the road, hike across the valley to the route. Snowshoes are a must. A freestanding pillar leads to a stance on the right, then it's a short way to the top.
Approach time: 30 minutes
Season: All winter. The route is in good shape for a long time, but snow conditions above the route should help you decide when to climb it.
Descent: Rappel off a tree.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145.
Access issues: The approach crosses private land, but this does not appear to be a problem for anyone.
The Fang Slab
(WI 2-3, 80 feet)
The obvious slabs, a couple hundred feet left of the Fang.
Approach Time: 30 minutes.
Season: All winter. The route is in good shape for a long time, but snow conditions above the route should help you decide when to climb it.
Descent: Walk off left.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145.
Access issues: The approach crosses private land, but it's not a problem.
Ingraham Creek
(WI 3-4, 500 feet)
The streambed, leading to Ingraham Falls.
Approach time: From the gate at the Pandora Mill, allow an hour.
Season: All winter. Avalanche potential should be considered.
Descent: Walk off right. A county road leads back down into the basin.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145, and many places in the Telluride area.
Access issues: None, so far.
Ingraham Falls
(WI 5, 200 feet)
The obvious falls, high above the road.
Approach time: From the gate at the Pandora Mill, allow an hour and a half.
Season: All winter. Avalanche potential should be considered.
Descent: Walk off right and down the road.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145, and many places in the Telluride area.
Access issues: None, so far.
Bridalveil Creek
(WI 4, various lengths)
The creek draining the famed falls offers a number of short steps. They're spread out in the drainage right of the road.
Approach time: From the gate at the Pandora Mill, allow an hour.
Season: All winter. Avalanche potential should be considered.
Descent: Walk off left.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145, and many places in the east Telluride area.
Access issues: The approach crosses private land, but it does not seem to be a problem.
Bridalveil Falls
(WI 5, 400 feet)
The famed falls, which looks like a series of splattered cauliflowers on the cliffside, below and just right of the power plant.
Approach time: From the gate at the Pandora Mill, allow an hour.
Season: All winter. Avalanche potential should be considered.
Descent: Walk up the drainage above the falls, until you reach the road. Follow the road back down to the base of the falls.
Road/Highway the climb is visible from: Colo. 145, and many places in the east Telluride area.
Access issues: See the introduction above. Also, the ice climbs that form left and right of Bridalveil are definitely off limits to climbers. Verboten. No. Nada.
Climb on up to Ouray
