One-of-a-kind climb up iced silo near Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS — Few people look forward to frigid temperatures.

Don Briggs, a University of Northern Iowa professor, is one of them.

When the temperature drops below freezing, Briggs is out enjoying the cold in his favorite coat — patterned with duct tape patches from years of wear and tear — scaling an 80-foot grain silo in rural Cedar Falls.

From the south, the silo appears like any other dotting Iowa's rural landscape. The large metal structure towers above a snow covered cornfield. From the north, however, it's a cascading blanket of bluish ice hiding from the sun.

Each winter weekend December through February — as long a temperatures consistently are below freezing — people flock to the silo, not just to see the striking spectacle, but also to climb it.

'We climb anywhere from zero degrees — which is bitter cold — up to about 35,' Briggs says.

With Iowa's unpredictable weather, there's no such thing as a 'typical season,' though climbing usually shuts down once the mercury reaches 38 degrees, he says.

'We just kind of play it by ear. If it's cold, we're ice-climbing.'

For Briggs, who is an expert on having fun, the ice silo is work and play. He has a doctoral degree in health, physical education and leisure services and teaches outdoor recreation courses such as backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, rock, and ice climbing at UNI.

A climber since 1997, he has scaled rock and ice walls throughout the United States, Nepal, and, most recently, Scotland. It was while plowing a friend's cornfield 15 years ago that he was inspired to scale a silo.

He imagined himself climbing, pinching the metal rungs, wedging his toes into tiny footholds and climbing his way to the top. But it was harvest season and starting to get cold.

Perhaps, he mused, he could spray it down with water to form an 80-foot Popsicle, perfect for an ice climb.

Since the silo was out of commission, Briggs got the go-ahead and enlisted the help of retired UNI professor Bob Lee.

'He said, 'Here's what we're going to do. ...

We're going to ice down a silo and climb it,' ' Lee recalls.

'I thought he was a little crazy, but he's got me into crazier things.'

Two weeks later, they grabbed a garden hose and started spraying.

Since then, they've moved to a different farm in Cedar Falls, and the spray system has become more sophisticated. Now rollers on the silo move vertically up and down the height of the structure.

It takes nearly 58,000 gallons of water to achieve 70 feet of climbable ice.

They respray the wall two or three times each week to replenish ice that has melted or broken off.

'People say you could fill a swimming pool with that much water,' he says. 'My answer is yeah, but you can't ice climb in a swimming pool.'

The water isn't wasted, though. The runoff drains back into the ground and is recycled directly back into the well.

Once it's frozen and ready, climbers slip into harnesses, helmets and safety glasses. They lace up boots with spiky crampons and grip a pair of ice axes that will help them attempt the climb. Once they've made their way to the wall of ice, they are tied in by their belayer — the person controlling the rope that will save them if they fall and encouraging them as they make their way up.

Some consider ice climbing easier than rock climbing because climbers can make their own holds with ice picks. Briggs warns that this climb is one of the toughest he's done.

'I've climbed all over ... and I've maintained that the most difficult place I've climbed is right out here at the silo,' he says.

Natural ice climbs have 'waterfall ice,' with cascades creating small perches that give climbers a place to rest. But rests like these are few and far between on the three routes of the straight-up vertical silo, requiring serious stamina and strength. The routes change weekly, though, due to degradation of certain features or new additions from sprays, making the climbs exciting regardless of how many times you've tried them.

Climbers can rest their limbs between attempts in a renovated hog house fondly known as the 'Ice Climber's Lounge,' which is kept warm at a cozy 60 degrees — a sauna compared to the howling winds outside — and outfitted with several worn out couches. Briggs' two 'right-hand men,' Lee and 17-year-old Jamison Hampton, hand out hot cups of cocoa, tea, or hot Tang with marshmallows.

Though Briggs estimates only one in 12 people make it to the top their first time, beginners still are encouraged even without any climbing experience. The one rule is that climbers must be at least 10 years old.

He offers this advice: Don't use your arms too much. Use them only to keep yourself against the wall, but focus on using your legs to propel yourself upward.

'Some people, you put an ax in their hand and they think they've really got to hammer this ice,' Briggs says. 'If you just hook on a clump of ice and hold on, it will hold you. Once you start to incorporate your arms and upper body, you're going to flame out and get really tired in a short period of time.'

Look for pockets in the ice where an ax and toes can find leverage. Once you've got your ax hooked in, test the spot with your weight by hanging back, then look for your next move. It's important to trust the ice and your belayer, but also to take breaks when you need them.

Most importantly, don't give up. If you make it to the top, your arms screaming in pain, drink in the view. It's an accomplishment to relish.

'My philosophy in life is when you have an opportunity, take it,' Briggs says. 'Whatever you have the opportunity to do, do it. At least try. You may not like it but at least you tried. And if you like it, then you might get addicted to it like we are.'