Ogden Climbing Festival this weekend

Ogden Climbing Festival this weekend

The tenth annual Ogden Climbing Festival, presented by Black Diamond, is back in Utah on April 7-8, 2017. This climbing festival, hosted by the Outdoor Program at Weber State University, Gear:30 and the Front Climbing Club will bring climbers, beginner to expert, together to take part in clinics, stewardship, service opportunities, and other activities for the weekend.

An equipment demo and free climbing will start out the festivities on the evening of Friday, April 7 at the Front Ogden Climbing gym from 6:00-9:00 p.m. This is where festival attendees can demo some of the leading brands in the climbing industry. It will be a great opportunity to see what type of climbing shoe works best for you as well as adding other things to your outdoor gear wish list.

On Saturday, April 8, there will be a stewardship event in the morning that involves trail work and crag cleanup in the Ogden Boulder Field and Schoolroom Climbing area. Free lunch provided by the Lucky Slice and Red Bull will be offered for all participants. Educational climbing clinics will follow the stewardship event.

Attendees are in for a treat on Saturday night as world renowned climbers Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright will be keynote presenters at Union Station. Alex Honnold is known for his nail-biting, anxiety-driven free solo climbs throughout his climbing career that have included Moonlight Buttress (5.12d, 1,200 feet) in Zion National Park, his Triple Crown free solo (Yosemite’s Mt. Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan) in under 24 hours, and several more. This bright-eyed, big-eared climber is also known for his moving living quarters, a van all the amenities he needs. While not climbing, Honnold is busy with the Honnold Foundation which seeks simple, sustainable ways to improve lives world-wide.

Cedar Wright, the eyeglass-clad climber, filmmaker and paraglider with more energy than the Energizer Bunny, will also be presenting at the Ogden Climbing Festival. Cedar has quite a few first ascents in Yosemite and Indian Creek. He and Honnold are known for their “Sufferfest” films where they traveled to climbing destinations by bike, and it definitely wasn’t an easy feat. He and Honnold became the first to climb all 15 of California’s 14,000 foot peaks using bikes for transport. And they saved a puppy while on their second suffer fest and found him a good home.

Tickets are available on the Weber State University Campus Recreation Web site and are $15 for general admission, $25 for VIP seating and $20 at the door. For more information on the Ogden Climbing Festival, please visit the Web site.