Ouray

This was the mantra my climbing instructor, Lani Chapko ofIRIS Alpine, had encouraged me to repeat as I attempted to ascend a towering frozen waterfall. With my boots still firmly planted on the ground, this seemed like a reasonable statement. However, at 30 feet in the air, with nothing more than spiky crampons and an eighth-of-an-inch-wide steel point anchoring me to the side of a ravine, it sounded ludicrous.