Will Gadd Climbs 25,000+ Feet of Ice in 24 Hours!

A few days back I posted a story and video about Will Gadd climbing icebergs off the coast of Canada. At the time, I mentioned that he was one of the top climbers around and was especially proficient on ice. If there was any doubt to that claim, I think he put it to rest last weekend at the Ouray Ice Festival, where he climbed more than 25,000 feet of ice in a 24-hour period.

According to this story over a Climbing.com, Gadd completed 194 laps on the 40-meter Pick O’ the Vic route as part of his “Endless Ascent” challenge. Gadd was climbing to raise funds for the dZi Foundation, and managed to climb a total of 25,500 feet, on what is described as “near vertical” ice. A VERY impressive feat to say the least.

In other Ouray news, Josh Wharton was the overall winner for the second year in a row. Wharton topped out on a very challenging overhanging edge, and finished five minutes ahead of his closest competitor. German climber Ines Papert took home the top honors amongst the women, with a very strong and impressive performance as well.

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Kraig Becker

Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.