Frozen waterfalls create a unique adventure in Pennsylvania

The cold weather that blew through Pennsylvania last weekend was a gift for adventurous climbers. It froze waterfalls, solid enough to climb.

People hike around and climb over ice pillars at Ricketts Glen State Park and Ohiopyle State Park. When extreme cold weather sets in over the trickling waterfalls, unique walls of ice form, making them a destination for those brave enough to venture out in the frigid environment.

“We have a pretty amazing natural feature in our park, the Glens Natural Area, where it’s kind of a big stone cathedral-looking wall that gets covered in ice,” said Scott Wilson, park manager at Ricketts Glen State Park, a 13,000-acre park in Columbia, Luzerne, and Sullivan counties.

It takes sustained cold weather for the ice to form thick walls and safe enough to climb.

“Once we do get those conditions, (ice climbing) is fairly popular,” he said.

When the ice freezes, people who have the correct climbing equipment can ascend the walls of ice or go for a hike along the scenic trails.

The majority of ice climbers are found at the park’s tallest falls, Ganoga Falls which towers 94-feet high. They use fixed ropes to stay connected with other climbers.

“They are not free climbing where they would fall 100 feet,” he said.

Many of the climbers are rock climbers, but he said ice climbing is its own special activity, and it's been around for even more than the six years that Wilson has worked at the park.

Because it's dependent on the weather, it can be unpredictable from year to year, but usually there is a time each winter to climb.

Because the park is in a remote, rural part of the state, it doesn’t get overcrowded, he said. In addition to the drive to get there, ice climbers have to hike a few miles to reach the prime ice climbing area.

“That, in itself, eliminates some people who don’t want to carry their gear multiple miles to the location," Wilson said.

To get into the Glens area in the winter, it takes preparation. The minimum required equipment includes crampons (small spikes that provide traction) for boots, an ice axe and rope. It’s a closed-monitored area where visitors are required to sign in and out with the park’s staff.

Hikers who have the right gear but aren’t into climbing like to hike around the falls area. “They will end up hanging out watching (the climbers) for a while as it’s a neat activity to see,” Wilson said. You can stay updated about the ice conditions by following the park's Facebook page.

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Guided ice hiking

Instead of buying gear, there is an outfitter who rents equipment and sells guided tour packages.

David Mildenberg owns and operates Valley to Summit Guided Wilderness Adventures. His team organizes and guides people to hike in Ricketts Glen in the areas where people ice climb. His company doesn’t offer ice climbing services, but his hiking adventures provide more than a glimpse of the unique frozen landscape.

“It’s awesome, very popular and unique,” he said about winter waterfall ice hikes at Ricketts Glen State Park. “We walk, hike the Falls Trail. That’s about about a 5-mile trail system, and we explore all 17 waterfalls. The entire trail system is caked in feet of ice. There are amazing, spectacular ice formations everywhere. A lot of the waterfalls are completely frozen over, some are semi-frozen and some are flowing. It really depends on the weather,” he said.

His service provides crampons, a harness, helmet and ice axe to its customers. The axe can be used as a walking cane on icy steps. There are some fixed ropes for people to use for balance and to pull themselves along the inclines.

“It’s a very special, unique trip. We get people from all over Pennsylvania, from out of state. We do a full-day hike and a half-day hike, and both trips include the big 94-foot Ganoga Falls, which is just spectacular,” he said.

The trips can handle 16 or 17 people and include two guides.

“The program sells out. It’s absolutely amazing to see everyone enjoying the wilderness adventure. You can’t really do it any other place, it is that unique of an environment," he said.

An interesting feature of the park is that it sits about 2,500-feet high in elevation on a plateau that has colder weather than what is found just a few miles away, Mildenberg said.

“It could be raining or no snowing 10 or 15 minutes south but up in the park it could be dumping snow, or 20 degrees colder. It creates its own environment, weather patterns that really make it a special experience.”

He said hiking is something that is more dependable than the weather that’s needed for ice climbing.

“Ice climbing in Pennsylvania is really hit or miss. It’s really fleeting opportunities that come and go. So that’s one of the reasons we don’t offer an ice climbing program because it’s difficult to run a program when there’s a short window of opportunity to experience ice climbing. There’s a lot of freeze and thaw cycles throughout our winters," he said.

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He said those really into ice climbing go to the Catskills or Adirondacks in New York where the ice is more dependable.

Mildenberg said the views are memorable: "The frozen landscape creates glistening ice formations and an awe inspiring experience unmatched in the endless Pocono region.”

Ice at Ohiopyle

People also ice climb and hike in Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County.

The ledges around Meadow Run Creek and water slides are the places where ice climbers gather.

“That seems to be the best place and that’s where we prefer they go. We do not allow them to climb on Cucumber Falls,” Barbara Wallace, environmental education specialist, said.

“It’s pretty equipment intensive,” she said. “We do get ice climbers here, but I wouldn’t say it’s a huge number of people. If we get ice, we will get climbers for sure.”

She estimates they are able to climb about 30 to 40 feet high, and it’s a relatively short walk from the roadway.

The Meadow Run Slides parking area is a popular place for hikers to start their adventures, and they are sometimes surprised at seeing people climbing the ice walls.

“It’s kind of an ‘oh wow’ when you catch people definitely watching, but it’s not like people are coming just to be spectators, it’s more of a happenstance kind of thing," she said.

Wallace reminds people venturing into the park, it’s at your own risk. “You should know what you’re doing and be with people who know what they’re doing and have the proper equipment.”

She tried it once, and it wasn't easy.

"Seeing people who are skilled at it is pretty awesome, if you get a chance to see someone do it, but we need cold weather," she said. "We need some really cold days for that happen, so hopefully we will get some cold and snow on the way.”

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors.

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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Ricketts Glen and Ohiopyle state parks welcome winter climbers, hikers