Washington: The main attraction of Aure Park in Colorado, USA, is its snow-capped mountains. Many people, including women and children, come here to play in the snow. However, this snow and ice does not form naturally. These are made by about 100 people cultivating ice.
Aure Ice Park is located on the banks of the Uncomfagre River, a tributary of the Gunnyson River, the main river in Colorado. Everything in the park, including the waterfalls, is the work of ice farmers. This is evidenced by the pipes and sprinklers hidden on the sides of the icy mountains.
Pete Davis, the park’s operations manager, said 200 sprinklers have been installed to make ice on the 200 hills that tourists climb. The season is from November to March. Farmers will be watering the rocks as soon as the temperature starts to drop in November. With this, ice sheets begin to form – says Pete.
There is always an attempt to create the kind of ice that can enhance the adventure of tourists. They also need to make sure that no accidents happen to them. The work starts in the early morning and ends before the tourists arrive. They look like they’re climbing a real iceberg, says ice farmer Steve Imhoff.
Maintenance of pipes and sprinkler is very important. Last season, a 150-meter pipe broke. It took four days to resolve the issue. So ice climbing is monitored very carefully. Some travelers cut through the pipes with snow axes – Steve explained.
പ്രദേശ The waterfall caused by cracks in the pipes of the power generation project located on the Uncamfagre River attracted tourists to the area in the 1980s. The park was officially established in 1997 when many people came to play in the snow. The park plans to host three international ice climbing competitions in 2022. Even those who are preparing to climb the Himalayas are trained here.