By Emily Shoff

Among Telluride’s array of winter sports, there’s one that can seem intimidating: ice climbing. Two local guide services, however, have been working for decades to change that perception. Both provide ice climbs led by highly experienced guides at varied spots that range from beginner-friendly falls at Ames, southwest of Telluride, to spectacular, advanced ice at Bridal Veil in the east end of the box canyon. Their goal? To get people more comfortable with this fun and fascinating activity.

Todd Rutledge is the director of local guide service Mountain Trip, one of the few in Colorado certified with the American Mountain Guide Association. Rutledge explains what ultimately drew him to the sport, back when he was living in New Jersey and climbing ice flows that formed on the rock quarries there: “I like the problem-solving nature of it. You’re climbing a medium that’s changing. You might climb a route one day and return the next day and discover it’s quite different.”

It’s also what motivates Rutledge to continue to want to share the sport, which he does with a variety of clients ranging from one-on-one trips to school groups. Recently, in collaboration with local nonprofit Sheep Mountain Alliance and the Wilkinson Public Library, he started offering a free ice climbing day with Telluride’s immigrant population. He followed that up with the Southern Ute Tribe. The program was such a hit that he led the same group on the Via Ferrata, Telluride’s famed rock climbing route, the following summer.

“There’s a real thrill in watching people learn a skill believed to be impossible,” says Rutledge, recounting some of the more joyous moments with the Southern Ute group, including one with a tribal elder who was just there to lead the group in a blessing and ended up jumping on the ice and completing a climb. “We all live lives with some form of barriers and one of the great things about being a guide is an opportunity to break some of those barriers.”

San Juan Outdoor Adventures owner and lead guide Josh Butson began ice climbing 30 years ago and has made the activity part of his professional life because, he says simply, “It’s a blast.”

Butson adds that the pleasure of being on the ice is matched by the satisfaction he and his team take in ensuring the optimum experience for their clientele. “We pride ourselves on meeting the needs and wants specific to each client,” he explains. “We want them to get the most out of it.”

And that, he emphasizes, includes learning. “My biggest thing is to pass along as much of my knowledge as I can to ease that learning curve. I can remember when I was doing my guiding courses and what that felt like. Now, I — and my guides do too — want to teach as much as we can, sharing our tips and tricks. I like it when clients feel like they have learned enough so that they could eventually do the activity safely on their own.”

Another aspect of guiding that Butson says he and his colleagues enjoy is passing along elements of the area’s colorful local history and of the local culture, such as serving as good stewards of the backcountry and practicing Leave No Trace principles. “Our clients really appreciate this.”