In Oklahoma City, ice climbing is ‘the coolest thing'

To Gibson, the crystalline cascade he created on the north side of the Rocktown Climbing Gym he co-owns was pretty much like the ones he climbs each winter in Colorado. Only this one was in downtown Oklahoma City.

“Ice is ice,” Gibson said, as he and other climbers were enjoying the ice Thursday.

Gibson created the artificial frozen falls by hauling a garden hose to the top, then attaching small landscaping sprayers along it. And waiting for the weather to do its thing.

“What we've created is a real ice climb,” he said. “That's the coolest thing.”

Gibson, 36, of Norman, said this is the second year the gym created an outdoor ice climb. Last year's was more “just to see if it would work.” It did. This year's version added a more solid foundation made of two-by-fours and chain-link fencing, giving the ice something substantial to grip.

That way, when temperatures warm, the ice will just melt away rather than coming off in larger, dangerous chunks, he said.