In the U.P., an attempt to improve ice climbing with ‘farm equipment and caveman fire’

The Upper Peninsula’s Lake Superior shoreline is home to some of the country’s most celebrated winter rock climbing, from frozen waterfalls to ice-coated cliff faces.

For 35 years, Michigan Ice Fest in Munising has drawn climbers from around the world.

This winter, climbers and locals alike are getting a glimpse of something entirely new: the beginnings of the Upper Peninsula’s first cryofarmed ice climbing.

Ice farming — where water is strategically layered water onto rock faces in freezing conditions — is used at a handful of climbing parks nationwide. Now, a pilot project at Kona Hills Campground in Marquette aims to bring the concept to the U.P.

Locals have an eye on the project, from eager climbers to the tourism industry. “We're interested to see the progress that they make as far as the ice climbing is concerned,” said Susan Estler, CEO of Travel Marquette. “I've seen pictures of views and they look spectacular.”

Marquette locals Jeremy Johnson and Devin Mahoney purchased the property overlooking Lake Superior in 2020, opening Kona Hills Campground in May, 2025. It came with a rock wall roughly 300 feet wide and 200 feet tall, over 20 stories high, left behind by mining operations on the site in the early 1900s.

From the beginning, Johnson and Mahoney dreamt of more than a summer campground. Inspired by Minnesota’s Sandstone Ice Park and Quarry Park, the team had big dreams of a new life for their own land.

“These are old quarries that were industrial sites, have now been turned into something recreational and sustainable,” Johnson said. “If they can do it, why can't we do it here?”

For the past four years, Kona Hills has hosted the county’s only Ice Fest climbing course, relying on naturally forming ice. The quarry is particularly suited for mixed climbing — a blend of ice and exposed rock — and resembles alpine routes in the American West.

The wall is made up of Kona Dolomite, an unusually colorful rock formation unique to Marquette, and other hard rock, making it ideal for mixed climbing, unlike the soft rocks of nearby Munising.

“The sandstone is just too crumbly,” said Bill Thompson, co-founder and organizer of Michigan Ice Fest. “We really have to go west to Marquette.”

The blasted rock face offers the opportunity to climb without hurting natural rock formations, protecting wild places. “Mixed climbing can damage established rock climbs,” said Brandon Snyder, an ice climbing guide and route developer involved with the project. “We have something that, unfortunately, has the scar of humans on it already.”

Cryofarming

Leading the ice farming effort is Vaughn Rodriguez, a 24-year-old Ice Fest volunteer-turned-guide. For years, the young climber has conquered ice across Michigan, Montana and Alaska, but still had his sights set on Kona Hills.

With the site just a five-minute drive from downtown Marquette, Rodriguez first noticed the wall years ago during his daily commute. “I remember driving by and thinking, ‘Whoa, I want to climb that,’” he said.

In February 2025, Johnson approached Rodriguez at a local event and shared the campground’s long-term plans. Within a week, he was on the wall. He was impressed not just by its size, and the lake views, but the variety of terrain, from gradual 45-degree angles to overhangs, and sheer rock to cracks and mossy patches.

The only issue: It could use more ice.

Last fall, Rodriguez contacted operators of man-made ice parks across the country for advice. One issue quickly emerged: Kona Hills lacked a water source above the quarry.

The temporary solution was decidedly low-tech. Rodriguez called it “Farm equipment and caveman fire.”

He and friends shoveled snow into a metal livestock trough, melted it, and funneled the water into a large, insulated storage tote. Overnight, gravity carried over 200 gallons of water down the rock face, where it froze much like natural runoff.

After several nights of this, Rodriguez rappelled down to inspect the result. “I was up there thinking, ‘Holy crap, it’s actually working,’” he said. “On a very small scale, but it’s working.”

The proof of concept inspired the team to move forward. Plans are underway to install a well this fall, allowing them to scale up production and feed a mobile, gravity-driven irrigation system of pipes, valves and spouts that drip and mist water onto specific features of the wall, similar to those used at other ice parks.

This year’s Michigan Ice Fest will again feature the natural mixed climbing course at Kona Hills. While the cryofarmed route is not yet open to the public, the team will offer tours of their progress and process, as well as hosting a presentation on the project at Gallery Coffee Company, Saturday, Feb. 14.

Looking ahead, Rodriguez plans to have multiple farmed ice routes ready in time for Ice Fest 2027.

Ice farming will allow the team to tailor routes for a wide range of skill levels. “I want to share it with the regular ice climber who gets out a few times a year, to the most extreme ice climber that's climbing every single day, to the person that's never tried it,” Rodriguez said.

The height alone sets the quarry apart. “As a developer, you’re lucky to find a 30-foot cliff in Michigan,” said Snyder, who guides for Ice Fest at Kona Hills. “Having several hundred feet of moderate climbing is an incredible gift for people who want something that feels like big mountains.”

The sport

The team hopes the site will add to Ice Fest’s successful history of introducing new, diverse audiences to the sport, by offering an accessible and controlled entry point.

“It’s hard to train people and upskill them here (in the U.P.),” Johnson said. “It’s hard to go from climbing in a city gym to hiking 15 miles and climbing a remote pitch in the middle of nowhere with no cell service or rescue access.”

“I love the wildness of Munising, but sometimes it can be a barrier,” Rodriguez added. “Let's say that you are an adaptive climber, that you can't hike out to the backcountry and you still want to go climb something huge and challenge yourself… This can destroy that barrier.”

Rodriguez also hopes to open an on-site rental and guiding service, positioning Kona Hills as a complement, not a competitor, to Munising’s established ice climbing scene.

Unlike most ice climbing destinations, Kona Hills sits directly along the main road into Marquette, making it highly visible. “People will drive by and think, ‘Look at that ice — there are people climbing it,’” said Thompson. “I think it'll be good for the industry.”

Ice climbing remains a niche activity, but it is growing. Ice Fest now attracts 1,100 participants from 41 states and seven countries.

The sport has helped reshape Munising’s winter economy, which has historically relied heavily on snowmobiling. Ice climbing gives the area something else to fall back on in years of low snow.

Tourism for the niche sport can be surprisingly lucrative. A 2025 Vermont State University study found that ice climbing generates more than $6 million annually and draws roughly 12,000 visitors locally.

Kona Hills hopes their project could boost their own economy.

Marquette’s winter tourism relies on events such as the UP200 sled dog race and the Noquemanon Ski Marathon. Both have faced cancellations in recent years due to inconsistent snowfall. Johnson believes ice sports may prove more resilient in a changing climate.

“You can make snow at a ski hill, but you can't make enough snow to cover all these trails,” Johnson argued. “When you have this concentrated area, all you really need is cold temperatures.”

The U.P.’s ice climbing seasons can often run from November through April. For the Kona Hills team, the goal is to help fill a growing winter tourism gap while investing in their community.

“One of our hopes is to continue that shoulder season and have a reason for people to come up here throughout the winter,” Johnson said, “whether it's in November or February.”