Earlier this month, I took a different route to drop off a group of kids at gymnastics. Boy, were we surprised to see this monstrosity. It was hard to drive and not gape out the window along with the kids!
We came to the conclusion that it must have resulted from a broken water pipe since it had been so, so cold recently. Why would anyone have a water pipe going up a telephone pole? We didn't know. But it was the only thing we could think of! How else would all that water have gotten there? Turns out we were wrong about the origin of this statuesque creation.
This jagged tower of ice did not come about by accident nor was it a free form ice sculpture... they did it on purpose! "They" being a group of seminary students. They created this so they could practice ice climbing - right there in the back yard of the church! It was ingenious, and they did pick the right winter for it. Now, if we had driven by on one of the days with people actually climbing on it, I might have had to pull over and gape with the rest of the passengers in my car!
That's a new one for me. I've had friends in Colorado who loved mountain climbing, but I've never heard of anyone who did ice climbing on a telephone pole! BTW, I had a friend from Maryland who moved to Wyoming and said it only had one tree ... is that true? :)
Hi Brenda,
That is very ingenous. I have never ice climbed but it does seem like something that would require a lot of practice!
Lisa
Hi Colleen, We do have more than one tree in Wyoming, but funny you should phrase it that way because between Laramie and Cheyenne there is ONE tree that has it's own signs and interstate pulloffs devoted to it. It is called "Tree in the Rock".
Hi Lisa! I agree and I don't see it being added to the list of things I want to learn to do!
Hi Brenda - Now I have climbed radio towers and power poles however a tower of ice is one even I would not have thought of. That setup would be the way to practice but way too cold for me. Wonder if they cool their beer keg at the bottom, oops forgot seminary students.
This phenomenon was spotted in a back yard in our town earlier this winter as well. Only the guy was making a sculpture, not a climber. Very creative!
HI Steve - On the other hand, a well placed keg is the only thing that could get me to give the tower of ice a shot...
Hi Wanda! How funny, I'm curious if the one in your town didn't end up looking much the same. Whether for climbing or for art, it is a rather spectacular sight!
How funny! I think the seminary students have too much time on their hands! :)))
That's what you call creativity! Good for you to find out the answer before posting the photo. You know we all would have asked you to let us know when you found out the origin.
Brenda, If this would have been "guess what this is", I never would have guessed. It is amazing what people think of.
Hi Joni - What people won't do for a little entertainment here......
Margaret - Lucky for me I know a lovely lady associated with the church and she told me the whole story when I called to ask if it was okay to go on the property to take the picture.
Hi Gary - I know what you mean! The lady I referred to above said most people were quite curious and very few guessed correctly!
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