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Ouray, Colorado is a beautiful destination in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It’s referred to as the “Switzerland of America” because of the picturesque and sprawling mountain peaks surrounding the town. On your journey up to the “Switzerland of America” look out point off US Highway 550 (known as the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton) you’ll pass by the entrance to the world famous Ouray Ice Park. This is an ice climbing park that people travel from all over the globe to visit. This human-made ice climbing spectacle spans two miles and boasts 150 ice and mixed climbing routes for all skill levels. (Note: please make sure to follow the rules and regulations if you plan to visit).
While planning a trip to Ouray in January 2023, my friend Caroline and I decided we wanted to try a private, half-day guided ice climbing course with a local guide company called Basecamp Ouray. It was founded and is owned by a Ouray local, Logan Tyler. Logan was wonderful to work with when booking the ice climbing course. He answered all of my many questions, and you could hear his passion for sharing climbing with others just through a phone call.
This was only the second time Caroline and I had gone ice climbing, so we were looking for an option that suited our beginner-level climbing skills. Basecamp Ouray offered the perfect choice for us. Here are a few reasons why:
- Trying a new activity can be intimidating. Looking at Basecamp Ouray's website before booking, I was confident in pursuing a course when I read this quote: “We think climbing is for everyone, and has the power to foster authentic community.” Seeing this, I knew Basecamp would welcome us into the climbing community, cheer us on for trying something out of our comfort zone, and squash any imposter syndrome we might feel.
- Basecamp Ouray offers private courses where you receive one-on-one instruction. This is exactly what we wanted after experiencing a larger group ice climbing course the year prior. We were looking for a course where it would just be us and our guide so we could really focus on learning and progressing our skills without the distraction of comparing ourselves to other climbers.
- The guides at Basecamp Ouray are American Mountain Guides Association trained climbing guides with extensive experience. No matter which guide we were paired with, we were assured we’d be in good hands. Our guide was Lindsey Hamm, and she was amazing. She was knowledgable, energetic, and encouraging. We learned so much from Lindsey, which I'll talk about more below.
So, how did The Beer Spa get to Denver, Colorado? Founders Jessica and Damien traveled the world for a little over a year on a quest for an entrepreneurial business idea they could pursue. While in Zakopane, Poland, they experienced something called a “Beer Spa." It didn’t take much for the pair to realize this was what they wanted to bring back to the states. A lot of hard work and business planning later- The Beer Spa in Denver was born.
You're probably wondering what the experience is like, and that's why I'm here to share everything about our visit to The Beer Spa. Let's talk cost first. It's $89 for one person to take in the hour long experience which includes your own private beer therapy room with a hydrotherapy beer bath, infrared sauna, a rain shower, and $10 worth of beer. If you want to bring a second person it's an additional $30. I view this as a unique gift option or a "treat yourself" day which is well deserved after a long week of work. You can look at their pricing at this link.
