The granite domes of the City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park summon climbers like the mythical Shangri-La beckons adventurers. The unique formations with crisp patina edges, splitter and varying cracks, and lines from 5.14 to 5.1 can leave any tradster, bolt-clipper, and pebble-wrestler in a climbing-induced coma. Overshadowed by the better known and ever-popular City of Rocks, Castle Rocks remains a destination less frequented and saved for the “next time we visit the City.”
For the last three years, however, hundreds of climbers have migrated to Castle Rocks at the end of September to spend four days inside the park, climbing, camping, and socializing among the sagebrush and aspens at the Idaho Mountain Festival. A multi-sport festival, the IMF brings together climbing, trail running and mountain biking to provide something for everyone.
As the exclusive headlining rope sponsor, Edelweiss was at the event to provide athlete workshops, gear demos, prize-winning activities, and more. Joe Mills, an Edelweiss sponsored athlete, taught crack climbing workshops, sharing tips and techniques to help climbers excel on their next trad-climbing adventure. Edelweiss staff were on location and demo'd Edelweiss’s newest harnesses for the festival attendees. Unfortunately, epic rains hampered the notorious Edelweiss Rodeo Clipping Contest but it was quickly replaced with the Bucket Tug-of-War, where festival attendees tried to knock their opponent off a bucket by strategically pulling or paying out the rope they both held.
Although the weather did not cooperate this year, next year is always another story and Edelweiss plans on returning for another Idaho Mountain Festival.
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