Now here’s an idea for those rock climbers looking for a place to practice:  Silo climbing. 

Someone has finally found a way to have grain silos earn their keep. ? Frozen solid in a sheath of thick ice, grain silos have become the perfect place to practice climbing.

Don Briggs was the man smart enough to think up the idea. He didn't even have to invest in a thing. He had the grain silos on his farmland and enough garden hose to get to the top of one. Plenty of water and a few good freezes later, and Briggs has the best ice-tower for climbing around. 

The ice is four feet thick, good enough to withstand the chopping pickaxes and crampons climbers use. Briggs teaches ice climbing at a nearby university and has the perfect place to let students practice. After all, there ain’t many mountains in Iowa.

Briggs’ crazy idea has caught on, too. Rock climbers from all over the world are flocking to Iowa to climb 70-foot tall, ice-coated grain silos.
 
Climbing is free, if you're planning a winter trip down to the land of corn. Briggs’ wife has been kind enough to donate a cowbell to ice silo cause - climb to the top and you could be the ringer!

Posted by Louise.