Incredible moment daredevil mountain climbers scale frozen WATERFALL as it melts
- One wrong step on the climb in Ouray, Colorado, could have sent brave climbers plummeting nearly 100ft
- The frozen column of ice was in the San Juan mountains in a region nicknamed the 'Switzerland of America'
- After their ascent the locals told the two climbers they were the first to ever scale the frozen waterfall
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A daring duo took their lives in their hands to scale a spectacular frozen waterfall as it melted beneath their feet.
The climb in Ouray, Colorado, was certainly not for the faint of heart, with one wrong step potentially sending them sliding nearly 100ft to almost certain death at the foot of the sheer ice sheet.
But that didn't stop this pair of daredevils rising to the challenge.
Heartstopping: Photographer Alain Denis captures
his partner Calixte Leblanc taking on the frozen waterfall climb in
Ouray, Colorado
Slippery: One wrong step could have sent Mr
Leblanc plunging nearly 100ft down the frozen waterfall to almost
certain death at its frozen base
Don't look down! After the climb Mr Denis spoke
of the intoxicating mixture of adrenaline and fear that possessed him
and Mr Leblanc when they first saw the ice column
Adventure: The frozen waterfall dangling from
the San Juan mountains, in a region nicknamed 'the Switzerland of
America', was approximately 82ft tall
Adventure sport photographer Alain
Denis, 40, captured these spectacular images of his partner Calixte
Leblanc, 32, taking on the ascent.Using ice tools, ice screws, crampons and a harness, brave Mr Denis and his climbing compatriot were able to reach the top of the waterfall in a mere twenty minutes.
'This was the first time we were able to climb the frozen waterfall,' said Mr Denis. 'In the previous years, the [ice] never got fat enough for us to do it, or didn't reach all the way to the ground.
'When we first saw it like this it looked scary, but looking back at photographs reminds me of the excitement we had when we first saw this free standing pillar, the adrenaline and fear of climbing it.'
The frozen waterfall dangling from the San Juan mountains, in a region nicknamed 'the Switzerland of America', was approximately 82ft tall.
Great outdoors: This photograph of the climb from another angle shows just how precarious the ascent of the waterfall was
Kitted out: Using ice tools, ice screws,
crampons and a harness, brave Mr Denis and Mr Leblanc were able to reach
the top of the waterfall in a mere twenty minutes
First ascent: Mr Denis explained that in
previous years the column had not been substantial enough to climb, or
had not reached all the way to the ground
Dramatic: Mr Leblanc swings his ice axe as he
inches his way to the top of the waterfall, which apparently collapsed
only a few weeks later
Talking about the climb, Mr Denis explained: 'Once we got back to the car park at the bottom of the mountain, a local told us that we had just completed the first accent of the frozen waterfall.
'We later found out that only a few more ascents were completed after us, and several weeks later the pillar fell down
'I always loved adrenaline sports, loved to be in the mountains and be in nature.
'I fell in love with climbing before I had even tried it; I was hooked as soon as I brought my first climbing harness.'
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