Michigan Ice Fest Trip - Ice climbing in Munising, MI - Events Calendar

Michigan Ice Fest Trip - Ice climbing in Munising, MI

Friday, February 13, 2026
All day
Allendale Campus
Students

Registration coming soon.

Join the Outdoor Adventures (OA) program February 13 - 15 as we venture to Munising, MI for the annual Michigan Ice Festival! Participants will have the opportunity to climb iconic frozen waterfalls of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, meet world-class mountaineers, pick the brains of sales rep's for your favorite climbing brands, and spend time with other adventurous Lakers. The festival is hosted by Downwind Sports, an U.P. gear shop who caters the event to climbers of all abilities (including those with no previous ice climbing experience). Our trip to Ice Fest will include: 1 1/2 days of ice climbing, the biggest gear raffle you've ever seen, presentations of expeditions by world renowned mountaineers, meet and greets, & plenty of social time for swapping stories.

No Experience Necessary

Equipment: Technical Ice climbing gear will be provided by the GVSU Climbing Center.

Transportation: Participants are responsible for getting to and from Munising. OA will help with the coordination of ride sharing at the pre-trip meeting. Once in Munising, all events are within a couple blocks (i.e. walking distance) from the motel and event organizers operate a frequent shuttle to/ from the climbing areas for free.

Cost:
Most of the costs will be pay-as-you-go but we need to collect a non-refundable fee of $75 to help cover the costs of lodging. Participants will be fitted for rental equipment (boots, crampons, & ice tools) at the pre-trip meeting. Participants should expect the entire trip to cost between $200 - $250 total. Some of the additional costs include:
$75 - festival registration/ insurance (paid online at www.michiganicefest.com)

variable - Food
variable - Misc. Gear/ souvenirs
variable - shared gas & bridge toll expenses

Our efforts are geared towards giving GVSU students an experience they'll never forget.

Visit www.michiganicefest.com for more festival details.

Mandatory Pre-Trip Meeting: Wednesday, February 6th, 5pm; Ravines Center (OA office)

Registration is limited to current GVSU students. There are two parts to the Registration process.

1) Register (RSVP) here in the event listing.
2) Register at michiganicefest.com by the January 31st deadline.* (their $75 entry fee raises to $85 (ish) at the door)

*Please note that many of the Ice Fest workshops begin prior to our group's arrival in Munising. For this reason, we do NOT recommend joining them. Participants who register for these workshops will be responsible for their own transportation & lodging prior to Friday. Participants with little/ no experience ice climbing will be provided basic knowledge before the trip.

GVSU Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Feb. 5th at 5:59pm.

More Info:

Checkout the GV Next story about our 2025 trip
Visit the Michigan Ice Fest event page

RSVP for this event

Location Information

Munising, MI

Download parking map for the Allendale Campus

Contact Information

Joe Bitely
[email protected]

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This event was added to the calendar by Joseph Bitely (bitelyj@gvsu.edu) on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 and was last updated on Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8:41 a.m.

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