Canadian ice climber becomes first to scale frozen Niagara Falls

London, January 31

A Canadian climber has made history by becoming the first person to scale icy walls of Niagara Falls.

The 47-year-old Will Gadd used only ice hooks to climb up the frozen cliffs at Terrapin Point, a 147-foot section directly next to Horseshoe Falls, the CNN reported.

Gadd said people’d be swept away by the torrential downpour in the summer and on a warm winter (day), there’s no climb there, but on a cold, freezing day in late January, the wall of water is a wall of ice which was a perfect scenario for him.

Gadd, who clambered up the frozen walls three times, taking about an hour each trip, described the ice as “unstable” because it formed in distinct layers of ice and snow, which made the climb more difficult.

He noted that the climb beat him up, adding that he may have reached the top, but Niagara won the war as at the end of the day he was hypothermic.

Gadd, right next to whom 681,750 gallons of water per second surged down Horseshoe Falls, added that he was so close to the water that he could reach out and stick his ice tool in the Niagara Falls.

He said that at one point he was behind the water, climbing on ice that froze behind the falls and got a whole lot of Niagara down his neck.

Gadd, who is also a three-time gold medalist at the X Games and won the Ice Climbing World Cup, was recently named a Nat Geo Adventurer of the Year. — ANI