By Luke Noble, 11th Grade

There is hardly a better way to admire God’s creation than to look upon frozen cliffs of ice sparkling in the morning sun after a fresh snowfall. The state park of Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania is the perfect place to do so in the cold months of winter when the area’s many waterfalls turn into impenetrable walls of massive icicles. This area attracts many eager adventurers, including staff and students of St. Louis de Montfort Academy, who journey to the frozen slopes to climb up these insurmountable walls of ice.

So on the 28th of January, our small group, including four students and two teachers, packed up and set off for Ricketts Glen. We made sure we had brought everything we needed, such as winter clothing, ice climbing gear, as well as food and water. It was very cold when we got there but once we started moving, the temperature did not feel as cold as it actually was.

Unfortunately, this temperature was not as cold as we would have liked because much of the ice in the potential climbing areas was not strong enough to climb. We did, however, manage to get some ice climbing lessons in from our teacher who knew much about this subject.

But even without being able to climb the ice, the hike itself was amazing: The huge columns of ice reaching down from the rocky mountainside that was once dripping with water, the frozen waterfalls themselves, and the snow covering the rocks and trees lining the path. Winter may be seen as a time when everything seems dead and when nature has lost its beauty, but when one goes to places like these, the beauty of God’s creation comes out more vividly and it demonstrates His power and glory.