Art imitates life in sculpture climbing up downtown wall

A sculpture of an ice climber ascended the facade of Rocky Mountain Outfitter on Sunday, joining a sculpture of a cowboy on the facade of the Noice Studio and Gallery just up the block on Main Street.

Rocky Mountain Outfitter owner Don Scharfe and general manager Jandy Cox helped the ice climber reach his perch in downtown Kalispell.

Both men are accomplished mountain climbers. 

And as they worked from their ropes and from ladders set up on the sidewalk and carefully hoisted the sculpture down from the roof, a small crowd of people watched them work.

“Everything was a little tenuous until he was attached,” Cox said about the sculpture’s installation. 

“Don and I both climb, so we were pretty comfortable being up there and the logistics of raising and lowering him. But I probably had more fun than [Don] did just because he had to pay for it if it cracked or anything like that.”

The sculpture has a metal armature and is made of Styrofoam and paper covered in an epoxy finish. It weighs about 60 pounds.

“I feel very positive about the outcome,” Scharfe said, adding that he still has to repaint the store’s sign out front and install a new light to shine on the sculpture. 

And he’s hoping to see more themed facade decorations go up to help spruce up the downtown.

The ice climber was made by local sculptor Kay Lynn. 

She also made the cowboy displayed on the front of the Noice Studio and Gallery and a grizzly bear sculpture on the KM Building.

Scharfe said he went with a sculpture of an ice climber because it gets to the heart of the mountaineering store that he opened in downtown Kalispell nearly four decades ago.

“We decided on an ice climber, the pose. We sell a lot of ice axes and crampons, so our customer base relates to those things,” Scharfe said. “This store’s been here 37 years and it’s stayed this way. We’ve kept our roots. This was a rooted thing for us.”

Customers and other people out walking along the Main Street sidewalk are starting to take notice of the new sculpture, titled “Look up from your life.”

And while it’s a perfect fit for the alpine spirit of Rocky Mountain Outfitter, Lynn let loose a little secret: 

She found the perfect inspiration for her sculpture in the store’s owner. “He inspired that. It wouldn’t have been as good without him and his enthusiasm for the sport,” she said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.