Ice climbing is a passion for a group of friends at Illinois' Starved Rock State Park

Less than two hours from Chicago, there lies a hidden and frozen gem that draws adventure seekers from all over the country.

At Wildcat Canyon at Starved Rock State Park, frozen waterfalls are just right — in the right kind of weather — for ice climbing.

On the day CBS News Chicago joined Dave Everson and Bruce Turner for an ice climb, the temperature was 10 degrees under sunny skies. But they called it perfect.

While the rest of us may visit in the spring or summer, Everson and Turner hike Starved Rock State Park in the winter because that is when they'll find Wildcat Canyon the way they like it — frozen.

"I don't know many people have ever seen frozen waterfalls in real life," said Turner. "We got one right here in our backyard."

Everson and Turner travel 93 miles — not to hike, but to climb the frozen waterfall.

"You're driving through cornfields — it's just flat on I-80 — and you come into the park, and where'd this come from?" said Everson.

They take turns on the ice with friends, including Gerry Voelliger.

"A lot of folks come from all over the United States here to ice climb because it's unique. You don't often get to climb real waterfalls," Voelliger said. "The ice is different. There's a different consistency to the whole ice. It forms differently every year."

Climbers have a narrow window every season, but they take advantage as soon as the water freezes.

"Well last year, I think I climbed every day it was open, and we may have climbed six days just because of the weather conditions," Voelliger said.

Starved Rock welcomes experienced ice climbers who bring their own equipment — including hand tools to grip the ice.

"We constantly dislodge small chunks of ice, and then now and then, you just take out a big chunk that comes down," explained Everson.

Hikers who stumble upon climbers are convinced those climbers have ice in their veins. But the ice climbers, like the ice itself, go back ages — more than 35 years, in fact.

"We've been climbing since the late 80s — '88 or '89," Everson said.

Turner said he was just invited to try one day.

"He said, 'Hey, you want to try this?' And it's like, 'OK, I have no idea what you're talking about, but yeah, let's go do it,'" Turner said.

Everson and Turner are both 63. They're the young guys of the group — Voelliger is 70.

"I'm going to go as long as I can go," he said. "I'm not slowing down."

Everson and Turner intend to carry on ice climbing as long as they can manage too.

 "As long as the joints keep on working, I'm in," Turner said.

And in perfect conditions, Wildcat Canyon forms not only ice, but friendship.

Ice climbing is allowed in four different canyons at Starved Rock State Park. The icefalls usually start forming in the last two weeks of January.