City council has given its approval, so all Chris Gishler needs now is Mother Nature on his side.

Council held a special meeting at noon Monday to vote on Gishler's proposed ice-climbing wall on the waterfront. All councillors present voted in favour of the proposal.

Gishler said outside the meeting he expects the ice wall to be ready for visitors after Christmas and fully operational in about a month, but declined to offer specific dates.

'We're very superstitious in the ice wall world,' he said. The project's development will certainly be dependent on weather conditions.

Gishler, the only full-time winter staff member and owner of Equinox Adventure Learning, is to develop an ice-climbing park overlooking the Yukon River, behind Domino's Pizza on First Avenue.

The park will feature four connected ice-climbing towers ranging in height from 20 to 60 feet.

There will be vertical towers for scaling, and more tame ice paths, with steps, tunnels and bridges, for participants to traverse, said Gishler.

Last year's structures at the Takhini Hot Springs were operated by Gishler and his staff.

'It is our hope that locating the towers downtown will benefit the development of the waterfront and also be more convenient for people to get to,' said Gishler.

Ice climbers are all attached to a safety line via a harness and provided safety equipment to wear. All 12 or so part-time staff onsite will be trained, Gishler said, to help participants have fun, and stay safe.

City councillors expressed concern at past meetings that once spring arrives, the melting towers will be too much water for local drainage systems to handle.

These concerns were assuaged by Gishler and city staff, who explained that indeed, there were adequate drainage systems onsite, provided they do not become blocked.

Gishler's application for a conditional use permit was granted, meaning the city allowed the purpose of the business.

Land use approval was not needed, as the site is owned by Northern Vision Development.

Gishler said both Northern Vision Development and Domino's Pizza are on board with the project. He said Domino's will also be supplying the water with which to build the towers.

The ice walls will be open for individual participants, group bookings, and camps, he said.