Story highlights Ice climber Will Gadd scaled a frozen cliff at Niagara Falls

Gadd, a triple gold medalist at the X Games, described feeling "hypothermic" after the climb

(CNN) Most visitors to Niagara Falls consider it a place for romance. Ice climber Will Gadd thinks of the famous falls as a spot for adventure.

There have been countless attempts by daredevils to ride down both parts of Niagara Falls -- the American Falls on the U.S. side and Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. But earlier this week, Gadd made history when he became the first person to climp up the falls.

The Canadian ice climber used only ice hooks to scale the frozen cliffs at Terrapin Point, a 147-foot section directly next to Horseshoe Falls.

"I checked out the spot we were thinking of climbing in the summer. You'd be swept away by the torrential downpour then," Gadd said on redbull.com . "On a warm winter (day), there's no climb here."

But on a cold, freezing day in late January, the wall of water is a wall of ice -- the icing is so heavy that the area is closed to tourists during the winter months -- a perfect scenario for Gadd.

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