Climbers reflect on evolution of their sky-high sport at Ice Climbing World Cup

Ice climbers from around the world are gathering in Edmonton for the final round of a world cup event happening over the weekend in Louise McKinney Park.

Seasoned ice climbers who took to Louise McKinney Park this week for the final stop in a world championship say they have high hopes for the future of their ever-evolving sport.

“It’s super challenging, physically and mentally. It’s a sport you can do your whole life and improve at, little by little,” said Team Canada athlete Joseph Banks on Saturday.

This year was the third time Edmonton has hosted the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. Climb YEG, the group responsible for the activities, offered both ice climbing and dry-tool climbing on the riverfront park’s seven-storey climbing structure.

Dry-tool climbing is an iteration of ice climbing that involves axes on rock or wood. Event producer Adam Luciuk explained it’s a fairly new activity that often offers a better experience for seasoned pros.

“The main question we get is, ‘Where is the ice?’ he said in an interview Friday.

“Ice is actually too easy for the athletes, and it’s not consistent. So they do speed climbing on the ice in the middle … then the difficulty is on the wooden surface, because it’s consistent.”

Sara Lilley, also a Team Canada athlete from Canmore, said dry-tooling became the norm in her sport as ice climbing evolved into a less accessible medium.

“This kind of climbing is very, very specific. It requires a lot of body tension. The holds are artificial, so they’re designed specifically to be used in certain ways, and to be hard to use,” she explained.

Athletes came from the U.S., Europe, Asia and more to compete in Saturday’s finals.

“You get to meet lots of friends from all over the world. I have some friends in Korea now,” Banks said. “The community is very small, so everyone’s pretty tight.”

Captain of the U.S. team, Gregory Love, said the championship experience has been a mixture of “pride and pressure.”

“This is a perfect structure … Edmonton is really awesome for having this.”

Many athletes hope growing awareness of the sport may one day land it a place in the Olympics due to its intense demands and spectator value.

“The sport has grown a lot with the development of Climb YEG, even last year compared to this year,” Lilley reflected. “There are way more Canadians participating. We held an actual tryout event this year.”

On Sunday, Climb YEG will host both a community and youth competition meant for beginners with some dry tool experience. Non-climbers and climbers alike will also get to enjoy a festival featuring food and beer gardens as well as workshops on the sport beginning in the park at 10 a.m.

The Ice Climbing World Cup results are set to be announced Saturday evening.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg