The UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour resumes on the weekend of 20-22 February with the third of the season’s World Cups to be staged in Longmont, Colorado, USA.
Action commences on Saturday 21 February with the entire speed competition and the lead (difficulty) qualifiers. The following day, the semi-finals and finals of difficulty take centre stage.
Last time out: Highlights from round 2 in Saas-Fee (Switzerland)
The World Tour visits Longmont for the second time after an inaugural competition in 2025. The event is organised in collaboration with the Longmont Climbing Collective and the American Alpine Club supported by USA Ice Climbing.
Following two captivating World Cups in Cheongsong (South Korea) and Saas-Fee (Switzerland), the World Tour verdicts will be decided in back-to-back events in North America. Following the competition in Longmont, the season decider will take place in Edmonton (Canada) a week later.
Nearly 100 athletes from the following countries – Azerbaijan, Canada, Czechia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong China, Ireland, Japan, Lichtenstein, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States – are registered for round 3.
Lead (Difficulty): Contenders in action
Louna Ladevant (France) has dominated the men’s competition with two wins out of two. Another victory in the USA would practically seal the World Tour title. His two closest adversaries, Lee Younggeon and Min Cheol Kim of the United States are both registered and will seek to capitalise on any slip up by the Frenchman. In terms of the podium contenders, the men’s competition is stacked with talent. Spain’s Jorge Veiga Rodriguez claimed a first World Cup medal with a silver in Saas-Fee and has since won two Continental Cups in Malbun and Sunderland. While some athletes have taken a break from competition over the past few weeks, Rodriguez has maintained his edge. And with the likes of Virgile Devin (France), Tristan Ladevant (France), Florian and Andreas Gantner (Liechtenstein) and Jonathan Brown (Switzerland) currently registered, a high quality final eight is guaranteed.
Lead Semi-Finals. Sunday 22 February, 12:00 local time
All three of the leading women – Marion Salmon Thomas (France), Marianne van der Steen (Netherlands) and Celina Bosshard (Switzerland) will compete in Longmont further intensifying the quest to become World Tour champion. Like the men’s competition, the deeper field is highly-competitive with a significant number of athletes having the sights set on medals. This includes two athletes who regularly go deep in both speed and lead – Aneta Louzecka (Czechia) and Catalina Shirley (USA). With over 20 athletes registered, Team USA will hope to leverage home advantage.
Lead Finals. Sunday 22 February, 17:00 local time
Difficulty – World Tour standings after two rounds
Men: (1) L Ladevant (FRA), 200 points; (2) Y Lee (KOR), 130 pts; (3) M Kim (KOR), 127 pts
Women: (1) M Salmon-Thomas (FRA), 165 points; (2) M Van der Steen (NED), 102 pts; (3) C Bosshard (SUI), 102 pts
Speed: Mongolia to stake claim
With the absence of the two leaders in the men’s competition, Mohammadreza Safdarian and Mohsen Beheshti Rad, Longmont presents an opportunity for some other athletes to take the spotlight. The Mongolian men’s team have not yet hit the heights of recent seasons, or better have not hit the heights at the speed we have become accustomed to. Regular World Cup winners Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar and Kherlen Nyamdoo will both be on the hunt for a first gold of the season. However, outside of the two aforementioned Iranian climbers it is Lichtenstein’s Florian Gantner who has been the best performing speed climber.
Speed Finals. Saturday 21 February, 18:00 local time
In the women’s competition, Selenge Nyamdoo, returned to her imperious form in Saas-Fee and heads the leaderboard. However her advantage is a slender one over Poland’s Olga Kosek and Louzecka. Likely to put in strong performances are Lea Beck (LIE) and Shirley, who represents the USA’s most likely medallist.
Speed – World Tour standings after two rounds
Men: (1) M Safdarian (IRN), 200 points; (2) M Beheshti Rad (IRN); 145 pts; (3) F Gantner (LIE) 120 pts
Women: (1) S Nyamdoo (MON), 155 points; (2) O Kosek (POL), 151 pts; (3) A Loužecká (CZE) 145 pts
Fixe has joined the UIAA as Official Technical Partner. The technical staff and teams at each 2026 World Cup event are using Fixe ropes, carabiners, anchors, harnesses, and helmets, with the brand covering all organisational needs in these product categories.
Further Details
Event page
Event programme
Photos
Registered athletes
How to follow the World Cups
For each World Cup event, a preview and review press release will be made available. Subscribe here to UIAA ice climbing press releases.
Livestreaming will be made available on the UIAA YouTube channel for all semi-finals and finals and certain qualification rounds.
On the UIAA Facebook and Instagram channels, shortform content including video clips and behind the scenes highlights will be posted as well as updates about livestreaming timings as well as podium winner posts and ‘climbs of the weekend’ clips.
Live results are available from the UIAA Results service.
The UIAA Ice Climbing website provides full information about each event including programmes and provisional timings.
Photos from competitions will available on the UIAA Flickr Channel. A ‘best of’ gallery for media wishing to preview the 2025-2026 season is available here.
Photo Credit: Louna Ladevant in action in Longmont (2025). UIAA/Ian Warren
