Difficulty: Double French gold

Marion Salmon-Thomas is in the form of her life. Until this season she had amassed an impressive number of podium finishes but never a gold medal in a UIAA-sanctioned competition. She put that right by winning the UIAA Continental Cup in Slovakia in November. In Cheongsong, the 30-year old provided an impressive demonstration of her speed and agility to take the gold ahead of Catalina Shirley of the United States. With both athletes topping the route, Salmon-Thomas’s ascent in 7 minutes, 17 seconds was 12 seconds faster than her rival. Shirley can take enormous credit having competed in, and medalled, in the speed competition the evening before. Salmon-Thomas is returning to the World Tour after giving birth to her first child in 2025. Before the competition she said: “I am glad to be back, I have been thinking about this season for a while now. I have a new body, I am climbing differently from before. I have more urgency in my climbing and I want to get faster.” Faster she was and not only in the final, having excelled throughout the earlier rounds of the competition. Jinyeong Kim of South Korea took the bronze medal.

French joy was not confined to the women’s event. Former world champion and World Tour winner Louna Ladevant has found Cheongsong a hard venue to crack in the past. As the only male climber to conquer the routesetters’ puzzle and top the route, gold was his after a typically dynamic performance full of calculated risk taking. Korean athletes Min Cheol Kim and Younggeon Lee claimed silver and bronze, adding to the medal tally of the host country. The men’s last eight saw two new World Cup finalists in Wilson Whitley of the United States and Paul Zurbrügg of Switzerland. Three French athletes made the top five capping a great day for Team France.

Watch: Lead Finals

Speed: Safdarian and Kosek take gold

Mohammadreza Safdarian, the 33-year-old Iranian climber, clearly loves competing in Cheongsong. At last year’s World Cup, he won the speed title and finished second in the difficulty event. This year he focused significantly on the speed wall, a discipline he has increasingly grew stronger in. In the final duel (two ascents of climber vs climber) he soared to victory seeing off the challenge of Mongolian climber Saikhanjargal Otgonbayar (19:80) with combined time of 14.80 seconds. The latter in sealing silver claimed his first ever World Cup medal and becomes the latest Mongolian athlete to excel on the world stage. Safdarian’s compatriot Mohsen Beheshti Rad (15:43) saw off Liechtenstein’s Florian Gantner (19:99) in the bronze medal climb.

In the driving snow and on the glistening speed wall, the women’s competition was equally enthralling. Athletes from seven countries made up the final eight showing the growing competitiveness of speed climbing. Bronze went to United States’ Catalina Shirley (22:97) who saw off reigning World Tour champion, Selenge Nyamdoo (24:80) of Mongolia. Shirley had won the speed crown in Cheongsong in 2025. The final saw two European athletes contested the gold medal, Olga Kosek (20:09) of Poland and world champion Aneta Louzecka (22:69) of Czechia. A terrific first climb by Kosek proved the difference as she claimed a first World Cup gold in speed. This followed a number of podium finishes, including a gold in the International Masters event in Edmonton in 2025, and is reward for the impressive and continued development she has made over recent seasons.

Watch: Speed Final

Partners, supporters, next World Cup

This was the first World Cup staged with Fixe as Official Technical Partner. The technical staff and teams at each 2026 World Cup event will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, anchors, harnesses, and helmets, with the brand covering all organisational needs in these product categories. Athletes will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, and quickdraws throughout the circuit.

The UIAA would like to thank all organisers for the hosting of another superb event in Cheongsong. This includes the Korean Alpine Federation, the Cheongsong-gun county and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Alpine Federation. The event was also supported by a number of local partners including The North Face Korea and Outdoor Research. All uniforms worn by officials were supplied by Mammut, a new entry as one of the World Tour partners.

Round 2 of the World Tour makes its traditional pilgrimage to Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps, where a very different competition awaits. Action takes place on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January. Technical partner Fixe are planning a number of initiatives in Saas-Fee with details coming soon.

Photos from the event are available here.

Further Details
Event page
Event programme
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 credits: UIAA/KAF/Rhea Kang

As has become tradition, the World Tour commences in Asia with Cheongsong, a regular host of UIAA competitions for over 15 years, welcoming athletes to the South Korean mountains. The event is supported by the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) and the Cheongsong municipality.

The 2025-2026 UIAA ice climbing season welcomes Fixe as Official Technical Partner. The technical staff and teams at each World Cup event will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, anchors, harnesses, and helmets, with the brand covering all organisational needs in these product categories. Additionally, the world’s top ice climbers will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, and quickdraws throughout the circuit.

Some 120 athletes from the following nations are expected to compete in Cheongsong – Canada, Czechia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong – China, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Host nation South Korea bring a massive team of 25 athletes.

Competition takes place on the weekend of 10-11 January. Saturday is reserved for the difficulty (lead) qualifications and entire speed competition. Difficulty semi-finals and finals make up Sunday’s programme. Livestreaming will be available for the later rounds of the speed competition and difficulty semi-finals and finals. Links and embed codes are provided below. Time zone convertor

Speed Final, Saturday 10 January, 17:30-19:00 local time

Lead Semi-Finals, Sunday 11 January, 08:30-12:00 local time

Lead Finals, Sunday 11 January, 14:40-16:40 local time

Difficulty: Who can deny South Korea?

Local athletes typically excel in Cheongsong. Over the past three editions, the Korean team has taken five gold medals from a possible 12 including three different winners of the male difficulty competition. Two of whom, reigning world champion Younggeon Lee and former world champion Heeyong Park are in attendance this weekend. They will be joined by multiple world champion and World Cup winner Woonseon Shin who will be one of the favourites in the female event.

However, the local team will have to overcome tough competition. Team France will likely pose a major threat. Former world champion Louna Ladevant has always found Cheongsong a tough venue to podium but will be amongst the favourites to medal together with his brother Tristan and compatriots Virgile Devin and Marion Salmon-Thomas.

Spain’s rising star Jorge Veiga Rodriguez is chasing a first World Cup medal while Iran’s Mohammedreza Safdarian, competing in both disciplines, will be one to watch. Equally versatile is Catalina Shirley of the United States, another potential podium placer in both disciplines. Athletes from Liechtenstein and Switzerland should prove competitive as will Netherlands’ Marianne van der Steen and Ireland’s former Korea resident Eimir McSwiggan.

Speed: An open field

In the past three editions there have been six different winners of the speed competition. Five of whom will be in attendance at the weekend. In addition to Safdarian, Iran’s Mohsen Beheshti Rad has previously won in Cheongsong whilst last year’s competition was claimed by Mongolia’s Kherlen Nymadoo. Teammate Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar, winner of the last two year World Tours despite never winning in Cheongsong, will also be a strong contender.

In the women’s competition both Shirley and Selenge Nyamdoo have won gold on the Cheongsong wall. Likely to push them close are Aneta Louzecka, the world champion from Czechia, Olga Kosek of Poland, a speed medallist on two occasions last season and the Beck sisters, Lorena and Lea, from Liechtenstein.

Further Details
Event page
Event programme
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.

Main photo credit: UIAA/Rhea Kang

Four Continental Cups in Europe have whetted the appetite and provided athletes with a chance to find their competition form in events which have consistently attracted an impressive field of over 100 athletes from up to 25 different UIAA member associations.

One of the exciting developments for the current season is the UIAA’s partnership with Fixe as Official Technical Partner. Further details on this relationship and what it means for the season are detailed below.

The World Tour will see four World Cups staged in as many countries and on three continents. The World Tour winners will be the athletes who accumulate the most points across the difficulty (lead) and speed disciplines across the season. Once again, the quality of the national teams and climbers set to compete is impressive.

The Events: Four World Cups, four countries, four winners

The format for the four World Cups is relatively simple. Each will have a difficulty and speed event organised with qualifications, semi-finals and final stages. The top three athletes in each discipline win World Cup medals – gold, silver and bronze. Points are awarded at each World Cup stop. The overall World Tour winners, at the season’s end, are those who accumulate the most points across all competitions, rewarding consistency and an ability to shine on very different structures and routes and in frequent subzero temperatures.

The season kicks off in Cheongsong, South Korea, a host of UIAA-sanctioned events for over 15 years. The event is organised in collaboration with the always superbly hospitable Korean Alpine Federation (KAF).

Photo credit: UIAA/Julia Roger-Veyer

Two weeks later, the World Tour makes its stop in Europe and specifically the unique venue of Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps. Generating a festival atmosphere, especially for the difficulty finals, Saas-Fee’s unique spiral vantage points ensure spectators get close to athletes like no other venue. Supported by the Swiss Alpine Club and the local organisers who have been dedicated to the event for over twenty years, Saas-Fee will also host the European Championships.

North America has become a frequent host of UIAA World Cups over the past five years. Two competitions will be held this year, firstly a second visit to Longmont, Colorado, supported by USA Ice Climbing. Longmont will also stage the North American Championships. As it did last year, the downtown venue in Edmonton, Canada will host the deciding round of the season where the World Tour winners will be crowned. The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) support Offbeat Entertainment with the hosting of this event.

Between the Saas-Fee World Cup and the two North American competitions, the annual UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships will be held in Malbun, Liechtenstein from 29-31 January organised by the Liechtenstein Alpenverein (LAV).

World Cups
UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup (Difficulty & Speed) Cheongsong, Korea 9-11 January 2026
UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup & European Championships (Difficulty & Speed) Saas-Fee, Switzerland 22-24 January 2026
UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup & N. American Championships (Difficulty & Speed) Longmont, USA 20-22 February 2026
UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup (Difficulty & Speed) Edmonton, Canada 26-28 February 2026

The Athletes: Need for speed and overcoming the difficulties

Photo credit: UIAA/Julia Roger-Veyer

Registrations from some UIAA member associations are still pending. However, the line-up of athletes for the World Cup events is already impressive. Typically over 200 climbers from some 25 countries compete across the different events.

In difficulty, last year’s World Tour winners both came from Switzerland with Benjamin Bosshard and Sina Goetz triumphant for the first time. However, the depth of competition is impressive and, in all probability, multiple athletes will win World Cup golds across the season. Recent World Tour winners like Younggeon Lee of South Korea and Louna Ladevant of France are expected to feature as is South Korea’s imperious and multiple World Champion Woonseon Shin.

If the Continental season is a good indicator of form, then the French team is looking strong with Virgile Devin and Marion Salmon-Thomas putting in determined performances and the United States’s rising star Catalina Shirley likely to be in contention both in difficulty and in speed.

Mongolia did the double in speed last year with Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar and Selenge Nyamdoo winning the men and women’s titles respectively. Chuluunbaatar going back-to-back after emerging victorious in 2024. The speed discipline, which is either set up as climber versus the clock or climber versus climber format, is especially unforgiving. One nano second of hesitation can compromise an entire climb. The Iranian team, notably Mohsen Beheshti Rad and Mohammadreza Safdarian, will be strong contenders while in recent seasons athletes from Czechia, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the United States have regularly podiumed.

A number of national federations have invested significantly in youth development, coaching and pathway programmes and may well be rewarded this season with medals. Spain is one example, increasingly dominant on the youth circuit, a number of athletes are ready to shine at senior level.

The New Technical Partner: Fixe
In August 2025, Fixe was confirmed as the Official Technical Partner of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour. The technical staff and teams at each World Cup event will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, anchors, harnesses, and helmets, with the brand covering all organisational needs in these product categories. Additionally, the world’s top ice climbers will use Fixe ropes, carabiners, and quickdraws throughout the circuit.

One exciting announcement is the new 9.5 Saas-Fee rope, Fixe’s official choice for the 2025-26 season.

“We are very happy and grateful with the partnership and for our position as technical partner. For this reason, we have decided to create and manufacture a new rope design, specifically for mountain guides. And we would like to make its official presentation when the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup competition is held in its namesake event – Saas-Fee.”
Toni Domingo, Fixe Marketing and Back Office Manager

Indeed during the weekend in Saas-fee, Fixe will carry out a number of initiatives for spectators including a speed carabiner-clipping challenge, similar to the one presented here, with many prizes to be awarded:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Fixe (@fixe.climb)

In addition to those initiatives, Fixe will award the most popular athlete on the entire circuit with a special trophy: a unique rope on the market, in a colour never before manufactured. This will be delivered at the final competition of the season in Edmonton, Canada. Social media followers will be responsible for deciding and voting which athlete will be selected. Please follow the UIAA and Fixe social media channels to participate.

Photo credit: UIAA/Kaspar Kellerhals

UIAA Quotes
“Everything points to a great season ahead. With the support of Fixe, we will see a number of technical aspects further enhanced and improved. I would like to thank all of the organisers for their hard work in preparing the events and for their commitment to hosting top-level competitions, giving athletes the chance to perform to their best levels. We can look forward to an enthralling World Tour for those watching at the venues and the hundreds of thousands following online.”
André von Rotz, UIAA CEO

“This is the first full season overseen by the World Ice Climbing Board. It seems that ice climbing is going from strength to strength as we push forward with our project to get the sport into the 2030 Winter Olympics in France. Our now regular World Cups on three continents should be great and as always it is fantastic to see the Continental Senior and Youth Series develop even further this year with some excellent looking events offering even more competition opportunities for even more athletes.”
JoAnne Carilli Stevenson, Chair, World Ice Climbing Board

Photo credit: UIAA/Slobodan Mišković

Update: 2030 Olympic Winter Games
The UIAA and World Ice Climbing acknowledge the IOC’s decision to adjust the timeline regarding the French Alps 2030 Olympic Winter Games discipline and additional sports programme. The verdicts related to additional sports will now be taken in June 2026, alongside confirmation of the events and athlete quotas. The UIAA reaffirms its candidacy for the inclusion of ice climbing as an additional sport for 2030. Further details here.

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.

Main photo credit: UIAA/Julia Roger-Veyer

The world-level events in the UIAA Ice Climbing calendar commence on 9 January 2026, with the continental circuit kicking off in the middle of November. It promises to be an another enthralling season as the UIAA pushes towards the dream of ice climbing becoming part of the 2030 Winter Olympics – a decision on the sports programme for the Games should be made during the 2026 winter season.

Over 200 athletes from over 25 member associations are set to contest the coveted UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup lead and speed titles. Five venues on three different continents will offer unique ice towers, exciting routes and supreme technical challenges.

World Cups & World Youth Championships
Five events, Five countries, three continents

The season opener will again be held in Cheongsong, South Korea from 9-11 January. The municipality of Cheongsong and the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) have been a longstanding organiser of UIAA Ice Climbing World Cups and recently committed to hosting events until the year 2030.

After a weekend’s gap to allow athletes to rest after the change in continents, the World Tour heads to Europe for the second round at another of its regular venues. Saas-Fee, Switzerland (22-24 January) has been an ever-present host of UIAA-sanctioned events since 2002 with its distinct ice dome offering a unique structure for competition. Built within the resort entry point, the venue in the Swiss Alps regularly attracts large crowds particularly for Saturday evening’s lead competition. The competition is organised by the experienced team in Saas-Fee and the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC).

The third world level event of the season will be the World Youth Championships which makes a welcome return to the idyllic wintery setting of Malbun, Liechtenstein (29-31 January), which first held the event back in 2018. The competition, which will also host a Continental Cup for senior athletes on the 1 February, is organised in by the Liechtensteiner Alpenverein (LAV).

Another rest weekend will follow to allow athletes to change continents again to return to last year’s debut venue for the World Cup series in Colorado. Longmont will play host to the third round of the World Cup from 20-22 February. The event will be hosted again by the Longmont Climbing Collective and supported by the American Alpine Club (AAC).

The final stop in the series will be a third visit to Edmonton, Canada – 27 February-1 March – hosted by Offbeat Entertain and supported by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) – right in the city centre. This follows on from the inaugural event at the venue held earlier this year. As part of this initiative, the general public will be able to test themselves on the ice wall on the Sunday after the competition. Edmonton will crown the World Tour winners.

Event pages – including livestreaming information, event programmes and registration details – will be available in due course on iceclimbing.sport

Quotes
“We’re thrilled to launch the 2026 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour calendar, returning to iconic venues and expanding our Continental Cup presence across Europe and North America. With the support of our new partners (to be announced in due course), it promises unforgettable moments for both athletes and fans.”
JoAnne Carilli-Stevenson, World Ice Climbing Board Chair

“It’s great to be working with established and experienced World Cup and Continental Cup organisers on the 2026 World Tour. I am especially looking forward to a return to Malbun, Liechtenstein for the World Youth Championships – this was my first event on the World Tour back in 2018! The youth have lots of opportunities to compete this season and I really hope we can grow the future of the sport.
Rob Adie, UIAA Sport Events Coordinator

Reigning World Tour winners
The reigning World Tour overall winners from 2025 are Benjamin Bosshard / Switzerland (men’s lead), Sina Goetz / Switzerland (women’s lead), Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar / Mongolia (men’s speed) and Selenge Nyamdoo / Mongolia (women’s speed).

World Championships
The next UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships will be held in 2027. This follows a decision from the World Ice Climbing Board to return to hosting Championships in odd years and for the UIAA and World Ice Climbing Board to work on developments and enhancements to the pinnacle event in the sport.

Continental Opens
A total of seven Continental Opens are being hosted in the 2025-26 season in Slovakia, Switzerland, Czechia, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, the USA, England and Finland. Young climbers will also have the opportunity to test themselves in more competition environments with events being organised at most of this season’s Continental Opens.

Provisional 2025-2026 Calendar

World Cups
9-11 January – Cheongsong, South Korea
22-24 January – Saas-Fee, Switzerland
20-22 February – Longmont, USA
26-28 February – Edmonton, Canada

World Youth Championships
29-31January – Malbun, Liechtenstein

Continental Cups & Youth Events
22 November – Bern, Switzerland
29 November – Zilina, Slovakia – Youth Categories
6 December – Brno, Czechia – Youth Categories
13 December – Utrecht, Netherlands – Youth Categories
1 February – Malbun, Liechtenstein – Youth Categories
6-8 February – Sunderland, England – Youth Categories
7 March – Oulu, Finland – Youth Categories

The full calendar of events can also be viewed here.

Main photo credit: UIAA/Slobodan Mišković

Located in South Korea’s Apple County and a noted winter sports destination, Cheongsong has been a regular stop on the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour for over a decade. Shortly before action started last weekend, a new five-year deal between the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) and Cheongsong County was announced ensuring UIAA competitions, subject to UIAA World Ice Climbing approval, will continue to be held in the region until the year 2030. The UIAA is delighted to see such a strong commitment from one of the world’s most experienced event organizers.

The first medals decided in this year’s competition came in the duel format speed event. Here reigning world champion Mohammadreza Safdarian, Iran, made an early season statement by defeating a rising star of the discipline, Mongolia’s Kherlen Nyamdoo in the final. In the bronze medal climb, Safdarian’s teammate Mohsen Beheshti Rad overcame local athlete Cheol Kim Min.

The women’s competition saw success for Team USA with Catalina Shirley, 22, taking gold. In the process, Shirley bettered last year’s silver meal in Cheongsong. Silver went to Mongolia’s Selenge Nyamdoo with South Korea taking the bronze as Youjin Cha overcame world champion Aneta Louzecka.

In the lead competition, eight male and eight female athletes contested a gripping final on routes conceived for fast ascending but with some noted technical challenges, best demonstrated by no athlete coming close to topping the route.

Woonseon Shin, reigning world champion and reigning World Tour winner, went into the weekend as the favourite for the title and as last athlete to climb had the chance to secure another gold medal in her home World Cup. However, difficulties in negotiating an ice barrel halfway up the route scuppered her chances as she timed out in sixth. The medals were shared between three European athletes – Sina Goetz of Switzerland taking gold ahead of Marianne Van der Steen, Netherlands, and Eimir McSwiggan, Ireland (photo, above). For Goetz it is a first gold medal since the World Cup in Saas-Fee in 2023; Van der Steen secured her best ever World Cup finish and McSwiggan returns to a World Cup podium for the first time since Champagny-en-Vanoise in 2023.

In the men’s competition, the reigning world champion Lee Younggeon held his nerve and composure to take gold. Despite his success on the world stage, gold in his home event had eluded him until now. Safdarian enjoyed the distinction of being the only athlete to medal in both speed and lead. His silver in the latter was his first on the world stage in five years. Bronze completed a very good weekend for the Swiss Alpine Club team with Benjamin Bosshard securing bronze. In their return to World Cup competition, the Ladveant brothers had a mixed weekend. Tristan claimed fifth in lead with former world champion Louna bowing out in the semi-finals.

Athletes will now transition to the European legs of competition with Saas-Fee, Switzerland celebrating 25 years of hosting UIAA-sanctioned events from 23-25 January.

Cheongsong provided a fine demonstration of the increasing quality of a number of national federations as athletes battled complex routes in freezing temperatures. To note also the increase in competitors from the 87 who featured in Cheongsong last year to 112 this season.

The UIAA would like to thank the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) for its excellent hosting of the competition and to KAF and the region of Cheongsong for their commitment to the sport of ice climbing and hosting UIAA events for another five years. The UIAA was represented in Cheongsong by Executive Committee member Simon Alden, Climb MT (Malta).

Collated results from Cheongsong, including the Asian Championships, can be found here.

Photo credits: UIAA/Rhea Kang

Review of Finals: Livestreams

Assets for Media and Fans

Short-form content, highlights, podium posts and updates are available on the UIAA social media channels, notably Facebook and Instagram.

Event photos are available on the UIAA Flickr channel.

Live results are available from the UIAA Ice Climbing website.

A selection of ‘best of’ photos for media, prepared for the 2024-2025 season, can be found here.

Press releases will be available for all World Cup events, both previews (-3 days before) and reviews (day +1). Please subscribe to receive press releases directly to your inbox.

Please visit iceclimbing.sport for all event information, details on event programmes and timings, athlete registrations, live results and more.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

Nearly 120 athletes from the following member federations will take part: Canada (2), Czechia (2), France (5), China-Hong Kong (6), Iran (6), Ireland (1), Japan (10), Kazakhstan (3), Liechtenstein (3), Mongolia (8), Netherlands (2), Poland (7), Slovenia (2), Spain (3), Switzerland (5), United Kingdom (12), United States (12). Host country South Korea brings a squad of 27 athletes. A full list of registered athletes is available here.

Across both the men’s and women’s competitions, close and intriguing competition is forecast. Will the sizeable South Korean team take advantage on home territory? How will former world champion and multiple World Cup winner Louna Ladevant (France) fair on his return to competition? Will the young and burgeoning Spanish team make the step up to claiming podium places on the world level? Can World Champions in speed Mohammadreza Safdarian (Iran) and Aneta Louzecka (Czechia), main photo, continue to shine in both disciplines? Will a strong Swiss time featuring World Cup medallists Sina Goetz, Vivien Labarile and Benjamin Bosshard make an opening round statement? And how many athletes can the impressive contingents from the United Kingdom and the United States will contest the final rounds of competition?

Traditionally the South Korean team perform strongly in Cheongsong. Last year the hosts took five of the 12 medals on offer with Woonseon Shin and Younghye Kwon using their guile and experience to take the golds in lead. Younggeon Lee claimed silver in the men’s event. Shin and Lee would go on to take both the World Tour and the World Championship crowns. They are both among the registered athletes for Cheongsong (South Korea’s Apple County) where crowd favourite and former world champion Heeyong Park will also compete.

Spectators at the 2024 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in Cheongsong. Credit: UIAA/Rhea Kang

Action starts on Saturday 11 January with the lead qualification and entire speed competition. Sunday 12 January is reserved for the lead semi-finals and finals. The full event programme is available here.

The UIAA will provide livestream of both the speed finals (18:00 local time – 11 January) and the lead semi-finals (08:30 local time -12 January) and lead finals (14:30 local time – 12 January). For a time zone convertor please use the following link. Embed codes for the livestreams can be found below. Please subscribe to the UIAA YouTube channel for reminders and updates.

Assets for Media and Fans

Short-form content, highlights, podium posts and updates will be available on the UIAA social media channels, notably Facebook and Instagram.

Event photos will be available on the UIAA Flickr channel.

Live results will be available from the UIAA Ice Climbing website.

A selection of ‘best of’ photos for media, prepared for the 2024-2025 season, can be found here.

Press releases will be available for all World Cup events, both previews (-3 days before) and reviews (day +1). Please subscribe to receive press releases directly to your inbox.

Please visit iceclimbing.sport for all event information, details on event programmes and timings, athlete registrations, live results and more.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

Continuity and evolution will be at the fore. The opening three stages of the World Cup will take place in venues familiar to athletes. All three offer contrasting experiences. Set in the secluded Korean mountains and organised by the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF), Cheongsong always offers highly technical routes and will additionally stage the Asian Championships.

For the 25th year in a row, the Swiss resort of Saas-Fee hosts a UIAA-sanctioned event, an impressive feat for the organizers, supported by the Swiss Alpine Club. Saas-Fee is a unique venue, where a very partisan and sizeable crowd are able to follow the action from many different vantage points.

The second and final European stop is in Champagny-en-Vanoise, supported by UIAA member association FFCAAM. Champagny is often referred to as a ‘winter wonderland’ and with the French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, it presents an opportunity for competition ice climbing to showcase its potential in a future Olympic setting.

The World Tour concludes in North America. Over the past decade, visits to North America have become more frequent. Colorado, from Ouray to Denver, has become a favourite stop. This year the honour goes to the town of Longmont, located in the Boulder and Weld counties. The event will provide the perfect opportunity to showcase the burgeoning development of US team supported by the American Alpine Club. The AAC will host the event in partnership with the Longmont Climbing Collective.

The hosting of UIAA ice climbing events have not been confined to mountain regions over recent years. For the third time, the World Tour will visit a downtown urban area with Edmonton, Canada following on from its hosting of last year’s World Championships with the final World Cup of the season, combined with the North American Championships. The event, set against the city’s business district, is supported by the hosts Offbeat Entertainment and the Alpine Club of Canada and expected to draw a huge public.

2024 UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships in Champagny-en-Vanoise (France). Photo: UIAA / Julia ROGER-VEYER

The World Tour format is relatively simple. At each of the five World Cups, medals are granted to the top three male and female athletes in the lead and speed disciplines. The World Tour winners are the athletes who accumulate the most points across the five World Cups. The defending champions are: Lee Younggeon and Woonseon Shin of South Korea in lead and Mongolia’s Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar and Aneta Louzecka, Czech Republic, in speed. A number of UIAA member associations have made a significant commitment to the development of their ice climbing teams. This year a sizable contingent of athletes are expected from the following countries: France, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

There have also been some seminal changes to the organisation of competition ice climbing. At the 2024 UIAA General Assembly, a dedicated Operating Unit ‘World Ice Climbing’ was created. The newly formed World Ice Climbing comprises a board of elected specialists supported by two athlete representatives.

“The approved new structure of ice climbing is going to enable the people who are experts in this field to work with a greater degree of independence. This is a major step in allowing the sport to develop.”
Peter Muir, UIAA President

Full details on the creation of World Ice Climbing are available here.

Another key moment of the season is the annual World Youth Championships where athletes across U16, U18 and U20 age categories will compete for world titles. The 2025 edition takes place in Ouray, Colorado from 7-9 February. This is the first time that the Youth World Championships has been hosted outside of Europe. Furthermore, the Continental Open season is already underway with four events having taken place in Europe in November-December 2024 and the final two competitions of the season scheduled for Ouray, USA in late January and Sunderland, England, in early March.

“What a season we have lined up! It’s taken a lot of hard work to build the World Tour back up to where we were in 2019 – but the 2025 season will be amazing, with events on three continents. We are really looking forward to using this season to develop the sport in terms of bringing in new athletes, federations and fans of the sport. It will be a seminal season for Ice Climbing especially with the creation of World Ice Climbing to lead the sport forward towards a bright future!”
Rob Adie, UIAA Sports Events Coordinator

Assets for Media and Fans

The semi-finals and finals of all lead and finals of all speed competitions will be livestreamed on the UIAA YouTube channel. Please subscribe to receive reminders about streaming times. Livestream details for most events are now available.

The UIAA documentary series On Thin Ice, tracking the best moments of the 2024 season and offering a behind the scenes perspective of the sport, is available to view on the UIAA YouTube channel. Five episodes have been released.

Short-form content, highlights, podium posts and updates will be available on the UIAA social media channels, notably Facebook and Instagram.

Event photos will be available on the UIAA Flickr channel.

A selection of ‘best of’ photos for media, prepared for the 2024-2025 season, can be found here.

Press releases will be available for all World Cup events, both previews (-3 days before) and reviews (day +1). Please subscribe to receive press releases directly to your inbox.

Please visit iceclimbing.sport for all event information, details on event programmes and timings, athlete registrations, live results and more.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

Main photo: 2024 UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships in Edmonton (Canada). Credit: UIAA/Slobodan Mišković

The world-level events in the 2024-25 UIAA Ice Climbing calendar commence on 3 January 2025, with the continental circuit kicking off at the end of November. 

Approximately 150 athletes from over 25 member associations are set to contest the coveted UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup lead and speed titles. Six venues on three different continents will offer unique ice towers, exciting routes and supreme technical challenges.

Please also refer to the recent news article related to updates in the post-season, the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, and work of the Ice Climbing Governing Group. Furthermore, from 6-7 July the UIAA and FFCAM, la Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne, are organising the second annual UIAA Ice Climbing Stakeholders meeting – a two day workshop in July to shape the future direction of competition ice climbing. Further information here.

World Cups: Six events, six countries, three continents

The opening UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup of the season is a welcome return to China on 3-5 January 2025 – the exact venue is still to be confirmed by the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA). This will be the fifth World Cup to take place in China – previous events were held in Beijing and Hohhot. The second event of the season takes place in Cheongsong, South Korea from 10-12 January. The municipality of Cheongsong and the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) have been a longstanding host of UIAA Ice Climbing World Cups.

After a weekend’s gap to allow athletes to rest after the change in continents, the World Tour heads to Europe for the third round at another of its regular venues. Saas-Fee, Switzerland (23-25 January) has been an ever-present host of UIAA-sanctioned competitions since 2002 with its distinct ice dome offering a unique structure for competition. Built within the resort entry point, the venue in the Swiss Alps regularly attracts large crowds particularly for Saturday evening’s lead competition.

The fourth World Cup of the season will be in Champagny-en-Vanoise, France (31 January – 2 February) organised in collaboration with FFCAM. After hosting the World Youth Championships last season, the event returns to the World Cup fold – it is sure to be another exciting and always idyllic wintery event.

Another rest weekend will follow to allow athletes to change continents again before arriving at a exciting new venue for the World Cup series in Colorado. Longmont will play host to the fifth stop of the tour from 21-23 February 2025. This new stop will be held on the edge of the Rocky Mountain National Park and follows events previously staged in the state – in Boulder and in Denver. The event will be hosted by the Longmont Climbing Collective and supported by the American Alpine Club (AAC).

The final stop in the series will be a return visit to Edmonton, Canada – 27 February –1 March – the event supported by the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) – right in the city centre, will also feature the YEG Ice Fest. This follows on from the inaugural event at the venue held earlier this year. As part of this initiative, the general public will be able to test themselves on the ice wall on the Sunday after the competition.

Reigning World Tour winners

The reigning World Tour overall winners from 2024 are Younggeon Lee / South Korea (men’s lead), Woonseon Shin / South Korea (women’s lead), Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar / Mongolia (men’s speed) and Aneta Louzecka / Czech Republic (women’s speed).

Franziska Schonbachler (Switzerland) in action at the 2024 UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships in Edmonton. Photo credit: Slobodan Mišković / UIAA

World Youth Championships & Continental Opens

The date and venue for the World Youth Championships are yet to be confirmed and will be announced in due course. Young climbers will also having the opportunity to test themselves in more competition environments with events being organised at most of this season’s Continental Opens. A total of six Continental Opens are being hosted in the 24-25 season in Slovakia, Switzerland the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the USA and England.

Provisional 2024-2025 Calendar

World Cups
3-5 January – TBC, China
10-12 January – Cheongsong, South Korea
24-25 January – Saas-Fee, Switzerland
31 January – 2 February – Champagny-en-Vanoise, France
21-23 February – Longmont, USA
27 February – 1 March – Edmonton, Canada

World Youth Championships
TBC

Continental Cups & Youth Events
23 November – Zilina, Slovakia
30 November – Bern, Switzerland – Youth Categories
7 December – Brno, Czech Republic – Youth Categories
14 December – Utrecht, Netherlands – Youth Categories
25 January – Ouray, USA
8-9 March – Sunderland, England – Youth Categories

Other Events
11-13 October – Youth Training Camp, Brno, Czech Republic
18-20 October – Continental Training Camp, Brno, Czech Republic

The full calendar of events can also be viewed here.

Woonseon Shin (South Korea) at the 2024 Saas-Fee – UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. Photo credit: UIAA/Kaspar Kellerhals

Quotes

“Everybody, from the UIAA Office to the Governing Group to the event organisers have worked very hard to put in place the biggest and best calendar for a number of years. We are excited to announce a number of top-level events. However, this is only one part of the work being done with the UIAA delivering on feedback given by both organisers and athletes from the most recent season and working to create a more sustainable future for the sport. The next few years promise to be very exciting for all involved in competition ice climbing.”
Martin Lascano, Chair, Ice Climbing Governing Group

“The return to six World Cups is significant and great news for all involved. Having two competitions in Asia, Europe and North America creates a very balanced calendar with visits to well-established venues and exciting events in new locations.”
Rob Adie, UIAA Sports Events Coordinator

UIAA Ice Climbing Continental Open – Champagny-en-Vanoise, France. Photo credit: Photo: UIAA / Julia ROGER-VEYER

On Thin Ice: Episode One Coming Soon

The UIAA is delighted to announce the launch of a new accompaniment to the UIAA Ice Climbing season. On Thin Ice is set to unveil the drama and untold stories behind the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. This emotional documentary will take viewers beyond the competition itself and provide an unfiltered look at the athletes, their passions, the intense battles, and the parties that define the sport. From the real ice and alpinism in remote landscapes around the world to the intensity of the competition arena, the documentary promises an immersive experience that transcends the sport and will capture the imagination of all sports fans.

As the producers state: “We’ll meet the athletes and delve into their personal struggles, triumphs, and the unbreakable camaraderie that binds them together on the World Tour. We’ll live every moment of the competitions with them.”

Through intimate interviews and unfettered access, On Thin Ice promises to be an emotional rollercoaster that leaves audiences on the edge of their seats. The trailer for episode 1 is available (see below) and the full episode is scheduled to go live on Saturday 29 June – please subscribe to the UIAA YouTube Channel for updates.

Podcasts: Spreading knowledge about the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour

Want to discover more about the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour? Look no further than the UIAA podcast, Mountain Voices. Across each episode, experts from the climbing and mountaineering world discuss issues that impact climbers and mountaineers. Episode #1, available on all major podcast platforms, addresses competition ice climbing and features the contributions of Rob Adie, UIAA Sports Event Coordinator, as well as athletes Gordon McArthur and Eimir McSwiggan.

Furthermore, the UIAA’s Rob Adie features in the latest episode of Ice Ice Beta, a podcast about ice climbing, mixed, and dry-tooling. A recent episode also featured UIAA competition ice climber Kevin Lindlau (United States) and also the an episode featured athletes Willis Morris and Oz Miller from the Scottish Drytooling Club.

Further Information

Subscribe to the UIAA YouTube Channel for reminders and updates. Visit the channel for a wealth of content (livestreams from competitions and short form content)

To subscribe to press releases please click here.

Photos, free of restrictions for editorial use, are posted for each competition on the UIAA Flickr channel. 

Follow the UIAA social media channels, notably Instagram and Facebook.

Visit the UIAA Ice Climbing website for further information about the World Tour.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

Experienced South Korean athletes Woonseon Shin and Younghye Kwon delighted home supporters during Sunday’s headline lead finals by taking the gold medals during a high-class competition. While the host nation claimed five of the twelve medals available, six other countries also saw athletes on the podium.

The lead finals are always the pinnacle of the World Cup in Cheongsong with local athletes regularly in contention for medals. Athletes from six countries contested the women’s final eight. Catalina Shirley from the United States had performed best in the semi-finals and would eventually claim a first World Cup lead medal with second place. Marianne van der Steen, dominant on the European circuit this winter, overcame adversity to take the bronze medal. Already feeling unwell, the Dutch athlete’s equipment did not arrive in time for the competition meaning she had to borrow tools. Despite the less than ideal preparation, she podiumed at a World Cup event for the first time. Gold went to Woonseon Shin, who with seconds to spare, was the only athlete to top the route. It was a typically graceful and efficient climb from the former World Tour winner.

In the men’s competition, the host nation provided five of the final eight athletes. Switzerland’s Benjamin Bosshard was the main threat to the local team. He had topped the route in the semi-final and would eventually claim the bronze medal, in the process denying 19-year old American climber Keenan Griscom a place on the podium. Kwon Younghye and Lee Younggeon would eventually contest the gold medal with the former prevailing.

There were no gold medals for the host nation in the duel format speed competition. Mongolia would claim the men’s speed title with Kherlen Nyamdoo and his compatriot Mandakhbayar Chuluubaatar contesting the title. Nyamdoo, eventual gold medallist, would better his bronze medal from the same event in 2023. This time third place went to Myungwook Yang of South Korea.

Aneta Louzecka is another athlete who has impressed on the European circuit. The Czech would claimed the women’s speed gold medal defeating Catalina Shirley who would leave the Asian leg of the UIAA World Tour with two silver medals. Sughee Lee, winner in Cheongsong last year, edged Poland’s Olga Kosek for bronze.

The UIAA thanks the Korean Alpine Federation for its excellent hosting of the event. Among the delegates in attendance were Youn Kyung-hee, Governor of Cheongsong-gun; Ga-Eun Sung, vice chair of the Youngone Corporation; UAAA President and UIAA Honorary Member Dr Injeong Lee; Dr Joong-Ho Son, President of the Korean Alpine Federation; UIAA Executive Committee and UIAA Ice Climbing Governance Group member Martin Lascano (photo below); Younghoon Oh, UIAA Management Board member and current continental representative for Asia; and UAAA General Secretary and former UIAA Management Board continental representative for Asia, Christine Pae.

The next World Cup, the second of three, will take place in Saas-Fee, Switzerland from 25-27 January.

Next weekend sees a festival of competition ice climbing on two continents. In Champagny-en-Vanoise, France, a European Continental Open and the UIAA Ice Climbing World Youth Championships take place while in Ouray, United States, a North American Continental Open will be staged. Livestreaming will be provided from both competitions. Further details to follow.

Media Information

Photos from the competition can be found here. Please credit UIAA/Rhea Kang

For the results from Cheongsong please click here.

UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD TOUR PARTNER

The opening UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup of the 2023-2024 season, partnered by Outdoor Research, will take place in Cheongsong from 12-14 January. The South Korean venue has been a regular host of World Cups and Asian Championships throughout the past decade.

Finals

The speed qualification and finals take place on Saturday 13 January and the lead semi-finals and finals on Sunday 14 January. Both competitions will be livestreamed (see below). The full event programme can be found here.

Athletes and National Teams

A total of 88 athletes from 16 countries are currently registered. Host nation South Korea has the largest contingent with 25 athletes. To also note the sizeable participation from the United States and Japan.

None of the male lead podium finishers from a year ago are expected to compete in Cheongsong presenting an opportunity for some new medallists to emerge. Having local knowledge and having trained on the structure, the team from the Korean Alpine Federation will be strong favourites to shine. Elsewhere, the form demonstrated during the winter’s European circuit suggests Spanish athletes Javier Cano Blázquez and Jorge Veiga Rodriguez, Great Britain’s Will Morris and Switzerland’s Benjamin Bosshard and Jonathan Brown should all be in contention.

Woonseon Shin walks out to climb in the 2023 Lead Final in Cheongsong

In the women’s lead competition, last year’s silver medallist Woonseon Shin, a past winner at the event, and Switzerland’s Sina Goetz who took bronze, will be amongst those expected to start the World Cup season strongly. Ireland’s Eimir McSwiggan brings strong experience from climbing in Korea while Marianne van der Steen, the Netherlands, as explored in the recent On Thin Ice series, will seek to claim a first World Cup podium following another dominant European Cup season.

In the men’s speed event, both last year’s gold medallist, Mohsen Beheshti Rad of Iran, and Mongolia’s Kherlen Nyamdoo, third in 2023, will spearhead a discipline where form is harder to call.  All three podium finishers from the 2023 women’s speed competition are present – South Korea’s Lee Sughee, Aneta Louzecka of the Czech Republic and Catalina Shirley of the USA.

Breakdown of athletes per national federation:

Canada (2), Czech Republic (1), Finland (2), France (2), Great Britain (5), Hong Kong, China (3), Iran (3), Ireland (1), Japan (10), Mongolia (7), Netherlands (2), Poland (4), South Korea (25), Spain (3), Switzerland (4), United States (14)

How to follow

A livestream of the competition will be available from the UIAA YouTube channel. Please subscribe for updates.

Start times:

Speed final, Saturday 13 January, 1800 local time, 1000 CET, 0900 UTC, 0400 ET,  0100 PT
Lead semi-final, Sunday 14 January, 0830 local time, 0030 CET, 2330 UTC (*), 1930 ET (*), 1630 PT (*)
Lead final, Sunday 14 January, 1500 local time, 0700 CET, 0600 UTC, 0200 ET, 2300 PT (*)

For time zone details please click here.
(*) indicates day before

Embed codes and links for the livestreams can be found here:

Further Information

Preview and review press releases are distributed for all world-level events. To subscribe to press releases please click here.

Photos, free of restrictions for editorial use, are posted for each competition on the UIAA Flickr channel. A selection of season preview images for media use can be found here.

Follow the UIAA social media channels, notably Instagram and Facebook, to access short-form content and live updates from competitions.

Live results are available for all events here. Visit the UIAA Ice Climbing website for individual event programmes and registrations.

Photos: UIAA/Rhea Kang