The third UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup of the season took place on the weekend of 20-22 February in Longmont, Colorado, USA. On the competition walls, some athletes strengthened their positions in the World Tour rankings and others won gold for the first time. A total of 23 athletes have medalled across the three World Cups.
The World Tour visited Longmont for a second time after an inaugural competition in 2025. The event was organised in collaboration with the Longmont Climbing Collective and the American Alpine Club supported by USA Ice Climbing. The structure itself has been built on the site of an existing climbing gym, a model which could inspire similar venues anywhere in the world.
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 – took part. Among the dignitaries in attendance was UIAA President Peter Muir.
Lead (Difficulty): Ladevant extends ‘lead’
Having dominated the opening two World Cups of the season, Louna Ladevant repeated the trick in Longmont to make it three gold medals in as many events. If the Frenchman achieves a fourth in the season finale in Edmonton next weekend, he will have completed one of the most impressive World Tour campaigns ever.
In Longmont, Ladevant was flawless throughout, flexing his qualities through qualification and putting in the best performance in the semi-finals. That allowed him the accolade of being the last male climber to compete in the final. Unbeknown to him from the isolation tent, no athlete had topped the route with Jorge Veiga Rodriguez of Spain, in a rich vein of form, and Jonathan Arthur Brown of Switzerland having put in the best two climbs. They would ultimately have to settle for silver and bronze respectively as while not topping the route, Ladveant climbed higher than his rivals to effectively win the World Tour title.
There was no top in the women’s competition either but unlike the men’s, the World Tour title remains finely in the balance. Another French athlete Marion Salmon-Thomas will go into the final round with a 43-point lead over Netherlands Marianne van der Steen. And these two athlete both shone in Longmont. Salmon-Thomas has been the most consistent female climber and now has a clean sweep of medals – gold in Cheongsong, silver in Longmont and bronze in Saas-Fee. Making the podium was no given as a relatively off colour semi-final showing almost jeopardised her place in the final.
Van der Steen needed something special to close the gap and duly delivered. Having made countless podiums and dominated the Continental circuit in recent season, she finally achieved her dream of a World Cup gold. Reward for persistence and consistency over an extended period. A historic moment for the Dutch athlete. The ultra impressive Catalina Shirley, who had already won bronze in speed (see below), doubled up with a bronze in lead too.
Difficulty – World Tour standings after three rounds
Men: (1) L Ladevant (FRA), 300 points; (2) Y Lee (KOR), 177 pts; (3) M Kim (KOR), 170 pts
Women: (1) M Salmon-Thomas (FRA), 245 points; (2) M Van der Steen (NED), 202 pts; (3) C Shirley (USA), 165 pts
Speed: Golden joy Liechtenstein cousins
The World Tour speed competition is set to reach a pulsating climax in Edmonton next weekend with at least five athletes in the men’s and women’s competition having a realistic chance at taking the seasonal crown. It also proved to be a fantastic Saturday on the speed wall for the Liechtenstein ice climbing team who are enjoying their best ever season on the World Tour.
On the 12-metre speed wall in Longmont, athletes were given three opportunities to climb in the final with fastest time winning. Three male athletes recorded sub seven second ascents. The most impressive performer was Linus Beck who twice scaled under seven seconds, with his fastest time of 6.24 ultimately winning the competition. Two Mongolian athletes completed the podium – Mandakhbayar Chuluunbaatar, 6.28, surprisingly yet to medal this season, and Kherlan Nyamadoo, who had only competed in Round 1, finishing in 6.31.
In terms of the overall standings going into the final weekend, Iran’s Mohammedreza Safdarian leads the competition after his wins in the opening two World Cups. Linus Beck, with gold in Longmont, moves into third just behind teammate Florian Gantner. Also in contention for the World Tour title are Mohsen Beheshti Rad, Iran, and Chuluunbaatar.
The women’s competition is no less dramatic. A brilliant weekend for the Beck family was sealed with Lea Beck’s ascent of 8.25 ensuring a gold medal to match that of her cousin. That came in her last attempt with the pressure on. Two other females managed sub 10 second ascents – Aneta Loužecká claiming silver with 9.33 and Catalina Shirley taking bronze in 9.77.
Loužecká’s consistent performances see her take the lead in the overall standings ahead of reigning World Tour winner Selegne Nyamadoo, who could only finish in fourth, and Olga Kosek of Poland. Lea Beck now moves into fourth some 30 points behind Loužecká and Shirley is into fifth. With medals going to so many different athletes this season, expected the unexpected in Edmonton.
Speed – World Tour standings after three rounds
Men: (1) M Safdarian (IRN), 200 points; (2) F Gantner (LIE), 175 pts, (3) L Beck (LIE) 157 pts; (4) M Beheshti Rad (IRN); 145 pts; (5) M Chuluuunbaatar 131 pts
Women: (1) A Loužecká (CZE) 225 points; (2) S Nyamdoo (MON), 210 pts; (2) O Kosek (POL), 202 pts; (4) L Beck (LIE) 195 pts; (5) C Shirley (USA) 167 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 (coming soon)
Results
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.
