2012 Ice Climbing World Cup in South Korea just days away

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Final preparations underway on the Ice Climbing wall in Cheongsong, South Korea

The arrival of athletes in Cheongsong, South Korea on Friday marks the launch of competition for the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup, the first in a series of events hosted by UIAA member federations that culminates in Kirov, Russia on 10 March 2012.

This year’s much anticipated competitions which attract the world’s best competitive ice climbers continues a trajectory of expanding venues that is making the UIAA organized event a global competition.

Interest in the sport that features Lead and Speed disciplines has grown in recent years. In Lead competitions climbers are judged on their ability to master a difficult route in the best time while Speed events see climbers race up an ice face in the fastest time.

In 2011 the Korean Alpine Federation ensured that South Korea became the first Asian country to host the UIAA competition. It was also the year that saw South Korea’s Hee Yong Park end the reign of Markus Bendler of Austria by winning the overall Lead title. UIAA photographer Lukasz Warzecha caught a sense of the atmosphere around the competition last year in Cheongsong, South Korea and Saas Fee, Switzerland through these photos.

This year the French Alpine Club, with support from a local organizer, is  hosting the event for the first time in Champagny-en-Vanoise, a scenic ski town located near the Vanoise National Park, the country’s first national park.

The UIAA, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee for mountaineering and natural surface climbing, is currently considering applications to host the competition in the United States of America.  Preparations are also underway by the UIAA and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Organizing Committee to showcase Ice Climbing as a cultural event during the next Winter Olympics.

For details and dates on registration please visit the UIAA website. Final results will also be posted on the UIAA website as they come in.

The competition calendar and event websites are listed below:

Cheongsong, Korea. 14 - 15 January 2012. Registration deadline is 21 December 2011

Sass Fee, Switzerland. 20 - 21 January 2012. Registration deadline is 10 January 2012

Champagny en Vanoise, France. 2 - 4 February 2012. Registration deadline is 22 January 2012

Busteni, Romania.  10 - 11 February 2012. Registration deadline is 31 January 2012

Kirov, Russia. 8 - 10 March 2012. Registration deadline is 28 February 2012

The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 80 member associations in 50 countries representing about 1.3 million people. The organization’s mission is to promote the growth and protection of mountaineering and climbing worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection.

The UIAA operates through the work of its commissions, which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the mountaineering community.