Bolzano/Corvara, 23 January 2018 – The ice Climbing World Cup 2018 began last weekend in Saas Fee in Switzerland. The second stage of this most important international ice climbing competition will take place on Friday 26 and Saturday, 27 January on the ice tower Eisturm Rabenstein in Val Passiria. The organisers are very much looking forward to the big event with 100 athletes from 21 countries. This is the sixth time that the World Cup comes to South Tyrol.
All eyes are on Russian Alexey Dengin and South Korean HanNaRai Song in the Lead category and on Russians Nikolai Kuzovlev and Ekaterina Feoktistova in the Speed category: They are the winners of the first ice climbing World Cup stage 2018 that took place last weekend in Saas Fee. The four top athletes are also registered for the next stage in Corvara.
Also at the start will be Maxim Tomilov, World Cup winner in Lead in the seasons 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16, and fellow Russian Maria Tolokonina, whose victories include 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2015/16. Another strong force in Corvara from previous years is Janez Svoljsa from Slovenia, who even celebrated his first World Cup win in the South Tyrolean Mecca of ice climbing in 2016. Among the women, the focus will be on Song and Tolokonina, and on the equally promising WoonSeon Shin (South Korea) and Eimir McSwiggan from Ireland. There are also strong hopes of good performances from the young Swiss ice climbers.
Snowfalls make preparations more difficult
From South Tyrol there are local athletes Christof Pfitscher and Hubert Brunner from Val Passiria, who cannot wait for the home World Cup on the structure they know like the back of their hands. Pfitscher and Brunner will give their all in the Speed climbing. Angelika Rainer, however, will not be at the start this year. The three-times world champion from Merano is taking a break from the World Cup.
There was no break for the organizers of the event! “The abundant snow falls in the last few days have not exactly made the life of our experienced team any easier. Nevertheless, we are completely on course. We are ready for the World Cup, we are looking forward to the best ice acrobats in the world”, explained Chair of the Organising Committee Reinhard Graf.
World Cup this year on Friday and Saturday
For the first time, the World Cup in Corvara will take place on Friday and Saturday. Friday, 26 January begins at 10:00 am with the qualification in difficulty climbing (Lead) begins. After a short break the winner in Speed will be determined from 4:30 pm. The finals will take place in Corvara by floodlight. The women’s Lead semi-finals on Saturday also start at 10:00 am. From 1:00 pm the men fight for their place in the finals. The finals themselves – this time by floodlight – start at 6:00 pm. Afterwards, the best ice climbers in the world attempt to break the speed record to the top of the 25 m high ice tower.
The organisers tempt 2000 expected spectators to Val Passiria with free entry. On Saturday evening there will be a big after World Cup party in the heated marquee, supported by the band “Männer der Berge”. The competitions will be streamed live online, free of charge. The live stream can also be accessed on the website www.eisklettern.it. Streaming includes the Speed competitions on Friday (from the semi-finals from 4:30 pm) and the Lead competitions on Saturday (also from the semi-finals from 10:00 am).
UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup Corvara (26. – 27.1.2018)
Friday, 26 January 2018:
10.00 am: LEAD QUALI men
10.00 am: LEAD QUALI women
4:30 pm: SPEED QUALI + Semi-Finals women
6:00 pm: SPEED QUALI + Semi-Finals men
7:30 pm: SPEED FINALS women
8:00 pm: SPEED FINALS men
Saturday, 27 January 2018:
10.00 am: LEAD SEMI-FINALS women
13:00 pm: LEAD SEMI-FINALS men
6:00 p.m.: LEAD FINALS men + women
7:30 pm: Speed record 25 metres
8:00 pm: Awards ceremony + celebrations in the heated marquee with the band “Männer der Berge”