Final preparations are underway at the climbing wall in Cheongsong County, South Korea.
The arrival of athletes on the 7th marks the beginning of the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup. The competition will officially commence on January 13.
This year is expected to attract more of the world’s top ice climbers, helping to establish the UIAA-sanctioned event as a truly global competition.
In recent years, there has been growing enthusiasm for the Lead and Speed disciplines. The Lead event tests a climber’s technique and endurance as they complete a challenging, pre-set route within a time limit, while the Speed event challenges athletes’ velocity and explosive power as they race up the wall as fast as possible.
In 2011, the Korean Alpine Federation confirmed that South Korea became the first Asian country to host a UIAA event. Also in 2011, South Korea’s Hee Yong Park ended Austria’s Markus Bendler’s dominance by winning the overall Lead competition title.