Ice climbers descend on city to showcase organization

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on December 4, 2024.

Ice Climbing Canada was at Coulee Climbing on Saturday to host a meet and greet to showcase the equipment used and bring awareness to the organization and its competitive teams.
ICC is a sub group of Alpine Club of Canada and promotes ice climbing.
“If people want to get into ice climbing, we collect their names, we find (an) alpine section that does that sport and we connect them with that,” said Jonathan Blackwood, ICC’s chairperson and a local representative for the organization.
“So that’s kind of our goal is to grow our local chapters of the Alpine Club, and then our secondary role is to manage and develop and grow Team Canada competition teams.”
The sport was shown what it looks like in full World Cup mode competition.
“There’s two circuits right now, the World Cup and then a Continental Cup and there’s 13 events over the whole world ,” said Blackwood.
Blackwood considers ice climbing a plus-one sport to help with other sports.
“You have mixed climbing, which is rock and then ice,” he said.
“There’s some ice routes that require you to do a rock route prior to engaging the ice. So that’s mixed climbing.”
Dry tooling is a climbing method on rock that involves ice axes and crampons on specifically designed holds as opposed to ice.
Types of equipment were also discussed at the meet and greet.
“There so many variations of axes, axe design, picks and tools,” said Blackwood.
“We’re here just to bring general knowledge to the tools of the trade.”
ICC is starting an introduction to the sport youth programming, which will be one session a week for six weeks for two hours beginning in mid-January at Coulee Climbing.
“We’re looking at providing a plan or a program around fitness because it does take a little bit more fitness,” said Blackwood.
“And then into instruction on how to actually climb on tools and different style of holds and then finally just putting sequences … together and keep going.”
A goal will be 30 holds for the participants in between four to eight minutes.
Adult programming will be offered with the same criteria as the youth.
More information on the programming will be available on Coulee Climbing’s website in the near future.
ICC also have proposals for programming in Vancouver, Calgary and are in the early stages of discussions with gyms in Ontario and Quebec.
“We’re trying to establish these pocket locations where our climbers live, so we can establish and grow the youth and the adults, so we can start having some regional competitions,” said Blackwood.
ICC has members right across the country.

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