INSIDE LONGMONT

Longmont WinterFest and UAA Ice Climbing World Cup

FEBRUARY 22-23

More than 150 ice climbers from all over the world will converge on Longmont in February for two days of competition during the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup at the Longmont Climbing Collective.

The last time this competition was held in the U.S. was six years ago at Civic Center Park in Denver. The Longmont Climbing Collective aims to re-create that excitement with a winter festival featuring local food trucks, beer, a vendor village, a kids area, live music, and more.

"We want to make this a winter community event, as there isn't as much going on in the winter here," says Aaron Tellier, the chief marketing officer and co-owner of the Climbing Collective, which owns and operates rock climbing gyms in Longmont and Loveland as well as one set to open soon in Greeley. "This is just another reason to put Longmont on the map."

The competition will take place on the Longmont Climbing Collective's outdoor wall, which at 60 feet and 6 inches is Colorado's tallest. The Climbing Collective will also build additional structures for the competition, including a wall with actual ice. The athletes will compete in dry tooling and ice climbing.

A media event, briefing, and opening party will take place on Feb. 21, and the competition and WinterFest will be Feb. 22-23. General admission for the event is free, while VIP passes are $75 per day or $125 for the weekend.