Ice climbing is a discipline of climbing where people use crampons, ice tools, harnesses, ropes and other equipment to ascend up a route on frozen water. We will have ice climbing gear on site at the festival for visitors to try on and use!

The ice climbing world championships consists of two different disciplines of climbing.

The first is speed ice climbing in which competitors compete to clock the fastest time to climb up a 12m flat ice wall.

The other discipline is lead ice climbing in which competitors use ice climbing equipment to climb up a combination of ice features and wood walls with specialized climbing holds, (also referred to as dry tool climbing). In this discipline, climbers also bring their climbing rope up with them, putting it through quickdraw (carabiner) anchors as they ascend the route. This significantly increases the difficulty of climbing. Climbers are scored on scored first on how high they are able to climb within a set amount of time and secondly on how fast they climb to that point if there is a tie with another competitor.

Definitely! Ice climbing is exciting for spectators of all ages and there will be a kids play zone (which has been equally attractive to adults in past years of YEG Ice Fest!). And if you like skating, bring skates!

Yes, with the exception of our opening ceremony and after party, this event is outdoors. To help you stay warm, there will be wood fire pits throughout the site and hot drinks and food for purchase. We invite you to dress in many warm layers, and bring blankets and camping chairs for a comfortable spectator experience.

VIP Ticket holders get access a weekend pass plus access to the opening ceremony event and after party. VIP ticket holders also get to skip the line by entering from the VIP only entrance and access to the VIP area which includes a warming tent, propane heaters, furniture, and will receive one food ticket and one drink ticket for each of the competition days (Saturday & Sunday).

Yes! More info to come on this…

We recommend bringing a festival or camping chair and blankets for a comfortable spectator experience.

If you want to skate, bring your skates!

Dress in layers to stay warm and bring hand/toe warmers just in case it is a particularly chilly day!

We recommend taking public transit if possible. MacEwan LRT Station is just one block west of our main event entrance. Otherwise, there is a variety of street parking and parking lots surrounding the Fan Park where our festival will be held.

Book before Jan. 19 to take advantage of our event hotel rates at Sandman Hotel. More info here.

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If you are interested in volunteering, visit our Volunteer Page and fill out the expression of interest form! If you are interested in being a vendor, performer or sponsor, visit our Become a Partner Page and fill out that expression of interest form!

We won’t be open for public climbing during the competition on Feb. 17 & 18, but there are many other opportunities to do so!

1) You may book a visit to climb our wall before Feb 12 or after Feb. 19.

2) We will be holding a Try Ice Day on Saturday Feb. 10 for all ticket holders to try climbing up the ice wall for FREE! If you can’t make it to Try Ice, we will also have a ice climbing crampons and tools for you to try using in an ice rink during the festival.

3) We will be holding climbing clinics on Monday, Feb. 19. More info coming on this soon. Check our main event page for updates.

We will be releasing more information in the coming weeks leading up to the event. Please check out https://iceclimbing.sport/calendar/ for more information as well.

For general event information, you may also email adam@offbeatentertainment.ca. For competition information, email director@yegice.ca