Kyle Wallin works on lead climbing routes at the Climbing Collective gym, 155 Pinnacle St. The 25,000-square-foot climbing and fitness facility will host an international competition in February on its outdoor climbing wall. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
Winter sports athletes and fans are expected to ascend to Longmont next year for the Ice Climbing and Dry Tooling World Cup, which will be held in the city Feb. 21 through 23.
Climbing Collective, which has gyms in Loveland and Longmont, will host the event. The facility’s outdoor climbing wall at 155 Pinnacle St. in Longmont, will test the skills of world-class athletes in dry tooling, where climbers scale rock with axes and other equipment, and ice climbing.
Aaron Tellier, LCC co-owner, said Climbing Collective’s leadership team dreamed of building an outdoor wall for climbing competitions years before they opened their first location in 2017.
“It’s 10 years later, and we built it,” Tellier said. “That outdoor wall is just the perfect place to host the World Cup.”
The Ice Climbing and Dry Tooling World Cup is governed by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation. The last time the competition was held in the United States was 2019, when Denver hosted the event.
“We’re bringing it back home, not only to Colorado, but to the U.S.,” Tellier said.
Bryan Hylenski, LCC co-founder and CEO, advocated for Longmont as the next site for the World Cup. Tellier said Hylenski’s passion for ice climbing helped convince the federation that Longmont would be a great venue.
Tellier said the 2019 World Cup brought 15,000 people to Denver. LCC doesn’t anticipate that many spectators coming to Longmont this year, but said attendance will likely be in the thousands.
“This is just another reason to put Longmont on the map,” he said.
The outdoor wall, which is over 60 feet tall, will be modified to meet the World Cup’s requirements, including adding an ice fixture and holes for the dry tooling climbers. LCC also plans to use the outdoor area for a festival during the three-day competition, complete with tents manned by local business sponsors.
LCC entered a five-year partnership with the federation to host the event, meaning the World Cup should become an annual Longmont event for the next few years, at least.
“I think this is going to be a really fun opportunity for the Longmont community to get together in the middle of the winter, and celebrate something that’s a truly winter activity,” Tellier said. “It will be something cool for people to do in what, otherwise, is kind of a bleak time. There’s usually not much going, except waiting for spring.”
Sarah Leonard, CEO of Visit Longmont, agreed that the event should bring an economic boost to Longmont during a slow month for tourism. Since February tends to draw fewer visitors, the city will have more space to host World Cup spectators and the roughly 200 competitors coming from around the world.
“It kind of gives Longmont a voice into international visitation,” Leonard said. “We’re dipping our toes into it.”
Leonard said she hopes Longmont residents will also also enjoy the chance to learn more about dry tooling and ice climbing.
“Rock climbing, and the segment of ice climbing, is kind of a niche athletic sport,” Leonard said. “It feels like it really fits in with the outdoor recreation vibe of Longmont.”
Source: Longmont Climbing Collective will host international climbing competition
