Ice Climbing
Climb frozen waterfalls, alpine ice and mixed rock-and-ice terrain with crampons and specialised axes.
👥1 per team🌤outdoor
What is Ice Climbing?
Ice climbing is the discipline of climbing frozen waterfalls, alpine glaciers and mixed rock-and-ice pitches using crampons on the feet and short curved technical axes in the hands. Competition disciplines are lead (highest point on a set route) and speed (fastest to the top of a set line), both contested on the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup.
Quick facts
Category
Winter Sports
Type
Individual
Players
1 per team
Where played
outdoor
Country of origin
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Estimated origin
Late 1800s Alpine mountaineering; UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup since 2002
Olympic
No
Popularity
major
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-20.verified