Bendler, Russians Continue their Ice Climbing Dominance

Rising stars and former champions
Austria's Markus Bendler and France's Stephanie Maureau have claimed victories in the men's and women's Lead competitions of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup held in Saas Fee, Switzerland on January 22 and 23, 2010. Athletes Jeong Woon Wha and Hee Yong Park made a strong showing for Korea, both taking medals in Lead.

Russians remained unbeatable in the Speed events capturing the top three spots in both the men’s and women’s events, with Pavel Gulyaev for the men and Maryam Filippova for the women coming first. Go here for more results and pictures. Go here for more results.

Lead and Speed
UIAA recognizes Ice Climbing as a competitive sport and is responsible for organization and promotion of the Ice Climbing World Cup and International Championships. There are two Ice Climbing disciplines, Speed and Lead. In Speed, athletes race up an ice face for the best time. In Lead competitions the climbers' ability to master a difficult route in a given time is tested.

Next event
The next World Cup event will be the UIAA World Cup Ice Climbing Competition and UIAA Open European Championship in Busteni, Romania, on February 4-7, which will include Speed and Lead competitions organized by the Romanian Alpine Club (CAR) in cooperation with the Municipality of Busteni. See full list of events.

RedFox and Zamberlan
Presenting Sponsors of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup 2010 are Russian mountaineering clothing and equipment company RedFox and Italian footwear maker Zamberlan. Read more.

Sochi, Russia
In its commitment to developing the sport, the UIAA plans to expand the circuit with the intention of showcasing Ice Climbing competitions in Sochi, Russia at the same time as the 2014 Winter Olympics. Discussions with the Sochi Olympic Organizing Committee have indicated that Ice Climbing competitions could be welcome as part of the "Live Events" being planned for the general public.

Global reach
The UIAA, with 80 member organizations in 57 countries, represents more than 1 million people worldwide. It's the International Olympic Committee's recognised international federation for mountaineering and natural surface climbing.

For more information about UIAA World Cup Ice Climbing Events visit www.theuiaa.org