21-metre tall ice wall being built in Louise McKinney Park for ice climbing contest

Scaffolding for a 21-metre wall of ice is erected in Louise McKinney Park on Jan. 6, 2024, for the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup and YEG Ice Fest Feb. 27-March 2, 2025. (Evan Klippenstein / CTV News Edmonton)

Preparations for the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup and YEG Ice Fest in February have begun, starting with a 21-metre wall of ice in Louise McKinney Park.

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The wall is only scaffolding at this point, but must soon be ready to host up to 120 competitors from 20 countries, according to Adam Luciuk, event manager and owner of Offbeat Entertainment.

“The cold weather, we would have loved it to come a little bit later, or us having started a little bit sooner,” he said, telling CTV News Edmonton in a Monday interview crews started construction on Nov. 18. “It puts the scaffolding piece behind for us, but when we start making ice, we welcome -15 C and below temperatures.”

A similar wall was erected in Ice District last year for the UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships, a biennial competition.

The world cup on Feb. 27-March 2 is an annual event but will feature the same contests as the championship: the traditional climb up an ice waterfall, speed climbing on smoother ice, and dry tooling, similar to rock climbing but with ice climbing tools.

“We wanted to do something that Edmontonians can use year round. So we’ve moved locations, and we’re hoping to be here for the next couple of years,” Luciuk said of the picturesque backdrop to the ice wall.

“This is a wonderful location here in the river valley and downtown. So it’s a nice central space … and it’s actually a beautiful spot for us to be and for us to be able to climb, and people to be able to climb here in the river valley.”

Edmontonians can attempt the ice wall during the world cup. It will also be open to the public the following week.

The event will be free to attend, although tickets will be sold for private seating and warming areas.

The festival will also consist of other winter activities like fat biking and ski tours.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein