Nine weeks after wind gusts estimated at 60-80 mph pummeled the Longmont Climbing Collective, peeling off some of its roof panels and damaging others that remained attached, the massive climbing gym will host its second Ice Climbing World Cup this weekend.
The spectators over two days last year, showcases the competitive side of the sport with more than 100 competitors coming from around the world. This year it also will celebrate the way the local climbing community helped the gym recover from the storm that caused more than $150,000 in damage on Dec. 19 while many Front Range communities endured precautionary power outages.
Contributions to a GoFundMe account raised $43,000 to help co-founders Bryan and Shauna Mylenski offset repair costs that weren’t covered by insurance. Shauna called the contributions “staggering,” even though the owners still had to take on additional debt to finance repairs.
“I wouldn’t even have thought of it if we hadn’t had people asking what they could do (to help),” she said. “It was unbelievable. We didn’t have any idea that people would be so incredibly generous and donate so much. That made a huge dent in the debt. We’re doing everything we can to cover the rest of it.”
That wasn’t the only role the climbing community played in supporting the gym and its owners. On Christmas Eve, 125 volunteers turned out to pick up insulation and other scraps of debris the storm left in its wake.
“It was really a heartwarming experience,” she said. “Itap like, it was a wonderful-terrible thing. We’re really grateful for the community and the outreach of support.”
The Hylenskis opened the 27,000-square-foot gym with 60-foot walls in 2023 with their in-laws, co-owners Aaron and Heather Tellier. Last year’s World Cup event was the first ice climbing World Cup competition to be held in the U.S. since 2019.
Using refrigeration equipment, they will begin making four-foot by two-foot ice blocks on Wednesday which will be lifted into place by crane. Lessons learned last year figure to improve the wall this time around. High temperatures on Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be in the 40s.
“We’re excited about the new ice wall structure,” Hylenski said. “We’ve got some systems in place that will help to reduce the amount of UV exposure. We’ve got tarps that will be covering the ice wall when itap not in use, as well as hay bales around the bottom to help insulate and retain some of the colder temperatures we will be getting in the evening.
“We’re anticipating a warm weekend like we had last year,” she added, “but we’ve got some really good systems in place to make sure the ice wall is nice and hard.”
Spectators will be able to participate in ice climbing clinics on Sunday and Monday.
“Itap a great opportunity for people to get on real ice, which would take a lot more effort in the wild to get that experience,” she said. “We’re excited to do that.”
Competition begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. General admission tickets cost $10 per day or $14 for both days.
