Ice Climbing World Championships 2007

The North Face-sponsored world ice climbing championships kick off in less than two weeks' time, in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. The village will host three days of competition for one hundred climbers from fourteen countries and as there's a handy glacier on the spot, there should even be some real ice - a bit of a novelty after the Kandersteg experience:-)

The competition covers three disciplines - speed climbing, bouldering, and 'difficulty' - and if you want to know how fast the speed category gets, we're looking at about 15m of vertical ice in 13 seconds. It all sounds a bit crazy to us :-)

You don't have to be a vertical sprinter to take part though. There's a 25m training wall and test centre on hand for beginners and experienced climbers alike to try out ice axes and crampons. Add to that some ice climbing videos and demonstrations, and the ritual evening bash, and it could be a good weekend.

More information at www.saas-fee.ch.