Europe's top ice climbers...

The European Cup (EC) in ice climbing returns to Domžale after last year's successful premiere, where on Saturday, December 1, 2018, more than 40 competitors from the old continent will sharpen their ice axes and crampons on the climbing wall on the parking garage. Among them will be a strong Slovenian team led by Maja Šuštar and Jaka Hrast, who are already achieving excellent results this year in the Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian ice climbing cup. On the eve of the competition, there will be a lecture by Aljaž Anderle, one of the world's best ice climbers, at the Domžale Library.



Domžale last year prominently entered the map of international ice climbing competition venues and will this year host the 2018 European Cup ice climbing competition in the difficulty discipline on Slovenia's first artificial drytooling wall, and otherwise Slovenes are among the pioneers of competitive ice climbing. "On the Slovenian ice scene, we have been striving for years to make the Slovenian Cup competitions as international as possible, because healthy competition is good for the development of the sport. We hosted the first international competition in Solčava in 2004. With the drytooling wall in the center of Domžale, we got the opportunity to present the sport to a wider audience, and the obligation to organize the competition at a higher quality level, which we succeeded in last year with the support of the Municipality of Domžale, PD Domžale, and all volunteers and sponsors. Competitors rated the Domžale competition as the best among all four European Cup events, we are very proud of that, and we will of course try to eliminate the shortcomings they mentioned," emphasizes Jasna Pečjak, head of the Mountain Sports Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), which is organizing the EC competition together with the Mountaineering Association Domžale, under the auspices of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) and the sponsorship of the Municipality of Domžale.



The European Cup was held for the first time last year, and its assessment through the lens of the umbrella organization is given by Andrej Pečjak, PZS representative in the UIAA Ice Climbing Commission and UIAA international ice climbing judge: "The UIAA Ice Climbing Commission is very satisfied with the first season of the European Cup, as it allows competitors to transition from national competitions to world-level events, while also getting to know training techniques and climbing in other countries. Exchange of experiences and socializing are the main goals of the European Cup." This year it starts on November 24 with the competition in Swiss Bern, followed by the Slovenian event in Domžale on December 1, then tests in Slovakia on December 8 and in Finland on March 3 next year, with World Cup competitions in between.



In Domžale, the 2nd event of the 2018 European Cup will also be the final of the 6th Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian ice climbing cup, in which Slovenian competitors Maja Šuštar and Jaka Hrast (both AO PD Domžale) currently lead, who said about the gap between the cups: "The difference between SHS and the European Cup is big, especially in competition and number of competitors. In the SHS Cup, at least half of the events are on natural ice, in the European one all are on artificial walls, which is technically more demanding. In my opinion, there are still too few competitors in the SHS Cup, so the competition is smaller, in the European Cup it is large and very even (at least the top 20 competitors), so sometimes luck decides." The Kamnik native last year, as a newcomer in competitive ice climbing, ended the season as SHS Cup winner and overall second in the European Cup, which gave him additional motivation: "This year I approached training more systematically with coach Dejan Miškovič and progress is already noticeable, I hope I will know how to use it in competitions too. I am not preparing for the home event differently than for the others, but I am already looking forward to it very much."



After an excellent start to the season in the SHS Cup, Šuštar is aiming for the overall victory for the second year in a row, and the European Cup, which she finished fifth last year, will be another step up the podium. "I am approaching the home competition without expectations. My current form is good, I notice progress compared to last season, and also in the first two SHS Cup events I had good feelings during climbing and the right focus, which was probably decisive for the victory. This year, the competitors in the SHS Cup have advanced a lot too, the battles with Serbian Katarina Manovski were very tight, and the Slovenian women's team is also showing very good climbing," says the satisfied competitor from the Tuhinj Valley, and before performing in front of home fans, she added: "A competition is a competition, even a home one - it can go well, or everything can go wrong. Every mistake is always also a good lesson and a drive for progress. There is not much room for improvements until the Domžale event, so until then I will work mainly on speed and climbing tactics. And on rest, there is always too little of it."



In addition to Šuštar and Hrast, Edvin Nepužlan (AO PD Železničar) also regularly competes in the SHS Cup, achieving better results from event to event, and is currently third overall in the Balkan Cup. As the Sevnica native says, progress was contributed by "mainly trainings, which I took seriously for the first time this year. I set myself at least three seasons of training, then progress will be seen and the decision for the future will be easier." Nepužlan and Hrast already have the opening European Cup event in Bern tomorrow, and they are also looking forward to the performance in Domžale, where we expect an eight-member Slovenian team. In addition to Šuštar, Hrast and Nepužlan, Slovenian colors in Domžale will be represented by Katja Brunec (AO PD Kranj), Nadja Korinšek (AO PD Trbovlje), Vili Guček (AS Špaltna Hrastnik), Miha Habjan (Academic AO) and Tom Turšič (GŠD Bricalp Škofja Loka). The total number of competitors will be known on Monday when registrations close. "The other events of this year's European Cup, also the finals of the Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian ice climbing cup, will according to our estimates be attended by around 40 competitors from numerous European countries," estimates the event leader Matej Ogorevc from PD Domžale.



PROGRAM EC ice climbing Domžale 2018 (entry to all events is free)

Friday, November 30

18:00 - reception of team leaders (Domžale market)

19:00 - Ice Passions, lecture by Aljaž Anderle (Domžale Library)

Saturday, December 1 (climbing wall on parking garage)

8:15 - women's qualifications

11:00 - men's qualifications

18:00 - women's final, then men

19:30 - medal ceremony

20:00 - concert by X-ray band (AC/DC tribute)



"Saturday's competition will start at 8:15 with women's qualifying performances, at 11:00 men will follow. The top eight women will compete in the final at 18:00, the best men about an hour later. All routes will be set by Janez Svoljšak, who excelled with an excellent setting last year too. The ceremonial awarding of medals and cups and announcement of the best competitors in the overall open Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian ice climbing cup will be concluded by a concert of the X-ray group (AC/DC tribute band)," announces Ogorevc and describes the interesting accompanying program: "On Friday, November 30, at 18:30, as part of the event for lighting the city's New Year's decorations, the teams of participating countries will present themselves. Half an hour later, at 19:00, Aljaž Anderle, former ice climbing competitor, alpine instructor, mountain guide and winter enthusiast, will honor us with a lecture Ice Passions."



The chief route setter for the EC Domžale is experienced Janez Svoljšak, who is preparing appropriately demanding routes that are also attractive for spectators: "Competitors will climb two qualifying routes and one final. In European Cup events, competitors with different competitive experiences compete, from those with medals from World Cup events to those just getting to know competitive ice climbing. This diversity of competitors presents one of the harder tasks for me in route setting, as I must ensure that all competitors can climb as best they can. Since the competitions are not on ice, we will set routes with various holds and wood that will provide ice imitation, as ice axes need to be placed in it. In overhanging sections of the routes, barrels will be placed that make progress harder by swinging. In the final route, we will also provide ice."



Škofja Loka native Svoljšak is otherwise Slovenia's most successful ice climbing competitor, who in 2016 achieved the first (and so far only) Slovenian ice climbing World Cup victory in the difficulty category and also won the 2016 European champion title. In 1997, Janez Jeglič - Johan actually celebrated in both difficulty and speed at the unofficial world championship, which marked the beginnings of the current World Cup, from 1999 to 2005 Aljaž Anderle, Klemen Premrl and Primož Hostnik also placed excellently. In 2009, Matevž Vukotič won a World Cup event in Mlačca near Mojstrana and won the World Cup in speed discipline. Among the girls, Alenka Jerala and Jasna Pečjak competed in the World Cup from 1997 to 2002 (placements from 4th to 15th) and later Tanja Grmovšek, who ended one season even among the finalists.