SALT LAKE CITY — Starting Saturday, Smith's Ballpark will transform into a climbing competition as many of the world’s top climbers come and climb several boulder problems.
The World Climbing Series, previously known as the International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup, is set to take place at the stadium starting Friday and continuing through the weekend.
Bouldering is a type of climbing where people climb short walls with no ropes. It’s a test of endurance to reach the top, often called a boulder problem because it’s essentially an intense puzzle.
The route setters will set 31 boulder problems total in this competition. On Friday, the men will have the qualification round in the morning and the women in the evening. The men's semifinals and finals are scheduled on Saturday, with the women's semis and finals wrapping up Sunday.
Athletes don’t get to practice on the bouldering walls, and they don’t see the routes until their competition time.
“This is one of the only sports in the world where the field of play changes and is unique each time the athletes turns around,” Jeremy Ho, one of the route setters, said. “In the final round, they get a quick preview but generally speaking, they’re turning around and have about four minutes to figure out how to get up the wall.
One of the athletes at the competition is Annie Sanders, who has been climbing for as long as she can remember.
“Typically before competition, I’ll be training 40 to 50 hours a week,” she said.
And then all of the training will get put to the test this weekend.
“Training takes a lot of time and dedication, so I’m excited to go out there and show what I’ve been training for and give it my all,” she said.
Tickets for the competition are available here.