“Like a spaceship had just landed, this structure resembled something of a different world.” — Olympic-bound ice climber Gordon McArthur commenting on the structure pictured below at the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup comp this month in Korea.
We covered Gordon McArthur last month in a preview to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He is currently on tour competing in the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. The following excerpts from his blog, photos, and video capture the intensity of the first round of the competition in Korea.
“The venue was as I remembered from previous years — spectacular,” McArthur wrote. “As I walked toward the isolation tent where athletes go before actual competition, the structure stood out, sky-rocketing above all the spectators. Like a spaceship had just landed, this structure resembled something of a different world. The architecture that towered above everyone got me super fired up…that I was going to climb on that thing in just a short period of time. Hmm…then I looked at the start list…second last. That short period of time had just turned into something like 4hrs later.”
McArthur writes about the “isolation zone,” where athletes wait to compete between rounds:
“The isolation zone was emptying. One by one, athletes would ready themselves and step out onto the world’s stage, displaying their best efforts on an architectural masterpiece.”
He describes his first attempt at the climb:
“From the second I left the ground, there was no mind. One move at a time, each being its own moment, I just went up. And before I knew it…I was merely 2 or 3 moves from the finish. Was it enough? Did I actually qualify in the first round of world cups?”
