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Almost
incredible what happened during the second event of the series. At six AM
of the 25th, a part of the climbing wall collapsed, while on the opposite
side the route setters were preparing the finals routes. It wasn't a
temperature problem, because at the moment of the collapse the temperature
was about -15°C, but the ice on the wall just gave away. In fact, to
obtain bigger overhangs, the workers had cut some roofs in the vertical
ice wall, which at the end didn't support the excessive load. Human error,
therefore, and a very big one. By pure chance, a big tragedy has been
avoided. We can imagine what would have happened with the spectators
standing below the wall. A clear message regarding attention and
precaution that should never be neglected in the ephemeral frozen world.
An accident of this kind, with a different outcome, would have meant the
end of the international World Cup series and would have done a very
severe damage to the ice-climbing image. We should consider what happened
as a further warning regarding the risks you encounter practicing this
kind of activity, which, done in the proper way, is certainly not more
dangerous of other ones. Let's hope that the "lucky" episode
will be useful as a warning for the future organization of ice-climbing
competitions and meetings.
Regarding the athletes, it has been decided to consider the results until
the moment of the collapse, that means the women finalists and the men
semifinalists. The points have been equally divided among the presents
listed below.
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