Ice Season Opener
November 21st
The Ice Season Opener is Utah’s annual kickoff to ice climbing season—a full day of climbing, training, gear, education, community, and inspiration presented by The Scratch Pad and hosted by Momentum Millcreek.
Whether you’re getting ready for your first season on ice or you’ve been swinging tools for years, the goal is simple: bring Utah’s ice climbing community together, sharpen our skills, prepare for winter, and start the season strong.
Drytooling Clinics | 10 AM–4 PM
Throughout the day, climbers can participate in drytooling and ice-season preparation clinics inside Momentum using real ice tools on the climbing walls.
Venue
Momentum Climbing Gym Millcreek
3173 E. 3300 S. Millcreek Ut
Clinics will include:
Drytooling 101 — learn the fundamentals of tool use, footwork, body positioning, and efficient movement.
Training for Ice Season — build the strength, endurance, movement, and preparation needed to transition into winter climbing.
Drytooling Techniques for Experienced Climbers — refine movement, efficiency, and advanced techniques for steeper and more technical terrain.
Clinic space is limited and advance registration is recommended.
Keynote Presentation with Will Gadd | 6–8 PM
We’re incredibly excited to welcome Will Gadd to Salt Lake City for this year’s keynote presentation.
Will is one of the most accomplished and influential ice and mixed climbers in the world, with decades of experience pushing standards in ice climbing, mixed climbing, paragliding, exploration, and adventure.
This year, he’ll be joining us in person for an evening of stories, lessons, skills, and perspective drawn from a lifetime spent climbing and exploring some of the world’s most challenging environments.
If you climb ice—or want to—this is an evening you won’t want to miss.
Community Social | 4–6 PM
Stick around after the clinics for an afternoon social with climbers, athletes, outdoor brands, and members of the Utah mountain community.
We’ll have:
Gear demos
Tool and crampon sharpening with The Scratch Pad
Black Diamond gear testing and technical education
Prize giveaways
Silent auction
Search & Rescue fundraising
Plenty of time to connect with climbing partners and get ready for the season
We’re also encouraging climbers to bring in their broken, worn-out, and questionable climbing gear. Some of it may become part of the gear-testing and safety discussion as we look at how equipment wears, fails, and eventually needs to be retired.
Supporting Utah Search & Rescue
The Ice Season Opener has always been about more than climbing.
Part of the event grew from firsthand experiences within our community that showed just how complex technical ice rescues can be and how much we rely on Search & Rescue volunteers when something goes wrong in the mountains.
Proceeds from this year’s event will help support Utah Search & Rescue teams, with an emphasis on improving technical ice-rescue preparedness through training, equipment, education, and stronger connections between SAR teams and the climbing community.
We are also working directly with SAR teams across Utah to better understand where our community can provide the most meaningful support.
Come Kick Off Ice Season With Us
Come climb, learn, sharpen your tools, check out new gear, meet new partners, support Utah Search & Rescue, and spend an evening with one of the legends of the sport.
Saturday, November 21, 2026
Momentum Millcreek
3173 E. 3300 S.
Salt Lake City, Utah