As the sun rose behind The Climbing Collective, it was cold. Ice cold.

On the building’s southwest exterior, strengthening sunlight illuminated puffy coats and clouds of breath — both a rarity along the Front Range this tepid winter.

But the pocket of brisk weather made the atmosphere appropriate for the event on hand. And as the temperatures began to climb, so did those on the ground.

On Saturday, the climbing gym hosted the third round of the Union internationale des associations d’alpinisme (UIAA) — the French name for the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation — seasonal World Tour, bringing international ice climbers to compete in Longmont.

Between two main events — speed climbing and lead climbing — men and women from nearly 20 countries picked up their axes, put on their crampons and competed in a sport on the cusp of Olympic representation.

The day began with speed climbing, with athletes timed on how quickly they ascended a 50-some-foot-tall wall of ice blocks that had been shipped in from Denver and fused together beforehand, said wall builder and Team USA youth coach Marcus Garcia.

“You have to sore them, get them prepped, put the blocks on and get them to bond … you put on a slurry that bonds it,” Garcia said. “You then let it get wet and it’ll freeze a little bit, then it’ll bond really quick. You can’t be too fast or it will crack.”

After that bonding process, Garcia said, the wall gets scored with a board that has screws sticking out of it to create grooves in the ice, which then get filled with water that freezes to create pockets. It is in those pockets where climbers try to plant their axe so they don’t lose their hold.

“After doing it for a while, you start to learn how to read what’s good and what’s not,” Garcia said.

Chunks of ice fell from the wall as climbers raced up to begin Saturday’s competition. If one was not paying attention, they could have assumed snow was falling from the bluebird skies.

Directly next to the ice wall was the lead climbing course. Consisting of typical-looking rock climbing holds screwed into a plywood wall, the wall’s two “dry tooling” routes also contained several features strung up at awkward angles, forcing competitors to maintain their balance while swaying in the air.

At some points, climbers lost their grip on their axe and had to bail off the wall as it tumbled to the ground. At others, climbers would stop on one of the features and look at the crowd below while catching their breath, an action typically met with a resounding chorus of cheers and applause.

Cat Shirley, a member of Team USA and a 10-year veteran of international competition, was the first female climber of the day to complete the left side route after navigating over a high-grade obstacle that several before her had failed to conquer.

“I was a little bit nervous about those two holds up there, because they’re a little bit technical,” Shirley said after her climb. “But my team was shouting the time, so I knew I had the time to get the placement really right, and I was able to get it.”

While Shirley said she’s usually too focused to be able to pick out individual voices while she’s climbing, she can hear what people are saying below. She also noted that she had a multitude of friends and family at the competition Saturday.

The competition and the associated Winterfest, which features live music, several vendors and an array of food and drink, will continue through the end of the day Sunday.