Will
Gadd
Canada
·
Ice Climbing
Date of birth | March 8, 1967 |
|---|---|
Age | 59 |
Nationality | Canada |
Career start | 1990 |
Disciplines | Ice Climbing / Free Climbing |
All-round action hero Will Gadd is a living legend in the truest sense. Year after year, he continually pushes the boundaries of ice climbing, and even after having won every major title, from the World Cup to the Winter X Games, he still manages to impress.
Pushing the limits of ice climbing
A veteran of the sport, Gadd continues to seek new adventures and seems to have a boundless energy. In 2010, he once again proved his pedigree by solidly climbing a 39.62m [130ft] ice wall for 24 hours at the Ouray Ice Festival in Colorado, reaching a total height of 7.75km [4.8 miles].
In 2015, Gadd took on one of his most spectacular challenges yet, becoming the first person to climb the frozen spray ice alongside Niagara Falls. Scaling the ice-covered rock face next to the roaring waterfall, he added another remarkable achievement to his already impressive career.
Adventures beyond the ice
Eager to rise to a fresh challenge, Gadd also broke the world distance record on a paraglider not once but three times. He was also the first person to cross the US by paraglider after a gruelling seven-week trek.
His hunger for adventure doesn’t stop there, however – he can turn his hand to almost every outdoor sport, such as rock and ice climbing, kayaking, mountaineering, caving, Nordic and Alpine skiing and mountain biking.
Taking ice climbing to new heights
These days, Gadd likes to set himself more creative challenges. “I’ve done enough, won as much as I need to,” he says. “I’m at a point now where I feel like I have a lot less to prove.” All he wants to do now is take what he’s learned and apply it in the most interesting locations on Earth.
One of those locations was Greenland, where Gadd ventured beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet alongside scientist Jason Gulley to explore its vast ice caves and help researchers better understand how climate change is affecting some of the world's largest ice sheets.
In 2019, Gadd made the notable feat of scaling Della Falls. The falls, accessed by boat in the remote reaches of Vancouver Island, boast a vertical drop of more than 427m [1,400ft], making it the largest waterfall in Canada.
In October 2026, Gadd put his ice-climbing expertise to use in a very different challenge, helping Canadian cliff diver Molly Carlson become the first woman to dive from an iceberg. Off the coast of Newfoundland, he guided Carlson as she climbed a 15m iceberg before completing a historic backwards dive into the freezing Atlantic Ocean.
Gadd currently resides in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, where he continues to push the limits of ice climbing, paragliding, skiing and mountaineering while also operating a full-time guiding service in his beloved backyard.