News

A revision of existing standards and the introduction of new ones as well as improving co-operation with manufacturers top the agenda of the UIAA Safety Commission meeting taking place in Prague from September 23-27.

The  Eco Everest Expedition 2008, led by  Dawa Steven Sherpa, has successfully field tested new technologies for environmentally friendly mountaineering.

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is inviting two climbers from each country to take part in their International Winter Climbing Meet in Scotland.

A group of young people and leaders from eight countries have ascended Europe's highest mountain as part of the Global Youth Summit.

Archaeologists say they are relying on climbers and hikers to alert them to any unusual objects they may come across during their alpine walks or mountain expeditions.

As the flame in Beijing was extinguished on August 24, hundreds of young climbers from around the world lit torches on mountaintops to keep Olympic values alive.

“The emotions and feeling that we were gathering with our friends on different peaks in the world on the same day, same hour, it was really special,” says Zdenka Mihelic from the UIAA Youth Commission.

In South Africa, Italy, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Slovenia and Greece young climbers celebrated "Ekecheiria", the ancient Greeks' name for the peaceful period which reigned during the Olympic Games.

"I am very happy to see so many young climbers and mountaineers being inspired by the Olympic Games and its spirit of peace and co-operation and in their own way going faster, higher and stronger," says UIAA Youth Commission President Anne Arran.

A US geography professor has created an atlas of computer generated aerial views of the Himalaya, available for all on the internet. The atlas contains over 700 life-like panoramas that offers climbers a unique view of the mountains they plan to climb.

The National Park Service (NPS) in Yosemite, United States, is asking climbers for help with a study of lichens growing on big rock faces. Those who volunteer for one or more days between September 1- 21 will get free camping, experience with field work and the chance to meet up with other climbers.

This year the Norwegian Alpine Club (NTK) is celebrating its hundredth  anniversary. The members have elected their first woman president to lead the club into the next century.

The UIAA deeply regrets the death of the eleven climbers on K2.