On the evening of Friday 23 October, the 2025-26 UIAA Mountain Protection Award winners were formally recognised as part of the prestigious annual King Albert I Memorial Foundation’s Mountain Award. The event was held at the ALPS Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern.
Both the winning project Flagship Shelters of the Environment/Mountain Huts as Lighthouses for the Environment from France, organised by UIAA member association Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne (FFCAM), and the best new initiative Walking The Tra Tra, endorsed by UIAA member Mountain Club of South Africa, collected their awards and were given the opportunity to present their projects to an audience of 90+ mountain enthusiasts, representatives of the Belgian embassy, and UIAA partner organisations. Representing the UIAA were André von Rotz, CEO, Paul Kwakkenbos, Mountain Protection Commission President, Carol Kahoun-Kauer, Project Manager and Philippe Quintart, Mountain Safety Project Manager.
Although the projects were announced as winners at the UIAA General Assembly in 2025, the Ceremony represented the official prizegiving.
UIAA CEO André von Rotz provides an introduction to the Mountain Protection Award. Photo credit: Olivier Rüegsegger
Photo (left): Laurence Audrain and Niels Martin from the Flagship Shelters for the Environment/Mountain Huts as Lighthouses for the Environment project. Photo (right): Pieter and Rentia Holtzhausen from Walking The Tra Tra. Photo credits: Olivier Rüegsegger
Flagship Shelters of the Environment/Mountain Huts as Lighthouses for the Environment
The Flagship Shelters for the Environment/Mountain Huts as Lighthouses for the Environment project aims to take advantage of the unique location of mountain huts to raise awareness about environmental issues. FFCAM created the “Flagship Shelters for the Environment” label, in order to transform mountain huts into beacons of sustainability and climate action. Through interactive educational tools and awareness-raising events, the project helps visitors and outdoor enthusiasts to better understand the environmental challenges that these huts have to face and the importance of responsible mountain practices.
“This project turned mountain huts into places of environmental learning using interactive tools and activities to help visitors understand elements of water, energy, waste, climate change and responsible behaviour in these sensitive mountain environments. The MPA recognised this mature and highly relevant project because it had a clear strategy, credible delivery and measurable influence on visitor behaviour. This project connects environmental education directly with the lived experience of hikers and mountaineers and their families and offers a model that can inspire hut networks well beyond France.”
Jeannette McGill
Chair of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award
Read the full project profile here.
FFCAM were represented at the Ceremony by:
Laurence Audrain, France, Club Alpin de Briancon, Volunteer of Flagship Shelter Project
Niels Martin, France, Deputy Director of FFCAM
Walking The Tra Tra
This project is rooted in the Cederberg mountains located approximately 300km north of Cape Town and in the Tra Tra valley. Walking the Tra Tra brings together mountain sport, environmental care, and support for local cultural expression. The project is built through direct collaboration with Cederberg residents, local youth, and partnering landowners. By responding to community needs the initiative strengthens land-based livelihoods and helps grow eco-tourism opportunities in a way that honours the vision and requests of those who live there.
The MCSA and Walking The Tra Tra were represented at the Ceremony by:
Pieter Holtzhausen, South Africa, MCSA member, Walking the Tra Tra founder & organiser
Rentia Holtzhausen, South Africa, Walking the Tra Tra co-organiser
Niël Thom, South Africa, involved in the project since its conception
Read the full project profile here.
King Albert I Memorial Foundation’s Mountain Award
The King Albert I Memorial Foundation honours individuals and organisations that have made “exceptional and lasting contributions related to the world’s mountains.” The Albert Mountain Award has been presented 56 times to date to diverse figures in mountaineering, geography and geology, literature, photography, and high-altitude medicine.
The winners of the Albert Mountain Awards this year were Marion Poitevin, Gela Mtivlishvili, Robert Bösch , and Günter Schmudlach. Discover more here.
Further Information
The UIAA Mountain Protection Award (MPA) is the UIAA’s flagship project in sustainability. The year 2025 marked the 11th edition of the Award. 2026 is dedicated to community building with the Award platform opening again in 2027.
UIAA Mountain Protection Award website page
ALPS Museum
