Vertical ascending at improbable speeds; nerve-jangling drops; supreme demonstrations of technique. Ice axes are sharpened, athletes primed after a rigourous ‘offseason’, ice towers gleaming and the world of ice climbing ready to reunite. The sport, which holds a burning Olympic ambition, has never been bigger. The...
International Mountain Day takes place on Sunday 11 December and the UIAA will mark the occasion by producing a dedicated article on climate change. Member federations are invited to contact the UIAA, news@theuiaa.org to share details about their own activities on this significant annual occasion....
They are two of the highest mountains in the world. Imperious, impressive and witness to numerous feats of human endeavour. Between 20-23 November the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) organised a Diamond Jubilee celebration of the first ascent of both mountains. Kanchenjunga (8,586m) is the third highest mountain in...
The UIAA’s commitment to anti-doping and promotion of ‘Clean Climbing’ is a significant part of its activities. The federation has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, and its work in this field is centered in two distinct areas – the enforcement...
Kathmandu and the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) played host to a weeklong array of international mountaineering events in mid-November. Commencing proceedings was the General Assembly of the UAAA, the Union of Asian Alpine Associations, held from 18 November with representatives from sixteen different Asian federations in...
The Piolets d’Or Asia celebrated its 11th anniversary in Seoul, Korea on 4 November. These Awards, known as the Oscars of Alpinism, have been leading the development of Asian mountaineering culture for the last ten years. Among those recognised were a UIAA honorary member and a UIAA ice...
The UIAA Mountaineering Commission (MountComm) met in Petra, Jordan, in November 2016. The meeting, which was hosted by the Jordan Tourism Board, was attended by 14 delegates from 11 different countries, plus the MountComm’s previous President, Eliza Moran. Khaled Al-Raggad, head of sustainable adventure tourism...
The UIAA Safety Label extends its international reach. UIAA Safety Commission member Jean-Franck Charlet was recently invited by the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA) to assist in the construction of an official UIAA safety laboratory in Beijing, the second of its kind on the Asian continent. The laboratory will...
Experts from the UIAA member federation FEDME (Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada) have collaborated with a number of bodies, notably Europarc-Spain, in producing a paper which underlines the good practices for holding mountain running competitions in protected natural areas. The document is...
The work of the UIAA Medical Commission is respected and recognized throughout the world of mountaineering. The Commission’s mission of increasing knowledge about mountain medicine among doctors, mountaineers and lay mountain users is achieved through several different means. In order to provide the best possible advice...