The annual UIAA Youth Climbing week held in Ariège in the southwest of France is one of the most well known and established camps of its kind.
The most recent edition, held from 7-12 July, welcomed a total of 26 young climbers including 13 from France and 13 international visitors (from Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain)
The camp is organised by UIAA full member FFCAM with the support of the UIAA Youth Commission. Training comes from highly skilled and expert instructors with youngsters learning the intricacies of multi-pitch climbing, dry tooling and canyoning. At the end of the week, youngsters were able to recieve a UIAA evaluation and certificate.
The UIAA Youth Commission is currently in the process of introducing some significant changes to its youth programme with plans to launch dedicated UIAA camps (bringing in expertise from across the federation in the areas of safety, sustainability and training) as well as supporting the promotion of programmes organized by members globally. The idea being that young climbers from across the globe can always find details of climbing programmes taking place nearby or wherever they are travelling.
For the international participants, it was a week to remember demonstrated by the spontaneous testimonials they provided:
Àlex Pubill Rubio, Spain: ‘This has been the best climbing experience I have ever had. Every day we learned new things and we got used to climbing in different kinds of terrain. It was just perfect because every day we had between two and three different options for climbing. The schedule was perfect in avoiding crowded places and to allow to focus on our interests. Having people coming from many different places around the world was incredible. It allowed us to share knowledge and experiences all together and to meet people with the same passion and same love for climbing and mountains’.
Ignas Mačiulis, Lithuania: ‘The youth climbing camp in Ariègehas been a very valuable experience. This was actually the first time I got to climb on real rocks, since we don’t have any mountains in Lithuania. This camp offered a very good opportunity for this as it was really affordable and the instructors taught me many things I didn’t already know. I am very happy that we got to do not only single-pitch sports climbing, but also other activities such as multi-pitch climbing, an introduction to trad climbing, alpinism and canyoning. During the camp, I also discovered differences between the gym climbing I am used to and climbing on real rocks. Moreover, both the participants and instructors of the camp were really friendly people and I had some good, fun times being with them.’
Jūlija Popova, Linards Eglītis, Niklāvs Eglītis, Latvia: ‘This event give us an opportunity to try a lot of different various of climbing, such as rock climbing, multi-pitch climbing, trad climbing, canyoning and hiking. We gained a great experience in climbing different and varied routes, made new friends and also improved our language skills. We really enjoyed trying several types of mountaineering, but especially canyoning. This trip was full of emotions, surprises, challenges, experiences and new friends. Everyone is so different, so unique. We felt very comfortable, safe with the organisers. We would really like to go to such a camp again. Thank you for this amazing experience!’
Participants from Malta: ‘We were fortunate to join the five-day UIAA international youth climbing camp in Ariège, the “least populated and most unspoiled” region of France, right at the base of the Pyrenees. The organizers and instructors put a lot of effort into providing everyone with a memorable experience despite all the different age groups and skillsets. Whether someone is sport climbing 5b routes or can climb 7a multipitch, the mountains in the nearby area around the camp had something to offer for each of us. A great deal of thought has been put into the planning, and each day brings a different experience in stunning settings. Participants are given different options depending on their previous experience and skills. During the trip we were able to practice several multi-pitches in beautiful locations, trad climbing, sport climbing, alpine climbing across a ridge and canyoning. The unique location of Ariège mountains made all the activities possible to be conducted. Through all of these experiences, we were supported by several experienced voluntary climbing instructors, ensuring that we felt safe throughout, even when learning new techniques’
Ionut Daniel Papa, Romania: ‘During this camp we experienced many forms of climbing, on different types of rock and styles so that on this whole journey I experienced something new daily and it was nice to do so. I’ve made new friends with whom I wish to meet again, we had lots of educational workshops to learn or to recap knowledge and the whole experience had the feeling of a big family. Even though I was a foreigner, I never had the feeling of being so. We learned, talked and enjoyed things as one. It was a great journey and I am grateful for participating in this camp. All the staff did amazing work, were caring to participants and fully dedicated to their tasks.’
Photos courtesy of UIAA Youth Commission member Christian Biard & camp participants
The UIAA – International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation – has published its 2021 Annual Report.
Anybody interested in receiving a printed copy can do so by filling in the following form. Please note that there is a limited print run and first priority will be given to UIAA member associations and delegates.
The digital report offers quick access to UIAA news articles, video content and multimedia assets.
Contents of the 2021 Annual Report include:
Annual message from UIAA President Peter Muir
Executive Review of 2021
Review of UIAA General Assembly 2021
Special Reports: Focus on UIAA & Covid-19 Taskforce, UIAA & Climate Change and UIAA & Mountain Worker Initiative
UIAA Strategy Process 2021-2024
UIAA Financial Report
UIAA Office, Communication, Sponsorship, Court and Legal Experts Working Group reports
Reports from every UIAA Commission (Anti-Doping, Ice Climbing, MedCom, Mountaineering + Access and Training, Mountain Protection, Safety, Youth) as well as Unit Member, International Skyrunning Federation.
Reports from the UIAA Continental bodies
An archive of UIAA Annual Reports (dating back to 2009) can be found here.
Registration is open for this year’s UIAA Global Youth event in Ariege, France. The annual camp will take place from 6-11 July and is open to people from 16-25 years old. The event is organised by the UIAA Youth Commission and the Toulouse branch of FFCAM. The event forms part of the UIAA’s Global Youth Summit events.
The main goal of the camp is for youngsters to practice and develop many forms of climbing, cliffs with one pitch, or routes with many pitches, on different types of rock, granite or limestone. A climbing certificate may also be offered at the end of the course.
Full programme, logistical and registration details can be found here.
The UIAA Management Committee (MC) and Commission Presidents met for the first time in 2022 on Saturday 12 February with the primary focus of discussions being the delivery of projects for the coming twelve months.
In addition to updates from UIAA Commissions, one of the most significant developments was confirmation that the UIAA is to create a Climate Change Taskforce.
Climate Change Taskforce
The subject was introduced by UIAA President Peter Muir:
“Thanks to the initiative and expressed interest of many members and the fruitful and broad based discussions held on the topic at the last Management Committee meeting and the 2021 General Assembly, it is the right time to take steps on the well overdue review of the UIAA’s position and operational actions for climate change as advocated for some time by the Mountain Protection Commission. As a result the Executive Board has resolved to create a Climate Change Taskforce and created a terms of reference for said taskforce.”
Muir continued: “Climate change, and its related effects on the human and natural environment, are existential threats and the UIAA must define its role and actions in response, with clarity and as a priority.”
In addition to the UIAA’s own acceptance of its responsibility to take constructive steps, the UIAA, through the Mountain Protection Commission:
is a signatory to The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, signed in November 2021;
is a signatory to the “Sports for Climate Action Initiative” of the United framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), signed in January 2020; and
is expected to confirm by May 2022 its pledge to the UNFCCC “Sports for Climate Action Initiative” to reach Net Zero by 2040 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
The Climate Change Taskforce’s initial brief is to:
Conduct a review of the UIAA’s current carbon footprint including recommendations of defining the included elements and recommending steps to the MC for reducing the footprint to meet the UIAA’s undertakings and reflect its own responsibilities. Based on this analysis, confirm the UIAA’s position in signing the UNFCCC pledge,
Develop a resource of existing climate plans and environmental guidelines issued by UIAA member federations as foundation for the UIAA’s own use in development and for the information and use of UIAA members,
Develop a plan of UIAA participation and advocacy strategy in the world climate change dialogue to define when, where, who and how the UIAA will effectively advocate its positions on climate change, and;
Formulate ideas on how to motivate and assist all UIAA members and commissions to develop action-oriented climate change and sustainability plans.
Further information will be published shortly.
Commission Projects
Mountain Protection (MPC) Carolina Adler (NZAC, New Zealand) Launch of 2022 Mountain Protection Award
The application process for the annual UIAA Mountain Protection Award partnered by Bally Peak Outlook Foundation will open in March. The related application guidelines and online entry form will be published shortly. The Mountain Protection Commission will also introduce some modifications to the Award incentives including a redistribution of prizemoney. Full details will be communicated in the first week of March.
The MPC continues to work on a complete update to the UIAA sustainability guidelines to coincide with 2022 being the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development. Following on from the publication of these guidelines, the MPC intends on producing a toolkit to assist in their implementation, including a ‘peer to peer’ component to facilitate exchange and collaboration with member federations from 2023.
Safety (SafeCom) Lionel Kiener (SAC, Switzerland) Working to make climbing safer
The reach of the UIAA Safety Label continues to grow with an increase in requests for labels from manufacturers in Asia and North America. SafeCom is currently working on a video to promote the value and importance of the UIAA Safety Label. Its release is expected in the spring.
Working group progress across the Commission remains impressive despite the reduced opportunity to meet in-person. A few headlines:
Corrosion:
Stress Cracking Corrosion (SCC): the goal is to have the first certified rock anchors in early 2022
Top anchor corrosion: research and analyses are ongoing, the aim is to draw conclusions from findings later this year. Please continue to submit details related to climbing anchor corrosion here.
Canyoning harnesses: a new test method is being developed to verify the behaviour of textile equipment when exposed to repeated cycles of UV, then humidity, then drying.
Headlights, portable flashlights: decision made to issue a new safety standard.
Helmet rim impact: research is ongoing, the goal is to release a standard to improve safety whether impact occurs in front, back or laterally.
Sharp edge testing on ropes: development of a complementary method to measure cutting resistance of ropes.
Static ropes: creation of a new standard for ropes with almost no elongation.
Medical (MedCom) Urs Hefti (SAC, Switzerland) Women and children papers in progress
MedCom continues to work at an impressive pace. In terms of its high-altitude recommendations, an update on two significant deliverables was provided:
Women going to altitude: This paper, spearheaded by an all-female working group, will be finalised later in the year. Contact has been made with an editor about publishing it.
Children at altitude: An update this paper is planned with a kick-off meeting taking place in March 2022.
Following the popularity of its video released last year on drinking clean water, MedCom is working on a project titled ‘Altitude Illness Presentation & Therapy’. It is due to be published in the spring.
MedCom is also planning on hosting a joint meeting with the Swiss Alpine Club and the ISMM International Society of Mountain Medicine in September 2022, to take place in Engadin, Switzerland. MedCom’s annual meeting will take place in Hathersage, England on 9 June and hosted by the British Mountaineering Council.
Mountaineering (MountCom) Peter Farkas (MHSSz, Hungary) Spearheading Mountain Worker Initiative
The recently reported progress of the Mountain Worker Initiative (MWI) falls under the umbrella of MountCom. The MWI hopes to collaborate with as many countries as possible to establish national-specific guidelines around the world; its hope being to publicise and spread the proper treatment of mountain workers. If any UIAA member association would like to aid the creation of national-specific guidelines in its country/region, the MWI would welcome collaboration. All finalised guidelines will be published by the MWI and shared internationally. Details can be found here.
Training Panel (TP) Steve Long (BMC, UK) Revamping the Alpine Handbook: Summer Skills
Throughout the pandemic, there has been significant challenges in hosting in-person training courses. The TP has increasingly adapted to online work and continues to grant qualifications to courses held on behalf of members worldwide. As of the middle of 2021, the new training database is live and members are encouraged to submit requests for qualifications and courses through the software. The Training Panel is also working closely on a significant revamp of the English language version of the Alpine Summer Skills Handbook. If you like to be contacted when the book is ready for release or pre-order the handbook please click here.
In-person training start again at the beginning of 2022 with a training course in Saudi Arabia. The TP looks forward to hearing from any other member federations desiring training courses or needing to update their certificates. Please contact training@theuiaa.org for more information.
Legal Experts Working Group (LEWG) Klara Dvorakova (CMLA, Czech Republic) Expanding to support UIAA Commissions
The LEWG has recently welcomed members from Argentina, Iran, North Macedonia and South Africa. This has helped bolster its ranks as the UIAA’s legal arm dedicates more resources to supporting UIAA Commissions. Significant time has been spent in providing legal guidance to the MWI and over the coming months, the LEWG will continue to support the UIAA more closely in the area of sustainability and is working on rebooting a MountCom project related to a database of case-law climbing accidents with the aim of making this available to the entire climbing community.
Ice Climbing Carlos Teixeira (FCMP, Portugal) Report from the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour
The 2021-22 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour is underway with the completion of five European Cup events, a highly successful World Championships and World Youth Championships in Saas-Fee as well as the recent North American Championships in Ouray, Colorado.
Unfortunately owing to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the World Cup rescheduled for Cheongsong, South Korea in early March is postponed. World Cup events in Tyumen and Kirov, both in Russia, are still on schedule.
Looking longer-term UIAA Executive Board, Management Committee and Ice Climbing Commission is currently developing a strategic roadmap for the coming years.
Anti-Doping (ADC)/Clean Climbing Marija Andjelkovic (PSS, Serbia) Full WADA compliance continues
The ADC continues to fully comply with the new WADA code introduced in 2021.
The Commission’s online educational test, set up a few years ago, has been recently declared by WADA as mandatory as part of the roll-out of the International Standard for Education 2021.
The UIAA fulfilled all actions required in the implementation of decision rendered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport: CAS 2020/O/6689 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) versus Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
The main challenges that the ADC faces are twofold – organising out of competition controls from the registered testing pool of athletes and testing at competitions in the current Covid-19 climate.
Covid-19 Committee Lode Beckers (CMBEL, Belgium) Shaping the post-Omicron reality
The Covid-19 Committee continues to provide support to the UIAA with the next meeting taking place in the coming weeks to focus on the decision of many European authorities to curb restrictions, the impact on climbing tourism and a focus on the situation in all continents. The Committee will also discuss the staging of in-person UIAA meetings.
Next Meeting
The next MC meeting is scheduled for 29-30 April in Skopje, North Macedonia. The UIAA will continue to monitor the situation regarding international travel and Covid restrictions. However the current aim is to organise the first in-person UIAA Management Committee meeting since the Covid pandemic began.
Main photo: Swiss Alps, near Saas-Fee
Credit: UIAA/Kaspar Kellerhals
The following report is courtesy of Cristina Cucu, Romanian Alpine Club representative on the UIAA Youth Commission.
Cristina reports on activities organised in Romania in collaboration with the UIAA Youth Commission. Further details on UIAA Youth Commission events and how to get involved will be published shortly.
OCTOBER WORKSHOP
Workshop organised to initiate people into climbing more difficult routes. The workshop was meant to teach hikers the basics for passing to another level, from a normal hike to a more technical route which includes scrambling, steep valleys, exposed traverses, abseiling, and orientation in unknown terrain. The first day was dedicated to theoretical knowledge, what kind of gear you need and why, how to prevent accidents, how to secure people on delicate segments. The second day, we split into different teams, each of them being accompanied by a trainer, and the trainees had to find their own way, to secure their partners and find a way down, using the gear they had carried with them.
Accommodation – in the Alpine Hostel which belongs to the Romanian Alpine Club patrimony. The participants paid the accommodation which goes into the budget of the Club and they also paid a donation to cover the expenses of the trainers. No extra fee was added.
Purpose: train other members of the club in order to organise safe climbs for them and for other less experienced members, in the future.
Participants: members of our club, age 20 – 30+
Location: Bucegi Mountains, 2.5 h drive from Bucharest
Trainers: Andrei Dumitrache, Bogdan Sandu, Alex Racoti, Ionut Papa, Alex Pauna, Stefan Mera,Cristina Cucu – they are all either mountain guides, climbing trainers or very experienced members.
SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER “TRAD CLIMBING SCHOOL”
Organised within the Bucharest Branch of the Romanian Alpine Club. After a few indoor meetings, where we discussed the theoretical aspects of the trad climbing discipline, we moved outdoors for three weekend workshops of hands-on practice, with 18 attendees (six of them for each workshop). For the outdoor activities, Cuca climbing area was chosen, a schist cliff with a lot of trad climbing opportunities (a pity that most of the routes are bolted…) and although the weather was pretty cold (and a little rainy sometimes) we managed to check all the list of the intended themes: how to prepare for climbing a trad route, placing and cleaning gear (both passive and active protection), building belay anchors using slings and/or the rope, the transition at the belay stance, communication between climbers, building abseil anchors and descending from the route (either at the end of the route or bailing).
Accommodation: camping in tents right next to the crags.
Purpose: promote and teach clean climbing
Participants: members of our club, age 20 – 40+
Location: at the foot of Iezer-Papusa Mountains, 2.5 h drive from Bucharest
Trainer: Laurentiu Anghel, special member of our club, a master of trad climbing.
The workshops were free, just some logistic expenses have been covered by the participants. No extra fee was added.
The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalysing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally. The Glasgow Declaration encourages the acceleration of climate action in tourism by securing commitments to reduce emissions in tourism by at least 50% over the next decade and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
The Declaration was officially launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) on 4 November 2021. The information about the launch event is available here.
“This is a significant day for the UIAA and its work in sustainability on behalf of the climbing community. We are delighted to have become a signatory and launch partner of this landmark agreement,” reflected UIAA President Peter Muir.
“Many of the UIAA’s activities and that of our member federations centre on recreation and are tourism-related,” explained Dr Carolina Adler, UIAA Mountain Protection Commission President. “We are very pleased to have become a signatory of this agreement. This of course aligns with our own commitments under the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action, and so we see these pledges as being compatible and mutually reinforcing.”
As a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, the UIAA has committed to aligning its actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure its approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. It also has agreed to deliver or update climate action plans within 12 months, align plans with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance), report publicly on an annual basis, and work in a collaborative spirit, sharing good practices and solutions, and disseminating information.
As the declaration states: “A just transition to Net Zero before 2050 will only be possible if tourism’s recovery accelerates the adoption of sustainable consumption and production, and redefines our future success to consider not only economic value but rather the regeneration of ecosystems, biodiversity and communities.”
The need for a globally consistent approach for climate action in tourism has been made clear, notably through research into CO2 emissions carried out by UNWTO/ITF and released at the UNFCCC COP25 in December 2019. This showed that transport-related emissions from tourism were forecast to increase by 25% by 2030 from 2016 levels, against the current ambition scenario.
In 2020, the One Planet Vision for a responsible recovery of the tourism sector was adopted with the aim of emerging from the COVID-19 crisis both stronger and more sustainable. Climate action is a central element of the Vision, which calls for monitoring and reporting CO2 emissions from tourism, promoting the introduction of science-based targets, accelerating the decarbonisation of tourism operations, and engaging the tourism sector in carbon removal.
About the One Planet network Sustainable Tourism Programme
The One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme has the overall objective to enhance the sustainable development impacts of the tourism sector by 2030, by developing, promoting and scaling up sustainable consumption and production practices that boost the efficient use of natural resources while producing less waste and addressing the challenges of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution. The Sustainable Tourism Programme is part of the One Planet network, a multi-stakeholder partnership to implement SDG 12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production.
The UIAA – International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation – held its annual General Assembly from 22-23 October. For the second year running the event was held online. A total of 128 delegates from over 71 member associations representing 56 countries attended.
The 2021 General Assembly marked a year since Peter Muir (Alpine Club of Canada) became the federation’s 14th President. Muir, head of a seven-strong Executive Board (EB), assessed the progress made over the past twelve months:
“As I wrote in my annual President’s message, I believe that the UIAA is based on sound principles and a common passion. Over the last year, the Executive Board has been assessing where we are at and what issues we have in order to establish a baseline to measure our progress over the next three years. These assessments are always work in progress. During the General Assembly we will address some common themes. These are – communication, our aim is to be smoother across our various levels and structures and introduce new ways of approaching meetings; an increased focus on the Strategic Plan in particular its goals. It is a very ambitious Plan, so the focus is on narrowing down key goals, and focusing on two-three priority tasks per Commission; assigning responsibilities and clearly defining who is carrying out tasks and ensuring a good pace in our activities while guided by our Articles of Association to take the time required when needed.”
Elections
The main election activity was confined to representatives of the Management Committee:
Management Committee newly-elected
Juan Jesús Ibáñez Martín, FEDME (Spain), Largest Continental Representative
Paul Carstensen, MCSA (South Africa), Continental Representative – Africa
Willy Montenegro, FEACH (Chile), Continental Representative – Central & South America
Paul Carstensen succeeds Greg Moseley whose term with the Management Committee came to an end. Greg Moseley’s work with the UIAA is the focus of a recent volunteer series article. The UIAA congratulates all new MC members on their elections and thanks Greg Moseley for his support.
Management Committee re-elected
Stuart Gray, NZAC (New Zealand), Continental Representative – Oceania
Pierre Humblet re-elected as Court President. All existing Court members re-elected – Franz Stämpfli, Marco del Zotto and Denis Poncelin.
In terms of membership, the UIAA continues to represent 90 member associations in 67 countries.
Guests at the GA included representatives from the UIAA’s international observer members – the International Slackline Association, the International Skyrunning Federation and the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations – The Petzl Foundation and former UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt.
Executive Board Working Groups
One of the first accomplishments of the current EB was the creation of a number of Working Groups (WGs) to guide the UIAA in the following areas: Commissions, External Relations, Internal Relations, Governance, Finance & Audit and Communication. Below is a brief overview of their findings to date:
Commissions WG: This Working Group has met with all Commission Presidents and attended several Commission meetings. On the basis of these meetings, it has produced a report making a number of recommendations to the Management Committee.
These include:
The need to improve communication and strengthen the two-way relationship between the Executive Board, Management Committee and Commissions
Consider granting independent Commission status to the Access WG
Consider granting independent Commission status to the Training WG
Proposing that the Legal Experts WG has an independent status outside of the Mountaineering Commission in order to support the UIAA as a whole more closely
Its next steps include consultation with Commissions, developing a menu of activities, defining specific task list descriptions for each Commission and presenting findings for MC approval.
External Relations WG: This WG has identified and evaluated the UIAA’s 50+ external relationships and is in the process of determining which ones are a priority and further developing partnerships in adventure tourism/travel, sustainability and other multinational federations.
Internal Relations WG: Work is underway with Continental Representatives (CRs) to create a task description for CRs and to work at CR level to strengthen relationships with existing and future members on each continent, with the goal of further developing the UIAA’s continental structures.
Governance WG: Is in a process of assessment. Its role is to be a watchguard for governance and ensure that the UIAA is properly equipped to deal with any issues and implement any changes where required.
Finance WG: Activities have focused on closing out the 2020 accounting year, the implementation of a new accounting software as well as developing the forecast for 2021 and budget for 2022. This active group has also set budget planning guidelines to standardise the budgeting process of Commissions as well as developing more defined Standard Operating Procedures.
Communication WG: Is primarily focused on the distribution of information to members and the wider climbing community. Plans include the further development of communication channels, upgrades to the UIAA website, enhancements to the UIAA Annual Report, supporting Commissions in developing their own publications and scoping potential new information products to offer UIAA members.
Strategic Plan
The 2021-2024 UIAA Strategic Plan (SP) was approved at last year’s GA. UIAA General Secretary Lode Beckers presented an update twelve months on.
The overarching focus of the SP is the question of providing the right benefits to members and ensuring the UIAA is clear on identifying what those benefits are.
This will be guided by the SP’s three key objectives:
Provide information and guidance
The UIAA has a proven track record in this area. Examples include the work of the UIAA Covid-19 Committee; support through solidarity schemes and throughout numerous Commission projects (such as mountain medicine advice papers)
Set and maintain standards in certain defined areas
Covid-19 Crisis Consultation Committee: Update from recent meetings and the support this group offers UIAA members
Panel 3: Sustainability & Sport Panel on Commission Projects:
2020-2021 UIAA Mountain Protection Award: A reveal of the 24 candidates, an explanation of the Award evaluation process and presentation of the Award ceremony to be held as a webinar, in conjunction with the project’s main partner Bally, on Friday 3 December, 1400 – 1530.
UIAA Mountain Worker Initiative: A project launched by the UIAA this year to support mountain workers, an update on its progress and the release of dedicated guidelines. Further details will be published on the UIAA website shortly.
UIAA Alpine Handbook new editions: An overview of the work underway on a new English edition, how members can order copies and on the continued translations.
Youth Innovation Panel: An overview of the UIAA’s future projects in the field of youth development .
The panel discussions can be viewed as part of a YouTube replay GA of the here.
Day 1: 2021 UIAA General Assembly
Day 2: 2021 UIAA General Assembly
A more in-depth review of each panel discussion will be produced in the coming weeks and feature as part of the 2021 UIAA Annual Report.
Upcoming General Assemblies
The 2022 UIAA General Assembly is scheduled to be held on Saturday 29 October in Banff, Canada and hosted by the Alpine Club of Canada. Trabzon, Turkey (Turkish Mountaineering Federation) is set to host the GA in 2023 and Malta (Malta Climbing Club) in 2024.
Upcoming Mountain Network Series events
The UIAA will host its third Mountain Network Series event of 2021 on Wednesday 17 November. The topic will be ‘Mountain Women’ and the webinar built around content from Herstory, a series of short films about the lives of different female climbers. Full details here.
The fourth and final UIAA Mountain Network Series event of 2021 will take place on Friday 3 December (1400-1530 CET) in the form of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award prizegiving.
Video Content
During the General Assembly, a number of videos were played. Members can access embed codes from the links below.
Bally Peak Outlook Series
UIAA & Mountain Water
UIAA Mountain Protection Award Promo (2021)
Sustainable Summits Promo 2021
International Skyrunning Federation: World Championships
The UIAA will host its third Mountain Network Series event of 2021 on Wednesday 17 November. The topic will be ‘Mountain Women’ and the webinar built around content from Herstory, a series of short films about the lives of different female climbers.
The 90-minute webinar will be held at 19:00 CET (find your time link) and includes panel discussions covering the following topics:
The making of Herstory – inspiration behind the films, choosing the profiled climbers, breaking stereotypes Women Mountain Guides – Focus on women climbing, mountaineering training, and becoming mountain guides Women’s Health in the Mountains – what needs to be considered? what does research say? Details on upcoming UIAA Medical Commission releases Global Sports Mentoring programme – what is it? how can one find more info?
Panellists:
Marija Andjelkovic,Serbia, UIAA Anti-Doping Commission President and co-author of upcoming revised UIAA recommendation on women’s health in the mountains. Ilina Arsova, NorthMacedonia, mountaineer, environmental activist and artist, creator of Herstory and feature of one of the movies. Juliana Garcia,Ecuador, First female IFMGA guide in Latin America, and former President of IFMGA commission of Ecuador. Lenka Horakova, Czech Republic, UIAA MedCom member and co-author of upcoming revised UIAA recommendation on women’s health in the mountains. Dr Sarah Hyllier, USA, Director of the Center of Sport Peace and Society, University of Tennessee and initiator of the Global Sports Mentoring Program. Uta Ibrahimi, Kosovo, first person from Kosovo to Climb Mount Everest, only woman from the Balkans to climb 6x8000m, aiming to complete 14 x 8000m peaks – featured in Herstory movie. Samar Khan, Pakistan, Seven Summits aspirant. Tashi and Nungshi Malik, India, First twins and siblings to scale the Seven Summits and complete the Explorers Grand Slam and the three pole challenge. Argyro Paphatanasiou, Greece, First Greek woman to climb 8a-8b+, featured in Herstory movie.
The webinar, streamed live on Zoom and YouTube, will be hosted by Tarquin Cooper and chaired by UIAA Executive Board member Françoise Jaquet.
The fourth and final UIAA Mountain Network Series event of 2021 will take place on Friday 3 December (1400 CET) in the form of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award prizegiving.
Register & Follow
To register for the event on Zoom please click here.
The event will also be available live, and as a replay, on YouTube:
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Jūlija Popova, Linards Eglītis, Niklāvs Eglītis, Latvia: ‘This event give us an opportunity to try a lot of different various of climbing, such as rock climbing, multi-pitch climbing, trad climbing, canyoning and hiking. We gained a great experience in climbing different and varied routes, made new friends and also improved our language skills. We really enjoyed trying several types of mountaineering, but especially canyoning. This trip was full of emotions, surprises, challenges, experiences and new friends. Everyone is so different, so unique. We felt very comfortable, safe with the organisers. We would really like to go to such a camp again. Thank you for this amazing experience!’
