While spending time in the mountains, exploring new rock faces and peaks and even climbing indoors has been severely restricted for most people over the past twelve months, the climbing community has been able to able to engage more frequently and actively online. Although no substitute for being outdoors, technology has made it possible for creative projects and collaboration to flourish.
The UIAA has worked almost exclusively online for the past twelve months at an office, Commission and General Assembly level. Harnessing some of the experiences and feedback the federation has absorbed over the past year, the UIAA has decided to launch a Mountain Network Series of webinars focusing on a range of topics from climber safety to sustainability; ice climbing to mountain medicine. The webinars will be streamed on YouTube and made freely available to the public to watch and ask questions live or to view at their leisure.
The first webinar is scheduled for Friday 19 March (08:00 – 09:30 EST; 14:00 – 15:30 CET; 18:45 – 20:15 NPT) and will centre on the recent creation of a Mountain Worker Initiative, a project guided by the UIAA Mountaineering Commission which aims to help support and improve the conditions of the trekking industry. Centred initially on Nepal, the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) and the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) will lead the initiative’s first in-country working group. The idea to form this initiative is inspired by the agency behind the film The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest.
Access
Register to the event on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_b3ufaLUNTGKXU5qAnaGYHA
Watch on YouTube (and subscribed to receive reminders):
During the first webinar, The Porter: The Untold Story at Everest will be shown in its entirety with the film’s director Nate Menninger providing insights into his experiences in Nepal and the film’s subsequent impact. As part of a panel discussion, members of the MWI will discuss their plans to establish and disseminate general guidelines for ethical trekking and mountaineering practices worldwide with a focus on the lives of mountain workers.
The second webinar is scheduled for April and will focus on how climbers can be respectful mountain users. A full calendar of events will be available in due course.
Please subscribe to the UIAA YouTube channel for reminders about Mountain Network Series webinars. Details on events will also be posted on the UIAA Facebook page.
