In January, the UIAA officially published its new Declaration on Hiking, Climbing and Mountaineering.
The purpose of the Declaration, guided by its nine norms, is twofold:
- To lay out the generally accepted norms for behaviour that the UIAA considers optimal. This includes the ethics and style with which we climb and the environmental and social considerations that we should be aware of.
- To clarify the best practice for climbers and mountaineers from a mountaineering viewpoint. This particularly refers to the style of rock climbs and ascents of “alpine” peaks.
In addition to the document itself, the Declaration also has a poster version detailing the nine norms and offering a QR code link to the full paper. This latter component has been conceived as a visual way of displaying the declaration in clubhouses, huts, museums and other member federation properties.
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) became the first UIAA member association to officially print the document as well as the poster. It will be distributed across the ACC’s 25 Sections from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador. The ACC has also made a poster version available in its clubhouse and is looking to make more available across its network of huts.
UIAA members interested in translating the Declaration are invited to contact Philippe Quintart.
UIAA members wishing to professionally print the Declaration can make a request to news@theuiaa.org. A print-ready package can then be supplied.
For further details on the Alpine Club of Canada click here.
