Building a ‘Vertical University’ from Koshi Tappu to Mt. Kanchenjunga

In response to forest loss, habitat decrease and drop of biodiversity, students, teachers, farmers, environmentalists and designers came together in 2013 in the eastern region of Nepal to create the 'Koshi Tappu Kanchenjunga Biodiversity Education Livelihood Tera Studio' or KTK-BELT project....

Provisional 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing calendar announced

The UIAA is delighted to announce the provisional calendar for the 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing season. The upcoming campaign, partnered by The North Face Korea, promises exciting changes and developments. The UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour, which has run since 2002, is set to comprise four events in as many countries - China (this event is to be confirmed), South Korea, Switzerland and Italy. Following on from the World Tour, which will crown the continental champions, a...

A brief guide to altitude sickness

Planning an expedition or travelling to high altitude in the coming weeks or months? The UIAA Medical Commission's guide to altitude sickness provides some key advice. What is altitude sickness? Altitude sickness is an "umbrella term” and includes 3 components: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) which is essentially headache and nausea at about 3000m or more and is a benign illness. Both high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) are the life threatening forms...