UIAA Medical Commission: Zika Viral Infection

The UIAA Medical Commission has released a new recommendation dedicated to the current outbreak of the Zika Viral Infection. The document charts the background of the disease, its relevance to climbers and mountaineers and presents the UIAA Medical Commission’s current advice. To download the document please click here. Click on the link for the full library of the UIAA Medical Commission recommendations....

One day to Lillehammer!

The second edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games commences in Lillehammer tomorrow with action in curling and ice hockey commencing the 70 event, ten day competition, a showcase for the world’s greatest youth athletes in snow and ice disciplines. Ice climbing will be present at the event, selected as one of the sports to feature as part of the LYOGOC (Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee)’s Sjoggfest (snow festival). The Sjoggfest programme is designed to encourage visiting...

Black Diamond issues voluntary recall of carabiners and runners

Statement from Black Diamond, a UIAA Safety Label holder, related to recent product recalls: Voluntary Product Recall of Carabiners and Quickdraws, subject to inspection Product Manufactured Between December 2014 and January 2016 Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), voluntarily issued a recall, subject to user inspection, of carabiners/quickdraws because of the possibility of defects in the gate that could cause the carabiner to fail or function incorrectly. This recall concerns carabiners/quickdraws...

Youth ice climbers take centre stage

Images: Patrick Schwienbacher for the UIAA A week on from hosting the decisive final round of the 2016 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour, Rabenstein, Italy showcased the very best of international youth ice climbing. Over 60 athletes from 12 countries (Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Lichtenstein, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States) took part in the UIAA World Youth Championships from 5-7 February which crowned the age group world youth champions...

From Leaders to Champions

UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour, supported by The North Face Korea
 World Cup & European Championships Rabenstein, Italy 29-31 January, 2016 From Leaders to Champions  Copyright (all pictures): Patrick Schwienbacher for the UIAA The 2016 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour ended in style in Rabenstein, Italy this weekend following an exciting season finale. The podium positions for the weekend were as follows: Men’s Speed 1. Radomir Proschenko (RUS) 2. Egor Trapeznikov (RUS) 3. Pavel Batushev (RUS) Women’s Speed 1.   Maria Tolokoni­na (RUS) 2.   Ekaterina Koshcheeva (RUS) 3.   Maryam Filippova (RUS) Men’s Lead 1.   Janez...

The UIAA at ISPO Munich and Beijing

Between 24-27 January, the UIAA attended ISPO MUNICH 2016, the only international multi-segment exhibition for the sports business, and from 24-27 February, heads to Asia, running its own booth at ISPO BEIJING. ISPO BEIJING is the leading sports business event in Asia. It unites the world’s most important sporting goods brands with local companies and the Asian market. The B2B multi-segment exhibition will be held in cooperation with Alpitec China at the China National Convention Center. More than 40,000...

Final Countdown

UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour, supported by The North Face Korea World Cup & European Championships Rabenstein, Italy 29-31 January, 2016 The final round of the 2016 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour sponsored by The North Face Korea commences tomorrow, Friday 29 January. Following an intense month of competition, excitement is palpable ahead of this weekend’s decisive round which will crown both the overall series and European champions. Two athletes currently rule the competition in both speed and...

UIAA Safety Standards Update: Crash Pads

A new safety standard has been created by the UIAA Safety Commission dedicated to the safety requirements and test methods for crash pads for use in bouldering climbing. The document is available to view and download here. The Test Method UIAA 161, CRASH PADS Determination of the critical fall height, is a standard for the performance of bouldering pads, the mobile type that individual boulderers carry.  The test method defined by the standard measures the performance of crash pads based on...

Progress in Nepal. KTK-BELT Studio update

In October 2015, KTK-BELT Studio became the third recipient of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award (MPA). Created in 2013 as a response to forest loss, habitat decrease and a drop in biodiversity, KTK-BELT is a platform for farmers, teachers, designers and environmentalists working together to build community-based biodiversity conservation strategies in the eastern region of Nepal. Since winning the Award, the team at KTK-BELT, led by Rajeev Goyal and Priyanka Bista, have been able to invest the Award prize money in mapping existing...