Spanish laboratory certified to UIAA Safety Standards

UIAA Safety Standards are recognized around the world (Photo: Dave Custer for UIAA) AITEX (Textile Industry Research Association), a renowned centre for research, innovation and advanced technical services in Spain, is the newest test laboratory accredited to certify climbing equipment to UIAA Safety Standards. The UIAA Safety Label is globally recognized and can be found on climbing equipment from many of the biggest gear and rope manufacturers. AITEX joins the list of European laboratories; other UIAA certified labs exist...

Robert Pettigrew awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire

Robert Pettigrew, former UIAA Access Commission president is now Member of the Order of the British Empire (Photo: BMC for UIAA) Former UIAA Access Commission president Robert Pettigrew has been awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire for outstanding service to the community and local "hands-on service” which stands out as an example to other people. Renowned mountaineer Doug Scott who is a member of the UIAA Traditional Values Working Group (TVWG), and has know...

A new generation of climbers emerges on the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour

Yannick Glatthard of Switzerland is only 17-years-old but climbing like he's aged 30 (Photo: Photo by Philippe Mooser for UIAA) Veterans Maxim Tomilov (Russia) and Angelika Rainer (Italy) put on show of power and skill, while wowing the crowd, to win the Men and Women’s Lead competition in the Saas Fee stop of the 2015 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour. The day and the night, however, belonged to a group of young climbers like Yannick Glatthard of Switzerland,...

UIAA officials meet with Korean Olympic Committee to discuss demonstration of ice climbing in 2018 Olympics

UIAA and Korean Alpine Federation officials met with the Korean Olympic Committee to discuss ice climbing (Photo: KAF for UIAA) UIAA President Frits Vrijlandt, Executive Board Member Thomas Kähr and UIAA Ice Climbing Commission President Urs Stoecker met with Korean Olympic Committee president Jung-tae Kim to discuss the demonstration of ice climbing during the Winter Olympics in Korea in 2018. The meeting in Seoul took place after the conclusion of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour in...

Nikolai Kuzovlev shows why he’s a UIAA World Cup champion in Saas Fee, Switzerland

Russia is a country that produces Speed climbing champions by the dozens but Nikolai Kuzovlev is proving that he’s the best of them. First he beat fellow Russians Egor Trapeznikov, 2013’s overall UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour Speed champion in the Bozeman Speed final, then Maxim Vlasov in Cheongsong, Korea and today Leonid Malykh in Saas Fee, Switzerland. That’s what you call dominance. And he did it in style and with apparent ease. Malykh posted 8.77 seconds in his...

World Youth Championships held in Switzerland

The third UIAA World Youth Ice Climbing Championships took place in Saas Fee, Switzerland 17-18 January 2015. The final results: Under 22 Lead (Women) 1. Nadezda Smirnova (RUS) 2. Alena Kochebaeva (RUS) 3. Ekaterina Koshcheeva (RUS) Under 22 Lead (Men) 1. Kevin Huser (SUI) 2. Pierrick Fine (FRA) 3. Marco Malinowski (SUI) Under 19 Lead (Women) 1. Ekaterina Novoselova (RUS) 2. Sina Goetz (SAC) 3. Vivien Labarile (SAC) Under 19 Lead (Men) 1. Yannick Glatthard (SUI) 2. Lukas Goetz (SUI) 3. Tristan Ladevant (FRA) Under 16 Lead (Women) 1. Valeriia Bogdan (RUS) 2. Iuliia Filateva (RUS) 3. Irina...

HanNaRai Song wins Women’s Lead title in spectacular style in Cheongsong, Korea on final day of competition

HanNaRai Song made the only top-out of the Lead final for both Men and Women with literally a second to spare, With that gutsy move, Song, 22, (Korea) served notice in the Cheongsong phase of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup Tour presented by the North Face, which end on 11 January 2015 that she’s the one to watch for the rest of the tour. Where others struggled, Song who is trained by Korean champion HeeYoung Park...

Kihak Sung: Ice climbing deserves to be part of the Olympic games

Every sport which wants to enter the Olympics, needs athletes, spectators, excitement, and where possible, a global reach. But what it also needs most is a person who believes in the sport’s potential and is willing to back it financially. Kihak Sung of Goldwin Korea, the official license partner of The North Face in Korea, is one such man. And he'll be there in Cheongsong, Korea for the second stage of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour in Korea...

Global Youth Summit winter events await veteran and novice youth climbers

Ice climbing camp to be held for youth near Erzurum, Turkey one of three GYS winter events (Photo: Nejat Akinci for UIAA) Indoor and outdoor ice climbing is all the rage these days especially among young people. Check out three UIAA Global Youth Summit winter events, which take place in the U.S.A., Turkey and France between December and February 2015, to get the juices flowing. They give new ice climbers are taste of what the excitement is all...

William Lowell Putnam (1924 – 2014) was an Honorary Member of the UIAA and one of its greatest friends and supporters

William Lowell Putnam was an Honorary Member of the UIAA William Lowell Putnam, a dear friend and Honorary Member of the UIAA – International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation died Saturday after a week-long coma following a fall. The news was sent to the UIAA from his son Lowell who wrote: "I regret to inform you that my father passed away (Saturday, 20 December 20140 after being in a coma for a week following a fall and very...