International Mountain Summit includes a focus on extreme sports

Our friends at the International Mountain Summit who host one of the biggest and much anticipated mountaineering conferences in Europe have sent us news about what’s happening this year in October. This year’s summit which is in its fifth year takes place in Brixen, Italy and includes meetings, presentations, walks, films, pictures and climbing. The range of topics being discussed includes the mountain biking boom, the Dolomites as a Natural World Heritage site, telemedicine and music. Speakers...

Mont Blanc hut online reservation system open

The French Alpine Club (FFCAM) wants mountaineers worldwide to know that while final approvals are pending for the new Goûter Hut on Mont Blanc (which has not yet opened), online reservation for the old hut is available. The bookings for the hut are from June until September and it is possible to book until the day of arrival at 10h00 - if spaces is still available. You can book online at http://refugedugouter.ffcam.fr/resapublic.html and at http://refugedugouter.ffcam.fr/resapro.html if you are professional guide member...

Working group seeks to make UIAA an even more representative body

The UIAA Management Committee which met earlier this month in Orvieto, Italy (Italian Alpine Club - CAI) has approved the creation of a working group to attract new members, especially federations from smaller and financially disadvantaged countries. The work of the group includes a review of the UIAA Solidarity Fund which was established in 1997 to help financially support federations that could not pay their UIAA membership fees. Because of problems deciding which federation would receive funds...

Boon or blight: Challenges facing the Everest region

Editor’s note: Rodney Garrard is a member of the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission and PhD student at the Centre for Development & Environment (CDE), Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Switzerland. His research explores the on-going landscape transformation in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park and assesses the impacts of change on key environmental services: water provision, food and fibre production, protection from natural hazards among others. As Nepal and the Khumbu gets ready to celebrate the...

Alpine Association of Slovenia celebrates a proud 120th anniversary

The Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), one of Europe’s oldest and proudest alpine associations, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year with pomp, pride and pageantry. Originally called the Slovenian Alpine Club, the association which was founded on 27 February 1893 today represents about 278 alpine clubs and 57,520 members or as PZS spokesperson Zdenka Mihelič proudly puts it, a remarkable 2.6 per cent of Republic of Slovenia’s total population. Earlier this month on April 12, the...

American Alpine Club Seeks Climbers to join the 2013 International Climbers Meet

From the American Alpine Club: The American Alpine Club is hosting its annual International Climbers’ Meet (ICM) and extending an invitation to all UIAA members to participate in this annual event to be held the week of Oct 7 - October 12, 2013 in Yosemite Valley. Experience with placement and removal of protection, multi-pitch rope management, at least two years of technical rock climbing, and the ability to follow sustained 5-8 granite is mandatory. The goal is to...

Indian Mountaineering Foundation hosts Climbathon 2013 in the Bara Shigri glacier region

The Indian Mountaineering Foundation is hosting Climbathon 2013 on the Bara Shigri Glacier in Himachal Pradesh (20 July - 10 August) this summer. There is no participation fee for the event which is sponsored by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation - if you are an Indian citizen. Climbers from outside India are welcome but will be charged a fee which will be directly communicated to them. Application forms can be found here and must be sent in by...

Mountain Protection Commission speaks out on UNESCO designation for Mont Blanc

The UIAA Mountain Protection Commission has expressed concern that a proposal by the mayors of two towns near Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, endangers ongoing efforts to designate it as part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. The letter signed by commission president Linda McMillan on 18 March 2013 was in response to an application by the mayors of Chamonix (France) and Courmayeur (Italy) last year to use the region's historical association with...

International mountain accident database proposed by Mountaineering Commission

The UIAA Mountaineering Commission has approved a proposal to develop a standardized, international system of collecting and analysing accidents to better identify areas where safety and training can be improved, and help insurance companies better understand risk in mountain activities. The idea for a global database managed by the Mountaineering Commission and housed on the UIAA website was approved at a recent commission meeting in Bavšica, Slovenia. It now heads to the UIAA Management Committee for...

Chile becomes first South American country to become accredited to new UIAA Training Standards

Update: The Mountaineering Commission met in Bavšica, Slovenia in March, 2013 to discuss among other things a training course for sport climbing that was submitted by the Federación de Andinismo de Chile (FEACH). The Training Standards Panel reviewed the proposal and is pleased to report that the course has been accredited by the UIAA - International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation. With the approval, Chile becomes the the first South American country (and Federation) to hold a UIAA...