Angelika Rainer and Maxim Tomilov win big as UIAA World Cup ends in Saas Fee, Switzerland

News Release 22 January 2012 Saas Fee, Switzerland  - The 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in Saas Fee, Switzerland concluded Saturday with a second World Cup victory for Angelika Rainer of Italy this year in the Lead discipline and a dramatic display of skill and strength by Russia's Maxim Tomilov in Men's Lead. Rainer’s victory comes about a week after her win in Cheongsong, South Korea and is significant because the Italian athlete almost quit competitive climbing last...

Climbers reflect as the 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup moves to Switzerland

The European leg of the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup organized by the UIAA (International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation) begins on 20 January 2012 in Saas Fee, Switzerland. Angelika Rainer, fresh from a victory in the Lead discipline in South Korea, says she’s always had a soft spot for Saas Fee where she won her first World Cup and first World Championship. Rainer said she has put behind her an elbow injury that plagued her last year and...

Final results for 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup – South Korea

Ice Climbing World Cup & Asian Championship CheongSong, Korea  Women's Speed Finals  Men's Speed Finals  1. SHABALINA, Viktoria RUS  1. SPITSYN, Ivan RUS  2. KRASAVINA, MARIA RUS  2. VAGIN, Alexey RUS  3. FILIPPOVA, Maryam RUS  3. TOMILOV, Alexey RUS  Women's Speed Full list  Men's Speed Full list    Women's Lead Finals  Men's Lead Finals  1. RAINER, Angelika ITA  1. TOMILOV, Maxim RUS  2. GALLYAMOVA, Anna RUS  2. TOMILOV, Alexey RUS  3. HROZOVA, Lucie CZE  3. PARK, Hee Yong KOR  Women's Lead Full list  Men's Lead Full list For results from previous years and rankings please click here. The remaining stages for the 2012...

Markus Bendler and Maria Tolokonina stumble on first day of 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in South Korea

Two stars on the world circuit, Austria’s Markus Bendler and Russia’s Maria Tolokonina, both stumbled on the first day of competition at the UIAA 2012 Ice Climbing World Championship in Cheongsong, South Korea. “I think I need a mental coach!!,” Bendler good-heartedly wrote on his Facebook page as he reflected on a fall that knocked him out of the competition on Saturday and a chance to compete in the semi-finals and finals on Sunday. Bendler was the winner of the...

Registration for 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup open

The UIAA has begun to accept registrations from athletes accredited by UIAA member federations for the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup that starts on 14 January in Cheongsong, South Korea. The event is spread over a three month period and will then move to venues in Switzerland, France, Romania and Russia. The rules and regulations for the two ice climbing disciplines, Speed and Lead, are set out in the UIAA website.  Athletes can register here. Please share our ice climbing...

UIAA supports International Mountain Day

The UIAA supports the celebration of 11 December 2011 as International Mountain Day. First started in 2003 by the United Nations, the day has become an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains and to focus on both the opportunities and challenges in mountain development. At the UIAA, the protection of the mountain environment is a central area of concern. As part of its commitment to ensuring sustainable development and use of mountains, the UIAA, through...

UIAA General Assembly 2011

On October 8th, the UIAA celebrated the General Assembly in Kathmandu, Nepal kindly hosted by our member federation  the Nepalese Mountaineering Association (NMA).  It was a great honor for the UIAA to have the Assembly opened by the President of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav . President Yadav was so kind to hand out 4 UIAA awards to 2 male and 2 female Nepalese mountaineers for their extraordinary mountaineering achievements. On Friday the 7th of October, 3 symposia...

Italian climbing legend, Walter Bonatti, dies

Walter Bonatti, one of the greatest mountaineers of the 20th century - and UIAA honorary member, passed away on September 13 in Rome. Walter Bonatti was born on 22nd June, 1930 in Bergamo, Italy. His first big ascent was the north face of the Grandes Jorasses , Pointe Walker in the Mount Blanc range. When he was only 19 he started training to become a mountain guide. In 1951 he did the first ascent of the East...

The “enduring legacy” of Alan Blackshaw

Former UIAA president Alan Blackshaw passed away on August 4 in hospital in Inverness, Scotland. He was born in Liverpool on April 7, 1933. The following tribute to Blackshaw about his contributions to the UIAA is by Dave Morris, a former President of the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission: For over 20 years Alan Blackshaw was a major contributor to the work of the UIAA, from when he first represented the British Mountaineering Council on the UIAA Mountaineering Commission in the mid...

UIAA to reaffirm commitment to Kathmandu declaration

Ahead of the 2011 UIAA General Assembly in Kathmandu, Nepal (October 5-8), the UIAA President, Mike Mortimer, spells out the reason for holding the event in the Himalayan nation and the challenges facing the world’s international mountaineering body. Nepal: How important is it to hold this year's GA in Nepal? What kind of message will holding the event in the home of some of the world's biggest and most iconic mountains send to the international mountaineering...