Covid and the outdoors: BMC guidance

On 18 May, UIAA full member, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) published the following guidance regarding Covid-19 and the outdoors. There's been a lot of speculation lately about how the virus is transmitted, especially when it comes to the outdoors. Sarah Stirling talks to Professor Ian Hall of Nottingham University to find out all the answers: Is 2m far enough? Is it a good idea to wear a buff in the outdoors? How long does the...

MOUNTAIN SPORT ADVICE FOR PORTUGAL

The following updates has been provided by João Paulo Queirós, Corresponding Member of the UIAA Access Commission, regarding the activities of FCMP, Federacao De Campismo E Montanhismo De Portgual - Upd, UIAA Associate Member. The FCMP advice has been produced by the federation's dedicated Working Group on Safety and Risk (Grupo de Trabalho de Segurança e Risco da FCMP). UPDATE: 18-31 May, 2020 Queirós has kindly provided a translation of the federation’s recommendations for mountain sports covering the...

ROMANIA: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MOUNTAIN ACTIVITIES

The Romanian Alpine Club has published its recommendations for carrying out mountain activities in the context of COVID 19. The below is a translation from the original article in Romanian. Given that it is possible that the relaxation, from May 15, of the isolation measures implemented during the COVID-19 epidemic will produce a major influx of  users to the mountain trails in Romania, the Romanian Alpine Club has produced a a set of recommendations. We started to build...

CLIMBING HIGHER THANKS TO VERTICAL-LIFE

This season’s UIAA World Ice Climbing Tour continued to feature some star-studded performances from many of the world’s leading climbers. However, there was also a notable development away from the ice, with the introduction of Vertical-Life’s (VL) results system helping to shape and improve coverage and live data from the competition. Based in Brixen, in the Italian province of South Tyrol, VL envisions and develops innovative software solutions for the climbing industry. Since its foundation in 2013,...

NORWAY: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLIMBING ACTIVITY

The following information is courtesy of UIAA Associate Member, Norges Klatreforbund – The Norwegian Climbing Federation. They have set up a dedicated Covid-19 portal which includes: New Recommendations for Climbing Activity (May 14): https://klatring.no/file/727 New infection prevention counselor for Norwegian Sports (launched May 11): https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/nyheter/2020/ny-smittevernveileder-i-norsk-idrett-opner-for-contact-between-the- least-and- ball-is-acquitted / Common sports recommendations from NIF (updated May 7): https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/nyheter/2020/NIFs-anbefaling-til-utovelse-av-sportretactitet/ The Norwegian Sports Federation's general information about corona: https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/tema/koronavirus/ Here you will find FAQs, specifically aimed at clubs and athletes: https://www.idrettsforbundet.no/nyheter/2020/viktig-information-forrorende-koronavirus/ The information is in Norwegian. Google offers an English...

SPAIN: POST-COVID RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MOUNTAIN SPORTS

The following update has been provided by UIAA full member, FEDME –Federación Española De Deportes De Montaña Y Escalada. It follows their initial communication on 7 April. The following articles are all in Spanish. Statement to support Mountain Huts https://issuu.com/bibliotecafedme/docs/6_declaracion_de_apoyo_a_los_refugios_demonta_a_-_ Statement to support Rural Villages and economy or Rural Areas https://issuu.com/bibliotecafedme/docs/7_borrador_comunicado_federacion_apoyo_zonas_rural Documents: Recommendations post-Covid for Mountain Sports https://issuu.com/bibliotecafedme/docs/informe_recomendaciones_post-covid_deportes_de_mon Recomentations post-Covid for Mountain Sports Installations https://issuu.com/bibliotecafedme/docs/informe_recomendaciones_post-covid_instalaciones_d    ...

UIAA LAUNCHES COVID-19 FUNDRAISING SUPPORT

The impact of Covid-19 will be felt for many months, and even years to come. The climbing industry and outdoor world will be significantly affected. Cancellation of competitions, entire climbing seasons and expeditions; loss of sponsorship income and other revenue streams; the closing down of huts, hotels, resorts and restaurants (temporary and permanent); restrictions on access and transport; and not to mention the human impact – illness, job losses, financial concerns – present many challenges...

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES PROVIDED BY GERMAN ALPINE CLUB

The German Alpine Club (DAV) has produced a number of excellent resources concerning climbing and Covid-19. One sub-site provides access to articles related to climbing during lockdown. The second, launched on 14 May, deals more closely with the relaxing of measures and guidance for safely returning to climbing and the mountains. Amongst the subjects addressed are the opening of huts (including huts in Bavaria and Austria), how to respect specific rules as well as guidance for different...

SITUATION IN CYPRUS

The UIAA Office received a brief update from Pavlos Georgiades, President of the Mountaineering, Climbing & Orienteering Federation of Cyprus. Georgiades is also President of the UIAA Youth Commission. “The advice the government have provided is that climbing teams are not currently allowed to train outside. Measures will change in the coming days with the announcement of those who can climb for the next two week period. We will publish further details following this next announcement....