NEPAL: LETTER FROM NMA PRESIDENT

The following communication was sent to the UIAA Office by Nepal Mountaineering Association President Santa Bir Lama on 28 April. It follows a previous communication from the NMA concerning Covid-19. Dear President, Please kindly accept warm greetings from Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).  COVID 19, which emerged from China at the end of 2019 and now has become one of the strongest reasons for the human loss in China, Europe, USA and other Asian countries. With the aim to...

SOLIDARITY FROM THE KOREAN ALPINE FEDERATION

The following updates have been provided by the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF), courtesy of UIAA Management Committee member and Continental Representative for Asia, Christine Pae. Dr Injung Lee, former President of KAF, and UIAA honorary member has also written a personal message. A Personal Message from UIAA Honorary Member, Dr Injung Lee Greetings from Korea. Covid-19, which emerged from China at the end of 2019 has now become one of the strongest causes of human loss worldwide including in...

TEN OF THE BEST UIAA ICE CLIMBING VIDEOS

To provide a much needed ice climbing fix during lockdown, the UIAA has selected ten of the most compelling clips, features and highlights packages from past World Cups and World Championships. UIAA ICE CLIMBING WORLD CUP DENVER, UNITED STATES Lead Finals, 2019 A record-breaking crowd (over 25,000 fans across the weekend) attended the finale to the 2018-2019 season held in downtown Denver. The lead finals, played out in front of an electric atmosphere, saw Swiss sensation Yannick Glatthard take...

AAC: MESSAGE FROM CEO PHIL POWERS

The following communication, a message from American Alpine Club CEO Phil Powers, was published on 30 April. A MESSAGE FROM AAC CEO PHIL POWERS To the American Alpine Club Community, Our world has been radically impacted by COVID-19. And, this week, it hit home for us in Golden. Yesterday, we placed nearly a quarter of our valued employees on furlough. The senior leadership team and I were brought to this decision after thorough and thoughtful forecasting and budget cuts. With...

New Brunswick Opens Rock Climbing with Covid Rules

The following article was published in Gripped on 27 April. It concerns the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. Social distancing and staying safe while crag climbing during a pandemic On April 24, 2020, the Province of New Brunswick introduced a four-phase recovery plan to COVID-19. In doing so, the Province has relaxed some of the restrictions in place. This is good news because we have received word from Range Control that CFB Gagetown land has been reopened to...

FIRST MEETING OF UIAA CCC TASK FORCE

At its 7 April online meeting, members of the UIAA Executive Board team unanimously decided to create a Covid-19 Crisis Consultation (CCC) task force - a lean, crisis-related structure, serving the interests of UIAA members wherever and whenever applicable. The CCC held its first meeting, again online, on 22 April. The meeting counted members of the UIAA EB, Management Committee, Office and individual Commissions. The CCC’s mission is to provide fast responses to queries and Covid-19-related...

Opinion position on Preacclimatisation for Expeditions to Extreme Altitude

Published by High Altitude Medicine & Biology on 17 April 2020, members of the UIAA Medical Commission have written an opinion position titled ‘Preacclimatisation for expeditions to extreme altitude’. The article was compiled during the Commission’s most recent meeting, held in Bolzano, Italy, November 2019. The paper tackles the subjects of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) prevention and intermittent normobaric hypoxia preacclimatisation. The full article, made freely available online courtesy of High Altitude Medicine & Biology, can...

CROATIA: IMPACT ON ORGANISATION

The following communication, a translation from the original in Croatian, was published by the Croatian Mountaineering Association (HPS) on 27 April. We inform all HPS members that the Office of the Croatian Mountaineering Association will continue to work every day from 9am to 3pm. During this time, information on hiking and mountains can be obtained and hiking literature, diaries, maps and articles can be ordered. In order to avoid close physical contacts, the HPS Office does not...

QUEBEC: COLLABORATION WITH AUTHORITIES

The following update is courtesy of longstanding UIAA associate member Fédération Québécoise de la Montagne et de l’Escalade (FQME) and was originally published in French on 23 April. The below is a translation. The link also provides updates to previous releases. While the situation of COVID-19 continues to disrupt everyone's daily life, the FQME wants to inform you of new developments and to make sure that its entire team is doing everything in its power to...