THE TOMILOVS: BROTHERS ON ICE

Sport is littered with well-told tales of successful siblings. From the Williams sisters in tennis, to the Klitschko brothers in boxing and the Brownlees in triathlon.  Ice climbing has its own star siblings including France’s Tristan and Louna Ladevant, Switzerland’s Sina and Lukas Goetz and Russia’s Alexey and Maxim Tomilov. The latter have been among the leading climbers in the world for well over a decade.  Having enjoyed long and storied careers, the pair can...

UIAA ATTENDS 2019 IF ATHLETE AND SUSTAINABILITY FORUM

The 2019 International Federation (IF) Forum held in the Olympic Capital Lausanne, Switzerland specifically focused on athletes. The event took place from 28 to 30 October under the slogan “for the IFs from the IFs” and covered topics from athlete welfare and mental health, the protection of clean athletes all the way to financial wellbeing. Notably, the importance of strengthening the athletes’ voice and presence within the IFs governing bodies was highlighted. The UIAA was represented...

SURU BOULDER FEST ANNOUNCED AS 2019 UIAA ROCK CLIMBING FESTIVAL AWARD WINNER

Suru Boulder Fest was confirmed as the winner of the 2019 UIAA Rock Climbing Festival Award (RCFA) during the Award Ceremony held as part of the UIAA General Assembly. The festival is supported by UIAA member association, Indian Mountaineering Foundation, with the latter’s Amit Chowdhury (also UIAA SafeCom President) accepting the Award on their behalf. The 2019 RCFA was only open to festivals from Asia. The Almaty International Rock Climbing Festival and Korea’s Trad Climbing...

ALPINELEARNING PROJECT WEEKS WINS 2019 UIAA MOUNTAIN PROTECTION AWARD

The Swiss Alpine Club’s (SAC) AlpineLearning Project Weeks was confirmed as the seventh winner of the annual UIAA Mountain Protection Award at the 2019 UIAA General Assembly in Larnaca, Cyprus on Saturday 2 November. During the GA, BALLY was announced as new partner of the UIAA Mountain Protection Award. Construyendo Vidas 2019 – Bolivia 2019 by Mujer Montana was confirmed as Best New Initiative, Mountain protection worldwide through citizen science and volunteering by Biosphere Expeditions was...

UIAA AND BALLY ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

Shortly after the confirmation of the 2019 UIAA Mountain Protection Award winner – Swiss Alpine Club’s AlpineLearning (AlpenLernen) Project Weeks – an exciting announcement was made regarding the future of the project. The 2020 and 2021 UIAA MPAs will be partnered by Bally, the Swiss luxury fashion brand, founded in 1851, with a pioneering heritage in climbing and mountaineering. [caption id="attachment_74209" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Bally Peak Outlook, Mount Everest May 2019. Copyright: Bally/Samir Jung Thapa[/caption] When Sir Edmund Hillary...

REVIEW: UIAA MOUNTCOM AUTUMN MEETING

The UIAA Mountaineering Commission (MountCom) met in Hong Kong in October 2019. The meeting, which was hosted by the China Hong Kong Mountaineering and Climbing Union (CHKMCU), was attended by 14 delegates from 11 different countries. Frederick Yu (President of CHKMCU) welcomed everyone and Shirman So gave an interesting overview of the CHKMCU, which represents 167 clubs that promote and provide training for all forms of climbing and mountaineering. Please refer to the UIAA's recent...

GA DIGITAL MAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE

The UIAA Office has produced a dedicated Guide to this year’s General Assembly in Larnaca, Cyprus. This digital publication has been created to support delegate’s planning and preparations for the event. Content includes details on the current programme and agenda as well as a snapshot of key discussion points and progress made by the UIAA during the current calendar year. A full review of the 2019 UIAA General Assembly will be published on the week of...

URGENT NOTICE – STOP USE ISSUED FOR SELECT MODELS OF PERFECT DESCENT AUTO BELAYS

The UIAA is sharing the following communication from C3 Manufacturing, published on 21 October: C3 Manufacturing, maker of Perfect Descent Auto Belays today announced a voluntary recall associated with the retraction springs in certain Model 220 Perfect Descent Auto Belays. Only units identified in the Official Notice require action and no other products have been affected. While no accidents have been reported, it is believed that a material defect in certain springs make them more likely...

RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MOUNTAIN HUT OFFERS

As one of the benefits of UIAA membership, member associations of the UIAA are entitled to use over a thousand mountain huts offering accommodation for 66,000 people across the entire alpine region – from Slovenia to Spain, including Picos de Europa, Sierra Nevada and the Apennine Mountains. Those eligible to benefit from reciprocity are offered the same overnight rates as members of the hut-owning associations; in some huts, these special conditions are up to 50...

FIRST COMMUNITY WINNER REVEALED

One of the innovations to feature as part of the 2019 UIAA Mountain Protection Award is the Community Award. This initiative provides the opportunity for the general public to recognise the projects they feel most deserving of support. Twelve projects have been shortlisted for the 2019 UIAA Mountain Protection Award. As well as promotion on the UIAA website, all nominees have been profiled on the UIAA’s Facebook channel. The four projects which attracted the highest...