Registration is open for the UIAA Global Youth event in Ariege, France. The camp takes place from 7-12 July and is open to youngsters from 16-25 years old. The main goal of the camp is to help young climbers develop their skills - on single or multi-pitches and on different types of rock. Full programme and registration details here....
The American Alpine Club (AAC) is hosting its 10th annual International Climbers’ Meet (ICM), to be held the week of 7-14 October in Yosemite Valley. The ICM offers three days of education programming, host climbers available for guidance, and, as per usual, an international cast of characters that will be crushing Yosemite. Applicants should have intermediate or advanced level experience with: Placement and removal of protection Multi-pitch rope management At least two years of technical rock...
The latest in our series of extracts from the UIAA Alpine Skills Summer handbook focuses on group dynamics and forms part of a chapter dedicated to 'Leading a Group' which tackles the way people behave and relate to others in an exacting environment which can elicit unexpected aspects of people's personalities. Groups are their own creatures, and group members with the greatest charisma, authority or self-assurance will set the tone. Some groups are very cautious, while others are quite bold...
To mark International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, the UIAA dedicated the latest instalment of its Passion for the Mountains series to exploring how, and when, a lifetime relationship with the mountain environment commenced for a number of women with close ties to the UIAA. Uniting all of these entries is the importance, and influence, of family and friendships. Hilde Aass President, Norwegian Alpine Club - Norsk Tindeklub, Norway Growing up in Norway, the mountains and nature have...
Focusing on the access landscape in five countries in 2017 - Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Poland and Spain - the UIAA Access Commission's Series continues with a brief article about Japan, submitted by Hitoshi Onodera, Commission Member from the Japanese Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association. Japan, despite being an island and a relatively small country in terms of land mass, has numerous mountainous and rocky areas. These may not be high mountains - there are several +3000m peaks and the iconic Fuji is...
The following communication is courtesy of UIAA member FFCAM (Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne) regarding the early opening of ten refuges in the Massif des Ecrins for visitors interested in cross-country skiing and other activities. Refuges will open from 24 March. A reminder that courtesy of a reciprocity agreement, climbers from member federations of the UIAA are entitled to use about 1,200 mountain huts in the entire alpine region, including those run by FFCAM, – from...
The first UIAA Global Youth Summit Event of 2018 was held in Guillestre, Hautes-Alpes, France from 18-24 February. It took the form of an ice climbing camp. The following report is courtesy of UIAA Youth Commission member and event organiser Christian Biard (FFCAM) and translated by Pierre Hullin. Many different teams were present, a good illustration of the Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne (FFCAM) involvement towards the young and towards ice climbing activities: Ice...
Application for the 2018 UIAA Mountain Protection Award opens on Saturday 24 March. Entering its sixth year, the Award is an internationally-recognised platform for sustainability-conscious and mountaineering-focused tourism and recreation-based projects operating in the mountain environment. The official opening of the 2018 Award follows shortly after a special presentation for the 2017 UIAA Mountain Protection Award (MPA) winner in Kathmandu, Nepal. The team of Mount Everest Biogas Project, led by project co-founder Garry Porter, will collect the...
Orienting yourself in the mountains in good weather poses few problems for the attentive navigator. It is, however, quite different with reduced visibility. In a thick fog, even the most seasoned mountaineer has no point of reference. Although you can navigate in bad weather with a solid command of map and compass or your GPS unit, this is a trying scenario that is best avoided. In mountain terrain with bad weather, poor visibility should lead to your abandoning your...
At their home World Cup, some of the world's leading ice climbers embraced the opportunity to end the season quite literally on a high while emerging talents offered a tantalising glimpse of what the future may hold. A superb 2018 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour, partnered by The North Face Korea, which witnessed five contrasting and enthralling World Cup events on two continents and five countries, concluded in Kirov, Russia from 2-4 March. In front of another vast audience...