Our goal is to find simple, inexpensive options to manage human waste in advance base camps in Patagonia that are remote, have no septic systems or transport via helicopter sling loads....
The International Climbers’ Festival, held from 12-16 July in Lander, Wyoming (USA), has been confirmed as the winner of the 2017 UIAA Rock Climbing Festival Award. The popular five-day event welcomed over 1,000 participants including a number of recognised international climbers representing some 37 US states and 16 overseas countries from Asia, Australasia, Europe, North and South America. The UIAA Rock Climbing Festival Award was launched in 2015 and is open to climbing festival organisers who...
Throughout its proud history, the UIAA has drafted and published several groundbreaking papers and declarations designed to address critical subjects and concerns in the climbing and mountaineering world. A number of these papers celebrate notable anniversaries in 2017 including the 35th anniversary of the Kathmandu Declaration and the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Ethical Code for Expeditions. The Kathmandu Declaration, published in October 1982, ‘focused on the protection of the mountains as well as...
The International Skyrunning Federation, a unit member of the UIAA, recently held its annual General Assembly. UIAA Executive Board member Thomas Kähr was in attendance to highlight the collaboration between the two international federations. The following report is courtesy of the ISF: The 10th International Skyrunning Federation General Assembly was held on July 28th, 2017, concomitant with the Youth Skyrunning World Championships over the same weekend in the Principality of Andorra. Two thirds of the members, either directly or by proxy, were represented at the meeting, hosted by...
The UIAA Newsletter for August 2017 is now available to view. The UIAA continues to lead the way in promoting safe mountain practices. Part of this commitment is through the work of its Safety Commission, who in July 2017 published the UIAA's 23rd Safety Standard. The new entry, Standard 156, is dedicated to avalanche rescue shovels. Meanwhile UIAA members are reminded about the benefits of the Mountain Hut Exchange scheme and are introduced to the UIAA's...
The highest mountain on the Africa continent, Kilimanjaro, is one of the world’s most popular climbing destinations. As recent reports of fatalities sadly testify it also remains, often to people’s surprise, one of the world’s most dangerous. It is reported that approximately 1,000 people are evacuated from the mountain each year. Despite reliable weather and relatively straightforward access, illness and injury are commonplace. Of the 40,000+ visitors ‘Kili’ attracts each year, between 50 and 75% turn...
Between 8-13 July, 2017 in Ariège, a department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France, played host to one of this summer’s UIAA International Youth Climbing Camps. The meet comprised an enthusiastic group of youngsters from 10-14 years of age, of differing levels of climbing background. Their training under the expert guidance of regular UIAA Global Youth Summit instructors included both practical exercises such as a revision of climbing basics and outdoor practice in many of the...
The UIAA is extremely grateful to its member federation Deutscher Alpenverein (German Alpine Club), DAV, for bringing to light a sensitive subject which will be of interest to fellow UIAA members and the international climbing and mountaineering community. Over the past few months, the DAV’s Alpine Museum has been offered remains from expeditions collected in Pakistan. These refer specifically to artefacts from 1934-1937 and 1953 and include papers, pennants, film boxes, oxygen bottles and human remains. During a recent...
Mujer Montaña, one of the organisations vying for the 2017 UIAA Mountain Protection Award (MPA), is currently hosting a special set of events in the Cordillera Blanca range, Peru. This latest initiative follows four hugely successful International Mountaineering and Climbing Encounters held in Bolivia, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador since 2013. The envisaged result of this latest encounter, held from 20-29 July, is to both foster a deeper awareness of, and appreciation for, mountain ecology among the...
Supporting local communities and the recycling of tourist waste were among the main themes promoted during two recent UIAA Respect the Mountains events in the Italian Alps. Champorcher in the Aosta Valley hosted the first event on Sunday 16 July, followed two days later by a gathering in Oropa, located in the region of Biella, one reputed for its historic textile industry. Uniting both events was the organizational support of local branches of the Club Alpino...