New UIAA Director of Operations begins role

The UIAA is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Director of Operations. Nils Glatthard, a Swiss national based in Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland Alps, began full-time in the role on 10 July, 2017. A member of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), Nils comes from a strong mountaineering lineage. His father founded the Mountaineering School of Meiringen, and today one of his three sons, Yannick, competes as an ice climber. Nils has a strong and significant...

International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) statement on Pavel Batushev

In accordance with its strict commitment to clean climbing, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) can confirm the following: - On 28 January, 2017, during the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup event in Rabenstein, Italy, Mr Pavel Batushev, a 29-year old athlete from Russia, provided a urine sample to the UIAA Anti-Doping team. The sample was split into two separate bottles. - Both samples were transported to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory. The laboratory analyzed...

CHANGES TO DIMENSION OF THE ICE TOOL BOX

The UIAA Ice Climbing Commission reminds athletes about a new rule change ahead of the 2018 UIAA Ice Climbing season. This concerns the altering of the dimensions of the ice tool box which has changed from 30cm x 55cm to 25cm x 50cm. All tools athletes use in competition at the 2018 UIAA Ice Climbing season must comply with the new ice box dimensions. The complete Rules and Regulations for the 2018 UIAA Ice Climbing season will be...

A SEASON TO REMEMBER

Han Na Rai Song was one of the stars and standout performers of the 2017 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup season. Three successive UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup wins in the lead discipline meant she finished the five-event season on top of the podium becoming the first South Korean female to achieve that honour. It was a momentous year for the country renowned for its love of ice climbing, and one which will host the...

UIAA – NEWSLETTER, JULY 2017. NOW PUBLISHED

The July 2017 UIAA Newsletter is now available. The UIAA Safety Commission's recent meeting in Woerden, the Netherlands provided an opportune moment to reflect on the federation's commitment to mountain safety: past, present and future. A subsequent visit to Outdoor2017, the international tradeshow in Friedrichshafen, enabled the UIAA to further discussions with many of its Safety Label holders. Three years on from the publication of the UIAA paper 'Natural Rock for Adventure Climbing', Doug Scott reflects on its impact and...

MOUNTAIN ACTIVITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS

The latest in our Series of extracts promoting the UIAA MedCom’s comprehensive library of mountain medicine recommendations focuses on pre-existing cardiovascular conditions. The paper was first produced in 2012 and is available in English, Czech, Italian and Japanese. It is intended for physicians, interested non-medical persons and trekking or expedition operators. Background Literature on whether people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions should go to high altitude is limited. Making a decision depends upon what altitudes are likely to be...

NATURAL ROCK FOR ADVENTURE CLIMBING. THREE YEARS ON

The UIAA first published the ‘UIAA Recommendations on the Preservation of Natural Rock for Adventure Climbing’ in 2014. The document, spearheaded by longstanding UIAA Management Committee member Doug Scott, evaluated the history and appeal of different forms of rock climbing, and considered earlier attitudes to fixed gear. It also considered how the case for adventure climbing can be re-stated more effectively and offered guidance to UIAA member federations in developing countries on how to sustain the balance between sport and...

UIAA promotes its three pillars during OutDoor2017

Members of the UIAA office, Executive Board and Safety Commission recently attended the four-day Friedrichshafen OutDoor 2017 trade show where the UIAA ran its own stand. The 24th edition of Outdoor welcomed 965 exhibitors from 40 countries and a host of the world’s leading international brands in the climbing and mountaineering sector. The opportunity to visit OutDoor2017 enabled the UIAA to network with key stakeholders in the industry and to promote the work of its Commissions across...

ON THE FRONT LINE OF CLIMBING RISK MANAGEMENT

The UIAA Safety Commission recently convened in Woerden, the Netherlands. Hosted by the NKBV – Royal Dutch Mountaineering and Climbing Club – the three-day annual meeting united UIAA Safety Commission members from national federations, representatives from manufacturers holding the UIAA Safety Label, together with delegates from UIAA accredited laboratories. Among the subjects debated were the UIAA’s extensive work and research on anchor corrosion, the approval of a new UIAA standard dedicated to snow shovels, rim testing...

LAUNCH OF SUSTAINABLE SUMMITS CONFERENCE 2018

The fourth edition of the Sustainable Summits Conference will be held under the shadow of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France from 12-14 June, 2018. This biennial conference was conceived in the United States in 2010, with the focus of the first meeting directed on the effect of human behaviour on glaciers in Denali, Alaska. The most recent conference was held on Mount Cook, New Zealand in 2016 and organised by the New Zealand Alpine Club. The...