NewsPiolet d'Or awarded to Thomas Huber and Iwan Wolf
 "Piolet d'Or" 2001 The Nominees:  Valéry Babanov (RUS) for his solo new route (1200m; 5c/6a, A2/A3, M6) on the North Face of Kangtega 6799m (Nepal). Patrice Glairon-Rappaz (FRA) for his solo ascent of "No Siesta" (7a/A2) Grandes Jorasses, 4208m (France). Mikhail Davy and Alexandre Klenov (RUS) for their new route (VI/A2) on Spantik, 7028m, (Pakistan). (see article) Thomas Huber (GER) and Iwan Wolf (SUI) for "Shiva's line" (A4/VII at 6200m) on Shivling, 6543 m, (India). David Jonglez (FRA) and Eduardo Alonso (ESP) for "Anissa" (1200m, 6b/A3) on Ketil (Greenland). Jules Cartwright and Ian Parnell (GB) for their new route on "Moonflower Buttress" (ED+) Mount Hunter (Alaska).Information: http://www.ice-fall.com/ | The German Thomas Huber and Swiss Iwan Wolf have been awarded the 10th Piolet d'Or, promoted by the French Montagnes Magazine for the most significant ascent of the year. The two mountaineers received this prestigious award for their ascent of "Shiva's line", a 1500m route ascended between 29 and 31 May 2000 on the North Pillar of Shivling 6543m, situated in the Indian Himalaya. "Shiva's line" follows a route on the North Pillar climbed in 1993 by the Italian duo Hans Kammerlander and Christoph Hainz and briefly shares a section of the "Japanese route" before continuing independently, climbing through the 400m headwall to the summit. This final overhanging section is graded A4/VII, and this at 6200m! According to Thomas Huber, "Shiva's line" is one of the most difficult routes he has ever climbed. No stranger to extremes, Thomas has made significant first ascents together with his brother Alexander such as 'El Nino' in 1998 and 'Golden Gate' in 2000, both on Yosemite's El Capitan, and a new route on the west face of Latok II (7108m) in 1997. The 'Bourse Expé Jeunes' was awarded by the French Alpine Club (CAF) to Marco Siffredi for his planned snowboard descent of Everest (the young Frenchman has already descended Cho Oyu in this manner) and to the climbers Elise Vincent and Xavier Knockaert for their planned world climbing trip.  Further information about "Shiva's line" (and splendid photos of the ascent) on the Huber brothers' website: http://www.huberbuam.de |
