The news

On 15/02/2010 Enrico Bonino and Filippo Gonnelli carried out the first ascent of Drapeaux d’enfer (95m, 5+/6, M5+, X,II) in Valle di Champorcher (Valle d'Aosta), Italy.

On 15 February Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner carried out the first free ascent of "Gorillas im Nebel" (120m, M10/WI6) in the Zillertal, Austria.

At the end of 2009 Enrico Bonino, Nicolas Melis and Francesco Cantù establised three new routes in the Khumbu valley, Nepal.

Climbing photographer Simon Carter explains the tricks of the trade in this interesting short video clip.

A three man Austrian expedition to Queen Maud Land in the Antarctica at the end of 2009 resulted in eleven first ascents.

Winter continues in full in Italy and four new icefalls have been ascened in the last couple of weeks.

Last week Andreas Proft from Germany climbed the route Path of Excess Power 8a+ at Echo Valley, Spain, without a rope and barefoot.

Daniel Woods has carried out the first ascent of The Game V16/Fb8C+ at Boulder Canyon, Colorado, USA.

On 04/02/2010 Alessandro Beber and Peter Moser carried out the first ascent of La Bella Addormentata (170m, 6+) in Valsugana, Northern Italy

Ellade Ossola interviews Swiss alpinist and mountain guide Simon Anthamatten, a key player in the mountaineering world with important ascents to his name which have their roots in his desire to maintain an "independent" alpinism.

Last weekend Dave Birkett climbed what is being hailed as one of the most important new winter routes in Britain's Lake District for the last quarter of a century, Never Ever Say Never VIII 8 or E7 5c on Scafell's East Buttress.

Will Gadd from Canada teamed up with Tim Emmett from Britain to carry out the first ascent of Spray On, a 30m ice climb at the Helmcken Falls they tentatively graded WI10.

Centercourt, the new extreme testpiece first climbed by Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner at the start of Janauary, has been repeated twice, by the Slovenians Aljaz Anderle and Klemen Premrl and the Austrians Rudolf Hauser and Helmut Holleis.

In mid-January Renan Ozturk (USA) and Cory Richards (CAN) carried out the first ascent of the Central South Buttress of Tawoche (Khumbu Valley, Nepal) in alpine style (1200m ED2 VI 5.10 M4/5).

A selection of ice climbs in Valle di Tures, South Tyrol, Italy

Hansjörg Auer and Much Mayr have recently returned from their trip to Patagonia where despite terrible weather conditions they managed to forge "Waiting for Godot" (750m, 7b) along the East Face of Central Tower to the Col which separates the Central and North Tower.