The news

On 28/11/2009 the Danish climbers Kristoffer Szilas and Martin Ploug reached the summit of the hiterhto unclimbed Ren Zhong Feng (5800m) in the Sichuan range in China via their route Lost to Ice (TD: M4, WI4, 1300m). During that period four Hungarian climbers went missing on the same mountain.

A pleasant little crag above Positano, on the Amalfi coast, Italy, with fifteen pitches from 6a to 8a.

Albert Leichtfried and Benedikt Purner have carried out the first ascent Moonwalk WI6/M7, at 1000m the longest icefall in Austria.

Hansjörg Auer has carried out the first free ascent of Vogelfrei (8b/8b+ 400m), on the South Face of the Schüsselkarspitze, Austria.

British climber Stevie Haston has made a flash ascent of Greenspit in Valle del Orco, Italy

From 20 - 22 November the Italians Enrico Bonino, Nicolas Meli and Francesco Cantù carried out the first ascent of "Ramri Keti" (1100m, WI5+/M7/5a) up the North Face of Hama Jomjuma (5970m, Khumbu, Nepal).

Austrian Mountain Guide Albert Leichtfried has made the first ascent of La lingua pura (7c, 6c oblig, 200m) on the North Face of Monte Monaco close to San Vito lo Capo in Sicily, Italy, together with Paul Mair.

Sonnie Trotter from Canada has made the first retro-trad ascent of Prosthetics 5.13d (r/x) at Mill Creek, Utah, USA.

Registration is now online for the Austrian winter "Snow & Avalanche Awareness Camps" aimed at off-piste skiers and and snowboarders.

Interview with Samuel Anthamatten after the first ascent of the South-South-East Face of Jasemba, Nepal via their Hook or Crook (VI, 1550m, 90°, M5.

Kilian Fischhuber from Austria has repeated Des Kaisers neue Kleider (250m, 8b+) on the Wilder Kaiser, Austria.

American rock climber Dean Potter has been named Adventurer of the year by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

Young Enzo Oddo from France has repeated the 9a linkup of the boulder problem Inga with the route 7pm JP Chaud at the Gorges du Loup, France.

The last stage of the Climbing World Cup Lead, held in Kranj Slovenia last weekend was won by Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic and Mina Markovic from Slovenia. The overall World Cup 2009 was won by Johanna Ernst from Austria and Adam Ondra, Patxi Usobiaga (ESP) and Jain Kim...

Michele Caminati talks about the broken hold on Dreamtime, the legendary boulder problem established by Fred Nicole in 2000 at Cresciano, Switzerland.

This morning at 05.25 European time the dead body of Slovenian alpinist Tomasz Humar was recovered from 5600m on the South Face of Langtang Lirung (7230m, Nepal) by a helicopter with a rescue team comprised of Swissmen Robert Andenmatten and Simon Anthmatten (Air Zermatt) and the Italians Oskar Piazza and...