The news

A sample of carabiners and quickdraws have been tested and analised by Emanuele Pellizzari at the Italian Mountaineering Club Gear and Techniques laboratory at Taggì di Sopra, Villafranca Padovana, Padova, Italy.

Interview with New Zealand rock climber Mayan Smith-Gobat. Her ascent of Punks in the Gym at Arapiles, the Salathé Wall on El Capitan, the Nose Speed and more...

Markus Bock has made the first ascent of four hard new climbs in Germany's Frankenjura, Reunion (8c), The Obsessed (8c+), The 4 Horsemen (8c+) and Witchtripper (9a).

At Siurana in Spain Argyro Papathanasiou from Greece has send her first 8b, El Figot.

On 8 and 9 December 2012 three new routes were established up the North Face of Piz Spallone Pizzo del Becco (Orobie, Alta Val Brembana, BG); Fò di B.A.L (250m, III - WI 2 - M5), Beccati questa Goulotte (250m, II - WI 2 - M4) and Bo (250m, II...

At Oliana in Spain Silvio Reffo has sent an 8c+, while at Siurana Jacopo Larcher has redpointed his second 9a.

Pre-registration for the The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc 2013 is available online from 19 December 2012 to 8 January.

The video of Andreas Fransson and his extreme skiing trip to Patagonia during which he carried out the first ski descent of the Whillans Ramp on Aguja Poincenot.

The video of Andreas Fransson and his extreme skiing trip to Patagonia during which he carried out the first ski descent of the Whillans Ramp on Aguja Poincenot.

In summer 2012 a group of young Swiss climbers established La chute de rein (600m, 6c, A1 pendulum) on peak Whale Top (1303m) in Southern Greenland.

The video of the climbing around Djebel Zaghouan in Tunisia.

The first man to climb an 8000m peak, French alpinist Maurice Herzog, died today aged 93, as reported by the French Mountaineering Federation.

Urban Golob reports about pressing access problems at the Slovenian crags Ospo and Misja Pec.

At Moab (USA) Jean-Pierre Ouellet has made the first ascents of two difficult new climbs: Mexican Snow Fairy 5.13+ and Fisting the Crack 5.13-.

Luigi 'Gigi' Dal Pozzo passed away on Monday 10 December 2012 after a long illness. A leading climber and alpinist from the Belluno area of Northern Italy, Gigi Dal Pozzo played a fundamental role in the evolution of climbing in the Dolomites. Sandro Neri remembers the climber.

On Cerro Murallón in Patagonia Lise Billon, Pedro Diaz, François Poncet, Jeremy Stagnetto, Jerome Sullivan have made the first ascent of Sol Naciente (1000m, 7b A1 WI6 M6).