The news

On 30/01/08 the European Outdoor Group announced its decision to keep the OutDoor in Friedrichshafen, Germany, until 2013.

On 29/01/2008 Florian Riegler and Herbert Klammer repeated Illuminati, the difficult mixed route (150m, M11+, WI6+) in Val Lunga - Selva Gardena, Dolomites, Italy.

From 21 – 24 January 2008 the Italo-Argentine mountaineer Rolando Garibotti and Colin Haley from the U.S.A. carried out the first traverse of Aguja Standhardt, Punta Herron, Torre Egger and Cerro Torre, one of the most coveted projects in Patagonia.

On Sunday 20.1.2008 Slovenian climbers Pavle Kozjek and Dejan Miskovic made the first ascent of Yel-la sadik on the south-east face of Jebel Misht (2090 m), Oman.

On Friday 18 January Lisa Rands made the first female ascent of The Mandala V12, one of the most famous boulder problems at the Buttermilks, Bishop, America.

Bernd Zangerl reports about his hardest boulder to-date, Anam Cara high in the Silvretta mountain chain in Austria.

On 20/01/2008 Maurizio Manolo Zanolla repeated Bimbaluna 9a/9a+ at Saint Loup, Switzerland.

On 20/01/08 Simon Anthamatten and Petra Müller from Switzerland won the first stage of the Ice Climbing World Cup 2008 in Valle di Daone. Jenny Lavarda from Italy and Markus Bendler from Austria placed second.

The first stage of the Ice World Cup Difficulty and Speed takes place in Valle di Daone from 18 - 20 January 2008.

Siurana in Spain: high in Catalonia close to Barcellona lies one of the most famous crags in the entire country, ideal as a winter climbing destination.

Andrea Arici and Raffaele Mercuriali have developed a new drytooling crag in Valsavarenche, above the famous Haston cave.

On 05/01/2008 Pete Whittaker made the first ascent of "Grandad's Slab" E7 6c on the gritstone Burbage South, England.

Over three days at the start of January Robert Jasper from Germany and Bernd Rathmayr from Switzerland ascended three immense icefalls in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland climbing over a kilometer of vertical ice in the Lauterbrunnental and Kandersteg.

The team comprised of the Italians Nives Meroi, Romano Benet, Luca Vuerich and the Kazakh mountaineers Denis Urubko, Serguey Samoilov, Eugeny Shutov and Gennady Durov has now reached Hillary Base Camp and all is set for their winter attempt of Makalu.

The 8th Kandersteg Ice Climbing Festival (Bernese Alps, Switzerland) as seen by Marcello Sanguineti.

At 14.00 on 5/01/2008 alle 14.00 ora Ettore Taufer, Giovanni Amort, Elio Sganga and Marco Farina reached the summit of Mount Vinson (4897m), the highest peak in the Antarctic.