The news

in February Scott Muir from Scotland managed to make an important first ascent 'Tsunami' M12, at the Mission Impossible Cave in Northern Italy.

On 30/03 Romano Benet, Nives Meroi, Luca Vuerich, Inaki Ochoa, Erri De Luca, Cesare Giuliani, Roberto Alloi, Mario Cedolin, Klemen Gricar, Christan Stangl, Peter Guggemos and Ivan Vallejo depart for Dhaulagiri., then Annapurna.

The Gurschen glacier (Andermatt, Switzerland) will be wrapped in plastic to prevent it from melting due to global warming.

The Bouldering Worldcup 2005 got underway in Birmingham, UK, on 18-20 March and was won by local Mark Croxall and Sandrine Levet.

On 15 March Luca Parisse repeated Karma 8a+ at Fontainebleau, Paris, France.

On 17 March Nicola Tondini and Nicola Sartori carried out the third ascent (and first winter ascent) of “Moulin Rouge” on the red-faced Roda di Vael in the Dolomites, first climbed in June 2002 by Oswald Celva and Christof Hainz.

The American Alpinist Magazine announced today that it has received Print Magazine’s 2004 Regional Design Award for the cover of Alpinist 6

A small Italian Ragni expedition has just returned from a successful 40-day trip to Chile, where it made the most of fantastic weather conditions to climb series of routes in the Azufre and Cochamó valley.

On Sunday 13 May Mirco Mezzanotte and Carlo Battel won the 15th ski mountaineering competition Sci Alpinistica Lagorai Cima d’Asta.

The eigth edition of the Festiglass du Quebec took place in Canada from 18-20 February 2005. The individual competition was won by Evgeny Kryvosheytsev.

On 24 February Massimo Farina died while ice climbing in Val di Rhemes (Italy).

On Saturday 12 February the two moutain Guides Nicola Tondini and Adam Holzknecht made the first repeat and consequently also the first winter ascent of "Loss lei, heb schun" on the massively exposed Sass dla Crusc, Dolomites.

The jury, headed by Krzysztof Wielicki, and the six candidates for the Piolet d'Or 2004 promoted by Montagnes Magazine

Saas Fee 21-22 January 2004. The Austrian Harald Berger and Petra Muller from Switzerland won the World Championship Ice Difficulty, while the Speed event was won by Evgeny Kryvosheytsev from the Ukraine and Natalia Koulikova from Russia

A fortnight ago Mauro Bubu Bole revisited Kurt Astner's cave in Valle di Landro and climbed Mister Big Ben M12

Mauro Bubu Bole and Claudia Colussi have won the 3rd stage of the Alpin Cup, held in Riva di Tures last weekend.