South Tyrolean mountaineer Erich Abram passed away on Monday 16 January 2017 at Bozen aged 95. The talented mountaineer and climber played an important role in the 1954 Italian expedition that made the first ascent of K2.
On 7 December 2016 Maurizio Manolo Zanolla, belayed by Daniele Lira shortly before his 59th birthday, made the second ascent and first repeat of Il Mattino dei Maghi, the legendary climb first ascended in 1981 by Manolo at the crag Totoga (Pale di San Martino, Dolomites) and, until now, unrepeated.
On 29/08/2016 Christoph Hainz made the first ascent of 'Golden Pillar of Ortler‘ (max VI+ , 750m) up the SW pillar of Mt. Ortler, at 3905m the highest mountain in the South Tyrol, Italy.
From September 30 to October 4, 2016, the first Uiju Mountain Film Festival took place in South Korea. Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner was the Honorary guest, while 24 films took part in the competition. The Festival Grand Prize was awarded to Jurek by Paweł Wysoczański and the inclusion of our film "Chris Bonington - Life and climbs" provided a good reason for a trip (and a little adventure) to discover the meaning of the mountains in this great East Asian country.
PlayAlpinismo films free of charge: Asgard Jamming. The adventure of Nicolas Favresse, Sean Villanueva, Olivier Favresse, Stephane Hanssens and Silvia Vidal on Mount Asgard (Baffin Island) is an ode to happiness, climbing and discovery. The film review by Vinicio Stefanello.
Adam Ondra (Cze) and Janja Garnbret (Slo) win the 30th Rock Master Trophy at Arco via the Duel competition formula. Austria's Jakob Schubert and Max Rudigier place second and third respectively, while in the women's event Katharina Posch (Aut) placed second, ahead of Anak Verhoeven (Bel), third.
On Sunday 28 August 2016 Adam Ondra won the KO Boulder Contest of the 30th Rock Master, beating in a thrilling final Germany's Jan Hojer and France's Jeremy Bonder, joint second. Victory in the women's event went to Katharina Saurwein from Austria who beat Italy's Giorgia Tesio and Serbia's Stasa Gejo, second and third respectively.
Rock Master Festival 2016. At Arco Romain Desgranges (Fra) and Anak Verhoeven (Bel) win the 5th stage of Lead World Cup 2016. Jakob Schubert (Aut) and Jain Kim (Kor) place second, Dmitrii Fakiryanov (Rus) and Janja Garnbret (Slo) place third. Francesco Vettorata, the only Italian in the Final, finishes seventh.
On Wednesday 17 August Switzerland’s Ueli Steck, one of the most talented mountaineers in the world, will take to the stage at Passione Verticale, the classic summer festival the town of Courmayeur dedicates every year to alpinism and the mountains. The evening begins at 21:15 and will be hosted by Vinicio Stefanello of planetmountain.com.
PlayAlpinismo films: Tom, directed by Angel Esteban and Elena Goatelli, recounts the story of Tom Ballard and his solo ascents, in a single winter, of the six most famous North Faces of the Alps. But it is also and above all a spontaneous and true portrait of a unique alpinist and his unique way of taking to the mountains. The film review by Vinicio Stefanello.
Yesterday the IOC announced the Sports Climbing has been approved for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The entire sports climbing movement has waited for this news with baited breath. It is now time to celebrate, but also to continue working hard in order to be be ready for the Olympic arena in four years time.
Last week Mario Dalmaviva left us after loosing his long battle against illness. In 2000, as director of Vivalda Editori, he played a vital role in the birth of PlanetMountain.
The bodies of Italian alpinists Roberto Iannilli and Luca D’Andrea were retrieved today from the North Face of Mt. Camicia (Gran Sasso massif), Italy. Iannilli, from Ladispoli, was 62 years old, while D’Andrea came from Sulmona and was 51 years old. Both were expert alpinists. Iannilli was definitely one of the most well-known climbers from the Gran Sasso area.
PlayAlpinismo films: Touching the void by Kevin Macdonald recounts the dramatic and immortal story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates and their first ascent of the West Face of Siula Grande (Andes, Peru). A film and a story about the greatness of friendship and life. The review by Vinicio Stefanello.
At 10:00 am on Thursday 12 May 2016 Italian mountaineers Romano Benet and Nives Meroi reached the summit of Makalu, their 13th eightthousander.
PlayAlpinismo films: Nanga Parbat by Joseph Vilsmaier is the story of Reinhold and Günther Messner, of their great first ascent of the Nanga Parbat Rupal Face, of a tragedy and how a mountain can mark someone's destiny. The film review by Vinicio Stefanello.
The 13th edition of Melloblocco, the world's biggest bouldering and climbing meeting, came to a close today in Val Masino - Val di Mello, Italy. 2800 registered climbers underline the success of the event which has no other equals in the climbing world.
Third day of Melloblocco 2016: the game of climbing continues in Val Masino, marked by beauty and the Mello Karma. A staggering 2500 climbers have already registered for the biggest international bouldering competition in the world!
The report of the second day of Melloblocco 2016. 1500 boulderer have already flocked to the valley for the social Mello climbing.
For those who are lost in climbing or want to get lost climbing, the date is set from 5 to 8 May in Val Masino - Val di Mello, Italy, for the world’s most famous international bouldering meeting, Melloblocco 2016.
