58 ascents carried out in 2018 have been included in the Big list, from which winners will be selected for the Piolets d’Or , the prestigious mountaineering award that will be celebrated from 19 - 22 September 2019 during the Ladek Mountain Festival in Poland. The jury is comprised of: Sandy Allan, Kazu Amano, Valeri Babanov, Jordi Corominas, Fred Degoulet, Ines Papert, Andrej Štremfelj.
The South Tyrolean mountaineer Simon Messner has made a solo ascent of Toshe III, a 6,200m mountain in Pakistan that had never been climbed before, known locally as Geshot Peak.
Mountaineering on Mont Blanc and a stone's throw from the Torino refuge: Aosta mountain guide Ezio Marlier introduces two new mixed climb on Grand Flambeau, Koala Pirla and La Vie in Rosa.
Spanish mountaineers Bru Busom and Marc Toralles report about their June 2019 repeat, despite difficult conditions, of the Slovak Direct, the famous and difficult route up the South Face of Denali (6194m) in Alaska established from 13 - 23 May 1984 by Blažej Adam, Tono Križo and František Korl.
Film premieres and top speakers feature highly in the Alpine Village program of the Arcteryx Alpine Academy 2019, the unique event from 4 - 7 July for climbers of all abilities wishing to learn more about climbing and alpinism directly at Chamonix Mont Blanc.
Ecuadorian - Swiss mountain guide Karl Egloff has set a new speed record on Denali in Alaska, climbing the West Buttress route in 7:40 and returning to his starting point in 11:44. In doing so he beat the previous fastest known time set in 2014 by Kilian Jornet Burgarda.
The award-winning film Ice & Palms that documents the extraordinary journey carried out by Jochen Mesle and Max Kroneck across the Alps by bike and of skis from Germany to Nice in France
On Tuesday morning a plane containing two Swissmen landed circa 400 meters below the summit of Mont Blanc, before being intercepted by police.
Daniel Joll, Kim Ladiges, Alastair McDowell and John Price have made the first ascent of King Cobra (550m, 5.11), a 350m variation to the famous Cobra Pillar on the East Face of Mount Barrill (2332m) in the Ruth Gorge, Alaska.
Interview with the Italian mountaineer Tomas Franchini after his solo ascent of the virgin East Face of Lamo She (6070m) in China. The 1500m new climb is called Wild Blood and was graded WI5, M5, V°, 90°
Interview with Alex Chabod, vice president of the Gran Paradiso Mountain Guides, after the decision to recommend an ascent route and a different descent route on Gran Paradiso in order to avoid queues forming on the final meters to the summit.
A group of Italian mountaineers comprised of Matteo della Bordella, Maurizio Giordani, Massimo Faletti and David Hall are about to embark on a one-month expedition to explore unchartered mountains in Pakistan.
In September 2019 the Polish mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki will receive the Piolets d'Or Carrière 2019. In the past this prize has been awarded to Walter Bonatti, Reinhold Messner, Doug Scott, Robert Paragot, Kurt Diemberger, John Roskelley, Chris Bonington, Wojciech Kurtyka, Jeff Lowe and Andrej Štremfelj.
Czech mountaineer Márek Holeček reports about his alpine style ascent, carried out with climbing partner Zdeněk Hák of the virgin NW Face of Chamlang (7321 m) in the Nepalese Himalaya. The new climb has been called UFO Line and is described as 'the hardest climb we have done together in the mountains.'
Despite challenging conditions Simon Richardson and Mark Robson have made the first ascent of five hitherto unclimbed peaks in the Stikine Range in South-East Alaska, including Peak 7180, one of the highest unclimbed mountains in the region. Richardson reports.
Anomalous spring conditions across the Alps were exploited to the max by Denis Trento who managed to ski almost every day up in the Valle d’Aosta mountains. While “seeking the best conditions rather than famous descents”, Trento’s mountaineering always starts directly from the valley floor, is fast & light and at times resorts to using a bike to reduce the approach times.
Italian mountaineer Tomas Franchini has successfully made a solo ascent of the hitherto unclimbed East Face of Lamo She, a 6070m peak in China.
Mountaineering in East Tyrol: Austrian alpinists Vittorio Messini, Matthias Wurzer and Hans Zlöbl have made the first ascent of Kitchen Window, a 'severe mixed climb' up the North Face of Bischofsmütze in Austria.
Italian mountaineers François Cazzanelli and Francesco Ratti have climbed the Cassin Ridge on Denali (McKinley) in Alaska; five days earlier the two Valle d'Aosta mountain guides had climbed to the summit vie the West Rib. Expedition members Stefano Stradelli and Roger Bovard also ascended the West Rib.
Saro Costa reports about the first ski descent of the ENE Face of Piz Morteratsch (3752m) in the Bernina range in Switzerland, climbed and skied via the Zippert / Kohler route on 23/05/2019 together with Davide Terraneo and Mattia Varchetti.
