The news

Russian mountaineer Alexander Odintsov has been named as 2025 recipient of the Piolets d'Or Carrière. He will receive the 17th Walter Bonatti - Piolets d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award at the international festival in San Martino di Castrozza (Dolomites, Italy) in December, and follows in the footsteps of Walter Bonatti, Reinhold...

On 01/11/2025 Ross Hewitt, Will Rowntree and Sam Smoothy made the first ski descent of the 'Jones Route' on the massive East Face of Aoraki / Mt Cook (3724m) in New Zealand. The 1000m line has been graded 5.5 E4. Hewitt provides the details.

George Ponsonby from Ireland and James Price from England have added a new route to the rarely climbed Aikache Chhok (6673m), also referred to as Sia Chhish or Yain Hisk, in the Baltar valley in Pakistan. The pair formed part of a Young Alpinist Group expedition which included Anna Soligo,...

From 1-3 November 2025 the Chilean mountain guides Raimundo De Andraca and Diego Saez reached the south summit of Cerro El Brujo in the Chilean Andes, establishing a new route on this 4,460m peak.

At Sas da la Luna in the Monzoni group of the Dolomites, Maurizio Davarda, Martin Giovanazzi, and Elio Mazzalai have established 'SuPer Nava'. The route is dedicated to Simone Navarini who perished on 25 June 2025 while climbing in Brenta range.

Between 21 and 23 August 2025, Matteo De Zaiacomo, Chiara Gusmeroli and Davide Nesa established the new route 'Less is More' on the previously unclimbed northwest face of Shawa Kangri. Davide Nesa reports about the expedition to the Rangtik Valley in the Zanskar region of India.

From 12 - 27 October 2025 the Russian mountaineers Natalia Belyankina, Kirill Eizeman, Sergey Kondrashkin, Vitaly Shipilov and Andrey Vasilyev established a new route on the southwest face of Manaslu (8163m). The Russians climbed alpine style, without Sherpa support or supplementary oxygen. Anna Piunova reports.

The Piolets d'Or 2025 will be awarded to the following climbs: the west ridge of Gasherbrum III in Nepal by Aleš Česen and Tom Livingstone, the southwest arête of Kaqur Kangri in Nepal by Spencer Gray and Ryan Griffiths, and the north pillar of Yashkuk Sar in the Karakoram...

An international expedition comprised of Matej Prcin of Slovakia, Tomasz Rodzynkiewicz and Marco Schwidergall of Poland, has made the first ascent of Tumladen Sar (6,232m) in the Ghujerab mountains of the Karakoram, Pakistan. 'Flame of the west' (1800m, M5) was climbed alpine style from 21- 24 September; after the summit...

Ben Kent reports about the climbing expedition to West Greenland last summer with Robbie Milne which resulted in three big new routes: 'Optimisme' (TD+ 6b, M5, 930m), 'Duddon Valley Syndrome' (E3/4 6a, 610m) and 'Simon’s Route' (E3 6a/A1, 868m). The climbs are all located on unnamed peaks close to Lake...

On 14 October 2025 French alpinists Gaëtan Navarrete and Julien Priour made the first ascent of Khurdopin Sar (6,458m) in the Karakoram, Pakistan. The pair made their alpine style ascent via the south couloir to the west ridge and breached snow, ice, and mixed terrain up to 70°.

French alpinists Benjamin Védrines and Nicolas Jean have made the coveted first ascent of Jannu East (7,468m) in Nepal. The pair made their historic alpine-style ascent over a period of four days via the mountain's north face and summited on 15 October 2025.

The organisers of the Piolet d’Or mountaineering award have published the 'big list' of most significant and innovative climbs carried out in 2024. The honoured ascents will receive the Piolets d'Or 2025 award from 9 - 12 December 2025 during the celebration at San Martino di Castrozza (Italy).

Slovenian alpinists Anja Petek and Patricija Verdev are the recipients of Piolets d'Or Special Mention for Female Mountaineering, for their first ascent of Lalung I in the Indian Himalaya. The awards will be celebrated at San Martino di Castrozza (Italy) from 9 - 12 December 2025

Michał Czech and Wadim Jabłoński from Poland, together with Adam Kaniak from Slovakia, have made the the first ascent of Chumik Kangri (6,754m) in the Karakoram, Pakistan.

The report by Luca Vallata, a mountain guide from Belluno, who together with Fabio De Cesero established 'La Poderosa', a route that climbs the famous North Overhangs of Campanile di Val Montanaia in the Friulian Dolomites. The climb is dedicated 'to all the good people in Gaza and the West...