Piolets d'Or - Mountain activities (3)
2025 edition of the Piolets d’Or in San Martino di Castrozza, in Trentino, from December 9th to 12th !

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2025 Awarded ascents & Special mention

The International Jury has chosen to make three Piolets d'Or Awards and one Special Mention. These are, in no particular order :

2025 Special Mention for Female Mountain…

This Special Mention is intended specifically to promote female alpinism. It recognises a remarkable all-female ascent from the previous year, or a female alpinist for several achievements in the previous year(s), or...

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Yashkuk Sar (6,667m)

©Dane Steadman/AAJ First ascent of Yashkuk Sar, Batura Muztagh, via the north pillar-Tiger Lily Buttress (2,000m, AI5+ M6 A0), September 19–23. Traversed the mountain and descended by the upper west face and...

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Gasherbrum III (7,952m)

©Jacek Wiltosinski/AAJ First ascent of the west ridge of Gasherbrum III, Baltoro Muztagh, via Edge of Entropy (nearly 3,000m base camp to summit), July 31-August 4. Traversed mountain by descending east...

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Kaqur Kangri (6,859m)

©Spencer Gray/AAJ FFirst ascent of the southwest arête (1,670m, 5.10 A0 M7 WI5) of Kaqur Kangri (a.k.a. Kanti Himal), Kanti Himal, October 15–21. Traversed the mountain and descended by the previously...

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About our host : San Martino di Castrozz…

www.sanmartino.com@visitsanmartino   “If you don’t know San Martino di Castrozza, you don’t know the Dolomites” claimed the well-travelled alpinist and author Gunther Langes. He was probably the best climber in the Pale di...

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2024 - Significant first ascents

This is a representative list of significant, innovative ascents from most mountain regions of the World. Whilst not every climb listed here would be considered eligible for a Piolet d'Or...

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2025 International Technical jury

Ethan Berman United States of America - age 34 A key figure in contemporary American alpine style, Ethan gained international recognition in 2021 when he was awarded a Piolet d'Or for a...

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Portraits & Tributes

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Tribute to Hiraide and Nakajima

©Piotr Drożdż “For me, climbing is about carving out my own path, not following somebody else’s route.”Kazuya Hiraide The west face of K2 (8,611 m) is one of those legendary walls shrouded...

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Tribute to Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golov…

This summer of 2024 will go down as one of the cruellest for the alpine community. We learned of the disappearance of the famous Japanese climbers Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro...

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Tribute to Archil Badriashvili

©Piotr Drożdż Georgian Archil Badriashvili died on 10 August 2024 at the age of 34. He was with some companions on Shkhelda (4,388 m), not far from Ushba, in the Caucasus...

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Tribute to François Labande

"Mountaineering is a way of life, a philosophy of life, even if I've always refused to consider that in the mountains I was on an island away from society."  The mountaineer Born...

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Sunday 17 April

Outings proposed by mountain professionals, from the environs of La Meije to the Col du Lautaret, the Vallons de la Meije, the glacier at 3,200 metres, and the south facing highlands above La Grave…

http://www.guidelagrave.com

What are the "Piolets d'Or" ?

A celebration of mountaineering

The purpose of the Piolets d'Or awards is to raise awareness about the year's greatest ascents across the world.  They aim to celebrate the taste for adventure, the bravery and sense of exploration that lie behind the art of climbing in the world's great mountain ranges. The Piolets d'Or draw their inspiration from mountaineering's rich history.  They are a celebration of a sense of partnership and solidarity, of shared experiences, and reward individual or collective achievement.

The Spirit of Modern Alpinism

More than just the recognition of a performance, the Piolets d'Or celebrates passion, spirit and values. The spirit of the Piolets d’Or draws its inspiration from the history of alpinism and the authenticity of true team spirit. The style should take precedence over the conquest of an objective.  Success is no longer about getting to the summit at all costs, employing all possible financial and technical means, (oxygen, fixed ropes, doping products, etc) or large-scale human resources (high-altitude porters or sherpas). The Piolets d’Or event encourages imagination in searching for innovative routes using a maximum of economy of means, making use of experience and respecting man and nature. The Piolets d’Or is attached to making climbing a shared and valued richness all over the world, capable of attracting the best of human ambitions whilst encompassing moral values and edifying behaviour. The Piolets d'Or event is therefore a celebration of an ethical alpinism, rich in emotion.

 

 

Les Piolets d'Or

Piolets d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2009, the first Lifetime Achievement Piolet d’Or was awarded to Walter Bonatti.  His style of mountaineering perfectly reflected the spirit of thePiolets d’Or.  He became a sort of godfather to those who would receive this award after him. In honour of the man and his spirit, it has been renamed the “Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement, Walter Bonatti Award”.

The Career Piolets d'Or was created to reward a career where the spirit has inspired the following generations, in the sense of criteria set down by the convention.
Recipients of the Piolet d'Or Career :
2009 : Walter BONATTI
2010 : Reinhold MESSNER
2011 : Doug SCOTT
2012 : Robert PARAGOT
2013 : Kurt DIEMBERGER
2014 : John ROSKELLEY
2015 : Chris BONINGTON
2016 : Wojciech KURTYKA
2017 : Jeff LOWE
2018 : Andrej ŠTREMFELJ
2019 : Krzysztof WIELICKI
2020 : Catherine DESTIVELLE
2021 : Yasushi YAMANOI
2022 : Silvo KARO
2023 : George LOWE
2024 : Jordi COROMINAS

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2025 Organizers

 

The Piolets d'Or will be held in San Martino di Castrozza, the first location in the Dolomites to host this prestigious event, thanks to the support of Trentino Marketing, the Municipality of Primiero San Martino di Castrozza, the Primiero Community, FPB Cassa di Fassa Primiero e Belluno, ACSM Group, “le Aquile” of San Martino di Castrozza, the local tourism stakeholders, the Trento Film Festival, and under the patronage of the Dolomites UNESCO Foundation.