We are delighted to announce that the Piolets d'Or will take place from November 17-20. For the second consecutive year it will be held in Briançon, France - the highest city in Europe.
The 2021 event, which was ultimately able to take place face-to-face despite the vagaries of COVID-19 (revisit the award ceremony here), was very successful and allowed us also to celebrate three decades of Piolets d’Or (the book detailing the 30-year history can be ordered here).
We return enthusiastically in 2022 to Briançonnais for an event that promises to exemplify high-standard, modern alpinism: the year 2021 was rich with significant achievements, not only on the high peaks of the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan, but also in the wild but lower altitude regions of Alaska, Greenland, and Patagonia. The programme will feature films, discussion panels, a book fair, outdoor excursions, and – of course – the gala evening and award ceremony held in the Briançon Theatre.
The Piolets d’Or celebrates alpine-style climbing and commitment, championing exploration, innovation and great team spirit. It supports a widespread modern mountaineering philosophy of trying to do more with less, and where climbing in “good style” is generally more important than attaining the goal. Rejected are supplementary aids that would compromise the purity of the ascent and diminish the intensity of the experience, such as bottled oxygen, fixed ropes, and high-altitude porters.
On the world’s great peaks, mountaineering teams (and even their families) are often multi-national. Faced with the disaster of war, notably that in Ukraine but also in other countries such as Mali, Syria and Yemen, the Piolets d’Or will continue to maintain a spirit of intercultural openness. It is completely out of the question for us to segregate achievements according to nationality. We will, therefore, be happy to meet mountaineers from all over the world at the end of November in Briançon.
The city of Briançon provides an ideal base camp for mountaineers. It is surrounded by ranges of limestone and granite, including the Ecrins National Park in which there are famous summits such as La Meije, the last of the great peaks to be climbed in the Alps. You can also come this summer and enjoy the magical setting, for example during the World Cup climbing competition, or the "mountain" stages of the Tour de France, which will start on July 14 from the old town of the Cité Vauban.
