The winners of the »Piolets d'Or« 2025 have been chosen! 

It was certainly no easy task for the international jury to select three ascents from the list of ascents in 2024 for the prizes. The winners of the three Piolets d'Or awards have now been determined.

Three golden ice axes for daring first ascents

The award ceremony Piolets d'OrThe Olympic Games, often called the Oscars of mountaineering, take place from December 9th to 12th in San Martino di Castrozza. This prestigious award aims to recognize the best mountaineer in the world. Alpine style The awards are intended to honor the level of commitment and independence demonstrated during the climb, the spirit of discovery, and the respect shown towards the environment, people, climbing partners, and the sport itself. The jury emphasizes that the prizes will not be awarded in any particular order.

Kaqur Kangri (6.859 m), Nepal Himalayas

Americans Spencer Gray and Ryan Griffiths made the first ascent of the southwest ridge (1.670 m, 5.10 A0 M7 WI5) of Kaqur Kangri in October 2024. They traversed the mountain and descended via the previously unclimbed northwest ridge.

"The Kanti Himal in remote western Nepal stretches across the border into China/Tibet, and its highest peak bears the Tibetan name Kaqur Kangri. The only photos of the south face that the Americans Spencer Gray, Ryan Griffiths, and Matt Zia could find showed only the upper part of the wall – the lower half was left to their imagination."

For eight days, the three hiked from the starting point of the road to base camp at 4.700 m. After an acclimatization climb on a nearby 6.000-meter peak, they made their first attempt on the southwest ridge in mid-October, reaching 5.800 m in a single day before a broken stove forced them to retreat. At that point, Matt Zia had to withdraw for personal reasons.

Gray and Griffiths continued their expedition and, after two days, reached the crux: eight pitches of challenging mixed terrain. On October 31, the team reached the summit. Gray and Griffiths then descended via the previously unclimbed northwest ridge and a west-facing slope.

The jury members agree that this was a technically challenging ascent in alpine style. It is characterized by the opening up of new terrain and shows other alpinists that there are still many demanding objectives for a first ascent in the less visited regions of the Himalayas.

Gasherbrum III (7.952 m), Pakistan Karakoram

Slovenian Aleš Česen and Briton Tom Livingstone announced the first ascent of "Edge of Enthrophy" on August 4th. The first line up the west ridge of Gasherbrum III.

“Česen and Livingstone launched their first attempt on the west ridge of Gasherbrum III in 2022. At that time, they had to contend with excessively strong winds and the attempt failed. Two years later, they had considerably more luck on a subsequent expedition.”

The rope team undertook three acclimatization climbs, spending a night at 7.000 meters on the last one. They left base camp on July 31 and returned two days later to camp at 7.000 meters below the start of the west ridge. The following morning, they set off to ascend the ridge, spending the night just below 7.500 meters and the next night at approximately 7.800 meters. Unable to pitch a tent at the upper camp, they had to bivouac in the open. They then bypassed the rock face with a difficult climb, possibly up to M6 at one point, reached the summit, and descended the other side of the mountain via the original route. After a night at Camp 4 (7.400 meters) on the standard route to Gasherbrum II, they reached base camp on August 6.

The jury selected Edge of Enthrophy because the west ridge of Gasherbrum III is a long, difficult, and demanding route on a rarely climbed mountain just shy of 8.000 meters. The line is a good example of "that high-quality adventures in unknown terrain are possible even on the world's highest mountains."

Yashkuk Sar (6.667 m), Pakistan Karakoram

In September 2024, Americans August Franzen, Dane Steadman, and Cody Winckler announced the first ascent of Yashkuk Sar in the Batura Muztagh (Pakistan) via the north pillar. Their route is called "Tiger Lily Buttress" (2.000 m, AI5+, M6, A0).

The three mountaineers traveled independently to northern Pakistan, where, after a long approach through the Chapursan Valley, they established base camp at 4.000 meters. Following acclimatization climbs to neighboring peaks, including the 6.200-meter-high Sax Sar, they launched their attempt on the 6.667-meter-high Yashkuk Sar I on September 19.

The first two days consisted largely of steep ice and mixed terrain, with exposed, difficult-to-establish bivouacs at 5.600 m and 5.900 m. On the second of these days, they discovered that their planned route—a steep gully through the sheer face—was blocked by a huge collapsed mushroom. After some deliberation, however, the team managed to rappel diagonally the following morning and thus access an alternative route on the left edge of the sheer face. On September 22, the three-person rope team reached the summit ridge, where deep snow forced them to spend another night before reaching the summit the next day.

The jury praised the extremely challenging expedition and the young team, which "embodies the pioneering spirit of alpinism."

You might also be interested in this:

• Bold first ascent in alpine style on the rarely climbed Gasherbrum III
• Teamwork: Group redpoints Eternal Flame at Trango Tower

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Credits: Texts partly by: Press Statement Piolets d'Or Cover image: Piolets d'Or