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.
The mountain film festival Mountains on Stage returns to the big screen with its Winter Edition! Starting November 13, 2025, the festival, centered around the themes of adventure and mountains, will be back on stage in 280 cities worldwide. The German-language tour starts on November 17, 2025, in Munich and will stop in 33 cities across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Benjamin Zörer and Lukas Waldner have achieved the first ascent of Kimshung (6.781 m) in the Langtang Himal, Nepal. Together with François Cazzanelli and Giuseppe Vidoni, they climbed the new route "DESTINY" (TD, 1.300 m, 60°, AI4, M5) via the northeast face.
Since 1923, the Austrian Alpine Club has honored outstanding mountain rescuers with the "Green Cross." This year, two Tyrolean mountain rescuers received the award, which is considered the highest and most prestigious honor in mountain rescue.
Frenchmen Benjamin Védrines and Nicolas Jean have completed another difficult first ascent in the Himalayas. In Nepal, they made the first ascent of the seven-thousander Jannu East via its steep north face—in alpine style, of course.
Jim Morrison completed the first ski descent of the "Everest Superdirect" on the north face of Everest. This includes the extremely steep and dangerous Hornbein Couloir.
This year, the "Oscars of Mountaineering" will be awarded again from December 9th to 12th, 2025. The Piolets d'Or are the world's highest award in mountaineering, presented annually since 1992. This year's awards ceremony will take place in San Martino di Castrozza in the Trentino Dolomites.
In October and November 2025, as well as in March and April 2026, mountain fans and adventure enthusiasts can see Messner live on stage in numerous cities.
Kilian Jornet has achieved his goal of climbing all 72 "Fourteeners" in the United States. Since the beginning of September, the Spanish ultrarunner and mountaineer has been cycling from one peak to the next.
On October 2, 2025, the two French alpinists Benjamin Védrines and Nicolas Jean made the first documented ascent of the remote Anidesh Chuli, a previously unexplored 6808m high mountain in the Eastern Himalayas.
Balin Miller was a climber, mountaineer, and someone unafraid of challenges. The American died in a tragic accident on El Capitan at the age of just 23.
Magnus Midtbø attempts the Matterhorn alone and with minimal preparation – and then advises others not to risk their lives like that. What responsibility do influencers have for their dangerous actions?
In September, there were two special records on the eighth highest mountain in the world: Nima Chhiring Sherpa (16) and Carlos Soria (86) were the youngest and oldest people, respectively, to reach the summit of the 8.163-meter-high Manaslu.
Polish alpinist Bartek Ziemski has once again attempted an eight-thousander descent on skis. He had previously reached the summit of Manaslu without bottled oxygen.
History has been made again on Mount Everest: Andrzej Bargiel is the first person in the world to climb to the summit of Everest without supplemental oxygen and then ski all the way down to base camp.
The big-wall route Eternal Flame is one of the most difficult multi-pitch routes at high altitude. In August, a four-person team from Germany secured one of the rare free ascents of the line on Trango Tower.
Alone, without supplemental oxygen, and in under 20 hours, he climbed from Base Camp to Everest via the South Col. The 35-year-old American set himself a daring goal. In May, he attempted three times to break Kazi Sherpa's 1998 record, but was unsuccessful. Today, he began his fourth attempt on Everest.
The two Italian alpinists Matteo Della Bordella and Marco Majori triumphed on the summit of Cerro Chaltén—better known as Fitz Roy—on September 7. At 14:30 p.m., they announced the first winter ascent of the majestic 3.405-meter-high mountain via the Goretta Pillar, just shortly after Colin Haley's first winter solo on the neighboring Cerro Torre.
The American alpinist Colin Haley made history in Patagonia: He was the first mountaineer to complete a solo winter ascent via the Ragni Route of the legendary Cerro Torre.
In the summer of 2023, Simon Gietl opened his new route "Identität" in the Dolomites – solo – in just six days. Now, together with Davide Prandini, the South Tyrolean has successfully completed the first redpoint ascent of the route on the Mittlerer Zwölferkofel.
What the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV) and the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association (NKBV) have set up this summer is a great win-win for both sides: For a week each, Dutch volunteers worked side by side with Austrian Alpine Club sections on the maintenance of alpine trails and experienced firsthand how much effort lies behind the supposedly self-evident nature of a marked hiking trail.
From August 4 to 9, 2025, Marc Toralles, Bru Busom, and Ruben Sanmartin opened a new alpine-style route on the 6.634 m high Yerupajá: "L'essència del compromis" runs along the east face and the east ridge.
From 5 to 7 August, the Frenchmen Leo Billon and Enzo Oddo succeeded in the first free ascent of the Lafaille route on the west face of the 3.733 m high Petit Dru in the Mont Blanc massif.
The 2 K2025 season was marked by difficult conditions and long waits. For weeks, bad weather prevented a summit attempt, and many teams had already left Base Camp. On August 11, a brief, stable weather window finally opened. Around 41 climbers reached the summit of K2 (8.611 m) during this time.
Ten years after the premiere of his documentary film “Meru,” Jimmy Chin, Oscar-winning extreme mountaineer and climber, was honored with the True Grit Award at the Jackson Hole International Film Festival.
Babsi Zangerl will be the second woman to be honored with the Paul Preuss Prize on September 20. Numerous renowned members of the alpine and climbing community are invited to the ceremony in Preuss's hometown of Altaussee.
She was one of the most successful biathletes, an ambitious alpine all-rounder, mountain guide, and sports scientist with her heart in the mountains. We mourn the loss of a fighter who died in an accident in the Karakoram.
That must mean something when Adam Ondra talks about the best bouldering days of his life. Two days in Aosta and the Czech climber's tick list is impressive.
Mammut is urging customers to check their Via Ferrata sets. The Skywalker Pro and Skywalker Pro Turn sets are affected. Find out here if your set might be affected and what exactly you should check.
What was already hinted at in Gorges du Loup continues in France: Laura Rogora has once again made climbing history with the onsight ascent of La Ligne Claire (8c+) in Saint-Léger.
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.
