Video: Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher commit Odyssey on the Eiger north face

In January 2026, four participants in a training group of the Austrian Alpine Club died in an avalanche in the Großarltal valley. The Salzburg public prosecutor's office subsequently investigated the group leader but has now dropped the case. The Alpine Club expresses its solidarity with its mountain and ski guide.

Italian trad climbing pro Pietro Vidi has secured the first repeat of "Drifter's Escape" (9a+, 5.15a). On October 13th, he completed Connor Herson's trad route on Stawamus Chief in Squamish. It is considered one of the hardest crack climbs in the world.

Jonas Schild and Anja Bacchetto have established a new alpine multi-pitch route on the Scheideggwetterhorn. "DüDaDo im Nirgendwo" (8a+) ascends the Epp Pillar in nine pitches. Schild achieved the first free ascent in September.

At the World Cup in Santiago, Chile, China's Zhao Yicheng and Lijuan Deng won gold in speed climbing. The final set of lead gold medals went to Janja Garnbret and the surprise men's winner, Switzerland's Jonas Utelli. All the weekend's results and the final overall ranking are summarized below.