Piolets d'Or: And the winners are … all!
It was not surprising any more. All three teams that had been nominated for this year's Piolets d'Or were finally awarded the Golden Ice Axes. The US climbers Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold got it for their full traverse of the Fitz Roy range in Patagonia, the Russians Aleksander Gukov and Aleksey Lonchinsky for their new route through the South Face of the 6,618-meter-high Thamserku in Nepal and the Slovenes Marko Prezelj, Ales Cesen and Luka Lindic, because they had opened up a route via the North Face of the 6,657-meter-high Hagshu in Northern India.No doubt, three amazing climbs worth to be cherished.
The Oscars for actors were awarded, but not yet those for climbers. From 9 to 12 April, the mountaineering community will meet in Chamonix and Courmayeur at the foot of Mont Blanc, where this year's Piolet d'Or is awarded, the Golden Ice Axe. The jury made up of nine top-class mountaineers, one of them the German Ines Papert, selected three outstanding climbs out of a list of the 58 most important ascents of 2014.