Piolets d'Or 2009 Winners Announced

On the 25th April this year the winners of the Piolets d’Or were announced. The award which was traditionally given to one recipient or team only has now been divided into three. Hence the change in name from Piolet d’Or to Piolets d’Or.  There are now Piolets awarded for climbs which involve exploration, commitment and technical difficulty respectively.

Britain’s Doug Scott presided as the head of the judging panel over the awards which took place over three days in Chamonix and Cormayeur. Though held in Europe the awards are open to all mountaineers and are highly international in their outlook.

The Piolet d’Or for the Spirit of Exploration went to Kei Taniguchi Kazuya Hiraide after the first ascent of the South East Face of Kamet (7756m) in the Indian Garhwal.

The Piolet d’Or for Commitment was awarded to Yusuke Sato, Kazuki Amano and Fumitaka Ichimura for an alpine style ascent of the North Face of Kalanka (6931m) also in the Indian Garhwal.

The Piolet d’Or for Technical Difficulty went to Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten for the first ascent of the North West Face of Tengkangpoche (6487m) in the Rolwaling Himalaya, Nepal.

Throughout its history the Piolet d’Or has not been without its fair share of controversy. This culminated in the 2008 awards being cancelled. To read more about why the awards were cancelled in 2008, how the awards have evolved and to see all those who were nominated for awards this year click here.

For more information on this years winners and the awards ceremony visit

www.thebmc.co.uk

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