The Piolets d’Or debut in the Dolomites
San Martino di Castrozza will host the event from 8 to 10 December, thanks to organisation by the San Martino di Castrozza Primiero and Vanoi tourist boards, in collaboration with Trentino Marketing and sponsored by the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation. Top mountaineers from around the world will be present for what is considered the most prestigious mountaineering award in the world.
TWO WORLD HERITAGE ASSETS MEET
Alpinism has been included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2019 and presentation of the Piolets d’Or in the shadow of Pale di San Martino represents the perfect setting in the Dolomites World Heritage Site. This area has contributed so much to the history of Alpinism, both in terms of historic endeavours on the faces of the Dolomites, amongst the pinnacles and ledges that make them so unique, and in terms of producing some of the greatest ever practitioners of what UNESCO has recognised as “the art of climbing”.
On these rugged cliff faces, Paul Preuss, Tita Piaz, Michele Bettega, Luigi Micheluzzi, Emilio Comici, Riccardo Cassin, Cesare Maestri, Armando Aste, Georges Livanos, Pierre Mazeaud and Lino Lacedelli have traced routes that trace the history of Alpinism.
GREAT ENDEAVOURS AND ETHICAL CLIMBS
Mountaineers from around the world will visit Trentino, thanks also to support from the municipality of Primiero San Martino di Castrozza, Comunità di Primiero, FPB Cassa di Fassa Primiero e Belluno, the “Aquile di San Martino e Primiero” Alpine Guide Group and tourism operators of San Martino di Castrozza, Primiero and Vanoi. The Piolets d’Or celebrate the greatest mountaineering endeavours, but also promote clear ethical messages on alpinist practices, in line with the UNESCO classification of Alpinism as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. As the organisation writes, they “throw the spotlight on progressive alpinism: imaginative and innovative new routes, doing more with less, and building on experience.” They emphasise that “the style should take precedence over the conquest of an objective. Success is no longer about getting to the summit at all costs […]”.
A BUSY AND VARIED PROGRAMME
The Piolet d’Or is awarded by the “Groupe de haute montagne” for the greatest mountaineering endeavour of the past year. Established in 1991 by the Frenchmen, Guy Chaumereuil and Jean-Claude Marmier, since 2009 a lifetime achievement award has also been presented, going to Walter Bonatti in 2012. The particularly busy and varied programme will begin on Sunday 8 December at 5.00 p.m. and close with the awards night on Tuesday 10 December.There will be a specific session dedicated to “The Dolomites as UNESCO World Heritage Site and Alpinism as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage” on Monday 9 December at 5.00 p.m. at the Palazzetto dello Sport Base Camp venue. This will feature the Director of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, Mara Nemela, with Luca Calvi (translator and expert in alpinism and mountain areas) Christian Trommsdorff (Chairman of Groupe de Haute Montagne and Piolets d’Or organiser) hosting the session. Click here for all the details.