Piolets d'Or 2016 moves to La Grave-La Meije

Solidarity - or team spirit in the case of alpinists - is a fundamental value in the mountains, and the Piolets d’Or will shine a spotlight on a mountain region that has been hard hit by a natural disaster: the destruction of the road linking La Grave and the surrounding communities with Grenoble.

Come and join us in La Grave/La Meije from the 14th to the 17th of April to share in this Adventure with a capital ‘A’! Meet the alpinists who have made the world’s greatest ascents of the past year, and discover the cultural riches and heritage of Great Alpinism.

Alpinism is much more than a sport, and the Piolets d’Or is not a competition. We recognise and celebrate timeless shared values like respect, sharing, team spirit, boldness and commitment, innovation, and technical difficulty.

This is a public cultural event that highlights the elegance of alpine style climbing and its rich heritage on a worldwide scale. We seek to encourage the spirit of international cultural exchange in an era when insularity is too often the order of the day.

We believe that these intense experiences are even better when they are shared with others, so mark your calendars for the 14th through the 17th of April 2016, at the foot of La Meije!

La Meije
La Meije is an emblematic summit for alpinism and the history of the activity. It was first climbed in 1877, making it the last great summit of the Alps to be conquered, 12 years after the first ascent of the Matterhorn. And the first ascent was made by a local hero, Monsieur Gaspard from St. Christophe en Oisans.


13/04/2015 - Piolet d'Or 2015: the grande finale at Courmayeur
On Saturday 11 April the awards ceremony of the 23rd Piolet d'Or, the Oscars of alpinism, were held at Courmayeur, Italy. Americans Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold, Russians Aleksander Gukov and Aleksey Lonchinsky and Slovenians Marko Prezelj, Ales Cesen and Luka Lindic were awarded the Piolet d'Or 2015. Britain’s Chris Bonington received the Piolet d'Or Carrière.