The news

At the start of July the belays of three classic Dolomites climbs were re-equipped during a mountain rescue training session. The routes in question are Frisch Corradini and Franceschini-Esposito on Pala del Rifugio and Simon-Wiessner-Kess on nearby Cima del Coro in the Pale di San Martino mountain group.

Interview with 26 year old Swiss athlete Christian Maurer, the first to cross the Red Bull X-Alps 2009 finishing line in Monaco yesterday. Maurer spent 11 magnificent and spectacular days in the incredible paragliding and running race, one of the toughest and most extreme outdoor races in the world which...

Simone Pedeferri, Matteo Della Bordella, Lorenzo "Pala" Lanfranchi and Richard Felderer have just returned from a successful expedition to the relatively unexplored eastern Greenland where there carried out 5 first ascents. Simone Pedeferri talks about the expedition.

On 18 July 2009 the 31 year old Italian mountaineer Cristina Castagna died as a result of a fall into a crevasse at 7000m during her descent from Broad Peak (Karakorum, Pakistan). Confirmation came from her climbing partner Giampaolo Casarotto.

Climbing legend John Bachar, 52, died while soloing on Dike Wall, Mammoth Lakes, California.

The IFSC Climbing World Championships drew to a close on 05/07/2009 in Qinghai with Patxi Usobiaga Lakunza (ESP) and Johanna Ernst (AUT) winning the Lead. The Russians Alexey Rubtsov and Yulia Abramchuk won the Bouldering event, while Speed was won by the Chinese Qixin Zhong and Cuilian He.

On 19/06/2009 Maurizio Zanolla, alias Manolo, on-sighted Rock and Blues at the Olympic Wall on Kalymnos, Greece.

On 23 June the Italian mountaineer Michele Fait lost his life skiing from Camp 2 on the Cesen route on K2.

The sixth Melloblocco 2009, the world's most important bouldering meeting, broke all records from 07 - 10 May 2009. At least 2500-3000 climbers gathered in Val Masino and Val di Mello and more than 6000 people visited the valley for this happening which embodies the joy of bouldering.

From 22 - 25 April the 17th edition of the Piolets d'Or will take place between Chamonix and Courmayeur. This is possibly the most famous mountaineering award in the world, so much so that it has been defined as the Oscar of alpinism.

Interview with Simone Moro from Italy and Denis Urubko from Kazakhstan after the first winter ascent of Makalu.

The sixth and final stage of the Lead World Cup 2008 took place in Slovenia's Kranj last weekend and was won by Johanna Ernst from Austria, ahead of Maja Vidmar and Akiyo Noguchi. Klemen Becan from Slovenia won the men's event, ahead of Jorg Verhoeven and Patxi Usobiaga. Ernst and...

Interview with Nives Meroi after the summit of Manaslu 8156 m (Himalaya, Nepal) reached at 10.00 am Nepalese time on 04/10 together with Romano Benet and Luca Vuerich.

The fourth stage of the Lead World Cup 2008 took place in Imst, Austria on 20/09/08 and was won by David Lama and Mina Markovic

Basque climber Patxi Usobiaga and young Johanna Ernst from Austria win the 22nd Rock Master in Arco.

Interview with Renzino Cosson, mountaineer, mountain guide and Mont Blanc expert after the accident on Mont Blanc du Tacul which cost the lives of 8 mountaineers on Sunday 24 August. An occasion and analysis of the “rules” of nature and the spirit of mountaineering.