The news

Ice climbing in China: a stunning icefall resembling a Christmas tree was first ascended on 31/01/2017 by He Chuan and Liu Yang in XianXia canyon, a branch of Linzhou Taihang canyon.

14/02/2017: The mountaineers attempting to climb Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen have returned to Base Camp. Alex Txikon, Nurbu Sherpa and Cheppal Sherpa had reached South Col at 7950m but were forced to descend due to high winds. 12/02/2017: The Everest winter expedition without supplementary oxygen led by Alex...

The video of Italian climber Pietro Biagini sending Alphacentauri sit. 8B and Scacco al Re Nero 7C/+ at Varazze, Italy.

The Spanish expedition led by Basque mountaineer Alex Txikon to climb Everest in winter and without supplementary oxygen has begun in earnest. A weather window is forecast for 14 to 18 February 2017.

On 19/01/2017 Hansjörg Auer and Reinhard Obweger made the first ascent of Freizeitstress, a new mixed climb in Ötztal, Austria.

On 08/02/2017 Adam Ondra made the first ascent of Mamichula at Oliana in Spain, a route the 24-year-old climber from the Czech Republic has graded 9b.

In November 2016 Christoph Hainz and Andrea De Martin Polo established 'November Sun' (7b, obligatory 7a, 270m), a new multi-pitch rock climb on Monte Monaco, San Vito lo Capo, Sicily, Italy.

A mixed team of climbers from Montenegro and Serbia, comprised of Nikola Đurić, Dušan Branković, Dušan Starinac, Danilo Pot and Ivan Laković, recently climbed the two highest frozen waterfalls in Montenegro: Strast (WI5+, 150m) and Mali zec (WI4, 150m) in the Tara canyon close to Dobrilovina. Laković provides the report.

Mountaineering: Italian alpinists Matteo Bernasconi, Matteo Della Bordella and David Bacci have made the first ascent of the East Face of Cerro Murallon (Patagonia). This is the second Ragni di Lecco success after the historic first ascent, carried out by Casimiro Ferrari, Carlo Aldè and Paolo Vitali.

In Val Genova (Brenta Dolomites) Luca Tamburini and Giorgio Tameni made a rare repeat of the beautiful and enormous icefall La Stangata, first climbed in 2012 by Patrick Ghezzi and Alessandro Lucchi.

On 20 and 21 January 2017 François Cazzanelli, Francesco Ratti and Jules Pession (Cervino mountain guides) made the first ascents of 'Livello Inferiore' and 'Nuovi Orizzonti', two new mixed routes in Valtournenche. Francesco Ratti reports.

Winter mountaineering: the video of the first repeat of Metanoia, carried out in December 2016 by Thomas Huber, Stephan Siegrist and Roger Schaeli, 25 years after the first ascent at the hands of Jeff Lowe in 1991.

Czech climber Adam Ondra has repeated Pachamama 9a+ at Oliana in Spain and is currently attempting a difficult new linkup at this top Spanish crag.

For organisational reasons, the date for Melloblocco 2017 has been changed. The most important climbing and bouldering meeting in the world, which has been taking place ever since 2004 in Val Masino - Val di Mello (Italy) will take place from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 May 2017.

During the first 12 stages of Rebuild Boulder, the series of informal bouldering competitions currently taking place at climbing walls throughout Italy, over 11,000 euro have been raised to help those affected by the earthquakes that rocked central Italy in August and October 2016.

Interview with Polish alpinist Marek Raganowicz who, from 11 - 26 January 2017, made the first solo winter ascent of Troll Wall (Trollveggen) in Norway by repeating the climb Suser gjennom Harryland (6/A3).