The UIAA newsletter.
10 December, 2019

For the climbers. For the world.

DECEMBER 2019: NEWSLETTER

The primary focus of the final UIAA newsletter for 2019 is tomorrow's International Mountain Day. To mark the occasion, the UIAA has produced a series of articles focusing on it longstanding work in sustainability. This commitment has been led for half a century by the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission. As well as marking the MPC's 50th anniversary, the UIAA publishes its first Carbon Footprint Calculation (2018), is recognised by the IOC for its work in sustainability and releases a statement summarising its commitment to climate change.

This newsletter also provides links to assets from the 2019 UIAA General Assembly.

The 2019-2020 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour is already underway with the first major event, a World Cup in Changchun City (China), taking place from 3-5 January.

STATEMENT

UIAA AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The impact of climate change on mountain regions was one of the core topics discussed at the 2019 UIAA General Assembly (GA) in Cyprus. This scope of this statement is to provide a summary of the UIAA’s longstanding commitment to the protection of the mountain environment and climate action, and its future goals.

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mountain protection commission

50th anniversary

In the lead up to International Mountain Day, 11 December, and to celebrate the 50 years of the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission (MPC), the UIAA takes a trip through the archives to select ten stories from the Commission’s proud history.

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international olympic committee

uiaa projects recognised as sustainability models

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched the International Federation (IF) Sustainability Project in 2016 in order to obtain an overview of IF’s sustainability initiatives, which are to identify common topics, challenges and good practices. One outcome was a series of cases studies demonstrating how IF’s are contributing to a more sustainable world. The UIAA has been recognised by the IOC for its commitment to sustainability and features both in the official Sports for Climate Action brochure and as a dedicated case study paper about the Respect The Mountains Movement (RTM).

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CARBON FOOTPRINT REPORT

INAUGURAL UIAA STUDY

As part of its commitment to tackling climate change and reducing its own CO₂ emissions, the UIAA has published its first annual Carbon Footprint Calculation. This report, covering 2018, outlines the ongoing results of monitoring and reporting of the UIAA’s carbon footprint, which is in response to its signed commitment in early 2019 and participation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sports for Climate Action.

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IMF OFFERS DISCOUNTS ON CLIMBING PERMITS FOR INDIAN HIMALAYA

NEW PEAKS OPEN

The Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) has informed the UIAA Office that for the 2020 climbing season, it will offer a 50% discount on handling charges to encourage foreign climbers to visit the Indian Himalaya. Full details are provided in the following link. Discounts vary based on altitude of peak and number of members in the party. As recently detailed in a UIAA news release and the Indian Mountaineering Foundation’s Apex Magazine, the government of India has declared 123 Himalayan peaks, located in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, open to foreigners ‘interested in obtaining a mountaineering visa for climbing and trekking purposes, in a major boost for the international mountaineering and adventure community’.

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latest updates

2019-2020 uiaa ice climbing world tour

Following some final changes, the latest calendar for the 2019-2020 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour is available. The first World Cup event will be held in Changchun City, China from 3-5 January. A full season preview will be released next week. Event pages are already published on the UIAA website.

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MEDICAL COMMISSION

HOSTS ANNUAL MEETING IN BOLZANO

The UIAA Medical Commission met for their annual meeting in Bolzano, Italy from 7-8 November 2019. Dr. Hermann Brugger and his team at Eurac Research, hosted the Commission delegates in their new facilities and organized a visit of the extreme environmental simulator “terraXcube”. MedCom, representing no less than 12 different nations and UIAA member federations, spent two days discussing ongoing and future projects, research papers and recommendations in the field of mountain medicine.

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Recent articles

Asian Alpine Associations	Latest Newsletter
General Assembly	Full Review from 2019 GA in Cyprus
MPA	SAC's Alpine Learning Project Weeks wins 2019 Award
Rock Climbing	Suru Boulder Fest wins 2019 RCFA
New Partner	BALLY to support UIAA Mountain Protection Award
Ice Climbing	A Grand Return for Pont Rouge's Festiglace
Ice Climbing	Profile on the Tomilov brothers
Sustainability	U IAA attends 2019 IF Forum
MountCom	R e view of Annual Meeting

News from UIAA Members

ALL ABOUT THE MOUNT LOGAN ICE EXPEDITION

The University of Alberta, The American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club of Canada,

The Mount Logan Ice Expedition 2020-2021 is a multidisciplinary scientific initiative that seeks to preserve, celebrate, and advance knowledge about climate and change on Canada’s highest peak. The project is organized in association with The University of Alberta, The American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club of Canada, the latter two both longstanding members of the UIAA.

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members directory

newly updated

The UIAA has updated its online members associations directory. The resource provides a rich array of information about each member association including links to dedicated articles and features, contact information, member social media channels and information about climbing in different member countries.

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Upcoming events

3-5 January

UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup

Changchun City, China Details

10-12 January

UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup

Cheongsong, South Korea Details

23-25 January

UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup

Saas-Fee, Switzerland Details

International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation

Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme

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