Piolets d'Or - Rakaposhi (7,788m)

Piolets d'Or - Rakaposhi (7,788m)

We are very delighted to announce that the 2024 edition of the “Piolets d’Or” will be held

in San Martino di Castrozza, in Trentino (Italy), on December 8th to 11th.

©Alessandro-Gruzza

San Martino di Castrozza, 8th-11th Decem…

We are very delighted to announce that the 2024 edition of the “Piolets d’Or” will be held in San Martino di Castrozza, in Trentino, on December 8th to 11th.

©Kenro Nakajima / American Alpine Journal

KAZUYA HIRAIDE - KENRO NAKAJIMA (JAPAN)
SOUTH FACE AND SOUTHEAST RIDGE, 4,000M FROM BASE CAMP, JUNE 27-JULY 3 ROUND TRIP FROM BASE CAMP.

The Hunza region of the Pakistan Karakoram holds a number of impressive mountains that fall only a few hundred metres short of the 8,000m mark. One of the most outstanding is Rakaposhi, first climbed via the southwest ridge in 1958. Whilst the south side of the mountain - leading to the crest of the great southeast ridge - had been reconnoitred in the past, it remained untouched, climbers unable to find a feasible route. An ascent from this less visible side of the mountain would be highly exploratory.

From a 3,660m base camp at the snout of the glacier, and in generally unstable weather, Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima climbed the south face to 6,100m, both to acclimatize and confirm that their chosen line would go.

©Kenro Nakajima

On their second outing they took three days, strenuously climbing through often deep soft snow, to reach a camp at 6,800m on the southeast ridge, where they were forced to wait two days in bad weather. After this they climbed to the summit and back in a single long day, and on the following reversed their line of ascent all the way down to base camp.

Although the route does not feature the high technical difficulties of the three other awarded ascents, its huge length, and the commitment and style of Hiraide and Nakajima's determined ascent on a rarely-climbed mountain, makes it of equal merit for a 2020 Piolet d'Or.

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The purpose of the Piolets d'Or awards is to raise awareness about the year's greatest ascents across the world. They aim to celebrate the taste for adventure, the bravery and sense of exploration that lie behind the art of climbing in the world's great mountain ranges. The Piolets d'Or draw their inspiration from mountaineering's rich history. They are a celebration of a sense of partnership and solidarity, of shared experiences, and reward individual or collective achievement.

More than just the recognition of a performance, the Piolets d'Or celebrates passion, spirit and values. The spirit of the Piolets d’Or draws its inspiration from the history of alpinism and the authenticity of true team spirit. The style should take precedence over the conquest of an objective. Success is no longer about getting to the summit at all costs, employing all possible financial and technical means, (oxygen, fixed ropes, doping products, etc) or large-scale human resources (high-altitude porters or sherpas). The Piolets d’Or event encourages imagination in searching for innovative routes using a maximum of economy of means, making use of experience and respecting man and nature. The Piolets d’Or is attached to making climbing a shared and valued richness all over the world, capable of attracting the best of human ambitions whilst encompassing moral values and edifying behaviour. The Piolets d'Or event is therefore a celebration of an ethical alpinism, rich in emotion.

Les Piolets d'Or

In 2009, the first Lifetime Achievement Piolet d’Or was awarded to Walter Bonatti. His style of mountaineering perfectly reflected the spirit of thePiolets d’Or. He became a sort of godfather to those who would receive this award after him. In honour of the man and his spirit, it has been renamed the “Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement, Walter Bonatti Award”.

The Career Piolets d'Or was created to reward a career where the spirit has inspired the following generations, in the sense of criteria set down by the convention.

Recipients of the Piolet d'Or Career :: 2009 : Walter BONATTI; 2010 : Reinhold MESSNER; 2011 : Doug SCOTT; 2012 : Robert PARAGOT; 2013 : Kurt DIEMBERGER; 2014 : John ROSKELLEY; 2015 : Chris BONINGTON; 2016 : Wojciech KURTYKA; 2017 : Jeff LOWE; 2018 : Andrej ŠTREMFELJ; 2019 : Krzysztof WIELICKI; 2020 : Catherine DESTIVELLE; 2021 : Yasushi YAMANOI; 2022 : Silvo KARO

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