©Marot
The first ascent of Jannu East, Kangchenjunga Himal, via Le Sommet des Pieux (2,300m, M6 WI5) on the north face and east ridge, October 12-15. The climbers rappelled and downclimbed the route to reach the base of the mountain on the 16th.
The highest of the peaks awarded a Piolet d'Or this year, Jannu East is connected to the main summit of Jannu (7,710m) by a narrow, two-kilometre ridge. Jannu East has little prominence above the col with the main peak but has been a much-coveted objective for decades. Until very recently, most attempts had taken place on the east face, where the first, as long ago as 1991, reached above 7,000m. In 2022, Americans were the first to make a serious effort on an ambitious direct route up the steep and technical north face, and they would return for subsequent attempts in 2023 and '24. In 2024, French alpinists Léo Billon, Nicolas Jean and Benjamin Védrines also attempted the north face, but by a line further left that would reach the east ridge. They descended from 6,700m.
In 2025, Jean and Védrines returned, and in early September established a base camp at 4,700m in the valley below the north face. From here they acclimatized by ascending a 6,000m subsummit of Merra and making a one-day first ascent of Anidesh Chuli (6,808m), a nearby peak that had also rebuffed previous parties. Their ascent of the north ridge (1,140m, TD) took more than seven hours.
The pair planned a route on Jannu that would play to their proven ability to climb light and fast. On October 12, they camped at 5,100m on the glacier below the face and fixed the first pitch. Next day, they climbed 1,100m through hanging snowfields, steep snow, WI5 and a tenuous mixed pitch of M6. Much of the terrain was poorly protected. From a bivouac at 6,200m, they slanted left to reach the east ridge at 6,900m, where they spent the night. Next day, precarious climbing along the narrow and heavily corniced ridge above led to the summit. Descending their line over the next one and a half days required around 50 rappels and downclimbing.
Jannu East is a high mountain with much history, and the north face consistently steep with few opportunities for secure protection. Jury members felt it was climbed in perfect lightweight style, demanding a high level of technical competence for a successful completion. It is an excellent example of the athleticism achieved by today's modern professional mountaineers, executed in a remote and committing location.
Nicolas Jean
France
Originally from Gap (where he was born in 1998), Nicolas spent his childhood in the Ubaye valley, where he discovered the mountains, rock climbing and skiing. At just 17 years old, he climbed all 63 3,000-metre peaks in the Ubaye massif in 20 days. He also specialises in steep-slope skiing when he isn’t paragliding to go back down. A carpenter by trade but soon to become a ski instructor and mountain guide, he made a name for himself in the 2020s alongside Benjamin Védrines, both in the Écrins massif (ski traverses featuring steep slopes, or day trips up the Pelvoux, the Barre des Écrins and La Meije via technical routes) and in the Himalaya and the Karakoram. First came the first ascent of the north-east couloir (1,500 m, M3/M4, 65°) of Chamlang (7,321 m) in Nepal in 2019, followed by a speed ascent of Broad Peak (8,051 m) without oxygen in 2022. Accompanied by Léo Billon, Amaury Fouillade and Enzo Oddo, he made the first ascent of Basique (V+ A2+ M5) on Pointe Whymper on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses last winter and then this summer broke Benjamin Védrines’ record for the ascent of La Meije in 4 hours 11 minutes (there and back from La Grave).
Benjamin Védrines
France
Now aged 34, Benjamin is the most prominent French alpinist of recent years: as well as opening and repeating iconic routes in record times in the Alps, he has applied his technical skills and extraordinary stamina to the highest peaks on the planet.
Among his most notable achievements are: the first trilogy of the three great north faces of the Alps via direct routes (with Léo Billon and Seb Ratel): the Harlin Route on the Eiger, the Directe de l’Amitié on the Grandes Jorasses and the Gogna Route on the Matterhorn. Or three major north faces in the Mont Blanc massif over three consecutive days with Léo Billon: the north face of Les Drus via the Voie des Guides (M8+) in around 10 hours, the Sermon-Slavik/Rhem-Vimal route on the north face of Les Droites (M7+) in 7 hours 14 minutes, and No Siesta on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses (M8 WI6) in 12 hours. Or a solo ascent of the Peuterey Integral on Mont Blanc in 6 hours 51 minutes.
In 2022, he climbed his first 8,000-metre peak, Broad Peak, with Nicolas Jean. He returned to set a speed record on the normal route in 7 hours 28 minutes, followed by a paragliding descent. He achieved the same feat on K2 in 2024: in 10 hours 59 minutes from the advanced base camp (5,350 m) to the summit without supplementary oxygen, followed by the first paragliding descent from the summit.
He received a Special Mention in 2025, with the Piolets d’Or recognizing “the array of innovative, multi-discipline achievements over the last few years. In the context of what he has accomplished in the Alps alone, these are ground-breaking, very high performance, and strong pointers towards the future of modern alpinism”.
