Paul Ramsden and Tim Miller's 'Phantom Line' Receives Piolet d'Or

The committee of the Piolets d'Or have announced their selection of awarded ascents for the 2022 calendar year. Amongst the three lines to receive a Piolet d'Or is 'The Phantom Line' (ED) on Jugal Spire (6563m), which was climbed in April 2022 by Alpine Club members Paul Ramsden and Tim Miller.

A press release from the Piolets d'Or commended the style of ascent, saying: "Members of the jury felt this was a perfect example of ambitious exploratory mountaineering, carried out in simple but effective alpine-style: two sacs, two ropes, one tent, and no ascenders, bolts or weather forecasts."

The other routes to be awarded a Piolet d'Or this year are Christophe Ogier, Victor Saucède, and Jérôme Sullivan's first ascent of Pumari Chhish East (6850m) via 'The Crystal Ship' (1,600m, 6b, A2, M7) and the first ascent of the south-southeast spur of Jirishanca (6094m) via Reino Hongo (1,000m, M7, AI5+, 90°) by Alik Berg and Quentin Roberts. You can watch an excellent short film of the awarded ascent of Pumari Chhish East below.

The women’s sailing and climbing team who made the first ascent of 'Via Sedna' (7b+, A1) on Northern Sun Spire in Renland, Greenland also received a special mention from the jury. Caro North, Nadia Royo and Capucine Cotteaux were commended both for their style of ascent and the low impact nature of this all-female expedition.

You can read more about all of these routes on the Piolets d'Or website.

The award ceremony itself is due to take place on 15 November in Briançon, France.

Alpine Club to Co-Host Autumn Expedition Symposium

After the success of this January’s Expedition Essential for Women Explorers event, the Club is once again partnering with the Mount Everest Foundation, as well as Plas y Brenin and The Arctic Club, to host an expedition symposium.

^{Mick Fowler - Prow of Shiva}

The event, which takes place from 10 – 12 November this year, will be hosted at Plas y Brenin and features workshops on a variety of essential topics including expedition kit and wilderness first aid. A number of AC members will be in attendance, with Guy Buckingham delivering a workshop on Himalayan logistics and Mick Fowler giving one of the evening talks.

Aimed squarely at those planning their first large-scale expedition, the symposium has been heavily subsidised, with non-residential places available for as little as £60 for the full weekend. Further details and booking via the PyB website. 

Honorary AC Member George Lowe Receives Piolets d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award

American alpinist and honorary Alpine Club member George Lowe has been announced as the recipient of the 2023 Piolets d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award.

^{George Lowe photographed in Tanzania in 2015 by Wikipedia user Mellowish126 and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International}

Among Lowe's many notable accomplishments are the first winter ascents of several peaks in the Grand Teton National Park, the first ascent of the north face of North Twin Peak in the Canadian Rockies, the first ascent of the Infinite Spur on Mount Foraker and the first ascent of Everest's Kangshung Face. However, perhaps his most famous climb is one he did not complete. In 1978, alongside Michael Kennedy, Jim Donini and Jeff Lowe, he made an attempt on the north ridge of Latok I, turning back just shy of the summit. It was an incredible effort, handily demonstarted by the fact that the line remains unclimbed to this day.

The 2023 Piolets d'Or ceremony is due to take place on 15 November in Briançon, France. Further details are available via the Piolets d'Or website.

AC South West Events for 2023/24

This autumn and winter, Alpine Club members in the south-west will be running a programme of six lectures/events. Two lectures and a mountain poetry evening are confirmed for 2023 with three more events planned for 2024.

The lectures will take place once a month from October to March, starting at 7:30pm, normally in the upstairs room at the Nova Scotia pub in Bristol. The planned dates and speakers are below:

11 Oct : Dave Wynne-Jones – ‘An Approach to Expeditions’
10 Nov: Bristol Climbing & Mountain Poetry Evening (Venue: John Sebastian Lightship, Bathurst Parade, Bristol, BS1 6UB)
13 Dec: Simon Richardson - Looking Around New Corners in the Alps and Canada
10 Jan: TBC
14 Feb: TBC
13 Mar: TBC

We hope to see you there!