The winners: Bonington, Cesen, (Doug Scott), Prezelj, Lindic, Lonchinsky, Caldwell, Gukov (f.l.)

It was not surprising any more. All three teams that had been nominated for this year’s Piolets d’Or were finally awarded the Golden Ice Axes. The US climbers Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold got it for their full traverse of the Fitz Roy range in Patagonia, the Russians Aleksander Gukov and Aleksey Lonchinsky for their new route through the South Face of the 6,618-meter-high Thamserku in Nepal and the Slovenes Marko Prezelj, Ales Cesen and Luka Lindic, because they had opened up a route via the North Face of the 6,657-meter-high Hagshu in Northern India.No doubt, three amazing climbs worth to be cherished.

No more frustration

Atmospheric celebration

There had been some indications for this result. The former Piolets d’Or „jury“ had been named „technical commitee“ now. It consisted of nine top class climbers from nine different countries, one of them the German Ines Papert. The other members were Hervé Barmasse (from Italy), Kazuki Amano (Japan), Valeri Babanov (Russia), Stephane Benoist (France), Andy Houseman (United Kingdom), Michael Kennedy (United States), Raphael Slawinsky (Canada) and Andrej Stremfelj (Slovenia). They had chosen the three ascents out of a big list of 58 outstanding climbs worldwide. Last year there had been anger and frustration of those teams that had been nominated but had not got the award at the end. That should be prevented this time.

Progressive alpinism

„We want to promote alpinism ethics and to present the many several disciplines of alpinism“, Lindsay Griffin, president of the British Alpine Club and one of the persons responsible for the Piolets d’Or, said before the awarding in Courmayeur on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. „We want to celebrate climbs, not to discriminate any ascent.“ The three climbs that were awarded with the Piolets d’Or 2015 do in the words of the jury „represent modern, committing and technical alpine style climbing. They epitomize progressive alpinism and should be celebrated as such“.

A rose for the passion

Doug Scott (l.) hands over the Piolet d’Or to his old climbing mate Chris Bonington

Sir Chris Bonington, who was awarded the Career Piolet d’Or for his outstanding live achievements in the mountains, appreciated the performances of the young climbers. „The three teams we are celebrating today, they are tackling steep alpine mountain faces in the Himalayas, at altitude, in alpine style“, the 80-year-old Briton said in Courmayeur. „But they are doing it in the purest way. And therefore alpinism is most certainly not dead.“

After they all had got their Golden Ice Axes, the honoured Slovene Marco Prezelj left the stage and returned with roses for the awarded climbers. „The rose stands for the passion for climbing“, the 50-year-old told me afterwards. Marco, who has won the award three times now, remains sceptical. „The Piolet d’Or is only made of plastic“, said Marko with a big smile. 

Chris Bonington

„This award for my live achievements means a lot to me“, said Sir Chris Bonington visibly touched. „It honours not only me but also my peers and fellow mountaineers.“ On Saturday evening in Courmayeur, the 80-year-old British mountaineering legend will be awarded the „Piolet d’Or Career 2015“ for all his outstanding performances as climber and expedition leader that has been inspiring the following generations of extreme mountaineers. The previous evening in Chamonix, Boningtons achievements were presented, by himself and by his former British climbing mates Doug Scott (who got the Piolet d’Or Career in 2011) and Paul „Tut“ Braithwaite.

Real teamwork

Chris Bonington made many first ascents in UK, in the Alps, in Patagonia, in the Himalayas and in Karakoram, such as those of Annapurna II (7,937 m, in 1960) and Nuptse (7,861m, in 1961) in Nepal – or the first ascent of Ogre (7,286 m, in 1977) in Pakistan. His climbing mate then was Doug Scott. „On the last pitch, Doug had to climb a great granit eblock. It was probably the hardest climb that was even done in high mountains“, Bonington remembered. On their way back down Scott fell and broke both ankles. It took them and two other team members, who had climbed up to support them, five days to reach the base camp, by the way without food. „Doug crawled all the way back down“, said Chris. „We survived because we remained together as a team.“

Doug: „I was a lucky man“

Bonington and Scott, earlier and now

Two years ago, in 1975, Bonington had led an successful expedition to the Southwest Face of Mount Everest. Doug Scott and Dougal Haston succeeded in reaching the summit on the first route through the extremely difficult and dangerous wall. „I could not be in better care“, Doug said about Chris, the leader of the expedition. And looking back to all their joint climbs Scott resumed: „I was a lucky man to share those climbs with him.“ Tut Braithwaite, another member of the successful Everest Southwest Face expedition, called Bonington a „great ambassador for what we all do“. Not only in the past, but in the present too.

A traverse and two new routes

Such as the climbers of the three teams that were nominated for this year’s Piolets d’Or, the „Oscar for mountaineers“. Their achievements were also presented during the evening in Chamonix: The Americans Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold (who could not come to France due to other commitments) succeeded in completing the full traverse of the Fitz Roy range in Patagonia, over seven summits with a total of 4,000 meters of ascent, within five days.

The Russians Aleksander Gukov and Aleksey Lonchinsky were chosen for their new route through the South Face of 6,618-meter-high Thamserku in Nepal. They had six bivouacs in the wall during their ascent and another on descent on a different route.

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The third team that was nominated for the Piolets d’Or, the Golden Ice Axe, comes from Slovenia: Marko Prezelj, Ales Cesen and Luka Lindic were the first who climbed the steep North Face of 6,657-meter-high Hagshu in Northern India. In 1991, Prezelj and his compatriot Andrej Stremfelj had received the first Piolet d’Or ever, for their climbing of the South Face of the eight-thousander Kangchenjunga in Nepal. Later Prezelj had criticized those responsible for the Piolet d’Or. And he is still sceptical: „I think it’s impossible to judge love and passion in the mountains“, the 50-year-old said in Chamonix.

A traverse, a north face and a “shy girl”

One of the chosen climbs is the so-called “Fitz-Traverse”, which was made by Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell in February 2014. The two Americans succeeded in crossing the complete range of Fitz Roy in Patagonia. They needed five days for the more than five kilometers long climbing route over seven summits and some razor sharp ridges.

Th routes on Hagshu: of the Slovenes (r.) and the Britons (l.)

The three Slovenian mountaineers Ales Cesen, Luka Lindic and Marko Prezelj are among the top three, too. In the end of September 2014, they climbed for the first time via the 1,350-meter-high north face of the shapely, 6515-meter-high Hagshu in the Indian part of Kashmir. The two Britons Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden, who had originally planned to climb the same route, but switched to the Northeast Face of the mountain because the Slovenes were already climbing in the North Face, were „only“ nominated for the preliminary list.

The third on the podium are the two Russians Alexander Gukov and Alexey Lonchinsky. In May 2014, they climbed firstly through the 1900-meter-high Southwest Face of Thamserku (6618 meters) in the Khumbu region in Nepal, near Mount Everest. It took them eight days to climb the new route in Alpine style. Alexander and Alexey named it „Shy Girl“. They will surely tell us why, at the Piolet d’Or celebrations in April.

Piolet d’Or Career for Chris Bonington

During the event, the living mountaineering legend Sir Chris Bonington will receive the Piolet d’Or Career. As reported previously, the 80-year-old Briton will be awarded for hits lifetime achievements.

Last year, the Swiss Ueli Steck (for his solo ascent through the Annapurna South Face in Nepal) and the Canadians Raphael Slawinsky and Ian Welsted (for the first ascent of the 7040-meter-high K 6 West in Pakistan) had won the “Oscar for climbers”.