What drives some people to push themselves to the edge and keep coming back to the world’s most rugged and treacherous mountains? DW sports journalist Stefan Nestler tells these stories and makes it clear that mountaineering is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle.

Nestler’s mountaineering blog Adventure Sports takes a special look at people who live for reaching the next peak. The blog also places a special emphasis on life in the Himalayas – both for locals and the cadres of mountain adventurers whom descend on the region each year.

The blog recently won a Sport Media Pearl Award in the Journalistic Weblog category. The contest, organized by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), is considered one of the most important international sports media awards and recognizes outstanding storytellers in sports.

Nestler dedicated the award to “climbers from all over the world who live their passion and to the mountain people who must work so hard.” But Nestler isn’t the only DW journalist being honored with awards.

Jaafar Abdul Karim, the host of DW’s Shabab Talk and other productions covering the Arab world ranked third place as Medium Magazine‘s “journalist of the year” in the category nationwide reporting. Medium said that that Karim was a “perfect mediator” between Germany and the Arab world. Karim uses a unique approach to storytelling that helps contextualize and clarify issues facing young Arabs. He also produces a video blog that keeps up with the latest issues and controversies.

Another distinction was presented by Kosovo’s public broadcaster, RTK, which honored DW’s Bahri Cani with a “Journalist of the Year” award. The journalist with DW’s Albanian department was recognized for live news reports in Albanian and Serbian, which provide a valuable service to speaker’s of both languages in Kosovo. Cani’s work also distinguishes DW as an objective and reliable source of information in the region.

Live reports from DW have been included in RTK’s morning broadcasts for more than three years. RTK also carries the Albanian edition of DW’s, Focus on Europe, along with Euromaxx, Drive it! and Tomorrow Today.

Two DW Portuguese for Africa correspondents were also recognized for their outstanding journalistic achievements and commitment to human rights. Braima Daramehat won a “Journalism and Human Rights” prize from the Observatório dos Direitos Humanos based in Guinea-Bissau. His work as director of the local youth broadcaster Rádio Jovem earned him the distinction. The station’s programming emphasizes human rights, freedom and democracy. DW’s radio dramas Learning by Ear and Crime Fighters are broadcast in Portuguese by Rádio Jovem.

Luciano Nagel, a DW correspondent in south Brazil won a Prêmio CNT de Jornalismo for his report on the working conditions for Brazilian truck drivers. Nagel has also produced stories for DW covering African refugees in Brazil.