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05.02.12: Angelika Rainer and Maxim Tomilov win big as UIAA World Cup ends in Saas Fee, Switzerland
News Release 22 January 2012 Saas Fee, Switzerland - The 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in Saas Fee, Switzerland concluded Saturday with a second World Cup victory for Angelika Rainer of Italy this year in the Lead discipline and a dramatic display of skill and strength by Russia's Maxim Tomilov in Men's Lead. Rainers victory comes about a week after her win in Cheongsong, South Korea and is significant because the Italian athlete almost quit competitive climbing last year following an elbow injury and other disappointments. Angelika Rainer (Italy) in Saas Fee Tomilov, ranked 2nd overall in last years World Cup, was the winner in Men's Lead after he put on a stunning performance to cheers from the crowd. Tomilov was the only climber to successfully reach the last panel on the climbing wall. The same event saw disappointing falls by leading contenders such as Park Hee Yong of South Korea (ranked 1st overall in 2011) and Markus Bendler of Austria (ranked 3rd overall in 2011.) Maxim Tomilov (Russia) in Saas Fee Russian climbers continued to dominate the Speed discipline with Maria Krasavina leading the pack in the Womens division and Alexey Tomilov placing first in the Mens division. Slovenian climber Matevz Vukotic was the only non-Russian climber on the podium in Mens Speed. He came third. The final results are: Women's Lead: Men's Lead: 1. Angelika Rainer (Italy) 1. Maxim Tomilov (Russia) 2. Anna Gallyamova (Russia) 2. Ivan Lyulyukin (Russia) 3. Maria Tolokonina (Russia) 3. Valentyn Sypavin (Ukraine) Women's Speed: Men's Speed: 1. Maria Krasavina (Russia) 1. Alexey Tomilov (Russia) 2. Julia Oleynikova (Russia) 2. Egor Trapeznikov (Russia) 3.Maria Tolokonina (Russia) 3. Matevz Vukotic (Slovenia) For up to date standings and results of the 2012 competition please visit the UIAA website here and the new UIAA Facebook page. The competition moves next to Champagny-en-Vanoise in France where the World Cup is being held for the first time. From there it moves to Busteni, Romania and Kirov, Russia. The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 80 member associations in 50 countries representing about 1.3 million people. The organizations mission is to promote the growth and protection of mountaineering and climbing worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection. The UIAA operates through the work of its commissions, which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the mountaineering community. For more information please contact office@theuiaa.org

05.02.12: Climbers reflect as the 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup moves to Switzerland
The European leg of the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup organized by the UIAA (International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation) begins on 20 January 2012 in Saas Fee, Switzerland. Angelika Rainer, fresh from a victory in the Lead discipline in South Korea, says shes always had a soft spot for Saas Fee where she won her first World Cup and first World Championship. Angelika Rainer of Italy Rainer said she has put behind her an elbow injury that plagued her last year and disappointments that made her think of quitting competitive ice climbing. After a good start in Cheongsong, Im quite positive, said Rainer. A video interview with Rainer can be found here. On hand will be ice climbing superstars such as Markus Bendler of Austria and Maria Tolokonina of Russia who will be looking to regain their footing after stumbling at the recently concluded first phase of the World Cup competition held in Cheongsong, South Korea. Bendler who is a veteran of 11 years of competition said hes looking to regain his concentration and fighting form after a shaky start this year. I feel fitter than before, said Bendler. A video interview with Bendler can be found here. I have to find the motivation again and I have to find my style of fighting, said Bender. It could be a good battle. The Saas Fee competition takes place in a car parking lot that has been transformed into a unique venue for an ice climbing wall, with spectator galleries that spiral around the action. Two types of competition take place in the World Cup, Speed and Lead. In Speed, spectators climb up the wall in the fastest time while in the Lead discipline spectators are judged on their ability to climb a difficult route in the best time. There are two types of winners; those who win each phase of the competition and overall winners based on the total points accumulated after events in South Korea, Switzerland, France, Romania and Russia where the World Cup concludes on 10 March 2012. The Saas Fee event will be followed by the first ever UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup to be held in France, in Champagny-en-Vanoise, followed by events in Busteni, Romania and Kirov, Russia. For details please look at the competition calendar here. For the rules of Ice Climbing competitions, please visit the UIAA website here. For up to date information please check our Facebook page. For more information on the event please contact office@theuiaa.org

05.02.12: Final results for 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup - South Korea
Ice Climbing World Cup Asian Championship CheongSong, Korea Women's Speed Finals Men's Speed Finals 1. SHABALINA, Viktoria RUS 1. SPITSYN, Ivan RUS 2. KRASAVINA, MARIA RUS 2. VAGIN, Alexey RUS 3. FILIPPOVA, Maryam RUS 3. TOMILOV, Alexey RUS Women's Speed Full list Men's Speed Full list Women's Lead Finals Men's Lead Finals 1. RAINER, Angelika ITA 1. TOMILOV, Maxim RUS 2. GALLYAMOVA, Anna RUS 2. TOMILOV, Alexey RUS 3. HROZOVA, Lucie CZE 3. PARK, Hee Yong KOR Women's Lead Full list Men's Lead Full list For results from previous years and rankings please click here. The remaining stages for the 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup are: Sass Fee, Switzerland. 20 - 21 January 2012. Registration deadline is 10 January 2012 Champagny en Vanoise, France. 2 - 4 February 2012. Registration deadline is 22 January 2012 Busteni, Romania. 10 - 11 February 2012. Registration deadline is 31 January 2012 Kirov, Russia. 8 - 10 March 2012. Registration deadline is 28 February 2012 The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 80 member associations in 50 countries representing about 1.3 million people. The organizations mission is to promote the growth and protection of mountaineering and climbing worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection. The UIAA operates through the work of its commissions, which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the mountaineering community.

05.02.12: Markus Bendler and Maria Tolokonina stumble on first day of 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in South Korea
Two stars on the world circuit, Austrias Markus Bendler and Russias Maria Tolokonina, both stumbled on the first day of competition at the UIAA 2012 Ice Climbing World Championship in Cheongsong, South Korea. I think I need a mental coach!!, Bendler good-heartedly wrote on his Facebook page as he reflected on a fall that knocked him out of the competition on Saturday and a chance to compete in the semi-finals and finals on Sunday. Markus Bendler of Austria Bendler was the winner of the Lead discipline in South Korea in 2011, an event where climbers are judged on their ability to master a difficult route in the best time. Bendler came third in the 2011 overall Lead title competition won by South Koreas Hee Yong Park There was also heartbreak in the Speed discipline when Tolokonina, winner of the overall Speed title in 2011, fell in the final round of competition on Saturday and was relegated to 8th position. Tolokonina was the overall Womens Speed champion last year. Speed climbers race up an ice face in the fastest time. Maria Tolokonina Speed is an event that is usually dominated by Russian climbers and this year was no exception with Russians taking the top three positions in Mens and Womens Speed events. Womens Speed: 1st Viktoria Shabalina - RUSSIA 2nd Maria Krasvina - RUSSIA 3rd Maryam Filippova - RUSSIA Mens Speed: 1st Ivan Spitsyn - RUSSIA 2nd Alexey Vagin - RUSSIA 3rd Alexey Tomilov - RUSSIA The Mens and Womens Lead finals take place on Sunday. Results from the competition for Lead and Speed are as follows here. From South Korea, athletes move to Switzerland, France, Romania and finally Russia. Overall winners will be determined after the final competition in Kirov, Russia, which begins on 8 March 2012. Updates are also available on the UIAA Facebook page and the UIAA website.

05.02.12: 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup in South Korea just days away
Final preparations underway on the Ice Climbing wall in Cheongsong, South Korea The arrival of athletes in Cheongsong, South Korea on Friday marks the launch of competition for the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup, the first in a series of events hosted by UIAA member federations that culminates in Kirov, Russia on 10 March 2012. This years much anticipated competitions which attract the worlds best competitive ice climbers continues a trajectory of expanding venues that is making the UIAA organized event a global competition. Interest in the sport that features Lead and Speed disciplines has grown in recent years. In Lead competitions climbers are judged on their ability to master a difficult route in the best time while Speed events see climbers race up an ice face in the fastest time. In 2011 the Korean Alpine Federation ensured that South Korea became the first Asian country to host the UIAA competition. It was also the year that saw South Koreas Hee Yong Park end the reign of Markus Bendler of Austria by winning the overall Lead title. UIAA photographer Lukasz Warzecha caught a sense of the atmosphere around the competition last year in Cheongsong, South Korea and Saas Fee, Switzerland through these photos. This year the French Alpine Club, with support from a local organizer, is hosting the event for the first time in Champagny-en-Vanoise, a scenic ski town located near the Vanoise National Park, the countrys first national park. The UIAA, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee for mountaineering and natural surface climbing, is currently considering applications to host the competition in the United States of America. Preparations are also underway by the UIAA and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Organizing Committee to showcase Ice Climbing as a cultural event during the next Winter Olympics. For details and dates on registration please visit the UIAA website. Final results will also be posted on the UIAA website as they come in. The competition calendar and event websites are listed below: Cheongsong, Korea. 14 - 15 January 2012. Registration deadline is 21 December 2011 Sass Fee, Switzerland. 20 - 21 January 2012. Registration deadline is 10 January 2012 Champagny en Vanoise, France. 2 - 4 February 2012. Registration deadline is 22 January 2012 Busteni, Romania. 10 - 11 February 2012. Registration deadline is 31 January 2012 Kirov, Russia. 8 - 10 March 2012. Registration deadline is 28 February 2012 The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 80 member associations in 50 countries representing about 1.3 million people. The organizations mission is to promote the growth and protection of mountaineering and climbing worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection. The UIAA operates through the work of its commissions, which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the mountaineering community.

05.02.12: UIAA to attend ISPO Munich trade show
ISPO Munich is considered one of the premier outdoor equipment trade shows in the world and the UIAA will be there when it begins on 29 January 2012. The event is a great opportunity for the UIAA to interact with mountain equipment manufacturers who use the UIAA Safety Label and talk to other outdoor equipment manufacturers that want to use the label. The UIAA is the sole international body that creates safety standards for mountain equipment, a label that is recognized around the world. The show is also an opportunity to meet up with sponsors such as RedFox, the Russian outdoor equipment manufacturer which recently came on board to sponsor the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup competitions that take place in South Korea, Switzerland, France, Romania and Russia. The UIAA is currently looking for sponsors for other initiatives such as the Global Youth Summit. The most recent summit took place in Khumjung Nepal. It is also looking to further collobarate with the International Mountain Summit on projects such as the development of the Mountain Protection Label. Like the world-renowned UIAA Safety Label, the UIAA Mountain Protection Label will become a stamp of authority for best practices. It will be awarded to tour operators and mountain recreation organizations that have committed themselves to live up to the requirements of the label. Please follow @ispo for regular updates from the trade show or watch here.

05.02.12: RedFox to sponsor UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup 2012
The UIAA is proud to announce that RedFox Outdoor Equipment , a Russian sportswear and equipment company, has become of a sponsor of its ice climbing program. Based in Saint Petersburg, the company founded by Vladislav Moroz and Alexander Glushkovsky, both high-level climbers, manufactures a wide range of outdoor products under a number of international brand names. Moroz said he hoped his company's involvement with the UIAA and the Russian Mountaineering Federation would give a boost to the sport and the quest for ice climbing to become an event in the Winter Olympics. Vladislav Moroz and Alexander Glushkovsky of RedFox The next Winter Olympics are being held in Sochi, Russia in 2014 where ice climbing will be featured as a cultural event. We hope that our support of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup 2012 will be a great contribution in the development of sport ice climbing all over the world, said Moroz. RedFox is behind a number of adventure races such as the RedFox Adventure Race, the RedFox Elbrus Race and the RedFox Challenge. RedFox was founded more than 20 years ago and is a leading Russian manufacturer of top quality, advanced technology equipment for extreme and outdoor sports. The UIAA was founded in 1932 and has 80 member associations in 50 countries representing about 1.3 million people. The organizations mission is to promote the growth and protection of mountaineering and climbing worldwide, advance safe and ethical mountain practices and promote responsible access, culture and environmental protection. The UIAA operates through the work of its commissions, which make recommendations, set policy and advocate on behalf of the mountaineering community. The UIAA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee for mountaineering and natural surface climbing. For more information contact office@theuiaa.org

05.02.12: Global Youth Summit held in Nepal for first time
Participants of the UIAA Global Youth Summit held in Khumjung, Nepal. Photo by Nikolay Radosnov The village of Khumjung, Nepal, that lies nestled in the shadow of Mount Everest, was the newest venue for the UIAA's expanding series of Global Youth Summit events. Organized by Dawa Steven Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Foundation and Tshering Sherpa, President Khumjung Youth Club, this year's eight day event for young climbers from Mongolia, South Africa, India and Nepal concluded on 28 November 2011. Musa Ibrahim, a young mountaineer from Bangladesh who has climbed Mount Everest attended the opening ceremony. The summit included presentations from participants about climbing in their home countries, high altitude mountain medicine and route setting training by Alex Klenov, UIAA Youth Commission member (Climbing Federation of Russia) from Kazakhstan. Bouldering and climbing sessions were led by UIAA Youth Commission president Anne Arran and supported by local Nepali instructors from NMA and Khumbu Climbing School, Phortse. Warming up for the bouldering technique session. Photo by Nikolay Radosnov The spark that has been ignited by this UIAA Global Youth Summit will undoubtedly grow in the following days, and I would love to continue in fuelling this enthusiasm by organising and coordinating new events so climbing may burn bright as a sport in Nepal, said Dawa Steven Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. Arran who developed the concept for the event with Dawa Steven Sherpa said there are plans to grow the summit in 2012. It would be great to have a longer event in Nepal next year with distinct route setting, international and festival components to take this initiative further and develop into more regions of Nepal, said Arran. There were 25 participants at the summit. The event was held at the same time as the Beat the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Action Run supported by Initiatives for Development and Eco Action Support (IDEAS,) United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the North Face. The run was held to highlight the path of destruction should there be a glacial lake outburst flood of the Imja Tsho (lake) near Mount Everest. The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF), UIAA Youth Commission and North Face were key sponsors for the Global Youth Summit. For photos of the event on Facebook please click here. Other UIAA organized Global Youth Summit events in 2011, which take place every year, included an ice climbing camp in the French Alps, a youth rock climbing and mountaineering festival in Kazakhstan and trekking and climbing camps in South Africa, FYR Macedonia and Italy. For more information contact office@theuiaa.org

05.02.12: Registration for 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup open
The UIAA has begun to accept registrations from athletes accredited by UIAA member federations for the 2012 Ice Climbing World Cup that starts on 14 January in Cheongsong, South Korea. The event is spread over a three month period and will then move to venues in Switzerland, France, Romania and Russia. The rules and regulations for the two ice climbing disciplines, Speed and Lead, are set out in the UIAA website. Athletes can register here. Please share our ice climbing trailer found here. Competition rules require each athlete to have a license stamped and signed by their federation. All registrations after the deadline will attract a penalty of 50 Euros. The competition calendar is as follows: - Cheongsong, Korea. 14 - 15 January 2012. Registration deadline is 21 December 2011 - Sass Fee, Switzerland. 20 - 21 January 2012. Registration deadline is 10 January 2012 - Champagny en Vanoise, France. 2 - 4 February 2012. Registration deadline is 22 January 2012 - Busteni, Romania. 10 - 11 February 2012. Registration deadline is 31 January 2012 - Kirov, Russia. 8 - 10 March 2012. Registration deadline is 28 February 2012

05.02.12: UIAA supports International Mountain Day
The UIAA supports the celebration of 11 December 2011 as International Mountain Day. First started in 2003 by the United Nations, the day has become an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains and to focus on both the opportunities and challenges in mountain development. At the UIAA, the protection of the mountain environment is a central area of concern. As part of its commitment to ensuring sustainable development and use of mountains, the UIAA, through its Mountain Protection Commission, is developing criteria to evaluate applications for the use of a Mountain Protection Label. Like the world-renowned UIAA Safety Label, the UIAA Mountain Protection Label will become a stamp of authority for best practices. It will be awarded to tour operators and mountain recreation organizations that have committed themselves to live up to the requirements of the label. For more information on our Mountain Protection Label, which the UIAA hopes to launch in 2012, please click here. As the UN fact sheet states, mountains cover approximately one-quarter of the worlds surface and are home to 12 percent of the human population. This year International Mountain Day will focus on the theme of mountains and forests. For more information contact office@theuiaa.org