This year, the Piolets d’Or has given its Lifetime Achievement Award to Russian high-altitude climber Alexander Odintsov. The committee also awarded a special mention to the tireless French ace Benjamin Vedrines.
From Soviet to Russian
Born in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1957, Alexander Odintsov came from the Soviet school of alpinism. For decades, he excelled in the typical Soviet playgrounds: the Pamirs, the Tien Shan, the Caucasus, and the USSR championships.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Odintsov expanded his goals to the world’s big mountain faces, which, until then, he could only dream of.
At the same time, he stayed loyal to the Russian style of climbing. In 1994, he launched The Russian Way — Big Walls of the World. As the Piolets d’Or described it, the project aimed to “climb new routes on the most iconic big walls on Earth, with limited resources, in alpine or capsule style…while reinterpreting the legacy of the Soviet climbing school.” Capsule style means that a big-wall team fixes at least some pitches ahead from a camp, returning to the camp at night, if required.
Alexander Odintsov and Alexander Ruchkin on Latok III in 2011. Photo: Alexander Odintsov
During the first years of ExplorersWeb in the early 2000s, we covered Odintsov’s expeditions. They were always daring and ambitious, always on a shoestring budget, and often epic. His teams combined the best climbers of the former USSR and a younger generation who soon made history in the post-Cold War world. Among these were Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov, double Piolets d’Or recipients, who perished in consecutive expeditions on Gasherbrum IV.
The dream walls
Odintsov’s dream was to climb 10 big walls around the world, in modern yet “Russian” style. He and his teams climbed nine of them. Here is the impressive list:
- Peak 4,810m, Pamir-Alai, new route on the east face, alpine style, 1995.
- Ak-Su, Turkestan Range, new route on the north face, alpine style, 1996.
- Troll Wall, Norway, first ascent of Baltika, capsule style, 1997.
- Bhagirathi III, Indian Himalaya, new route on the west face, capsule style, 1998.
- Great Trango Tower, Pakistan Karakoram, first ascent of the west face, Russian Route, capsule style, 1999.
- Great Sail Peak, Baffin Island, new route on the northwest face, Rubicon, capsule style, 2002.
- Jannu, Nepal Himalaya, first ascent of the north face, 2003–2004 (awarded the 2005 Piolet d’Or).
- Kyzyl-Asker, Kokshaal-Too, new route on the southeast face, alpine style, 2007.
- Latok III, Pakistan Karakoram, first ascent of the west face, capsule style.
File image of Odintsov surrounded by Balti locals in Pakistan. Photo: A. Odintsov
Leaving the 10th wall to others
“With the single exception of Jannu, a long and complex line climbed siege style, every route of The Russian Way was completed in alpine or capsule style,” Piolets d’Or organizers wrote. “These climbs showed how the discipline, teamwork, and endurance fostered by the Soviet school could evolve into a modern, lightweight, and internationally connected form of alpinism.”
Odintsov never launched the expedition to his tenth dream wall, nor did he reveal which face he had in mind. However, Mountain.ru noted in a story about Odintsov that he has left the project in the hands of the younger climbers he has mentored.
“The ascent by the young team of the last unclimbed wall will symbolize the transfer of knowledge and spirit to the next generation,” the Russian media noted.
We hope to ask Odintsov about it during the Piolets d’Or ceremony in Italy’s San Martino di Castrozza in December.
Benjamin Vedrines
At 33, Benjamin Vedrines of France will receive a special mention this year. The alpinist and skier from Grenoble has already built a spectacular climbing resumé, linking outstanding climbs and ski descents all year long, both at home and in the Himalaya, without any apparent fatigue. He seems too young to obtain a career award, yet has done too many good climbs in the past couple of years to receive a Golden Ice Axe for just one of them. Explained the organizers:
Although outside the normal format of acknowledging a specific first ascent, the Piolets d’Or recognizes the array of innovative, multi-discipline achievements over the last few years by French alpinist Benjamin Vedrines. In the context of what he has accomplished in the Alps alone, these are ground-breaking, very high performance, and strong pointers toward the future of modern alpinism.
The climbs
Vedrines’ Piolets d’Or-acknowledged climbs took place between 2022 and 2024. They were:
2022:
The first trilogy of the three great North Faces of the Alps via direct routes: Harlin Route on the Eiger, Directe de l’Amitié on the Grandes Jorasses, and the Gogna Route on the Matterhorn, with Leo Billon and Seb Ratel.
Leo Billon, left, and Benjamin Vedrines on the summit of the Eiger. Photo: Benjamin Vedrines
The speed record for an ascent of 8,051m Broad Peak in the Karakoram, climbing the normal route from base to summit in 7h 28min. He then made the first descent by paraglider from the top.
2023
The first ascent of De l’Or en Barre on the south face of the Barre des Écrins (1,000m, 6a+ A1 M7 WI5+) with Nicolas Jean and Julien Cruvellier De Luze.
The Serge-Gousseault Route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses in 15 hours from Chamonix to summit, with Leo Billon.
A new record of 14h 54min for the classic ski traverse of the Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route, shaving around 1h 40min off the previous fastest time, with Samuel Equy.
The solo ascent of the Peuterey Integral in 6h 51min: from the car park in Les Etages, he reached the summit of the Aiguille Dibona via the Madier Route in 1h 24 minutes.
The first ascent of Pulsations (650m, 7c+ 7a obl) on the south face of the Meije, with Nicolas Jean and Julien Cruvellier De Luze.
Benjamin Vedrines of France. Photo: Benjamin Vedrines
2024
Three big North Faces in the Mont Blanc Range over three consecutive days: the North Face of the of the Dru via the Guides Route (at M8+) in around 10 hours, the Sermon-Slavik/RhemVimal route on the North Face of the Droites (at M7+) in 7h 14min, and No Siesta on the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses (M8 WI6) in 12h. Leo Billon completed the link-up with him.
“This is likely the first time the Guides Route and No Siesta have each been climbed in a day,” the jury noted.
The second ski descents of Herve Degonon lines on the North Faces of Ailefroide
and Pic Sans Nom, with Nicolas Jean.
Benjamin Vedrines and Nicolas Jean in the Mont Blanc massif. Photo: Benjamin Vedrines
Two remarkable first ski descents in the Écrins — the Voie des Plaques on the northwest face of the Ailefroide, and the north-northwest face of Ailefroide Orientale, with Nicolas Jean.
Ski descents of the Voie du Z, Couloir Gravelotte, and Les Corridors, all on La Meije, and the north face of Meije Orientale, in a total of just 16 hours, again with Nicolas Jean.
A new speed record on K2, climbing without supplemental oxygen from Advanced Base Camp (5,350m) to the summit in 10h 59min, followed by the first paragliding descent from the top.
In addition to Vedrines’ exceptional accomplishments, his activities often include two names with outstanding careers themselves: Leo Billon and Nicolas Jean.
Vedrines may not be the youngest ever climber to get a Piolet d’Or, but he is the first to receive the award for a three-year trajectory of exceptional feats in mountaineering.
