The Piolet d’Or awards have begun in the Italian Dolomites, and almost all the recipients and jury members, as well as several well-known climbers, have gathered in San Martino di Castrozza for three days of celebrations.
Tom Livingstone, who was awarded for his route up the West Ridge of Gasherbrum III, was unable to attend, but his partner, Ales Cesen of Slovenia, hurried back from guiding in Antarctica to make it.
Angela Benavides, left, with Ales Cesen of Slovenia. Photo: Angela Benavides
The host town plays a significant role in the event’s success. San Martino di Castrozza lies in the heart of the Italian Dolomites, within easy reach of the international airports at Venice and Milan. The local tourism board is showing the best of what Italy, and the Italian Dolomites in particular, have to offer. San Martino was one of the first popular resorts in the 20th century, hosting such illustrious visitors as Sigmund Freud.
San Martino di Castrozza today. Photo: Angela Benavides
Organizer Christian Tromsdoff, president of Chamonix’s Groupe de Haute Montagne, does his best to make this more of a celebration of alpinism than an Oscar-style competition. Tromsdoff emphasizes that the awards are given to activities, not to climbers. While being a “Piolet d’Or winner” remains a notable entry on anyone’s resumé, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. The committee announces the awarded climbs long before the ceremony takes place, so just the successful climbers and their families, plus several former recipients, are here, further removing any tension.
Cima Rosetta
Today, climbers, organizers, and a few of us journalists took a gondola to the high plateau leading to the Refugio Rosetta. On the summit of nearby Cima Rosetta (a short walk from the cable car), we met the always charming Benjamin Vedrines, who found time to be at the venue while promoting his film about his speed climb and paraglider descent of K2. By dinnertime, Victor Saunders and Masha Gordon of the UK, Olga Lukashenko of Russia, and Steve House of the U.S. had arrived. Others will show up in time for the awards ceremony tomorrow evening.
Benjamin Vedrines, back from Jannu East. Photo: Angela Benavides
Meet and greet
Today was an opportunity to speak to familiar names about their climbs. August Franzen of the U.S., one of the Yashkuk Sar team, told us about his new opportunity in Valdez, Alaska. He recently inherited a hostel from legendary local climber Brian Teale, who died in 2022. Teale felt that the young August was the ideal person to take over the hostel he ran, plus Teale’s huge archive of slides, route topos, and information about the climbs in that part of Alaska.
August Franzen. Photo: Angela Benavides
Climber and anthropologist Young-hoon Oh, one of the Piolet d’Or jury, spoke about the quickly changing social dynamics in Nepal, thanks to the booming climbing industry. And Spencer Gray of the Kaqur Kangri team gave a taste of his upcoming presentation. Yes, their expedition was about climbing a virgin face, but it was also a pursuit of adventure and remoteness in western Nepal.
Young-Hoon Oh. Photo: Angela Benavides
