As in recent years, a highlight at the 2024 UIAA General Assembly were the various panel sessions to celebrate and discuss ongoing projects under the umbrella of the UIAA.
Spread across three days, speakers both from within the UIAA and representing UIAA member federations took the stage to address the General Assembly and underlined important topics and work in progress across the vast fields of activities that mountaineering entails.
Delegates were able to enjoy an entertaining evening in a PechaKucha format, where the following speakers covered a number of topics, using 20 seconds for 20 visual slides:
On Friday and Saturday, the regular General Assembly programme was peppered with panel sessions to change the pace from standard reporting and to give detailed insight into some truly inspiring initiatives that are currently happening in the international climbing scene.
The focus was specifically the UIAA’s 7 Strategic Priorities, which are:
Speakers explained why we speak of strategic priorities rather than a strategic plan, how these emerged and what first implementation steps will be. Panelists further highlighted that many activities are already happening in the various fields and that the UIAA will continue building on some of its strengths. Light was further shed on relevance of the strategic priorities for national federations and lastly, what the next stepping stones would be. A more detailed report on the now accepted Strategic Plan/Priorities 2025-2028 is available here.
Here attention turned to three cherry-picked case studies on rock climbing and hiking. For those interested in reading more news from across the various continents, a dedicated newsletter goes out quarterly and can be subscribed to from this link.
The GA panel covered the following topics:
Young Hoon Oh, UIAA Management Board member and continental representative for Asia, provided insight into a Traditional Climbing Festival held in Jeoseungbong, South Korea. He mentioned the importance of keeping trad climbing alive, even and especially in areas where sport climbing is mostly what people chose among the mountain sports. Young Hoon Oh’s conclusion: We can build on climbing communities by organising this kind of festivals that clearly indicate that sport climbing is not everything and that risk is inherent to some forms of climbing.
Josef Klenner, UIAA Management Board member and President of the European Mountaineering Association (EUMA), highlighted the concept of a new database on trails of each kind throughout the mountainous areas of Europe which is currently being established within EUMA. The work has started and proves to be a quite challenging topic for the organisation and its partner, the European Rambler Association.
Benjamin Gabriel, Executive Director at the American Alpine Club, spoke of anchors in wilderness and how land management and restrictions are becoming more and more an issue with not always easy solutions. He further commented on the trad festival in Korea, also witnessing a strong trend towards indoor climbing across the United States and the value that the American Alpine Club sees in these outdoor and grassroots events.
Focus: Commission Projects and Achievements 2023 and 2024
There were two rounds of Commission panels, clustered around connective themes.
The first of the two focused on all things safety – training, mountain medicine and the work of the UIAA Safety Commission. Starting with a video highlighting the inaugural International Mountain Sports Training Course held in Bariloche, Argentina earlier in the year, Martin Lascano, UIAA Executive Committee member and representative of the Argentinian Federation of Ski and Andinism (FASA) shared details on the successful event held in collaboration between FASA, the UIAA and the International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM).
For a flavour of local initiatives and highlights, Stephen Farrugia of the Malta Climbing Club/Climb MT addressed his federation’s valuable collaboration with the UIAA Training Commission in establishing a Sport Single Pitch Instructor qualification in Malta. Part of the programme saw members of the local federation become more familiar with techniques and create an official module under the umbrella of their organisation.
Lastly, and connecting to the work of the Safety Commission, Stephen Farrugia spoke of aspects of bolting materials and related issues, particularly in the context of materials used in marine environments which are relevant in Malta.
Lionel Kiener, President of the UIAA Safety Commission, shed some light on the Commission’s plans to improve climbers’ safety, the newly established bolting/re-bolting/no bolting working group, involving bolting stakeholders from all around the world, and sustainability considerations that the Commission is exploring to possibly extend the shelf-life of textile products (more data is needed to make any recommendations at this point).
The second round of Commission panels focused on mountaineering and mountain protection, during which some key outputs where presented and engaged on. Notably the recently published UIAA Sustainability Charter and the UIAA’s two climate action plans – an internal one and one for UIAA member federations. The latter served as a key resource for this year’s Climate Change Summit and was workshopped together with delegates at the General Assembly. Paul Kwakkenbos and Mary Sanseverino, President and Vice President of the UIAA Mountain Protection Commission respectively, spoke of the Charter’s highlights and noted on further engagement opportunities to come in 2025.
Another key motion approved by the General Assembly was the new UIAA Declaration on Style and Ethics for Climbers, Mountaineers and Hikers. The official title of the document is to be confirmed. It will be released shortly. Greg Moseley and Victor Saunders, President and Vice President of the UIAA Mountaineering Commission respectively, shared some personal examples of how such a declaration comes to life, in that its principles can actually guide our climbs and endevours wherever one decides to engage in mountain activities.
Mary Sanseverino ended the panel in raising awareness about 2025 being declared the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation by the United Nations and listed a number of engagement opportunities the UIAA has planned to celebrate glaciers throughout next year. More information on how to get involved will be shared by the UIAA on International Mountain Day 11 December.
After the final panel session, and in light of International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, an exciting partnership opportunity – exclusively for member federations – was presented by Envirolapse. From glaciers to mountain peaks, Envirolapse specialises in remote access monitoring systems that provide critical data for safety, operations, conservation, and climate resilience. UIAA member federations are invited to submit their expression of interest of using a remote access camera, with details on location, and intended use. To do so, please scan the QR code at the end of the video below and fill out the form by 31 January, 2025.
All project submissions will be reviewed by Envirolapse and the UIAA to pinpoint the application that best aligns with goals and values.
If a suitable project is identified in a location that is logistically easily accessible for Envirolapse, the team will provide an Envirolapse camera for a 12-month period at no cost to any parties. For more ambitious or remote projects with a strong alignment to our shared goals, Envirolapse is open to exploring collaborative funding options to address logistical challenges, ensuring we maximise our impact.
This gesture will support UIAA member federations and offer valuable visual data to the selected federation’s project. For more information about this opportunity, please contact mountainprotection@theuiaa.org
Review: 2024 UIAA General Assembly
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