Piolets d'Or 2016

A celebration of international mountaineering in La Grave - La Meije

The 2016 edition of Piolets d’Or awards takes place from April 13 to 17 in La Grave-La Meije (Hautes-Alpes, France). This will be an especially rich event, featuring an opening night gathering in Briançon and a four-day international celebration in the area surrounding La Meije.

Each edition of the Piolets d’Or celebrates the boldest and most innovative ascents of the previous year. Piolets d’Or also present a Lifetime Achievement Award, dedicated to a mountaineer with a long and interesting career.

This year's winners:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Wojciech Kurtyka, Polish climber and mountaineer

Piolets d’Or Honored Ascents:

• Talung, 7348 m (Nepal) - Daddy Magnum Force (ED+) - Nikita Balabanov (Ukraine) and Mikhail Famin (Ukraine)
• Gave Ding, 6571 meters, Nepal - North Face - Mick Fowler (UK) and Paul Ramsden (UK)
• Cerro Riso Patron, 2550 meters, Chile - Hasta las Webas (AI 5+, M5, ED-) - Jerome Sullivan (EU), Lise Billon (France), Diego Simari (Argentina), and Antoine Moineville (France)
• Cerro Kitshwar, 6173 meters, India - Light Before Wisdom (5.11 WI 6 M6 A2 1,600 meters) - Hayden Kennedy (USA), Marko Prezelj (Slovenia), Urban Novak (Slovenia), Manu Pellissier (France)

Event schedule:

• Wednesday 13 April: Opening of the 2016 Piolets d’Or (Briançon – Briançon Theatre)
• Thursday 14 April: Inauguration of the Piolets d’Or Base Camp in La Grave
• Friday 15 April: 2016 Piolets d’Or Ascents Evening
• Saturday 16 April: 2016 Piolets d’Or Lifetime Achievement, Award Reception with Voytek Kurtyka
• From Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 April: La Grave Base Camp (films, exhibitions, discussions, concerts, local cuisine, etc.) and Mountain activities with guides.