Piolets d'Or


The Piolets d'Or is an annual mountaineering and alpine climbing award organized by the , and previously with co-founder Montagnes Magazine, since its founding in 1992. Golden ice axes are presented to the annual winners at a weekend awards festival based on their achievements in the previous year. It is considered mountaineering's highest honor and is referred to as the "Oscars of mountaineering".
The Piolets have progressed from being a competition-like single-award event into a broader celebration of mountaineering and alpinism, with several awards made. After a crisis in 2008, the Charter for the awards was rewritten to focus on the style and innovation of the nominations, respect for the mountain, environment, and future climbing generations, and to increase the independence and transparency of the award process; the official name was also changed to the plural.

History

At the start of the 1990s, it was difficult to raise funds for major mountaineering expeditions in France. The French Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing could no longer fund expeditions. Alpinist Jean-Claude Marmier, then president of the , suggested an annual prize for "outstanding achievement in the world of alpinism" might increase the public profile of French mountaineering. He won the support of, then editor of the Grenoble-based French monthly climbing and mountaineering magazine, Montagnes, and in 1992 GHM and Montagnes announced the first Piolet d'Or award for the best alpine ascent of 1991 at the Autrans Mountain Film Festival.
From the outset, there was some concern over the ethics of rewarding and promoting the dangerous undertaking of modern extreme alpine climbing. After a controversial 1998 Piolet was awarded to a Russian team of which two had died on the route, the rules were changed the following year so that nominees had to have completed their climbs safely. The New York Times remarked on the proportion of Piolet d'Or winners who have subsequently died while mountaineering, but that the awards criteria had been further amended over time to emphasize "style" over pure "risk-taking".
There was also a concern, particularly within the alpine climbing community, on the decision to select a single winner from a list of alpine ascents. The situation came to a head during the 2007 Piolet d'Or awards over accusations by then GHM president, Leslie Fuscko, that Chaumereuil had imposed the shortlist, which led to the resignation of Jury President Andrej Štremfelj. Further controversy occurred when Marko Prezelj, a 2007 Piolet d'Or winner, wrote a public article criticizing the premise of the awards, and whether it was possible, or ethical, to have a single winner.
The 2007 controversy led to a fundamental re-think of the structure of the awards, a long process that required the 2008 awards to be canceled. A new Charter was drawn up and the 2009 Piolet d'Or, the 17th awards, followed a very different format; multiple winners were announced, a new "Lifetime Achievement Award" was announced, and the first female winner was announced. Jury President Doug Scott heralded the post-2008 Charter, saying: "This edition signals the rebirth of the Piolets d'Or. For us there are no winners, no losers. The honored are the ambassadors of an art, a passion."
In 2013, the jury embraced the new Charter awarding Piolets to all six shortlisted nominees, an act that drew criticism from Montagnes. Since 2015, the winners have been announced in advance of the ceremony to emphasize that the ceremony was "a not a competition, but a celebration". In 2016, two of the award's biggest critics, Voytek Kurtyka and Marko Prezelj accepted their awards at the 2016 Piolets d'Or ceremony at La Grave; where only GHM remained from the original founders. In 2018, for the first time in its history, none of the award ceremony was held in France, when the Piolet d'Or ceremony was held at the Mountain Festival in Lądek-Zdrój, Poland. The awards in 2019 and 2020 were also presented at the festival in Lądek-Zdrój. The 2019 awards were overshadowed by the recent deaths of two of the three winners, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer.

Multiple winners

The following climbers have won more than one Piolet d'Or since its inception in 1992:
Post 2008, a new Charter was drafted to clarify the basis and values for deciding awards:
In addition, the Charter laid out the specific criteria under which all future nominees would be assessed:
  • Style of ascent.
  • Spirit of exploration: original route and/or mountain, creative and innovative approach.
  • Level of commitment and self-sufficiency.
  • High level of technical ability required.
  • Suitability of route in light of objective dangers.
  • Efficient and sparing use of resources.
  • Transparency regarding the use of these resources.
  • Respect for people, climbing partners, members of other teams, porters, and local agents.
  • Respect for the environment.
  • Respect for future generations of mountaineers by leaving them the possibility of enjoying the same kind of experiences and adventures.
The new Charter also underlined that awards, and the ceremony, should be a "celebration of mountaineering", and not a "climbing competition". The term "winners", and even the term "award", was downplayed in favor of terms such as "nominees". In 2014, National Geographic said of the revised Piolet charter: "The Piolet d’Or is about sharing our experiences as alpinists with a wider audience, trying to learn about the human experience through adventure. The era of the heroic warrior climber who climbs themselves literally to death in the high mountains is over."

Reception

The Piolet d'Or is the highest honor in mountaineering and alpine climbing. In 2021, the New York Times described it as "Alpinism's biggest prize", and that even though it had some vocal critics, it had widespread support amongst the climbing community. On receiving a Piolet in 2015, Alex Honnold told National Geographic, "I've always joked that if I won a Piolet d’Or I'd retire from climbing... and I do think it’s appropriate to honor some climbs for pushing the sport in positive directions. Whether our ascent is deserving or not is open to debate, that’s fine. But people definitely climb inspiring things every year and I think it’s worth celebrating that in some way." They are often called the "Oscars of mountaineering".

Criticism

Over the years, a number of climbers have openly criticized and even rejected awards/or asked not to be considered:
  • In 2005, British climber Ian Parnell, who was nominated on several previous occasions, asked for his nomination to be withdrawn to allow what he considered to be superior American ascents to be shortlisted; in 2006, Parnell wrote a lengthy critique of the awards in Alpinist, and concluded "The Piolet d'Or is certainly here to stay; in fact, its recent controversy has elevated its profile..."
  • In 2006, Italian climbers Alessandro Beltrami, Rolando Garibotti, and Ermanno Salvaterra asked their ascent of the north face of Cerro Torre not be considered, saying: "It was the essence of the experience that interested us most. An award such as the Piolet d'Or tries to quantify this essence and attempts to judge the quality of the experience.... How could there be any real value to such a subjective judgment? How to judge elusive concepts like elegance and imagination?" In 2008, Garibotti also asked the jury not to consider the Torre Traverse he completed with Colin Haley.
  • In 2007, multiple award winner Marko Prezelj publicly rejected the award on stage to express his opposition to competition in alpinism; Prezelj then wrote a brutal critique of the awards in Alpinist magazine, that finished with the line: "I apologize if I have offended anyone who is addicted to Miss Fame; she gets around so watch out for STDs." After the new Charter in 2009, Prezelj would later reconcile himself with the awards, and accepted his 3rd Piolet in 2015 in Chamonix, and his 4th Piolet d'Or in 2016 at the ceremony in La Grave.
  • In 2010, Polish climber Wojciech Kurtyka declined the invitation to accept the newly created "Lifetime Achievement Award" by GHM President Christian Trommsdorff, saying "I always had a sense of escaping to the mountains from everyday social bullshit, and now you propose to me to take part in it." Kurtyka was even more forceful in declining it in 2011 and 2012, saying: "Sorry. NO. NO! I will not be talking about Piolets d’Or anymore." However, in 2016, Kurtyka accepted the 8th "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the ceremony in La Grave.

    2024 award (32nd awards)

The 2024 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2024 by a 7-person technical jury consisting of Lise Billon, Jack Tackle, Mikel Zabalza, Genki Narumi, Toni Gutch, Aleš Česen, and Enrico Rosso.
  • Jordi Corominas won the 16th Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • North face of Terich Mir by Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima.
  • North face and northwest ridge of Jannu in the Kangchenjunga Himal by Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell, and Alan Rousseau.
  • North face of Flat Top in the Kishtwar Himalaya by Hugo Béguin, Matthias Gribi, and Nathan Monard.
  • "Special Mention" for the first ascent of the west face on Kabru South by Romano Benet and Nives Meroi. Noted as 'most notable new route at altitude by a party involving a female alpinist.

    2023 award (31st awards)

The 2023 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2023 by a 7-person technical jury consisting of Lise Billon, Ines Papert, Nikita Balabanov, Ales Česen, Martin Elias, Genki Narumi and Jack Tackle.