Details Announced for 2023 Rick Allen Memorial Lecture

The University of Birmingham Mountaineering Club and the Midland Association of Mountaineers have announced that the 2023 Rick Allen Memorial Lecture will take place on 22 February at the Teaching and Learning Lecture Theatre 2 of the University of Birmingham.

^{Rick Allen climbing on the Aiguille du Chardonnet}

The lecture, 'The Anatomy of a Himalayan Climbing Expedition' will be given by experienced expedition climber Surgeon Rear Admiral Andrew S Hughes and will focus on the key elements involved in climbing a new Himalayan objective.

The talk will start at 7:30PM and will be broadcast live on Zoom for those who are unable to attend in person. Interested parties can sign up for the Zoom link via the UBMC website.

Rick Allen was tragically killed in an avalanche on K2 in 2021 while attempting a new route on the mountain's south-east face. Rick was an Alpine Club member and one of the most accomplished mountaineers of modern times. He was perhaps best known for making the first complete ascent of Nanga Parbat's Mazeno Ridge with his long-term climbing partner Sandy Allan.

New Routes Established in the French Alps

At the end of January two strong teams, operating at opposite ends of the French Alps, both established new lines on iconic alpine peaks.

on 28 January, Giuseppe Vidoni, Richard Tiraboschi, and Tommaso Vection, made the first ascent of 'Happy Birthday' which climbs the south face of the Grandes Jorasses to the Aiguille de l’Évêque via a 1,000m couloir. Vidonia and Tiraboschi had made an intiial attempt on the line a few days earlier, but had been forced to retreat when warm conditions on the face above sent a stream of meltwater down the couloir. On returning with Vection, they were able to take the route to the summit, offering a grade of A1, IV, M6, ED. The route name was chosen to mark Vection turning 30 the day after the team's ascent.

At the same time, on the Barre des Écrins, Benjamin Védrines, Nicolas Jean and Julien Cruvellier were busy on another 1,000m couloir. 'La Gorge' on the mountain's south face is prone to rockslides in warmer weather and so, despite being an obvious line, it has waited many years for a first ascent. With good, cold conditions, the team of three climbed the route over the weekend of the 28 and 29 January, surmounting difficulties of M7, A1, V+, ED+ with Jean reportedly dispatching an extremely commiting pitch just as the team was about to admit defeat. The trio have dubbed the route 'De L’Or en Barre'.

Gabriel Loppé Exhibition Planned at Fort Bard

An exhibition on the life and works of Gabriel Loppé is set to open at Ford Bard in the Aosta Valley, Italy on 17 December 2022. The exhibition, which is curated by the Alpine Club's Keeper of Pictures William J. Mitchell and Anne Friang of Amis de Gabriel Loppé is titled 'Gabriel Loppé, painter, climber and traveller'. 

_{The Glacier and the Dent du Géant
Oil on paper, 45 x 60 cm, dated: August 1881
(Collection Amis du Vieux Chamonix)}

Loppé, an Alpine Club member from the age of 39, was one of the first artists to bring back representations of the high mountains to the public, regularly painting the view from the summit of Mont Blanc. He considered himself to be a chronicler of his time and later branched out into photography, earning fame with his photograph of lighning striking the Eiffel Tower. As the exhibition title suggests, he was a prolific traveller, visiting much of Western Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century. 

This new exhibition brings together more than 90 of Loppé's paintings, drawings and photographs, exhibiting them alongside a selection of his climbing equipment which is shown here publicly for the very first time.

_{Crevasses on the Mer de Glace below the Grands Charmoz
Canvas 100 x 78 cm, dated 19.09.1885
(Collection Amis du Vieux Chamonix)}

'Gabriel Loppé, painter, climber and traveller' is open daily until 14 January 2024, with entry costing €8.00 (€7.00 for concessions) and includes access to the Alpine Museum. Further details can be found on the Fort Bard website.  

2022 Piolet d'Or Award Videos

As has become customary, a number of videos detailing the routes and individuals to have received the Piolet d'Or have been released for the 2022 recipients. The videos are available on the YouTube channel of Bertrand Delapierre and are also included below.

2022 Winner: Moonwalk Traverse - Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll

2022 Winner: The North-West Face of Saraghrar Northwest (7,300m) - Archil Badriashvili, Baqar Gelashvili and Giorgi Tepnadze

Special Jury Award: South-East ridge of Annapurna III (7,555m) - Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin and Viacheslav Polezhaiko

Lifetime Achievement Award: Silvo Karo