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

Brian Hall and Helen Mort Win 2022 Boardman Tasker Prize

On the evening of Friday 18 November, the jury of the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature announced Alpine Club member Brian Hall and poet Helen Mort as joint winners of the 2022 competition. Brian was awarded for his autobiographical work 'High Risk' and Helen for her exploration of motherhood and the mountains 'A Line Above the Sky'. 

Also among the shortlisted nominees were Keiran Cunningham for 'Climbing the Walls', Anna Fleming for 'Time on Rock', Robert Charles Lee for 'Through Dangerous Doors' and AC member Paul Pritchard for 'The Mountain Path'.

'A Line Above the Sky' was reviewed by Terry Gifford in the 2022 Alpine Journal and is available to read here.

Applications for Young Alpinist Group Open

The 2023-2025 Programme of the Young Alpinist Group opened to applications on 01 November 2022 and will close on 30 November.

_{^{The 2020-2022 YAG Participants}}

The group, set up by AC member Tom Livingstone, has a mission "“to improve the safety and knowledge of young alpine climbers, giving them the skills to climb - in alpine-style - in the Greater Ranges" and aims "to advance the next generation of world-leading young UK alpinists via a three-year, elite-level programme featuring courses, trips, expeditions and mentorship.”

Applications are open to all climbers, regardless of background, who meet the below criteria:

• Between 19 and 30 years old
• UK based or UK/Irish nationality
• Plenty of UK trad and winter experience
• Alpine experience in both summer and winter, in a variety of countries/areas/ranges, climbing technical routes
• Able to travel through the mountains on skis, or at least able to ski by the time of any winter YAG meets (such as potentially March 2023).

10 places are available.

It is important for applicants to note that The YAG is not an instructional or guided programme, and is specifically targeted at those who already have alpine experience.

Further details and a link to the application form can be found via the YAG Website.