Other News

Jon Bracey & Matt Helliker Climb Probable New Line on Aiguille Noire de Peuterey

At the end of February this year, AC member Matt Helliker and British Mountain Guide Jon Bracey made what is likely the first ascent of a line on the ENE face of the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey.

Climbed entirely on trad gear, the pair have dubbed the line 'Mad Vlad' and graded it M7 R, IX/8 with Helliker describing the crux pitch as "serious, run out, steep and questionable".

Further details at PlanetMountain.

Simon Gietl Makes First Traverse of the Rosengarten Skyline

Italian alpinist Simon Gietl has, over three days, made the first traverse of the Rosengarten Skyline in the Italian Dolomites. Gietl had initially planned to complete the route with Egon Resch but the pair were forced to abandon the route after Resch was hit by rockfall. Undeterred, Gietl returned on his own and, from the 1 to 3 March, succeeded in reaching all of the major summits in the range.

More details are available at Planet Mountain.

First Winter Ascent of 'Padre Pio Prega Per Noi + Echelle Ver le Ciel'

On the 1 March, after 3 days of climbing, the Italian team of François Cazzanelli, Emrik Favre and Francesco Ratti topped out on the link up 'Padre Pio Prega Per Noi + Echelle Ver le Ciel' (1,870m, 7b) on the South Face of the Matterhorn.

'Padre Pio Prega Per Noi' is a 700m line which finishes on the Pilastro dei Fiori pillar. It can be continued to the summit via 'Echelle Ver le Ciel', giving the complete 41-pitch link up. This was the first repeat of the complete route and the first ascent of the line in winter.

Further details are available at Planet Mountain.

Alpine Club Statement on Ukraine

The Alpine Club Committee deplores the invasion of Ukraine and stands united with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's violent aggression.

We also support the many Russian climbers who have expressed their opposition to what their government is doing.

We welcome the suspension of the Russian Mountaineering Federation from the UIAA. No alpinists or mountaineering officials from Russia or Belarus should be allowed to participate in UIAA events and all Russian and Belarus delegates should be excluded from UIAA working groups, committees and commissions, until Ukraine's sovereignty is respected and all Russian troops are withdrawn.