The new Piolets d'Or, which now celebrates the passion for pure, ethical mountaineering, and has done away with the controversial and outmoded concept of an overall single 'winner', took place in Chamonix on Saturday, 25th April. Under the presidency of Doug Scott, the jury was able to award three 'golden ice axes'

Over the past months, 57 first ascents from 2008 have been considered, Eventually, six of these were nominated for an 'award', all considered to provide a shining example of 'innovation, a sense of partnership and solidarity, and the overall beauty of an individual or collective achievement'.

As the well-known Austrian guide and first ascensionist of Everest without supplementary oxygen, Peter Habeler, remarked, "It is not a question of success at all costs, by using financial or technical means such as oxygen, fixed ropes, Sherpas, doping products etc. What counts is the style. Now, even if the expedition fails to reach the summit, it can still be honoured if it is innovative.

This was certainly the case for one of the six nominations, Stéphane Benoist and Patrice Glairon Rappaz, who achieved a superb alpine-style ascent of a new route on the 2,000m South Face of Nuptse (7,861m) but retreated from the summit ridge.

The final six nominations were dominated by young Japanese climbers, with two of these featuring both Fumitaka Ichimura and Yusuke Sato, the latter known to certain British climbers after his participation in this year's BMC International Winter Meet at Glenmore Lodge.

The jury chose to award three Piolets d'or; one for commitment, one for spirit of exploration, and the third for technical difficulty. As Scott emphasized, " there are no winners and no losers: the honoured are ambassadors of an art, a passion".

For Spirit of Exploration a golden ice axe was awarded to Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi for their first ascent of the 1,800m South East Face of 7,756m Kamet in the Indian Garhwal. Taniguchi, who was also a guest on the BMC International Winter Meet, becomes the first women to be awarded a Piolet d'or. The Japanese pair was the first ever to set foot on this face, and completed the climb on the first attempt.

For Commitment an ice axe was presented to Kazuki Amano, Fumitaka Ichimura and Yusuke Sato for their alpine-style ascent of the North Face of 6,931m Kalanka, also in the Indian Garhwal. On this much sought-after prize, the three were trapped for three days high on the face in a storm, but when it cleared, elected to continue to the summit.

For technical difficulty the honours went to Simon Anthamatten and Ueli Steck for their first ascent of the much-tried North West Face of Tengkangpoche (6,487m). Incidentally, it was also the first official ascent of this coveted summit in Nepal's Rolwaling Himal.

Finally, in common with similar events in, for example, the music world, it was decided to give a 'lifetime achievement' award. As a man who always gave priority to true adventure, 79-year-old Walter Bonatti proved a fitting recipient.

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