Doug Scott reports on the UIAA General Assembly held in Bormio, Italy, in October 2010, which included the setting up of new working groups on expeditions and traditional values.
The BMC continues to support the International Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing (UIAA) by advising and financially supporting the presence at meetings – not only myself, as BMC delegate and Management Committee Member, but also other BMC representatives working hard and enthusiastically on the various UIAA Commissions. The Presidents of Commissions, of whom two are from the UK, are funded directly by the UIAA.
At the General Assembly in October 2010, UIAA President, Mike Mortimer, was elected for another term with a 100% majority and he continues to help make the UIAA more relevant to climbers everywhere.
Mike is assisted considerably by the dedicated office staff in Berne. Sadly, during the opening speech of the Assembly the President announced that Executive Director Judith Safford is leaving the organisation for another charity. The good news is that her replacement is Ingo Nicolay, a German climber who will now head up the office staff of Dale Bechtel, Agnes Semelet, Valerie Thoni and Gurdeepak Ahuja. It was obvious throughout the four days of the Assembly that this team are just as committed as ever and in fact Ingo Nicolay apart from being a new broom, might be able to use his strong links with the German and Austrian Alpine Clubs to entice them back into the UIAA.
Report from the General Assembly:
Funding the UIAA – Jan Bonding, the Treasurer, reported that despite the generally difficult global financial climate and problems with the weaker Euro, he remained confident that a balanced budget could be achieved by 2012. The Assembly approved the budget for 2011 with no one against but with five abstentions.
Management of Commissions – Silvio Calvi reported that his work on introducing Project Management into the governance of Commissions was bearing fruit. He also presented a booklet he has produced on all the projects the Commissions are undertaking. This is a useful tool to evaluate the work of the UIAA.
Access – the Commission President, Clare Bond (BMC), reported on various meetings and the important work her Commission has been doing upon “best practices project” and establishing the online database/Wikipedia. For the future there will be research, exchange and the gathering of information from the various Federations to shed ever more light on how to deal with problems of access.
Medical - Buddha Basnyat presented the Commission’s achievements, namely “The Travel at High Altitude” booklet, now available in eight languages and on the website. The President also reported an increase of registrations in various countries for the Mountain Medical Course and the number of people obtaining the UIAA approved Mountain Medical Diploma.
Mountaineering - the Commission President, Pierre Humblet, reported upon several meetings towards improving the work of the Training Standards Working Group and a new mission statement was drafted in Montserrat, Spain. Plans are afoot to advise on quality insurance and to produce a database of legal issues and cases that concern mountaineering.
Mountain Protection – Commission President Linda McMillan gave many examples of good practice supported by UIAA and said that in the near future a Mountain Protection/ Environment Label will go live.
Youth – Commission President Anne Arran (BMC) reported on meetings of young climbers in Kazakhstan, Russia and elsewhere, with plans to support sport development in developing countries. Anne recognised the importance of this Commission in the furtherance of the best traditions of our sport.
Ice Climbing – the new Commission President, Pavel Shabalin, had been brought in to push for competitive ice climbing to be included in the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014. To that end events are being organised for 2011 in Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Romania and Russia.
Anti-Doping – the very efficient and hardworking Commission President, Nenad Dikic, reported that everything was on course to meet all requirements of the WADA. During 2011 the anti-doping commission will be present at all the projected ice climbing competition events.
Safety – Mike Mortimer reported on behalf of the absent Commission President, Jean-Franck Charlet, of all the good work done by this, perhaps the most important of the UIAA Commissions. It has great benefit to climbers world-wide by ensuring the gear we use can be relied upon. For the benefit of the UIAA’s finances revenues from the Safety Label have increased approximately 13% with 11 new Label holders in 2009-10.
Working group report on revived interest in expedition matters – Mark Richey, Group Leader, reported on the latest development regarding the objectives of this new Working Group (WG). He first thanked Renato Moro who did so much work for expeditions when President of the now defunct Expeditions Commission.
The WG wants to include participation of host countries (one from each continent at least). There is a need for a special forum which would not overlap with the other Commissions activities. Before any action was taken the first focus would be to create a webpage presenting the regulations from each host country and make surveys available for all stakeholders. Only after gathering this information and the opinions of Member Federations would a plan of action be drawn up.
There was general enthusiasm for this revival of interest in Expedition business as there was in another new Working Group also close to my heart as below.
Working Group on Traditional Values – As I wrote last year my only reason for giving time up for the UIAA is to see if it could be a conduit towards reining in the proliferation of bolting, restriction of competition climbing to indoors, or, if outdoors, on artificial structures and in general help steer the UIAA towards being guardian of the best traditions of our sport. To this end I was able to persuade the General Assembly to set up a Working Group on Traditional Values which was established at the Management Committee Meeting on 8 October 2010.
As nominated Group Leader, I made a case for this Working Group by stating that I enjoy sport climbing as, for example at Kalymnos during the last Management Committee Meeting. I then went on to say it was, in my opinion and in the opinion of many others, important that Traditional Climbing should be preserved where leader placed protection can be arranged so that the climber, in protecting his own life, has to use his imagination and resourcefulness. I suggested that the Traditional Climbing grounds should be preserved now as Heritage Crags in recognition and also out of respect for the great pioneers of our sport, Mummery, Preuss, Max Neiderman, Pierre Alain and so many others. I then, with the help of PowerPoint, stressed the importance of preserving classic climbs with quotes from others.
Here is a comment from Coloradan climber Duncan Ferguson that encapsulates the importance and significance of pioneering new routes:
“It is the nature of the climbing community worldwide that the vision and art of the first ascentionist is respected and celebrated, because it is a tangible reflection of the potential of that human at that moment in time. It is up to us to live up to that or to put it aside as a wondrous point of inspiration or a mirror for humility – most often both at the same time.”
Duncan Ferguson responding to the news that bolts had been placed alongside a 30 year old ice climb.
Is it so far-fetched to consider pioneering new routes in traditional style as an art form? Tolstoy said “Art is human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have arisen.”
If this observation can be applied to the pioneering of rock climbs then to desecrate them by drilling puts the whole process of dumbing down in a different perspective – a crime against humanity?
“What do you think?” I asked the Assembly. The response was generally supportive.
I informed the Assembly that the Piolets d’Or are not awarded to those expeditions that pack a bolt kit since the main criteria of commitment and facing up to uncertainty would be negated.
The following was agreed and minuted:
Context: in most countries the opportunities for Traditional Climbing become less and less. In some countries there is no remaining opportunity for Traditional Climbing e.g. Hungary. With the advent of the drill and bolt this knowledge of Traditional Climbing is fast disappearing.
Mission: in the interests of diversity of climbing the UIAA wishes to encourage all Federations to conserve the remaining bastions of rock suitable for Traditional Leader-placed Protection, to promote new routes in traditional style wherever possible and to help keep them free of the bolt by discouraging retro bolting.
Action: (1) to ask Federations to send to the UIAA their policy documents on Traditional Climbing and their policy on the use of bolts.
Action: (2) to revive by up-dating the UIAA policy booklet on "To bolt or not to bolt?" in order to reflect the current situation, i.e. today less than 20% of rock climbs are unbolted globally.
Members of the WG: Doug Scott (BMC) David Dornian (ACC), Michael Pupeza (CAR), Anne Arran (BMC), Mark Richey (AAC), Christine Pae (KAF), (UMF) Deadline for Action: next Management Committee in Paris, in May 2011.
I applied Project Management to our WG as:
- The benefits – diversity
- Cost – just emails
- Organisation – global
- Deadline – next Management Committee meeting in Paris
- Risks – inertia and lack of communication
Mike Mortimer strongly encouraged the assembled Federations to send the necessary information to this new UIAA Working Group.
The Meeting concluded with the election of Christine Pae from South Korea onto the Management Committee, Jordi Colomer and Peter Farkas re-elected onto the Executive Board and Mike Mortimer unanimously re-elected as President - to huge applause. Awards were given to the hard work accomplished by Carlos Teixeira the former President of the Ice Climbing Commission, Renato Moro former President of the Expeditions Commission and Carlo Zanantoni for work on the Safety Commission.
Other issues discussed were admission of new members, non-payment of certain members, report on training standards and future Assemblies which will next be held in Kathmandu from October 5-8, 2011.
I look forward to representing UK climbing and its values at the UIAA Management Committee Meeting in Paris in May and General Assembly in October. I again look forward to receiving full support and advice from the BMC, AC and present and former UK members of UIAA Commissions.
Doug Scott
1 February 2011
« Back