Mountain Voices

Swiss climber and IFMGA mountain guide Caro North has spent much of her life seeking out new challenges in some of the world’s most remote mountain regions. In this episode of Mountain Voices, she reflects on a journey that began on the slopes at the age of two, progressed to climbing at 11, and led to her first major expedition on Aconcagua when she was just 16 years old. Although she turned back...

Lara Neumeier is one of Germany’s best trad and big wall climbers, describing big walls as ‘the ultimate adventure’. She was born in the Allgau mountains of Germany, near the Austrian border and first put on a climbing harness at the age of two. A love of rock climbing began early… In 2023, Lara and BABSI Zangerl made the first female ascent of the route Muir Blast and El Corazon on El Capitan, a...

Season 3 of Mountain Voices is dedicated to interviews with a wide range of noted individuals – climbers, mountaineers and experts in specific mountain fields including safety, rescue and climate change. Kicking off the season is a British climber for whom Sir Chris Bonington once said: ‘Tom Livingstone, one of the finest climbers in the world, always using the purest techniques.’ As Tom’s own web...

An exclusive interview with Kilian Jornet, an athlete whose feats almost defy description. A multiple ski mountaineering world champion and a trail and ultra running legend, Kilian has set speed records on numerous mountains - most recently his 19-day challenge to climb all 82 4000m peaks of the Alps, a classification recognised by the UIAA. In this interview, Kilian discusses: the logistical and...

Episode 11 of Mountain Voices takes a deep dive into the mountain hut culture of the Alps. What makes a great hut? Why do huts exist? What impact is climate change having on hut operations and maintenance? Part one features Ben Tibbetts, an IFMGA mountain guide and a photographer, artist and writer based in Chamonix, France. Ben has published a number of books dedicated to his passion for huts, no...

This episode of Mountain Voices explores the safety and ethics of climbing bolts. In part 1 renowned Swiss climber and guide Stephan Siegrist and International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation CEO André von Rotz explore the bolting culture in Switzerland, notably the importance of preserving historic routes, and introduce the Swiss Rebolting Project. In part two, von Rotz is joined by UIAA S...

Episode 9 of Mountain Voices focuses on ethics in mountaineering inspired by the release of the UIAA Declaration on Hiking, Climbing and Mountaineering earlier this year. Part 1 (00:00-35:57) Is dedicated to adventure. Alpine legends Mick Fowler and Victor Saunders, discuss their 2024 first ascent of Yawash Sar in the Karakorum. They first climbed together based in London in the late 70s where the...

Episode 8 of Mountain Voices focuses on competition ice climbing following the organisation of the 2024-2025 UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour. The sport is at a crucial juncture – the 2024-2025 season was the biggest in a number of year in terms of the number of events and participating athletes and national federations. In late 2024, the UIAA created World Ice Climbing, a dedicated Operating Unit foc...

Welcome to Series 2 of Mountain Voices, the podcast from the UIAA – International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation. The United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Starting from 2025, March 21 is recognised as the World Day for Glaciers. As part of its work in mountain protection and in the field of climate change, the UIAA has committed to playing a...

The final episode in Season One of Mountain Voices focuses on climate change and specifically three fascinating case studies. François Masse (Superintendent/Lake Louise, Parks Canada) charts both the factors which led to the loss of Abbot Pass Hut, a national historic site in Canada, and the lessons learnt. Piolet d’Or recipient Graham Zimmerman provides the insight of a professional climber who h...

In exclusive interviews, two legends from the world of rock climbing – Adam Ondra and Beth Rodden – share their passion for the sport. Adam Ondra , from the Czech Republic, is often described as the world’s best climber. His list of hard ascents is staggering – including some 130 routes graded 9a or above. It was way back in 2012 that he climbed the world’s first 9b+ in Flatanger, Norway. In 2016...

Episode 4 of Mountain Voices focuses on the subject of women at altitude. Inspiration came from the work of the UIAA Medical Commission who have played a leading role in the publication of a number of papers dedicated to women and mountaineering. Topics covered across the papers include altitude sickness, frostbite, nutrition and papers on female-specific issues like menopause. Mountain Voices tac...

Ahead of the 2024 Everest Climbing Season, Mountain Voices shines a spotlight on the world's highest, most iconic and debated mountain. It is the 100th anniversary of Mallory and Irvine’s fated last attempt to climb Everest. They’ve come to define that heroic post first world war period of exploration in their experimental oxygen sets and (by our standards) primitive clothing.     W...

Episode 2 of Mountain Voices focuses on the subject of avalanches and is inspired by the UIAA Safety Commission’s  recent work  related to electromagnetic interference in avalanche transceivers. Experienced American IFMGA Mountain Guides Marc Beverly (a member of the UIAA Safety Commission) and Zeb Blais provide an insight into the findings of the recent UIAA research particularly the do...

Episode 1 of Mountain Voices transports you to the thrilling setting of the UIAA Ice Climbing World Tour. The annual series pits athletes against challenging, technical routes and sends them up vertical walls of ice at lightning speeds. The venues are scenic but temperatures challenging. Climbers must master their tools and diverse competition walls. Gordon McArthur (Canada) and Eimir McSwigg...