Alastair Lee, who is a Berghaus sponsored athlete, has been directing and producing adventure films since 2001, when he founded the company Posing Productions, which he runs from a base in Lancashire.  Lee works closely with climber Leo Houlding and his team, and has made a series of multi-award winning films, such as The Asgard Project, The Prophet and Autana.  Earlier this year, Lee and Houlding teamed up again for a major expedition to the Antarctic, to complete the first climb of the north east ridge of the mountain Ulvetanna.  Lee is currently working on the post-production of what is a hotly anticipated film of the adventure, The Last Great Climb.

The International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF) was founded in, 2000, to recognise and celebrate individuals who have changed the world of mountain film making.  The IAMF shines a spotlight on filmmakers, directors and producers who have contributed throughout their careers to build mountain film into the high profile genre that it is today.  The Grand Prix is awarded annually to an individual who the IAMF believes has made a major contribution to the development of mountain film on an international stage.

Alastair Lee comments:

“It’s a huge honour to receive such a prestigious award.  When I started film making I really never imagined I’d have anything like this success.  I only wanted to avoid getting a ‘proper job’ so to have my work recognised like this is really a special moment for me.  I’d like to dedicate the award to all of the climbers I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the past decade.”

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The two climbers are among four Britons to receive the award this year, regarded by many to be the ‘Oscars’ of the mountaineering world. Unusually, the jury decided to award Piolets d’Or to all six of the shortlisted projects this year in what has been a great year for pushing the frontiers of Alpinism.

Organisers said: “In light of the very high level of the six ascents, the 2013 jury chaired by Stephen Venables has decided to award each of the six nominated ascents a Piolet d’Or, indicating a possible way forward towards more emphasis on diversity.”

Mick and Paul both received the award once before, in 2003, for opening up the North Face of Siguniang (6250m) in China. Mick had this to say about receiving this year’s honour:

“Yeyy! Paul and I are gold covered again. The Piolet d’Or event in Chamonix and Courmayeur ended last week with all six nominees being awarded Piolets d’Or. British teams were particularly well represented with Sandy Allan and Rick Allen receiving one for their Mazeno ridge ascent and Paul Ramsden and me getting one for our efforts on Shiva. It was generally accepted that 2012 was a brilliant year for alpinism and this presumably contributed to the jury feeling it would be wrong to try and differentiate between the six nominated climbs.

Being as we all tend to seek out remote Himalayan objectives the nominated climbers would probably never get together if it wasn’t for events like this. Co-ordinating arrangements to get mountaineers from Russia, America, France, Austria, Japan and the UK to be in Chamonix and Courmayeur at the same time must have been a nightmare but the end result was an excellent gathering of likeminded mountain enthusiasts. Much as many of us have reservations over awards being dished out for mountaineering it seems to me that the pros very much outweigh the cons.

High profile affairs like this tend to have an impact on the style of climbing and one thing that particularly pleases me is how the pendulum of opinion has swung sharply in favour of small teams climbing alpine style and leaving no trace of their passing. In this respect it was great to see the jury deciding to make a special mention of efforts to remove Maestri’s ladder of bolts and restore Cerro Torre to something approaching its natural state.

On another front, it was great for me to be able to juggle my limited time off work so that family holiday action could coincide with Piolet d’Or week. Skiing down the Vallee Blanche with my children, a bunch of great Piolet d’Or people and enjoying my first ever meal in an alpine hut made for a pretty good day. Apologies though to the folks at this year’s Berghaus athlete camp.  Even with the most careful time juggling being in two places at the same time seems to be impossible.

So, gold covering over and now it’s back to focusing on the bureaucratic challenges of mountaineering. East Tibet is the goal and I am hoping it will be a case of fifth time lucky on the applications. My fingers are firmly crossed.”

The jury of the Piolets d’Or – French for Golden Ice-Axes – said of Mick and Paul’s ascent: “Elegance summarises the traverse of this mountain east of Kishtwar, effected via the arrow-like northeast ridge, dubbed the Prow of Shiva, followed by a descent of the south ridge.

“It was the fifth known ascent of the mountain. Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden, 2003 recipients of a Piolet d’Or, completed a traverse in a nine-day round trip from base camp, finding sustained climbing on the Prow, which ranged from numerous pitches up icy cracks in Chamonix-style granite to long, protectionless leads on thinly-iced slabs reminiscent of winter climbing on Ben Nevis.”

Here’s an interview with Mick and Paul about their award on Epic TV.

Now in their 21st year, Les Piolets d’Or are widely recognised as the most prestigious accolades in the world of mountaineering.  The awards celebrate passion, spirit and values, with style taking precedence over the conquest of an objective.  The annual Piolet d’Or has been presented to a fully British team only once before, in 2003, when Fowler and Ramsden won for their expedition in 2002 which opened up the north face of Siguniang (6250m) in China.

The Piolets d’Or jury described the latest Fowler and Ramsden expedition in the following words:

“Elegance summarizes the traverse of this mountain east of Kishtwar, effected via the arrow-like northeast ridge, dubbed the Prow of Shiva, followed by a descent of the south ridge.  It was the fifth known ascent of the mountain.  Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden (UK), 2003 recipients of a Piolet d’Or, completed a traverse in a nine-day round trip from base camp, finding sustained climbing on the Prow, which ranged from numerous pitches up icy cracks in Chamonix-style granite to long, protectionless leads on thinly-iced slabs reminiscent of winter climbing on Ben Nevis.”

Mick Fowler comments:
“It’s very flattering to be nominated. I still lie in bed curling my toes with pleasure at the memories of the positions and the climbing. It was just one of those stand out objectives.”

In total, there are six nominees for the 2013 Piolet d’Or, which will be awarded during an international gathering from 3 to 6 April 2013 in Courmayeur and Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Watch our comical video of Philippe and Rob battling it out in their Vapour Storm Jackets.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Her win follows her success earlier this month where she was crowned Ice Climbing World Champion in Cheongsong, South Korea, the third time she has taken the title.

Find out more about Angelika and her achievements here.

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British climber and adventurer Leo Houlding has led an international team to success on the first ascent of a major new route on the remarkable Antarctic peak, Ulvetanna (2930m).  Widely considered to be the most demanding peak on the harshest continent, the mile long north east ridge of the mountain has been described as one of “the last great climbs”.  The team included Sean Leary (USA), Jason Pickles (UK), David Reeves (South Africa), Chris Rabone (UK) and award winning film-maker Alastair Lee (UK).

Ulvetanna (“the wolf’s tooth” in Norwegian) is the jewel in the crown of the FenrisKjefeten (“the wolf’s jaw”) range of mountains of Queen Maud Land, eastern Antarctica.  After months of preparation, the expedition began in late December, sponsored by British outdoor brand Berghaus.

Leo Houlding commented:

“Ulvetanna’s fearsome north east ridge allowed us safe passage up and down from her summit, but not without showing a few teeth.  We’re back in base camp with all our stuff, the weather is great again and we’re all loving life.

“This landscape of endless white desert and giant rock fangs is totally out of this world.  At times in truly brutal conditions, we have all been pushed to our limits.  We have taken a beating, but come out on top – well, back at the bottom thankfully!

“We have just completed the first ascent of one of the world’s last great climbs and are all suitably psyched.  A decade of dreaming, a year of planning, a month on the ice, and a week on the wall and we have done it.  It’s a dream come true – nice one boys!”

NE Ridge Ulvetanna, 1750m, E6 6b, 5.12, A2 (C2)

We made it! And Louis just did a low fly by in the Basler! Can it get any wilder out here?

Ulvetanna’s fearsome North East Ridge allowed us safe passage up and down from her summit but not without showing a few teeth. We’re back in base camp with all our stuff, the weather is great again and we’re all loving life as we leisurely conduct another great gear faff.

In this endless light I have lost track of the passing of days, measuring time in terms energy spent and distance gained. There have been many 20 hour days of intense, gruelling effort and those spent too exhausted to leave camp.

At times in truly savage conditions we have conducted loads of complicated, scary missions and in the process safely climbed and cleaned all trace of our presence from this beautiful mountain.

We’ve all been pushed to our limits, taken a beating but come out top, well at the bottom thankfully. We have just completed the first ascent of one of the finest alpine/big wall lines anywhere and we are about to eat Steak accompanied by The GlenLivet 18. It does not get any better than this. Nice One boys.

We have done it. A decade of dreaming, a year of planning, a month on the ice, and week on the wall and we have done it! It is just starting to sink in that we have succeeded and are safe.

So to fill you in…

After a second gruelling haul and ferrying a bunch of loads along the drop jaw ridge we established a magnificent well stocked wall camp on the plateau of Great expectations in good conditions. The ledge at the end of the ridge is a feature of the mountain.

Sufficiently large and safe to take off your harness with plenty of space for gear, cooking, hanging out etc.

The two Port-a-ledges hung nicely protected from above by a roof and remarkably sheltered from the increasingly present SE wind on the North side. A bivi spot in a horizontal break right at the base of the headwall – the coffin – was more comfortable than it sounds.

The ominous headwall rises for 400m above. It is only in the sun from 7am until 2pm forcing us to begin the arduous process of brewing, eating, preparing and dressing for battle painfully early. On a countdown schedule we had to make continuous progress to be up and down in time for the Russians to pick us up.

Though we had been discussing a couple of route options from afar, up close the line was unmistakable.

A short blank slab that required 2 hand drilled bolts led to wild climbing up a perfect system of corners and cracks for 200m to a giant roof.

Stanley wriggled his way through the Roof slot of despair and we all braved shade and wind up off widths and chimneys above to reach the epic Snow Petrel pillar below the upper headwall.

That was when the Antarctic conditions we’ve spent so long fearing finally showed up! For three days, high winds, low temps and heavy snow battered us and the mountain. Thankfully we were ready.

Our sleeping bags are rated to -50 C and have been havens.

We had sufficient clothing, kit, strength and motivation to push on culminating in an unforgettable summit day during the worst conditions of the expedition.

We reached the epic, pointy summit in -35 C with wind chill, wearing thick beards of ice, and hearts full of joy. The cloud even broke for 5 mins dousing us in sun as we surveyed the panorama.

On the descent we cleaned the ropes until the Pillar.

The most perfect BASE exit beckoned down the east face, a compelling wingsuit line to a landing zone below the ‘rock’ would’ve completed the dream.

We considered leaving ropes fixed from camp and hoping for better conditions but having seen Ulvetanna growl we were too terrified to wait around to be bitten. We continued down to wall camp cleaning ropes, braced for a scary descent in poor conditions, dreams of flight postponed.

The next day we were all exhausted, intimidating clouds finally broke into the fine weather we have been enjoying since, a God send for the complicated descent. 3 endless days of hard, well executed, dare I say fun work and we are home.

Our out post on this glacier that a month ago felt like the edge of the world, now feels like home. Before the run to ABC felt like a serious day out, on our final load it was an enjoyable 3 hour round trip.

The Sun is now much lower in the sky and it is colder, -17 C earlier.

We are almost ready for airlift and keen to get out of here whilst the flying conditions are good.

The weather gods of Ulvetanna, Queen Maud Land, and Antarctica have been so kind; we don’t want to out stay our welcome.

Al.

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Leo and the team set off in December to make an attempt on an unclimbed route of the 1,300m  peak located in Queen Maud Land, eastern Antarctica.

The team celebrated Christmas and New Year in a stunning base camp before heading to the wall for 10 days climbing with the constant threat of bad weather.

Leo described the climb before setting off:

“Since I first heard of this otherworldly peak more than a decade ago I have dreamed of amassing the skill, strength and support necessary to reach this most elusive mountain.  Ulvetanna presents me and my team with a truly formidable challenge, which is exactly what draws us to it.

“After long preparation, our goal it is finally upon the horizon.  I have assembled a first-class crew and between us we now have a wealth of relevant experienced.  Crucially, during the last year, Berghaus, my team and I have gone to new lengths to develop, test and refine the very best kit required for this most extreme adventure.”

We’ll supply more details as they come in but a huge congratulations for the team.

Italian ice climber Angelika beat off stiff competition in Cheongsong, South Korea,  to take the title for the third time following her victories in 2009 and 2011.

We’re really proud to have such a successful female ice climber as part of the Berghaus athlete team.

You can find out more about the competition here.

Find out more about Angelika and her achievements here.

Visit Berghaus Online Store

For outdoor clothing from Berghaus including men’s waterproof jackets, men’s rucksacks and more then please visit our online store.

You can find a wide range of gear for climbing, hill walking, mountain biking and other activities.

Choose from a range of cutting edge waterproof jackets, fleeces, trousers & more from Berghaus.

So the big day arrives and I am on Coffee duty, Alarm set for 6am. Coffee Pot is on the boil and the boys where all woken up with a nice steamy hot brew. Everyone finally emerges out of their tents around 9am… no comment! Already we had lost one spork, in fact it was Leo’s Spork strangely enough. He was marching around ABC frantically searching for it before his porridge went completely cold.

Departure time: 11h00

The boys set off with absolutely massive loads (despite having done 2 hauls earlier) stumbling with the occasional face planting under the weight of the bag and the unstable snow. The route up to the base of the wall is pretty steep as I have mentioned in a previous post.  Most of the loads where carried on their backs one by one up the rope. Took a while for all 5 of them to get up. Next were the haul bags (or Sheep Smugglers as I like to call them.) they were pulled up the slope with a pulley system with both Jason and Chris acting as counterweight, running up and down the hill in short bursts , slowly edging the kit up the slope.  The boys only started jugging on the rock by 13h00. Al was first to go up to get into position to do a bit of filming, Stanley was next, followed by Jason, Chris and then Leo.

I filmed as much as I could before I started noticing the steep area I was filming from was starting to avalanche. It was incredibly hot in this “snow bowl” and as the day moved on, more and more snow rivers started trickling down. Slightly scary when a 5 meter wide path of snow slowly started moving directly towards me with a massive wall of snow 50 meters above you just sitting there.  Got to get out of there fast!

Throughout the day I heard them shouting to each other, spread hundreds of meters apart along the rock face. The occasional ”ROCK”  being shouted out (that is when you don’t look up in case you get a face full of rock) I filmed some more from a different angle of the boys slightly higher up, ran out of memory on my camera so then headed off back to Base Camp. In fact I was planning to stay in ABC, but the boys pinched all the fuel bottles and one of the MSR stoves so I couldn’t boil any water. Thanks for telling me guys!

Around 18h30 I radioed in to tell the boys the wind had picked up loads and to expect high winds on the ridge. (The ridge is only some 0,5m wide so wind is massively influential on the traverse) Al replied and said he had just arrived on the ridge and can confirm the stronger wind. His tone didn’t sound massively enthusiastic.

Next radio contact:

AL: I amon ledand putyF ooed.

Stanley: Can you repeat, are you on the ridge or the ledge? Over

Al: I am on the Ledge, L, E, D, G, E over.

Stanley: OK, we are one pitch from the ridge with the haul bags! Over.

AL: I wait here. I pretty F*&%cked!! (Spoken in a loud, slurred and fluctuating voice)

Wouldn’t expect anything less from someone who has just jugged up 500m of cliff face.

I have just received word at 13h30 today that the boys are all fine, they have just woken up and put a coffee on.

They only finished hauling in the early hours of this morning and after setting up portaledges and making dinner, everyone got to bed around 4am. They are all now be camped at the base of the headwall on the Ledge that has acquired the name “The Plateau of Great Expectations”

Today the boys are going to be relaxing. They had planned on doing some filming on the ridge, but they are only going to do that tomorrow. The day after, I suspect they might start climbing the Headwall, but more on that later.

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