The Piolets d'Or — mountaineering's most respected awards — have been announced for 2025, and the list reads like a tour of the world's boldest unclimbed walls. A six-person international jury distilled a shortlist of 50 climbs down to four winners, plus a special award for women's alpinism. Rather than a contest, organisers frame it as a celebration of light, fast, alpine-style first ascents.
Pakistan features twice. Ethan Berman, Maarten van Haeren and Sebastian Pelletti climbed a 3,100-metre route up the southeast pillar of Ultar Sar (7,388m) in the Batura Muztagh over six days, with terrain reaching M5 and WI4 and five bivouacs on the wall — then needed two more days to downclimb the same line. Nearby, Brits James Price and George Ponsonby spent nine days on the northwest face of Aikache Chokk (6,673m) in the Baltar Valley, only the mountain's second-ever ascent, capped by a descent through unknown terrain in poor visibility.
In Peru's Cordillera Huayhuash, Spanish climbers Bru Busom, Ruben Sanmartin and Marc Toralles made the first complete ascent of the east spur of Yerupajá Grande (6,634m), Peru's second-highest peak, then traversed a narrow, corniced ridge toward Yerupajá Sur with no chance of retreat — a route they named Essence of Commitment. It's the first Piolets d'Or-winning climb by a Spanish team.
France's Benjamin Vedrines and Nicolas Jean won for the first ascent of Jannu East (7,710m) in the Kangchenjunga region, climbing a two-kilometre eastern ridge in a three-day push involving WI5 ice, M6 mixed climbing and roughly 50 rappels on the way down. Vedrines earned a special mention last year, so this confirms him as one of the most in-form alpinists around.
The female alpinism award goes to Tiphaine Duperier of France for her ascent and ski descent of the Schell route on Nanga Parbat's enormous Rupal Face — the first complete alpine-style climb of that route and the first ski descent from the 8,125m summit. While climbing partner David Goettler flew back to base camp by paraglider in under an hour, Duperier and Boris Langenstein needed three further days on the descent.
Notably, this year's winners are mostly in their 20s and 30s, while heavily supported expedition-style feats — including Everest ski descents and 8,000m routes using fixed ropes — were shortlisted but passed over. The trophies will be handed out on October 23 in France's Ecrins Massif, where Austrian legend Peter Habeler receives a lifetime achievement award.
For travellers, these stories double as inspiration for the world's great mountain regions: Pakistan's Karakoram, Peru's Huayhuash trekking circuit, Nepal's Kangchenjunga trails and the ski meccas of the western Himalaya all reward visitors even if you'll never climb at WI4 standard.