The decision of the jury at the 2013 Piolets d’Or to share the prize among all six shortlisted ascents was surprising, controversial and arguably in the best interests of alpinism. But, as half the organising committee quits, what role will the award have in the future? And should there be such a thing as first prize in mountaineering? Ed Douglas reports.

If there’s one thing all those attending the 2013 Piolets d’Or could agree on, 2012 had been an outstanding year for world mountaineering. Six expeditions had been shortlisted, including two British ascents, Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden’s new route on the Prow of Shiva in the Garhwal, and the first ascent of Nanga Parbat via the Mazeno Ridge by Sandy Allan and Rick Allen.

At the press conference in Courmayeur, on the Italian side of this two-nation festival, the sight of two teams of gentlemen of a certain age – four climbers with a combined age comfortably north of 200 – prompted one Italian journalist to ask me: ‘Do you have any young alpinists in Britain?’

Good humour turned to exasperation when it came to the announcement of the result of the jury’s deliberations. First off were murmurings of complaint about the decision to give a special mention to Jason Kruk, Hayden Kennedy and David Lama for their exploits on Cerro Torre.

The jury felt that ‘by drilling bolts on Cerro Torre, Cesare Maestri stole the future from the next generation.’ Jury member Silvo Karo, with outstanding new routes of his own on Cerro Torre was especially keen that the actions of Kruk and Kennedy in stripping Maestri’s bolts ‘should be applauded.’

Hayden Kennedy, when asked about the motivation for their actions, said: ‘we wanted to give the mountain respect. Bolts were bringing the mountain down. We didn’t expect it to be so heated. We expected controversy but not that much.’ A journalist from Italian newspaper La Stampa responded by asking where the respect had been for Maestri.

For three men in their early 20s, all at least 30 years younger than the British teams interviewed at the same time, they showed remarkable poise and maturity in the face of a criticial reception. David Lama in particular made no excuses for the placing of bolts on Cerro Torre as part of a film project when he was just 18 and not yet a fully committed alpinist.

‘For a sport climber, a bolt has a different meaning than to an alpinist,’ he said.

Kennedy was also shortlisted for the main prize, along with Kyle Dempster, for their ascent of a new route on The Ogre in the Karakoram. – and was soon back in front of reporters. Dempster got the biggest laugh of the day when asked what had been the most frightening part of the climb:

‘The worst part for me was on the descent when I became worried Hayden was going to start taking out our anchors.’

There’s no question that the decision to award all the expeditions short-listed has frustrated some in the media and in the audience who came to see the ceremony later last Friday. Representatives on the organising committe from Editions Niveales, a partner and co-founder of the awards and publisher of Montagnes magazine, Claude Gardien, editor of Vertical magazine, and Manu Rivaud, journalist and awards member, have all resigned from the committee.

Montagnes magazine issued a statement that said the jury's decision 'weakens the event and its status, blurs the image of mountaineering in the eyes of the public, and does not reflect the true personality of mountaineers who make history.'

The remaining organisers have issued a press release regretting the public spat, and have promised to meet soon to decide on the future of the award.

Jury president Stephen Venables said the decision reflected the values of the Piolets d’Or in its new incarnation.

Gone were the days, he said, when sponsors could lean on the jury to come up with a single winner. He pointed out that all six expeditions had climbed to the summit of their mountains and then descended by another route, an acid test for commitment, and that the differences between the ascents made it impossible and unfair to differentiate between them.

Venables faced the obvious question that if there can’t be a winner what’s the point of a competition in the first place. Christian Tromsdorff, chair of the organisation committee, reminded journalists that the award is ‘a cultural event to promote ethical alpinism’ and one that it is funded largely by public bodies and not commercial sponsors.

As an event, the Piolets d’Or has, in its reincarnated state, become a focus for judging what is most admirable in world mountaineering, free of the commercial influence that influences an increasingly fragmented media. Tromsdorff thanked international partners, including the Alpine Club, for their support.

‘There has to be a space where there’s no more competition,’ Tromsdorff said. ‘But there will be a discussion around this [decision].’

Whether there will be a Piolets d'Or next year remains to be seen. But at the very least, the maturity and vision of the young climbers honoured by it shows that alpinism is in rude health.

You can watch video presentations of all six winning expeditions here.

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