The Piolet d'Or (French for The Golden Ice Axe) is an annual mountaineering award given by the French magazine Montagnes and The Groupe de Haute Montagne since 1991. Nominations are selected by GHM and Montagnes, and the award is chosen by a jury consisting of Guy Chaumereuil (the chief editor of Montagnes when the award was inaugurated), (until 1998) Jean-Claude Marmier (president of GHM when the award was inaugurated), the current president of GHM, the current editor of Montagnes, the previous year's winners and three members invited by GHM, one of whom becomes the president of the jury.
The criteria for the award are stated in French and translate as:
The selection of potential laureates, as well as the conditions of awarding the trophy obey a strict ethic, which is in line with the founding values of the GHM. High technical level and commitment certainly constitute the principal criteria to which the GHM members feel so attached. The originality in the choice of the objective and the innovative nature of the manner of conducting the ascent are equally important elements of appreciation. The practice of alpinism is in effect in perpetual evolution, and this dimension should not be forgotten. It's by the crossing of certain stages that were considered impassable that mentalities have evolved, and ascents reputed to be impossible have become commonplace… Respect for the mountains that surround us, the beauty of movement, and the spirit in which people climb those mountains are also primary conditions for the awarding of the prize. We cannot in fact pass down to future generations summits mutilated in the name of a destructive climbing style without profoundly altering the spirit itself of this activity[1]
Controversy has surrounded the award, due to the non-quantifiable nature of climbing accomplishments, and the varying interpretations of 'alpinism' and 'respect for the mountains.' Controversy has been magnified when the award recipient completed the climb in 'heavy' style, spending large amounts of time on the ascent and leaving gear behind, as in the cases of the 1997 and 2005 awards. In 2005 Ian Parnell withdrew his nomination, as did Alessandro Beltrami, Rolando Garibotti and Ermanno Salvaterra in 2006 for what might be the first ascent of the north face of Cerro Torre, and in 2008 during the selection process Garibotti asked the jury not to take into consideration the Torre Traverse first ascent he completed with Colin Haley. Marmier left the jury in 1998 explaining that "the decision of the jury has been a real disaster." [2]
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The Piolet d'or 2011 took place in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France) from 16 to 17 April 2011.
The winners were
The Piolet d'or 2009 took place in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France) and Courmayeur (Italy) from 8–10 April 2010.
The winners were
Year 2010 *Reinhold Messner：Lifetime Achievement
The Piolet d'or 2008 took place in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France) and Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley (Italy) on the 24th and 25 April 2009.[4]
The 2008 awardees were (1) Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten for their first ascent in the alpine style of Tengkampoche Northface (6500m), Khumbu Valley, Nepal; (2) Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi for the first ascent of the South-West face of Kamet (7756m, India) in alpine style; (3) Fumitaka Ichimura, Yusuke Sato and Kazuki Amano for a new route on the North face of Kalanka (6931m, India).[2]
For 2007, the Piolet D'Or was canceled. The co-founders of the award decided to initiate a new process for selecting the nominees and winner, and the process could not be completed on a timely basis for 2008.[5]
The 2006 Piolet d'Or was awarded on January 26, 2007 in Grenoble, France. The winners were:
Other finalist were: