The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme, was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France when 20 mountaineering associations met for an alpine congress. Count Charles Egmond d’Arcis, from Switzerland, was chosen as the first president and it was decided by the founding members that the UIAA would be an international federation which would be in charge of the "study and solution of all problems regarding mountaineering". The UIAA Safety Label was created in 1960 and was internationally approved in 1965 and currently (2015) has a global presence on five continents with 86 member associations in 62 countries representing over 3 million people.
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC are also recognised by government as the national governing body for competition climbing.
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Historically in Caernarfonshire, it lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226, reducing slightly to 206 at the 2011 census. It lies at the junction of the A5 road from Bangor and Bethesda to Betws-y-Coed with the A4086 road from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Pen-y-Pass and Pen-y-Gwryd. It is surrounded by hills and mountains, including Moel Siabod and Pen Llithrig y Wrach.
Plas y Brenin, located in Conwy County Borough, Wales, is a National Outdoor Centre owned by Sport England. The centre is situated in Dyffryn Mymbyr, the Mymbyr Valley, in Snowdonia and is less than a quarter of a mile south-west of the centre of Capel Curig on the A4086 road.
The International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) is the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, known alternatively by its French, German and English abbreviations: UIAGM, Union Internationale des Associations de Guides de Montagnes (French), and IVBV, Internationale Vereinigung der Bergführerverbande (German).
Steve House is an American professional alpinist and mountain guide, and winner of the 2006 Piolet d'Or.
The American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) is the United States' "sole representative to the 21-member International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA), the international governing body responsible for guiding standards and education around the world". AMGA is a non-profit organization that seeks to represent the interests of American mountain guides by providing support, education, and standards. The Association offers training courses and certification exams in rock, alpine and ski mountaineering.
The British Mountain Guides (BMG) is a national association for professionally-trained guides. It originally formed under the name British Mountain Guides Association. It has over 140 members who are accredited and qualified in the skills to teach techniques and to guide others in climbing, mountaineering and skiing. It coordinates internationally recognized training and certification programmes.
A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or lead individuals or small groups who require this advanced expertise. This professional class of guides arose in the middle of the 19th century when alpine climbing became recognized as a sport.
The British Association of International Mountain Leaders (BAIML) is a professional association for those leading in mountains both in the United Kingdom and around the world. The group represents British International Mountain Leaders (IMLs) who work in the hills and mountains of their home country, the alpine regions and further afield. Before November 2004 the recognised qualification was the European Mountain Leader Award (EML). Following the establishment of the Union of International Mountain Leader Associations (UIMLA) in November 2004, EMLs have become International Mountain Leaders (IMLs). As an Association, BAIML now has over 600 members, most of whom hold the full IML award.
The Fédération Française des clubs alpins et de montagne (FFCAM) is a federation of clubs promoting mountain sports. It offers multiple training programs and courses to help people understand mountains and manages 142 mountain huts, mostly in the Alps and the Pyrenees.
A mountain leader is a military professional specialising in delivering training for, or leading, operations in high altitude and / or extremely low temperature environments.
The World Championships of Ski Mountaineering are biannually held ski mountaineering competitions.
The European Championships of Ski Mountaineering were the European championships for national ski mountaineering teams from 1992 to 2009. They were held biannually and were separated into men's and women's competitions.
The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) is a non governmental sports organisation for the promotion of mountaineering, climbing and other mountain-related adventure activities in Pakistan. In addition to this, the club serves as the national sports governing body for the sport of mountaineering and climbing in Pakistan.
Marcos José Couch, Argentinean mountain climber, known for his professional achievements in mountains such as the Shishapangma in Tibet, or the Fitz Roy in Patagonia. Since 1987 he is a mountain guide and has been working internationally.
The École militaire de haute montagne (ÉMHM) is a training establishment of the French Army, that trains French and allied service personnel in mountain warfare, skiing, mountain leadership, and arctic warfare.
Mountaineering Ireland is the representative association for hikers and mountaineers on the island of Ireland. It is recognized by both Sport Ireland, the Irish authority for sport, and Sport Northern Ireland, the corresponding authority of the Government of Northern Ireland, thus operating across the island of Ireland. The association has been an International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) member since 2004, as well as a member of other federations. The association is also a publisher of walking and climbing guides.
Aleš Kunaver was a Slovenian alpinist and tour guide, born June 23rd, 1935 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Kunaver died November 2nd, 1984 in a helicopter accident on the slope of Vrš above Blejska Dobrava.
