Nominees Announced for 2013 Piolets D'Or

The nominees have been announced for the 21st Piolets D'Or to be held in Chamonix and Courmayeur next month. Each of the six expeditions in the running for the prestigious award involved climbing peaks of at least 6,000m in height.

The six expeditions nominated for the 2013 version of the award which recognises the spirit and style of alpinism and respect for the mountains are detailed below:

• South Face of the Ogre in Pakistan by Kyle Dempster, Hayden Kennedy and Josh Wharton
• Complete Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat in Pakistan by Sandy Allan and Rick Allen
• Northeast Spur of Muztagh Tower in Pakistan by Dmitry Golovchenko, Alexander Lange, and Sergey Nilov
• Southwest Face of Kamet in India by Chamonix locals Sébastien Bohin, Didier Jourdain, Sébastien Moatti, and Sébastien Ratel
• Northeast Ridge of Shiva in India by Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden
• South Pillar of Kyashar in Nepal by Tatsuya Aoki, Yasuhiro Hanatani and Hiroyoshi Manome

The winners will be announced at a mountain festival to be held in Chamonix and Courmayeur from 3rd-6th of April. The jury with the job of making the tough decision will be made up of British climbing legend Stephen Venables, the first woman to climb all 8,000m peaks without supplementary oxygen, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Slovenian climber Silvo Karo and Japanese mountaineer Katsutaka 'Jumbo' Yokoyama.

For more information on the Piolets d'Or, check out the official website.