The 31st edition will feature the Piolets d’or. It will be held in Briancon. It will be the same as the 30th edition. The event will take place at the Brianconnais theatre (not at the Cosmo cinema). The event will honor many landmark achievements in high altitude areas like the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kuch, Tien Shan, as well as in wilderness areas such Patagonia, Alaska, and Greenland. According to organizers, the program will be packed with movies, round tables and book fairs, field trips and, of course, the gala/prize-giving night.
The mayor of Briancon Arnaud Mouria had unwittingly fanned the surprise when he asked the municipal council to adopt a EUR290,000 envelope for his event policy. The Etape du Tour was the Etape du Tour… which hosted the Etape d’Or reception, a real Oscars in world mountaineering. “We would like to host three Piolets d’Or editions. We made the request and budgeted accordingly,” explained the elected official. It’s now official.
