Mountain Wilderness
In defence of mountains, the world over
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      • The Swat Project
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      • Alessandro GOGNA
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      • Kurt DIEMBERGER
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      • Núria BALAGUÉ
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      • Xavi ARIAS
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      • Jordi QUERA – President
      • Gotlind BLECHSCHMIDT – Vice President
      • Gabriella Suzanne VANZAN – Vice President
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Statute

Our Statute is provided here, both in its registered version in Italian, and in the translation into English.

Want to see mountain nature better protected? Join us!

“Mountain wilderness” refers to any pristine, untouched mountain environment, where anyone can experience vast open spaces, silence, solitude, nature. “The value of wilderness therefore lies above all in its potential to stimulate a creative relationship between civilised man and the natural environment. It is the degree of authenticity of this relationship that gives a non-ephemeral meaning to adventure.”

This definition dates back to 1987, when the Biella theses, our manifesto, were written. They marked the birth of Mountain Wilderness.

Mountain Wilderness International (MWI) is the umbrella organisation of the national chapters of Mountain Wilderness. It facilitates communication and exchange among national chapters, coordinates and organises international projects and actions and officially represents the organisation in its relations with governments, authorities, international institutions and non-governmental organisations.

If you share our ideas and you wish to help us, please join a national chapter. Mountain Wilderness has chapters in a dozen countries.

Events Calendar

Mountain Wilderness International

2 days ago

Mountain Wilderness International
Last Sunday, 60 people gathered on the Girose glacier, in the French Alps, to denounce the wicked plan to extend the La Grave cable car across a remarkable natural area, already severely challenged by climate change.Observations of helicopter overflights and trampling of the area were proof that work had already begun, i.e. SATG, La Grave tourist development company, had started construction work without waiting for the verdict on the case, which will be issued in 2024.The Hautes-Alpes prefect must decide by September 26 whether or not the work on this area – that is home to a protected species (Androsace du Dauphiné) - falls within the scope of Art. L.411-1 of the French Environment Code, and thus whether continuing the work requires a derogation.If the Prefect does not give SATG formal notice by September 26 (which he did not), the associations will continue their fight by lodging a new appeal, this time against the French State.And here is the video of the people who climbed 1600m last Sunday from La Grave to defend the majestic Girose glacier at the foot of the Meije, threatened by the devastating cable car project.This is just a short summary of what is happening on the Girose glacier, one of the many examples of the devastating effects our glaciers are suffering at the hands of man, as if human-caused climate change weren't enough.Mountain Wilderness France ... See MoreSee Less

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Mountain Wilderness International

3 days ago

Mountain Wilderness International
Josep Sicart i Tauler, founding member of Mountain Wilderness Catalunya, which he had also chaired, and International Guarantor of MW International, has passed away. His whole life was devoted to mountain activities and protection. Read our tribute to Josep Adapted, translated version of the tribute written in French by Mountain Wilderness France ... See MoreSee Less

Tribute to Josep Sicart - Mountain Wilderness

www.mountainwilderness.org

Josep Sicart i Tauler, a founding member of MW Catalunya and an International Guarantor of MW International, has passed away. His whole life was devoted to mountain activities and protection. When he ...
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Mountain Wilderness International

5 days ago

Mountain Wilderness International
Antarctic sea ice hits record low. 'Antarctica’s huge glacial ice expanse and the surrounding sea ice cover are critical to regulating the climate because it reflects the sun’s energy back to the atmosphere and space. In contrast, the dark ocean surface absorbs most of the sun’s incoming energy. So, less sea ice contributes to increasing temperatures – thus accelerating a vicious cycle.”There is growing concern about rapid changes in the cryosphere – melting sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers,” says Omar Baddour, chief of climate monitoring at WMO. “The drop in Antarctic sea ice this year has been really dramatic. What happens in Antarctica and the Arctic affects the entire globe,” he says.'#Antarctica #seaice #recordlow #climatecrisis World Meteorological Organization ... See MoreSee Less

Antarctic sea ice reaches lowest winter extent on record

public.wmo.int

Antarctic sea ice has reached its maximum extent after the cold dark winter months. According to the preliminary data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the maximum extent remained...
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Mountain Wilderness International

6 days ago

Mountain Wilderness International
More than a thousand people gathered in Cortina last Sunday to say "no" to a new bobsled track. The old one was used for the 1956 Olympics and was closed in 2008 because of rising maintenance costs. A new bobsled track would cost more than 120 million euro and cause heavy environmental damage.Civil society, local committees, environmental NGOs, the Italian Alpine Club, a group of mountain writers and a few politicians took part in the protests. Mountain Wilderness will continue its efforts to limit the damage of a Winter Olympics that promises to be catastrophic from an environmental point of view.There are still millions of euros of public money at stake for speculation and concrete construction works that will affect Olympic territories with new roads and new ski links.#MilanoCortina2026 #Cortina #WinterOlympics #nonewbobsledtrack #IOC Mountain Wilderness Italia ... See MoreSee Less
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Mountain Wilderness International

7 days ago

Mountain Wilderness International
This weekend Mountain Wilderness Catalunya removed the remains of a plane that crashed in 1961 at the foot of Barbet peak in the Canigó massif, in the heart of the Pyrénées-Orientales. #grandsitecanigó Mountain Wilderness France ... See MoreSee Less
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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
29 Sep

Josep Sicart i Tauler, founding member of @MWildernessCat, which he had also chaired, and International Guarantor of MW International, has passed away. His whole life was devoted to #mountain activities & protection. Read our tribute to Josep at the link

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
27 Sep

More than 1,000 people gathered in #Cortina last Sunday to say "NO" to a new #bobsledtrack that would cost more than € 120mln & cause heavy environmental damage. We will continue our efforts to limit the damage of a Winter Olympics that claimed to be the “most sustainable” ever

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
27 Sep

#Antarctica sea ice hits record low. It is "critical to regulating the #climate because it reflects the sun’s energy back to atmosphere & space. In contrast, the dark ocean surface absorbs most of the sun’s incoming energy. So, less sea ice contributes to increasing temperatures"

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
22 Sep

#MWGermany organised a protest action in #Platzertal 🇦🇹 -Ötztal Alps- against #Kaunertal power plant expansion. The planned dam would flood over 63,000 sqm of moorland & withdraw up to 80% water from one of the valleys in Tyrol receiving lowest rainfall
📽️ http://bit.ly/461cugu

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
19 Sep

Expedition parties of the #SwatProject have returned to Europe from #Pakistan. The project, initiated and led by MW International aims to publish a guidebook on Swat and establish a vast protected mountain area there #HKH #mountainsmatter

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A Mountain Liaison Officer is an officer seconded A Mountain Liaison Officer is an officer seconded to a foreign mountaineering expedition visiting the Greater Himalayas for climbing or trekking at high altitude. It was very common in ancient times, even during the British Raj, for every mountaineering or scientific expedition to have a liaison officer. Read @afzelscherazi's article on mountain liaison officers. Link in bio #mountainsmatter #liaisonofficer #Pakistan #HKH #glaciers #mountains #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace
You may either love or hate these feats, but what You may either love or hate these feats, but what about the descent of Mont Blanc by helicopter? 🚁 This happened in the hottest week on record, with blazing temperatures around the globe, among growing concerns about the impacts of climate change and GHG emissions on the environment and human health... Link to press release in bio 📷 Mountain Wilderness France #MontBlanc #helicopter #GHGs #emissions #climatechange #hottestweekever #environment #leavenotrace #silence
Some smiling faces from our virtual GA 2023, that Some smiling faces from our virtual GA 2023, that just ended. Keep on doing the good work! See you next year, in person! 💪 🗻 #MountainWilderness #InDefenceOfMountains #TheWorldOver
Today is World Environment Day! 💚 This year's Today is World Environment Day! 💚 This year's theme is "Solutions to plastic pollution". Mountain areas are among the most affected by plastic waste, yet pollution of mountains rarely makes the headlines. Hard and soft plastics are the most widespread pollutants in mountain areas. Check what you can do 👉 bit.ly/3Ce6qE8 to #BeatPlasticPollution! 📷 #GridArendal 🙏 #WorldEnvironmentDay #WED #plasticpollution #MountainsMatter #wildlife #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace
Civil disobedience should always be a last resort. Civil disobedience should always be a last resort. But if even the UN Secretary General Guterres raises the issue saying "They need to be protected and we need them now more than ever”, because “at key moments, protesters have been instrumental in persuading governments and business leaders to do much more”, then the wave of criminalisation and delegitimisation of environmental defenders should really spark a Europe-wide, a worldwide public discussion. Link in bio #environment #defenders #climate #activists #NGOs #mountainsmatter #noplanetb
Explorations done so far within the framework of t Explorations done so far within the framework of the Swat Project are simply not enough. Volunteers are needed to carry out further exploration and mapping, as well as taking pictures of unexplored areas. In addition to hikers, parties of mountaineers are needed to identify access routes to the main peaks and to describe the ascent routes. We think that publishing a guidebook can be an important step in convincing Pakistani authorities of the importance of designating a national park. If you are a hiking and mountaineering enthusiast, you can join us in exploring Swat’s last, still partly unknown hiking and mountaineering routes. Some of the routes may require the crossing of glaciers and snow passes, implying the use of crampons, ice axe and rope. For more info, follow link in bio! #SwatProjec#SwatValley #Pakistan#MountainWilderness #wilderness #mountainsmatter #mountainlovers #mountaineering #hiking #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #guidebook #nationalpark #wildlife
Ever since the Olympics were awarded by the IOC to Ever since the Olympics were awarded by the IOC to Milan and Cortina, Mountain Wilderness has always maintained that all promises of sustainability would be betrayed, that the costs to the community would be far from those budgeted, that all procedures put in place to guarantee environmental protection (SEA) would be carefully circumvented. Article link in bio! 📷 #VytautasDranginis #Unsplash #milancortina2026 #olympics #olympics2026 #milanocortina2026 #olympicgames #sustainability #betrayal #environmentalprotection #natura2000 #alps #mountainlovers #mountainsmatter #leavenotrace #environment
We stand in solidarity with the victims of the dev We stand in solidarity with the victims of the devastating earthquake in South East Turkey and Northern Syria 📷 #NASA #TurkeySyriaEarthquake
The Swat Project comes to an end this year. The la The Swat Project comes to an end this year. The last expeditions will take place in August/September. We are once again inviting all hiking and mountaineering enthusiasts to participate in the exploration of hiking and mountaineering routes that will be included in our guidebook with a strong focus on environmental protection. 💚 This guidebook is meant to spur the Pakistani government to initiate the creation of a National Park. The project is being implemented in collaboration with ISMEO, International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, and CAAI, Italian Academic Alpine Club, under the aegis of @unmountainsmatter For more information, link in bio 🔗 #mountainsmatter #SwatProject #guidebook #nationalpark #Pakistan #cleanclimbing #ecotourism #donoharm #leavenotrace #mountainlovers
"Women move mountains” was the theme of this yea "Women move mountains” was the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day (IMD) on 11 December. “Women play a key role in environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. They are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine” explains FAO. A perfect fit for our “Girls in Action!” course we held this year in Pakistani Swat, 10 years after the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai. The course was part of The Swat Project, whose ultimate goal is to create a National Park in an area of great natural beauty, known as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’. There were several initiatives either organised or co-organised by MW at national and international level or in which national chapters participated. Link in bio #mountainsmatter #WomenMoveMountains #IMD2022 #InternationalMountainDay #TheSwatProject #mountainwilderness #mountainlovers #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #donoharm
May the festive season bring us peace, love, healt May the festive season bring us peace, love, health, rest and the strength to continue fighting with renewed vigour for our beloved mountains in the New Year! ✨ #MerryChristmas #SeasonsGreetings #happyholidays #mountainwilderness #mountainsmatter #sustainability #donoharm #leavenotrace #mountainlovers #mountains #biodiversity #environment #climatecrisis
'Women play a key role in mountains' environmental 'Women play a key role in mountains' environmental protection and social and economic development' #UN We are so proud to have contributed by empowering a group of Pakistani women with our "Girls In Action!" course held this year in Swat, because #WomenMoveMountains! Happy International Mountain Day! #IMD2022 #MountainsMatter #empowerment #GirlsInAction #Swat #Pakistan #ecofriendly #mountaineering #wildlife #climbing #HKH #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #donoharm #nationalpark #mountainlovers
Grand Bornand, 930 m asl, will host the Biathlon W Grand Bornand, 930 m asl, will host the Biathlon World Cup from 15 to 18 December. There being no snow, which is quite normal at that elevation, piles of artificial snow were produced and preserved. But then the "white gold" had to be transported. A local resident said: "in a quarter of an hour, 17 truckloads of snow came up to the ski resort". That's 68 trucks per hour! In times of climate and energy crisis, just think of the consumption caused by an event like this, in terms of water and energy to make the snow, not to mention the carbon footprint of the trucks! Gold medal 🥇 for water and energy consumption to make the snow ❄️ as well as for the trucks' carbon footprint! 🚚🚚🚚 #snowfarming #climatecrisis #energycrisis #biathlon #MountainsMatter #Alps #leavenotrace #donoharm #carbonfootprint
📢 December 11 is International Mountain Day! 🗻 The year 2022 also marks the 20th anniversary from the first International Year ever devoted to mountains! Once again we have joined forces with @teatrodelburattomilano to organise a short story (in 🇮🇹) and photo contest within the framework of the Reading Mountains Festival on the themes "women move mountains", "sustainable mountain development" and "into the wild". Prizes will be awarded on #IMD2022 🔗 bit.ly/3fW51Ld (Italian only) #MountainsMatter #mountainwilderness #mountainlovers #wilderness #sustainablemountaindevelopment #womenmovemountains #intothewild #cleanclimbing #donoharm #leavenotrace
From the Austrian Pitztal-Ötztal megaproject, “ From the Austrian Pitztal-Ötztal megaproject, “Europe’s largest contiguous glacier ski resort”, to the greenwashing-sounding “Connecting Nature, Sharing Beauty” project in Italy's Aosta Valley and the cancellation of all downhill races in Zermatt-Cervinia as “senseless event and against all environmental logic”. When "Nature must be respected and accepted". #Alps #mountainsmatter #sustainablemountaintourism #skiindustry #megaproject #skiresort #cableway #Pitztal #Ötztal #CimeBianche #mountainlovers #wildlife #greenwashing #climatechange #glaciers #donoharm #leavenotrace 📷 Mountain Wilderness Germany Link in bio
Twenty young women aged between 15 and 25 took par Twenty young women aged between 15 and 25 took part in the basic course in eco-friendly mountaineering "Girls in Action!" This is one of the many courses Mountain Wilderness has held over time to train locals as guides and give them a livelihood, while protecting the environment, preserving mountains and respecting local culture and traditions. To read more, follow link in bio Many thanks to our partners ISMEO (The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies), CAAI (Italian Academic Alpine Club), to @scarpaspa for donating 30 pairs of boots as well as to @unmountainsmatter and @banca_sella for their financial support! #empowerment #GirlsInAction #Swat #Pakistan #ecofriendly #mountaineering #wildlife #mountainsmatter #climbing #HKH #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #donoharm #nationalpark #mountainlovers
Our teams of the Swat Project 2022 are in Swat, Pa Our teams of the Swat Project 2022 are in Swat, Pakistan, right now. Some are blocked in the mountains, due to heavy rainfall and flooding, but safe. The "Girls in Action" course for eco-friendly women trekking guides was completed despite the weather this week, although rain forced trainers to cancel yesterday's field trek. Diplomas will be handed out to the trainees who completed the course tomorrow. We express our deepest sympathy to the people affected by the flash flood emergency and mourn the many dead caused by heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan. #Pakistan #Swat #mountainsmatter #mountainwilderness #mountainlovers #sustainability #livelihood #wildlife #cleanclimbing #donoharm #leavenotrace
In recent decades, via ferratas and equipped mount In recent decades, via ferratas and equipped mountain routes have conquered all the Alps, which count more than 1000 of them: ‘French-style’ ferratas are mainly built for recreational purposes, generously equipped with cables, foot and handholds etc. and, whenever possible, a suspension bridge for extreme fun. Very often, via ferratas lead to diffuse anthropisation impacts, and sometimes even dangerous overcrowding, in particularly vulnerable areas for both fauna and flora, without even measuring the environmental impact they can have before they are built. More on @mountain_wilderness_italia campaign on via ferratas in bio #viaferrata #trail #mountainwilderness #MountainsMatter #wildlife #overcrowding #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #donoharm
Safe trip and good work! 🙏💪🏔️⛰️🧗‍♀️ 🌲🌳 #swatproject22 #girlsinaction #trekking #mountaineering #Pakistan #HKH #nationalpark #cleanclimbing #leavenotrace #donoharm #mountainwilderness #wildlife #mountainsmatter #mountainlovers Reposted from @mountain_wilderness_catalunya Sortint de BCN cap a l’Hindu Kush pakistanès per participar del #swatproject22 de @mountain_wilderness_intl…
Italian Nature Film Festival #25GPFF calls for gov Italian Nature Film Festival #25GPFF calls for governments and citizens to sign environmental sustainability and nature conservation charter to commit to a more sustainable world and then organises helicopter 🚁 ride in nature reserve - where tourist flights are banned - to Gran Paradiso 🏔 summit for a distinguished roped party to fake ascent to advertise it. Now, was there any need to drop this roped party 🧗‍♂️ along with H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco by helicopter on the shoulder of Gran Paradiso known as 'back of the donkey' just to take a few pics for the press 📷 and make headlines in the name of "sustainability"? Link in bio #granparadiso #gpff #granparadisofilmfestival #ValledAosta #Italy #Alps #granparadisonationalpark #sustainability #climatecrisis #glaciercrisis #whateverittakes #donoharm #cleanclimbing #helicopter #mountainsmatter #mountainwilderness #wildlife #naturereserve #greenwashing
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