The UIAA or Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme, (English: International Mountaineering and Climbing Organisation) is the organisation that represents several million mountaineers and climbers, world-wide, on international issues. Formed in 1932 in Chamonix, France, it now has over 88 members associations from some 76 countries, all of national importance. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the International Federation representing mountaineering and climbing. The association plays an important role in regulating safety standards for equipment used in climbing.

The UIAA is also concerned with rockclimbing and bouldering competitions that usually take part indoors on man-made climbing routes.

The UIAA headquarters is located in Bern, Switzerland.

[edit] Grading system

The UIAA grading system is mostly used for short rock routes in Western Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On long routes it is often used in the Alps and Himalaya. Using Roman numerals, it was originally intended to run from I (easiest) to X (hardest), but as with all other grading systems, improvements to climbing standards have led to the system being open-ended. An optional + or − may be used to further differentiate difficulty. As of 2004, the hardest climbs are XII−.

[edit] Safety in mountaineering and climbing equipment

The UIAA Safety Commission works in the area of developing safety standards for 19 equipment types. These standards are implemented world-wide by the manufacturers who also participate in annual Safety Commission meetings. The next Safety Commission meeting will be held in Belluna, Italy between 2-4 June 2010. You can read more about safety on the UIAA website.

Click here to see if your equipment is UIAA certified or not: http://safety.theuiaa.org/front/index_public.php

[edit] External links

• Official UIAA website

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