Mountain Wilderness is an international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

dedicated to the preservation of mountain areas, in their natural and cultural aspects. The organization was founded in Europe and has a stronger presence in

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and pyrenean regions. It has, however, a worldwide reach, with representatives and actions on all continents.

Objectives

Mountain Wilderness shares some of the values and objectives of mountaineering clubs,

nature conservation organizations Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

and environmental NGOs, but with clearly distinctinve positions and orientations. Mountain Wilderness was founded by

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...

and places a strong emphasis on the ''human experience of wilderness'' as grounded in individual freedom and responsibility. This

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

stance originally took precedence on the exclusive defense of wildness, wildlands or

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

for their own sake. Even in the most remote mountain regions, there remain vanishingly few untouched

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

zones in a strict sense. Contrary to what a literal interpretation would suggest, Mountain Wilderness does not focus on such ideally pure, pristine wilderness. Nearly all mountain landscapes, and, to an even higher degree, the perception of mountains by humans, bear a strong cultural imprint. Mountain Wilderness works towards the inclusive preservation of this natural and cultural mountain environment at large. This has been accomplished by, among others: *furthering activities and practices that foster self-reliance, respect for nature and the shared enjoyment of mountains by all those who love them *opposing aggressive activities, such as recreational

off-roading Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

, heli-skiing, and more generally the

commercialization Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into ...

overdevelopment In international economics, overdevelopment refers to a way of seeing global inequality and pollution that focuses on the negative consequences of excessive consumption. It exists as the mutually constitutive counterpart to the more commonly know ...

and exclusive appropriation of mountains by those who just want to exploit them. *fostering a naturally and culturally respectful development of mountain regions, to ensure a

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

future for those who choose to live there

History

Mountain Wilderness was founded in 1987 in

Biella Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin a ...

, Italy during an international conference convened by Ludovico Sella, scion of a prominent

piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

ese family of financiers, statesmen and mountaineers, among which

Quintino Sella Quintino Sella (; 7 July 1827 – 14 March 1884) was an Italian politician, economist and mountaineer. Biography Sella was born at Sella di Mosso, in the Province of Biella. After studying engineering at Turin, he was sent in 1843 to study ...

, the 19th century founder of the Italian Alpine Club. This conference was a follow-up to a similar gathering of mountaineers convened by the Italian Academic Alpine Club on 8 August 1986, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the first ascent of the Mont-Blanc. On this occasion, a "manifesto for Mont Blanc" was issued and signed by a number of renowned mountaineers, among which Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. Chouinard is also a surf ...

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...

Doug Scott Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English mountaineer, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. In receiving one of mountaineering's highest hon ...

. This manifesto called for a foundational human right to "open spaces for free adventure". The Biella conference attracted a larger attendance of mountaineers and intellectuals from all over the world, several of whom were to become founding guarantors and founding members of Mountain Wilderness. Among them were

Haroun Tazieff Haroun Tazieff (Warsaw, 11 May 1914 – Paris, 2 February 1998) was a Tatar, Belgian and French volcanologist and geologist. He was a famous cinematographer of volcanic eruptions and lava flows, and the author of several books on volcanoes. He ...

, Kurt Diemberger,

Jim Bridwell Jim Bridwell (July 29, 1944 – February 16, 2018) was an American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965, especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He was noted for pushing the standards of both free climbi ...

, John Hunt,

Wanda Rutkiewicz Wanda Rutkiewicz (née Błaszkiewicz) ( 4 February 1943 – 12–13 May 1992) was a Polish mountain climber and computer engineer. She was the first woman to reach the summit of K2 and the third woman (first European woman) to summit Mount Ev ...

. The "Biella theses", on which the above mission statement is based, were written during this meeting.

Actions

Some of the earliest and most visible actions led by Mountain Wilderness at the international level have been: *Demonstration at Pointe Helbronner on 16 August 1986, against the Vallee Blanche Aerial Tramway, a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate ...

that crosses the "Vallée Blanche" from

Aiguille du Midi The Aiguille du Midi () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Cable car The idea fo ...

to the col du Géant above

Courmayeur Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and '' comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley. History The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (1 ...

, desecrating the very heart of the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

massif, a wilderness area of foremost symbolic and cultural significance for Europe. During this demonstration,

climbed atop one of the gondola towers to hang a protest banner. Although Mountain Wilderness had yet to be formally established as an organization when this took place, it was later perceived as an inaugural event. The daring, spectacular character of this action inspired comparisons to similar actions by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

, but later demonstrations by Mountain Wilderness have generally been more modest. All have been peaceful and none of them against the law. *"Free K2" expedition organised in 1990 on K2, the second highest mountain in the word, to remove fixed ropes and discarded gear left behind by all expeditions that had attempted the ascent. *Campaign to protect

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

in Greece from a huge development project. A manifesto was issued at the end of 1993 and an international petition was signed by intellectuals and writers from all over the world, among which five Nobel laureates. The project was withdrawn in 1995, after this petition was delivered to the Greek government. *Oxus, mountains for peace, an expedition organised to climb Mount

Noshaq Noshaq (also called Noshak or Nowshak; is the second highest peak in the Hindu Kush Range after Tirich Mir at . It lies on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The north and west sides of the mountain are in Afghanistan whereas the south ...

, the highest peak in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, in the

Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor ( ps, واخان دهلېز, translit=wāxān dahléz, fa, دالان واخان, translit=dâlân vâxân) is a narrow strip of territory in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, extending to Xinjiang in China and separatin ...

and the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

range, in 2003: this event was intended to promote sustainable outdoor tourism in this country and to serve as a symbol of a possible return to peace and normalcy, after the civil war and the fall of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

regime, during which all manner of tourism had completely disappeared.

Guarantors

Guarantors of Mountain Wilderness are a group of intellectuals, writers, mountaineers, world-travelers, who are recognized through their achievements and their long-time commitment to the shared values of Mountain Wilderness. They play the roles of international representatives and advisors for the association. Among noted former or current guarantors are :

Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached ...

(NZ) (who was long-time honorary president of Mountain Wilderness),

Sir Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father ...

(UK), John Hunt (UK),

(IT),

Jean-Christophe Lafaille Jean-Christophe Lafaille (31 March 1965 – 27 January 2006 resumed was a French mountaineer noted for a number of difficult ascents in the Alps and Himalaya, and for what has been described as "perhaps the finest self-rescue ever performed in ...

(FR),

(PL),

, Fausto De Stefani (IT), Kurt Diemberger (AT), Patrick Gabarrou (FR), Roberto Osio (IT), Alessandro Gogna (IT), Carlo Alberto Pinelli (IT) (former international coordinator)

National chapters of Mountain Wilderness

* Catalonia * France * Germany * Italy * Spain * SwitzerlandSwitzerland
/ref> National chapters have also existed at some time in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Pakistan, Slovenia, the Netherlands, the UK, but are not currently active as established organizations in their own right, though individual members may remain active in these countries.

References

External links

www.mountainwilderness.org
official web site of Mountain Wilderness International {{Authority control Nature conservation organisations based in Europe International environmental organizations Climbing organizations Wilderness Organizations established in 1987 Edmund Hillary Environmental organisations based in Italy