The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union internationale des associations d'alpinisme (UIAA; French for 'International Union of Alpine Clubs'), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France when 20 mountaineering associations met for an alpine congress. Count Charles Egmond d'Arcis, from Switzerland, was chosen as the first president and it was decided by the founding members that the UIAA would be an international federation which would be in charge of the "study and solution of all problems regarding mountaineering".^[1] The UIAA Safety Label was created in 1960 and was internationally approved in 1965 and currently (2015) has a global presence on five continents with 86 member associations in 62 countries representing over 3 million people.^[2]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UIAA suspended all UIAA officials from Russia, and delegates from the Russian Mountaineering Federation (RMF) and Russian officials and athletes were excluded from all UIAA-sanctioned activities and events.^[3]

This section does not cite any sources. (September 2021)

The UIAA is today the international governing body of climbing and mountaineering and represents climbers and mountaineers around the world on a wide range of issues related to mountain safety, sustainability, and competition sport.

The International Climbers' Meet, the goal of these meets is to foster goodwill and cultural understanding through our shared passion of climbing by hosting a diverse group of climbing abilities from a multitude of countries.

The UIAA Safety Commission develops and maintains safety standards for climbing equipment. These standards are implemented worldwide by the manufacturers who also participate in annual Safety Commission meetings. The commission works with nearly 60 manufacturers worldwide and has 1,861 products certified.

Dynamic Rope UIAA fall count rating The test to determine the fall count uses a 5.1m rope and drops a weight (80 kg single rope / 55 kg double rope) so that it falls 4.8m before experiencing a reaction force from the rope. This means that the weight is falling below the fixed end and there is minimal rope to stretch and absorb the force. The fall count rating is the number of times the rope can undergo this test before breaking. For the dynamic rope to be UIAA certified it requires a fall count rating of 5 or more.^[4]

This number does not indicate that the rope needs to be discarded after this many falls while climbing, since a fall would usually not have the climber fall beyond the belayer and there is usually more rope to stretch and absorb the fall. There have been no recorded accidents of a UIAA-certified dynamic rope breaking without there being damage from a sharp edge or chemical.

Mountain Medicine Diploma Together with the International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM) and the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR), in 1997 at Interlaken, Switzerland the UIAA Medical Commission established and developed a joint Diploma in Mountain Medicine setting minimum requirements for courses in mountain medicine. Many course organizers adopted these standards and the Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) has become a widely respected qualification.

The Medical Commission was founded in 1981. Its history dates back to an earlier time when there were only a few doctors representing the largest mountaineering federations. The commission has grown to include 22 delegated doctors from 18 different mountaineering federations, as well as 16 corresponding members from all over the world. The UIAA Medical Commission has worked very closely with the Medical Commission of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR). The current presidents of the UIAA Medical Commission and the MedCom ICAR are always on the advisory board of the ISMM.

This section does not cite any sources. (September 2021)

Ice climbing The UIAA is the world governing body for competition ice climbing. The annual UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup circuit and the bi-annual World Championship and Youth World Championship are organized in different continents with athletes from over 30 countries participating.

There are two ice-climbing disciplines, Speed and Lead. In Speed, athletes race up an ice face for the best time. In Lead-competitions, the climbers' ability to master a difficult route in a given time is tested.

Anti-Doping Commission The UIAA has adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (2014); this includes the mandatory articles of the Code and all relevant International Standards. The commission also oversees the anti-doping testing of athletes who participate in UIAA ice-climbing competitions.

Global Youth Summit The Global Youth Summit is a series of UIAA youth events where young mountaineers from around the world come together to climb, promote peace and cooperation between countries, and work on the protection of the environment. First implemented ten years ago, it consists of a series of expeditions and camps offered by UIAA member federations to other UIAA member federations and their members.

All UIAA Global Youth Summit events are organized and undertaken in strict accordance with the relevant Federation's regulations and UIAA Youth Commission Handbook & UIAA Youth Commission criteria and recommendations governing such events. Once approved the National Federation or event organiser and their designated leaders have responsibility for the event. The UIAA Youth Commission and UIAA Office may on occasion appoint other responsible persons such as trainers, event organizers, and partners.

Source:^[5]

• 1932–1964: Count Charles Egmond d'Arcis
• 1964–1968: Edouard Wyss-Dunant
• 1968–1972: Albert Eggler [de]^[6]
• 1972–1976: Jean Juge^[7]
• 1976–1984: Pierre Bossus
• 1984–1990: Carlo Sganzini
• 1990–1995: Pietro Segantini
• 1995–2004: Ian McNaught-Davis
• 2004–2005: Alan Blackshaw
• 2005–2011: Mike Mortimer^[8]
• 2012–2020: Frits Vrijlandt [nl]^[9]
• 2020–present: Peter Muir

Source:^[10]