MADRID, 9 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Higher Sports Council (CSD) has awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (ROMD) to the Spanish climber, explorer and mountaineer Silvia Vidal in recognition of her “long professional career”.
It is a distinction -at the proposal of the vice-chancellor of the ROMD and general director of Sports, Albert Soler- with which his career is recognized, in which his solo achievements stand out on large walls, such as those in the mountainous regions of Pakistan , India, Patagonia and Alaska, which make her “one of the best athletes in her specialty in the world”.
Born in Barcelona in 1970, she began her climbing path in the mid-nineties, and after her first year climbing traditionally, she made her first sport climbing pitch. In 1996 she received the Piolet de Oro award from the Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports.
In subsequent years, Vidal made ascents such as Amin Brakk (Pakistan), Neverseen Tower (Indian Himalayas), Karakoram and Shipton Spire (Pakistan), Serranía Avalancha and Cerro Chileno Grande (Chilean Patagonia) or peaks of Arrigetch ( Alaska). In some of these climbs she has spent more than 30 days in a row hanging and alone.
The autonomy of his climbs is, precisely, the characteristic note of the philosophy of his projects. Silvia Vidal is known, in fact, for her solo routes in remote and difficult-to-reach regions, and for advocating “an independent and thorough approach to her expeditions, including research, preparation and team transportation, in which she avoids any means of communication such as radios, mobile phones or Internet connection”.
Created in 1982, the Royal Order of Sports Merit is a public recognition of those who have distinguished themselves in the practice of sport, in the promotion and teaching of physical education or in the research, dissemination, organization and development of physical culture and sport. His greatest distinction is the Grand Cross, which is conferred by royal decree agreed upon by the Council of Ministers, in addition to the gold, silver and bronze medals, which are awarded by the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD).