Alpinist Jean-Claude Marmier, then president of the Groupe de Haute Montagne [fr] (or GHM), suggested an annual prize for "outstanding achievement in the world of alpinism" might increase the public profile (and thus sponsorship) of French mountaineering.

[3][4] After a controversial 1998 Piolet was awarded to a Russian team of which two had died on the route, the rules were changed the following year so that nominees had to have completed their climbs safely.

[12][13][14] The following climbers have won more than one Piolet d'Or since its inception in 1992: Post 2008, a new Charter was drafted to clarify the basis and values for deciding awards:[1][15] In modern mountaineering, questions of style and means of ascent take precedence over reaching the objective itself.

It is no longer a matter of employing huge financial and technical resources (bottled oxygen, fixed ropes, high-altitude porters, so-called 'performance-enhancing' substances…) and large numbers of people to reach the top at all costs.

[5][21][22] Over the years, a number of climbers have openly criticized and even rejected awards/or asked not to be considered:[3][4] The 2024 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2024 by a 7-person technical jury consisting of Lise Billon, Jack Tackle, Mikel Zabalza, Genki Narumi, Toni Gutch, Aleš Česen, and Enrico Rosso.

[23] The 2023 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2023 by a 7-person technical jury consisting of Lise Billon, Ines Papert, Nikita Balabanov, Ales Cesen, Martin Elias, Genki Narumi and Jack Tackle.

[29] The 2022 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2022 by a 6-person technical jury consisting of Conrad Anker, Alex Bluemel, Genki Narumi, Paul Ramsden, Patrick Wagnon, and Mikel Zabalza:[18][30] The 2021 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in October 2021 by a 6-person technical jury consisting of Ines Papert, Kelly Cordes, Victor Saunders, Valery Babanov, and Helias Millerioux:[31][32] The 2020 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in August 2020 by an 8-person technical jury consisting of Kazuaki Amano, Nikita Balabanov, Aleš Česen, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Helias Millerioux, Enrico Rosso, Victor Saunders and Raphael Slawinski.

[33][34][15] The 2019 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in July 2019 by a 7-person technical jury consisting of Sandy Allan, Kazu Amano, Valeri Babanov, Jordi Corominas, Fred Degoulet, Ines Papert, Andrej Štremfelj; for a second time the awards were held at the Ladek Mountain Festival, but were overshadowed by the recent deaths of two of the winners, David Lama and Hansjörg Auer.

[35][11] The 2017 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in April 2017 by an 8-person technical jury consisting of Kazu Amano, Valery Babanov, Hervé Barmasse, Kelly Cordes, Andy Houseman, Thomas Huber, Sebastien Ratel, and Raphael Slawinski.

[36] The 2016 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in April 2016 by a 9-person technical jury consisting of Valeri Babanov, Hervé Barmasse, Seb Bohin, Simon Elias, Yasuhiro Hanatani, Silvo Karo, Michael Kennedy, Victor Saunders, and Raphael Slawinski.

[1] The 2015 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in March 2015 by a 9-person technical jury consisting of Kazuki Amano, Valeri Babanov, Hervé Barmasse, Stephane Benoist, Andy Houseman, Michael Kennedy, Ines Papert, Raphael Slawinski, and Andrej Štremfelj; in a departure from previous years, the winners were announced before the ceremony so the event was "not a competition, but a celebration".

[9][10] The 2012 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in March 2012 by a 6-person technical jury consisting of Michael Kennedy, Valeri Babanov, Alberto Iñurrategi, Ines Papert, Liu Yong, and Alessandro Filippini (Italian journalist).

[48][49] The 2011 Piolet d'Or winners were announced in April 2011 by a 6-person technical jury consisting of Greg Child (Jury President), Enrico Rosso, Yannick Graziani, Simon Anthamatten, Michael Pause (German journalist), and Hiroshi Hagiwara (Japanese journalist); underlying the "new post-2008 Charter" for assessing ascents, the winners were very diverse expeditions underlining the "spirit of Alpinism".

[52][53] In a break with tradition, Christian Trommsdorff, chairman of Piolets d'Or organizer Groupe de Haute Montagne, said at the ceremony that the winners exemplified the new post-2008 Charter, while the other nominees did not make the cut.

"[7] Jury member Peter Habeler added: "It is not a question of reaching success at all costs, by using financial or technical means (such as oxygen, fixed ropes, Sherpas, doping products etc.…).