Alpine Times

Joe Puryear

2010-11-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

I thought this was relevant. I was digging through some old tweets from this year, and I ran across one about Joe Puryear. As some of you may know, Joe Puryear recently died while climbing in Tibet. Back in March, I had a good amount of wine one night and woke up the next day to find a "tweet" I had sent at 12:20am. It said, "It's like chicken tikka - massive". Talk about muddy water.

Joe will be missed.

Here is the post - First Ascent of Takargo

Information regarding the Joe Puryear Assistance Fund

The Atlanta Opera

2010-11-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

24 Hours Of Opera, Atlanta Opera, - scroll down.

E9 Climbing Post

2010-09-29T15:39:00.001-07:00

Powered by skill or dope? What lies in the future of high altitude climbing?

For one, if you have to use oxygen to get up a mountain, then you should just turn around. Train harder, acclimate better, and tell Discovery Channel or Eddie Bauer to eat it.
Turning away from the summit is tough, I've done it before in Peru -and I was shattered, but I am forever grateful for what happened.
From the simple act of throwing in the towel, my future outlook on the sport was forever changed. It doesn't matter if you summit, because progress is progress, so if you have accomplished anything on the mountain than that's success. What DOES matter is how you climb, and if its with oxygen or fixed ropes, then you are cheating.

Let's all hope that the future of mountaineering has the absence of 8000m mountain tourism.

This is a good write up, read away. (Click here for post)

Dean Potter In Playboy

2010-09-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

The man who can fly - check it out.

Jure Robic Suffers From Bike Accident

2010-09-26T17:58:00.001-07:00

Jure Robic - endurance cycling extraordinaire died Friday from injuries suffered after a head on collision with a car in Slovenia. A champion of endurance cycling, Jure was a hero to many and impressed the cycling industry with his 5 wins of the Race Across America - a grueling brevet from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD.

I was fascinated for a time, and read about Jure quite a bit. He was capable of unbelieved bouts of physical and mental temerity. May God bless him and his family.

Olympus E-30

2010-09-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Guess where?? I am searching for a new camera, and I have been digging through old pics. This was from the summit of the Breithorn, and taken with an Olympus E-30. I thought the camera was a snooze, and only owned it for 3 months or so. As it turns out, it was a good camera - just 'noisy'.

2010-09-12T19:16:00.001-07:00

I mean, what can I say, seriously. Ultimately the guy survived, but it was a killer way down.

The Adventure Life

The Ascent Of The Matterhorn

2010-08-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn, split in two parts.The second part, which is all about the disaster that ensued, will come one day. The form is developing though, and there will be mistakes - just hang on please.

+++++++

The Ascent Of The Matterhorn - P1

The Matterhorn is by far, the most seminal image in mountain culture and sport. Overlooking the village of Zermatt, Switzerland the Matterhorn has long loomed over the people in the canton of Valais. The mountain borders Italy and Switzerland, and is one of the Alps highest standing at 14,692 ft. Remaining unclimbed until 1865, the guides of Zermatt (CH), Chamonix (FR) and Breiul (IT) reckoned the mountain was impossible to climb, no one would go further than the main alpine pass. As it remained unconquered, its reputation endured and continued to attract attempts from various sources until it's final defeat by Edward Whymper in 1865.

The son of British artist Josiah Wood Whymper, Edward was born April 27th 1840 in London to a family of 11 children. The Whymper family was known for their artistic abilities, his older brother, Frederick, was an artist and explorer who authored two books, Travels in Alaska and The Romance of the Sea. Though little is known about his childhood, he excelled in grammar school at Clarendon House and had a happy home life. Throughout his childhood, England was in a new age of prosperity and expansion. This was an age of social advancement, natural exploration and science. New lands were being discovered and trade routes were continuing to expand, and though Whymper showed an interest in natural science his future was partially chosen for him. At the age of 14, he was taken from school to become an apprentice at his father’s studio. Interesting enough, this setback would prove to be his path to adventure.

Whymper’s biographer, F.E. Smythe, described him as an unhappy person, stating, “Whymper was not a happy man. His lack of expressible feeling for everything is painfully apparent in his boyhood diaries. He had no friends; he did not even appear to want to have friends; nature alone was his friend and that only in a remote detached sort of way difficult to analyze or describe.” (1)

Smythe goes on to acclaim Whymper for his brilliance, but creates a varied description of the man himself, “he moved through life, one part of him – the intellectual part, awake, the other part, the intuitive, sympathetic part, asleep.”(1) Had this latter part awakened, his name might have rung down the avenues of political, social or religious history, for his intellectual attainments were brilliant. A great man who may have been far greater.

By the age of twenty, he had never seen a mountain. Looking for chances to go abroad he finally found it when he was commissioned by a London publishing house to produce a series of alpine scenes in 1860. The twenty-year-old left for survey work in the central and western Alps, specifically the Dauphine. He was also to document an ascent of Mount Pelvoux (3,946m) by Professor Bonney, which at that time, was thought to be the highest peak in the range. The attempt proved unsuccessful but certainly hooked Whymper. He returned the nexy year and climbed Pevloux. From the summit of Pelvoux he would make the first ascent of Barre des Écrins (4102m). With him was Horace Walker, who would make the first ascent of Mt. Elbrus (5642m) in 1874. Whymper's climbing career was in full swing.

Mountaineering was hardly a sport in the 1800's. Those who climbed did so for science and only a handful climbed for athletic and aesthetic value. Knowledge of high altitude environs was non-existent and the gear used was underdeveloped. Whymper and his team used hemp ropes, wool clothing and long iron batons. All very different from today’s standards of sharpened crampons, ice tools and a harness-to-rope system.

The following years of 1864 and 1865 saw a tremendous amount of first ascents from Whymper and company. The climbing accomplished during this time was historical, and his first was that of Barre des ‘Ecrins (4,102m). On June 25th, 1864, he night before the ascent, the group dined on Fortnum and Mason portable soup. Prepared more so for the foothills of Scotland, they had tarps for shelter, and rucksacks with little lower support. They made an alpine start of it and left at 4am, reaching the top after noon. 1864 continued to unfold with the first ascents of Mont Dolent, and the Aiguille d’ Argentine.

The following summer in 1865, Whymper and his crew made the first ascents of the Aiguille Verte, the Grand cornier and the Grandes Jorasses, going past a point now called Pointe Whymper.

By this point Whymper was spending a considerable amount of time in Zermatt during climbing season, and he had established himself as a serious climber willing to make any attempt the Matterhorn. He took his first shot in 1862 with R.J.S. Macdonald and a local hunchback who loved the alpine passes.

Numerous parties were attempting to climb the Matterhorn and a race had set in. Whymper had contracted with Italian, Jean-Antoine Carrel, to climb the Matterhorn in July 1865. Carrel was a well-known climber who had made several attempts on the Matterhorn. He ended up abandoning the climb with Whymper and left with another party July 11th. Edward learned of this and set off to find his own team to climb the mountain. Worried that he would lose out to Carrel and his team, Whymper tracked down Lord Francis Douglas in Zermatt. Douglas came with a serious reputation, he had made a recent ascent of the Ober Gabelhron with Peter Taugwalder. After they met in early July, they quickly became friends and started to plan a climb.

The two went to the Mont Rosa Hotel on the July 12th where they found Chamonix guide, Michael Coz with clients, Charles Hudson and Douglas Hadow. Michael Croz himself was a well-known French guide. He had climbed with Whymper quite frequently, and was present on a number of his first ascents. Also with Coz was Peter Taugwalder and his two sons. They would join the trip with Hudson and Hadow. Hudson was the most capable of the soon to be team, with seven years of climbing experience. He had even climbed Mont Blanc from St Gervais without guided help. Despite his experience, Hudson would not be the expedition leader, quite possibly because he was invited on this climb.

The team departed mid afternoon July 13th from Zermatt. The group stopped at the chapel in Schwarzsee to gather gear that had been left earlier July 7th by Whymper and Douglas. Among the gear left was 600 ft of rope, sash-line, and other sundries. The next morning the team woke early, had breakfast and set off for the climb. It would take the group one and a half days to make the summit via the Hörnliridge on the North East ridge.

Surprisingly enough, it was noted that there was no real hurry during this particular climb, despite the looming threat of the Italian Carrel. Whymper and Hudson alternated leading the group over steps and rock scrambles that now have fixed ropes in place. These rocks are smooth and placed at odd angles, allowing for a treacherous fall if a mistake is made. The summit was soon theirs and without much trouble. The Matterhorn has two true summits, attached by a rather small ridge – which worried the party, thinking that the Italians may have already reached the summit from the other side. After a diligent search for footprints or any evidence that other persons were there, they realized that they were indeed first, and had conquered the Matterhorn.

This would all change quickly with the disaster that followed. (Part II soon)

Footnotes -

(1) Taken from F.E Smythe Bio of Edward Whymper

(2) The Golden age of alpinism was the period between Alfred Will’s ascent of the Wetterhorn (1854) and Whympers ascent of the Matterhorn (1854). This was a time in which many major Alpine peaks saw their first ascents.

(3)Of note - Lord Douglas came from an English Noble family. His older brother, the 9^th Marquess of Queensberry, lent his name to the basic of modern boxing rules, and later played a role in the downfall of Oscar Wilde.

(4) I have heard accounts of the two first meeting in Italy.

Alpine Guru

2010-06-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

Check Alpine Guru for new blog posts.

Ciao - CSH

Team Red Bull + Siege Tactics?

2010-06-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Photo Leo Dickinson

Dozens of bolts were added to the Compressor Route, Cerro Torre. To quote The Alpinist, After three months of bad weather and failed attempts, the climbers and their film crew left, but about 60 new bolts and 700 meters of fixed lines remained.

No more drinking Red Bull

Continue on - ARTICLE

AAC's Scott Fischer Grant to Ice Vikings Expedition - good news

2010-06-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, so here's a great article.

The Ice Vikings! Climbing Icebergs in the North Atlantic

New Species in Indonesia

2010-05-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

What happens when you drop 17 Scientists and 30 Naturalists in the Indonesian forest for 4 weeks?
Read about Indonesia's "Lost World" - The Times UK

Peace through surfing

2010-05-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

God Went Surfing With The Devil

Peace through surfing - of course, and why not. Everyone wants to be a surfer, and that's because of the vibe and the life. You don't have to be in Hawaii to grab good surf, you can do it anywhere - and that's completely evident with this movie.

This movie highlights the conflict in Gaza - the strife of surfers in the area - and the surfers who are sneaking in boards.

http://www.godwentsurfing.com/

Thanks to Parke Lammerts

What to do with the new Ipad?

2010-05-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

I have been using Apple products for 12 years, and I feel like everyone else has "just" caught on. The craze can be a little annoying, so I totally dug this video from Goldcoast.

New iPad Test - Will It Shred? from FUEL TV on Vimeo.

Latok- A Mountain Profile

2010-04-29T06:16:00.001-07:00

At the backbone of every Alpinist that I pour through, there is a mountain; an intense profile of the one of great mountains we climb. This quarter the mountain is Latok, located in the Northern Areas of Paki. Latok is made up of a group of peaks - Latok I-IV, ranging from 6400-7100 m. All the beta you need + more.

read on at the Alpinist - Alpinist 30 issue
http://www.alpinist.com/tcl/email/April10/HighCamp_main.html

The Gravity of Glacial Melt

2010-04-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an article from Harvard Mag - on glacial melt. It was very interesting and had lot to say about rising sea levels in different parts of the world if any of these large ice caps/ glaciers were to melt. It's not really what you think........not to make light of it.
In any event - here is the link - well worth the read
http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/05/gravity-of-glacial-melt

Earth Day at 40 - Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Earth Day at 40 - CNN retrospective

India Opens 100+ Peaks

2010-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

*Check the Alpinist for the update* UPDATE

More than 100 previously restricted peaks will be open for the upcoming climbing season - one just needs to apply with the Indian Mountain Federation (IMF).

In this group includes one of the world's highest unclimbed peaks - Saser Kangri II Main (aka East, 7513m)
Brilliant and exciting news here, I hope there is some interesting stuff here.

Piolet d'Or 2010 - winners announced

2010-04-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Jed Brown, Kyle Dempster, and Bruce Normand
(L to R) in front of the north face of Xuelian West.
Courtesy of Jed Brown, from - Inclined

The Piolet d'Or - the grand slam of awards for climbing was held April 7-20 in Chamonix, France and Courmayeur, Italy.

I was pulling for Xuelian Ovest 6422m, China, so this is good news - first ascent Alpine Style - a killer lightweight ascent.

PIOLET D'OR 2010 (http://www.pioletsdor.org/)

THE WINNERS
Dennis Urubko and Boris Dedechko - Cho Oyu 8201m, Nepal
Jed Brown, Kyle Dempster and Bruce Normand - Xuelian Ovest 6422m, China

THE OTHER NOMINEES
Vitaly Gorelik and Gleb Sokolov - Picco Pobeda, 7439m, Kirghizstan
Mikhail Mikhailov and Alexander Ruchkin - Gongga Peak, NW Face 6134m, China
Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman, Chang Himal 6750m – Nepal

Continue to Inclined / AAC
Continue to Planet Mountain

Thx to planetmountain.com and the AAC

Robert Hyman Interview

2010-04-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Robert Hyman - A good friend and fellow member of the AAC took some time out of his hectic schedule last week to sit down and do an interview with me. We talked about his long term involvement with the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch and touched on a few other subjects.

Hyman is an explorer and a Life Fellow in the Explorers Club. He is also on the committee for the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch (AAC).

Acronyms: Robert Hyman (REH) Chadwick Hagan (CSH)

Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch discussion, 3/31/2010

Robert Hyman on Kilimanjaro.

CSH: My name is Chad Hagan. I am an official with the American Alpine Club, actually the Deep South Section Chair. I have on the phone, a good friend and member of the American Alpine Club Robert Hyman.

Robert, you have done a lot of work with the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch. How many seasons have you been out there?

REH: This coming year 2010, will be my 21st season in a row uninterrupted, twenty one seasons in a row going out there at some point during the month’s that they're open from June until September.

CSH: That is amazing, 21 steady years without any interruption?

REH: It has been great. That is correct. My first time, you know I was thinking about this today actually, my first time through the valley, looking at the Tetons was 1975 as a 16 year old. I camped at Jenny Lake.

CSH: Wow

REH: And I didn't return until 1990. I was up in Yellowstone Park and I was traveling around North America by myself, trying to climb solo the highest peak in each of the 50 states. When I was going through Yellowstone someone suggested that I go down and climb the Grand Teton. They said "you gotta stay at the Climbers’ Ranch." So that was my first introduction to the Climbers’ Ranch in 1990.

CSH: When you stayed there, did you end up climbing the Tetons, the Grand Teton?

REH: Well you know it is funny, because I showed up by myself in a little 2-seat convertible with all my gear shoved in the back seat and the trunk. You know back then I wasn't an experienced climber but I knew enough to go as far as I felt comfortable and then turn back if I got uncomfortable. So I went into the climbers’ ranch, asked for information and I walked out of the ranch by myself. With limited supplies and a bivy sack I walked up all the way to the upper moraine and pitched a little bivy under a big rock right along the trail. At about 4 o'clock in the morning, someone came walking by and I said hi and scared them pretty good in the darkness. We talked for a few minutes and they said, well where's your partner? I said, well I don't have a partner. I was just going to try to go as far as I could by myself. I ended up packing up my gear and joining them. I was able to do the climb with only a few biners and some webbing for a swiss seat. I just went up and got real lucky.

CSH: Yes, it's safe to say that you went as light as possible - on gear.

REH: Oh yeah, all I had was a little food stove and a bivy sack and that was it.

CSH: Throughout your seasons at the climbers’ ranch, what have you noticed in regards to a change? You know, let’s take into account your first season there – and your last. Have there been any significant changes you've seen?

REH: Well, I think that some big changes have occurred over the years but some things haven't changed one bit. The same volcanic rock is in the same place on the trail by cabin 4 where it has always been. So there are certain things that never change. But there have been dramatic changes to the landscape.

CSH: Right

REH: You'll remember that in the 1980’s there was a fire that took numerous cabins and really affected the GTCR environment. When I first went out there you could see all the standing burned and dead trees.

In the middle of the night you'd hear them fall if the wind came and each year there'd be fewer and fewer. Now they are all just about gone, there's almost no visual reference to that fire, so that's sort of a big change.

CSH: Okay

REH: In addition, all the roofs are new before you use to have an asphalt roof but now they are all metal. You know pretty much everything is the same. All the windows are the same, the doors are the same, and the bath house is new because that was destroyed in the fire. But it's funny how some things change, but some things don't change at all!

CSH: Right

REH: And that's part of what I like about the GTCR. You know we can never stop change in our lives. We're all getting older, grayer, shorter, fatter, whatever, but it's nice to go to a place that does have very little change.

CSH: Yeah and that's really the most important makeup of the club when you think about it. I know you have not talked about this before but just the, the feeling the universal feeling of camaraderie you know.

REH: Absolutely. Every now and then you'll get a bad apple through there but you know who they are and steer clear of them. Usually they shoot themselves in the foot, you know? They wreck their car or something like that. I've never known anything to be stolen. I mean I can leave something on the table and a year later I'll come back and it's sitting right where I left it.

CSH: That is definitely important.

REH: It's really fun to know that there will be subtle changes. The GTCR has had… let's see, I can think of 4 or 5 maybe even 6 different managers over the years, and they all have a different style of management.

They all manage in a different way and they all have different personalities. But they realize that the ranch is the ranch, and no one really wants to change it dramatically. We want to get it more organized. We want make sure it's there for future generations, which means a lot of upkeep.

It means a lot of hard work and I'm glad to be a part of the group of people that do that every year.

CSH: You’re right. You are going up this year right, so what is it your 21^st year or 22^nd?

REH: Well since 1990, so if we count in all those years, 2010 will be my 21st. I'll be out there for work week which I just started volunteering for about 4 years ago. Someone in the Alpine Club suggested that maybe they should see if I was interested in serving on the climbers’ ranch committee, for the Alpine Club.

CSH: Right

Hyman on Mt. Owen - photo credit - Mike Ruth

REH: That was right after long-time Climbers’ Ranch Committee Chairman Bob Alison died of cancer. They came to me and said would you be interested in doing this and I said, yeah great, I'd love to. What do we do? Who's on the committee? When do we meet? When do we get started?

After I agreed to accept the position I was excited to do so. I felt a responsibility to not just go out during August. Which is my normal routine. Every summer I go out for the month of August, and I'll drive out. So I have all my gear and my car. But I felt it was important being on the committee to go out and participate in what is called work week. And that's usually the first week of June where a select group of people go out and volunteer to turn everything on and figure out what broke over the winter.

CSH: Ok – tell me a little about work week

REH: We Fix everything. Get everything cleaned, repaired and do special projects with permission of the park service that are upgrades and improvements. I actually go out two times a year now. I fly out usually in June for work week and then I'll drive out in August. So some years I've been out there more than once.

CSH: So you are also on the Climbers Ranch Committee – yes?

REH: - Yes, I am one of the official members of the American Alpine Club Climbers Ranch Committee – exactly.

CSH: How many years have you been on this? 4 or 5?

REH: Yes, 4 years I believe.

CSH: That’s really great.

REH: Yeah, I really enjoy it. I can't tell you how many great people I have met out there over the years. I have friends around the country and around the world that I've kept in touch with just from the Climbers' Ranch.

CSH: Great stuff there. Let’s move the climbers ranch and talk about you, yeah, your climbing. You've climbed obviously a number of times in the Tetons. Do you have anything that sticks out as memorable or would that be the first time your climbed them? What you shared with us earlier in the interview?

REH: Well, every time I visit the Tetons is memorable. But some things maybe stick out in my mind. I mean, you know, how can it not be memorable? Whether it's white out, sunny or rainy, I don't care I love it out there. You know I love all the seasons and so it's always memorable because you always meet someone interesting for the first time. There's always going be someone new to meet there, even though you're going see your old friends too. But I think some of the most memorable moments are certainly the first time you climb in the Teton Range.

CSH: Totally

REH: If you go up there by yourself, uncertain and not knowing anything about the route finding you could be asking for trouble. You know I was a total knucklehead back then and so that was a great memory. But I think climbing the Grand Teton with my wife was probably the most amazing feeling for both of us to be up there together. Then I climbed the Grand Teton with a guy who was 60 years old who just had heart surgery 4 months before and that was memorable. You know each climb is different.

CSH: That’s pretty amazing there.

REH: Sometime it’s not always good memories though to be honest with you. Sometimes the things that stick in your mind are the times when something bad happened in the mountains. When you've either lost a friend or someone’s died while you were there. So unfortunately they're not always good memories.

CSH: Yeah, unfortunately they are not always good memories and it's unfortunate that there are always sad times like that in this sport.

CSH: Through your explorations and adventures in climbing trips you've also become an accomplished photographer. You always take pictures at the climbers’ ranch too.

I know last year you sent me some and there were some pictures of some real, real legends. Some heavy hitters, Chouinard and a few others. Do you think you're going to be willing to share any of those with the Alpine Club? Any unpublished photos we are going to see?

REH: Well I'm glad you brought that up Chad, because I am the unofficial photographer for the climbers’ ranch. I've been a photographer since I was about 10 years old, okay? I have worked in a custom photo laboratory, I had a professional photography business for a period of time but I realized I didn't want to do it as a living. Every summer when I was out there or anytime I'm at the Climbers Ranch I take pictures of what I consider ranch life. Those people that visit, what goes on, I like to document ranch life and those individuals. And I realized this was important history.

Robert Hyman

CSH: Right

REH: People you meet are what it's all about. I mean it's just amazing, and I realized there was no record of it. There was no log or sign in book. There was no ledger for all the people to sign, hey, my name is so and so from here or there and I had the greatest time, thanks so much. I realized that recording the history was needed and so I started taking pictures every day that I'm there. Before I would leave, I went out and bought photo albums and I have been keeping up with the photo albums since 1990. They can be found in the climbers’ ranch library and I've been doing this for exactly the reason you bring up, because we need to have a history.

Many times we'll go out there and we'll be talking and I'll say, hey Joe remember that guy from Kansas? What was his name? I can't remember, so we'll just go to the photo album and his name will be written right next to the photo. So it gives us sort of a window to the past for us to look back, and laugh, and joke, and refer to it. But it also gives you a history to the place and people like it.

CSH: Right…..

REH: And you don't want to lose that, so I try to take pictures at all the special events, people sitting around playing guitars, all that. But then I also have to casually ask people if they would mind if I take your picture? I tell them that I'm doing it for the history of the climbers’ ranch. I don't want to be invasive and if anyone says no I'd rather you didn't, I have no problem with that.

CSH: totally

REH: Unfortunately I just started using digital about 4 or 5 years ago, 2005 maybe, so I've got boxes and boxes of prints and negatives. I will tell you that some of my photographs are so well liked that some have disappeared from the album. Which I guess you can chalk that up to a compliment.

CSH: Oh yes, (laughing) it’s theft, but it’s a compliment.

REH: It is a compliment, and I have the negatives so no problem there.

CSH: Earlier you stated that you were attempting to climb the highest point in every US State?

REH: Right

CSH: how does that go and also is there is that another club affiliation?

REH: Well, it's ongoing. I started in 1990. I've attempted 49 of the 50 state high points. I've accomplished 47 and it's a long-term goal of mine. I am considered a Highpointer and member of The Highpointers Club www.highpointers.org and we have about 3000 members. I'm one of the original members of the club that was started in 1987.

REH: I started doing it in 1990. There were not a lot of us doing highpoints at the time and now we've got 3,000 official members. Some members have done the highpoints more than once now. Recently I did the second highest point in New York State up near Lake Placid in winter. You try all 50, if you attempt 50 and you succeed in 48 or 49 that’s good by me.

CSH: Okay

REH: I'll take that. I don't have to go back and try the one I couldn't get you know. It's as long as you tried. The only failure is in having not tried.

CSH: Yeah. Half the mission. Half the expedition is just trying. Just getting there, and, you know, if you don't make it -it's not always that much of a let down, we’ve all been there. You said you've done 47 out of 50.

REH: I've accomplished 47 out of 50. I tried Maine a few years ago but we had torrential rain and high winds. Once we cleared the tree line, I thought it was just too much and I turned our group back. We would have been able to do it if the weather had been better. But that's the way it is. And then I spent a month on McKinley/Denali in Alaska and made it pretty close.

CSH: Yeah.

REH: I made it to Denali Pass -18,200 feet, 2000 feet short of the summit. There were just two of us left, everyone else had quit and gone back and my feet started to freeze up pretty good so I'd turned around. The only state summit that I've never tried is Florida; I figure I'll save that for last.

CSH: Yeah. [laugh] That's going to be more of a slow walk up. I think the highest point in Florida is 345 feet.

REH: Yeah, Britton Hill, it's up in the panhandle and I figure if something happens at least they can roll me up in a wheelchair or a gurney and I can tag it.

CSH: Right, what about Mount Shasta in California?

REH: Mount Shasta, yeah I soloed that one. I've soloed every single sate highpoint except for Rainier in Washington State which I did with one other person and Wyoming and Montana which I did with groups. You know you got to be a little bit smart, if you go on ones that are 50 miles round trip and something happens and you’re by yourself, you are asking for trouble. You could be putting others at risk doing a rescue. So I always try to climb on weekends where more people are going be out there.

CSH: And it's really an awesome thing.

CSH: Last question. If you'd like to see any changes in the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch, what would they be? And where would you like to see the Climbers’ Ranch go over the next few years? You want to have it pretty much stay the same or what?

REH: Yeah for sure. Well, you know your question is timely because we're already accomplishing that. I'm a creature of organization. You know a lot of climbers are engineers, and you know to be a climber no matter what type of climbing you're doing, you got to be organized. So over the years what I have tried to do is get out there and organize the tool shed or get projects finished and I am proud to say that.

CSH: Um-huh.

REH: Over the last year the club is going in the right direction, the ranch is going in the right direction, we're doing fundraising, we're getting projects completed, and we are not just trying to play keep up. We're actually moving down the road of making a lot of improvements from solar panels on one of the cabins. You know my goal is the long-term sustainability of the Climbers’ Ranch for those that will come after us. That's my commitment. That's who we're working for. So I’d like to see the ranch continue to stay organized. We now have an online reservation system. Before that you had to mail a check and it couldn't be there before a certain date. And so now we have an online registration system that is excellent.

REH: We have implemented projects that are related to conservation. You know? We've got a lot of talks, lectures going on. We've encouraged bicycle use instead of automobile use. We recycle more and more.

CSH: Yeah and I've seen that and we have all these bicycles now.

REH: Yeah and we worked on that last year. There's so many great things that we could implement and improve upon. We continue to improve the ambiance and experience for the climbers.

CSH: That's great.

REH: Couldn't take that extra step forward because we just didn't have the resources. You know, we were always trying to play catch-up. We gotta fix this. We gotta fix that. You know, we gotta get this done by next week. And now we're really getting organized. And it shows.

CSH: Right.

REH: This past year John Clegg was hired as the new ranch manager and he was able to identify a source for matching funds so whatever money he raised through commitments from people like myself, you or others who wanted to donate money, he could get in kind matching donation pledge so we doubled our donations right there. So it's great, and we're dealing with cleaning the place up really well and keeping the tool shed organized. It's amazing what can accumulate back there. And so we're really making great strides.

CSH: Yeah.

REH: And, and that's where I want to see the Climber's Ranch go. We

need to be sustainable. We need to be able to be organized and be able to make improvements as we move forward and we're doing it. I mean it there's no way around it, we need to have more people come there. If we could just expand the word of the Climbers’ Ranch to more people around the world it would help the bottom line.

REH: You see a lot of people come out there because the Grand Tetons are famous and if we can make it for everyone to enjoy, where no one goes away unhappy and everyone wants to donate and everyone wants to see the ranch survive and prosper in the future, it is a win-win for everyone.

CSH: Yeah.

REH: We're doing the right thing.

CSH: Robert, you're a tremendous asset to the club and the Climbers’ Ranch and thank you very much for your time.

REH: Hey listen, I appreciate it. And just let me know anytime you've got any questions and Golden (Colorado) knows I have all these photos and negatives and I've told him and pledged to them that I'd share them in the future. It's just a function of going through and trying to get all the negatives scanned I guess, at this point.

CSH: Can't wait to see them.

REH: Great. Well, I appreciate it very much, Chad, you taking the interest and volunteering with the Deep South's chapter and

your commitment to the club, as well as reaching out to those of us who have great stories to, to share.

CSH: Well thanks Robert.

REH: You got it.

Border country - A Film by Jeremy Collins

2010-04-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

Border Country - is a new film by Jeremy Collins and Patagonia. It's a nice film and the format is unique and very well done. Collins is a well known artist in the "Outdoor Art" world and is responsible for countless illustrations. It of course takes the name - Border Country - from a poem Jonny Copp wrote before he died. Jeremey was a close friend of Copp's and talks about the friendship and the process of putting up a new route on Middle Cathedral.

Border Country - via the Tin Shed and Patagonia

Jenny Lake Ranger forced to retire

2010-04-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

In the Teton Ranges outside Jackson Hole, the term "Call Renny" is a cry for help, and it refers to longtime Jenny Lake Climbing Ranger Renny Jackson. He leads this elite group of climbers at Jenny Lake, and at the age of 57, he is being forced into retirement.
The National Park Service has an “enhanced retirement policy,” for law enforcement employees like Jackson, and the 1994 policy requires law enforcement employees to retire at 57.

continue reading this article

Big Thanks to Robert Hyman for this

2010 Alpine Expedition - Cordillera Apolobamba

2010-03-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of apolobamba2001.com

Cordillera Apolobamba 2010

I've finally knocked out my expedition decision for 2010. We'll be scouting new routes on 5000m + peaks in the Cordillera Apolobamba Range, and I'll coordinate it with my writing's ---time for a great story. The Apolobamba range is still very remote and has holds on many unexplored areas. I will make sure to update alpinetimes.com regularly about these ever evolving plans and ideas.

By the way, I am in the middle of writing my first book (working title) and I plan to end it with a synopsis of this trip. Needless to to say, its pertinent and developing.....................

Please feel free to post your experience in the Apolobamba's.

The Elk Mtns Grand Reverse

2010-03-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

courtesy of Colorado Mountain Journa l

Brian Smith and Bryan Wickenhauser won the 13th annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse on Saturday in 6 hours 28 minutes and change. This backcountry ski race normally runs from Crested Butte to Aspen, but more than a foot of new snow and high winds forced organizers to scrub plans for the midnight start and high-altitude (over 12,000 feet) traverse to Aspen. Instead, racers did the “Grand Reverse,” starting at 6 a.m. and following a complex course up to the Friends Hut and back, doing several loops to add mileage, and finishing at the ski resort.

The course was so unfamiliar, in fact, that two of the leading teams took a wrong turn with about an hour left in the race and lost their podium finishes. In the final results, second place for the men went to Ethan Passant and Travis Scheefer, and the third spot went to Jake Jones and Pat O’Neill. Mark Smiley and Janelle Smiley won the co-ed division in 7:26:02. The fastest women’s team was Emma Catmur and Emma Lohr, in 9:05:45.

The Grand Reverse distance was approximately 38 miles and 7,000 feet of vertical, which is comparable to the usual course, but this year was much quicker. Top finishers glided in 1.5 to 3 hours faster than the winning times in recent years.

We asked winning skier Bryan Wickenhauser for his impressions.

Mojo: Like everyone, you must have been disappointed that conditions caused the course change. What did you think of the new course? Did it play any more to you and your partner’s strengths?

Wickenhauser: We were disappointed, but realistic. If those were the forecasted conditions for a training mission over to Aspen, we would not have gone, so they made the right call. I did do the other Grand Reverse [in 1999], and I bike and run those trails all summer, so we were comfortable with the route. The fact that we knew it well was good for us, but we knew many of the local teams knew it intimately as well. We certainly didn’t expect to win it just because we were familiar with the reroute.

Mojo: Were you allowed to change equipment with the course change, or did you carry the same kit?

Wickenhauser: You were allowed to change gear, but we stuck with our guns and used our rando/AT gear. Never did we waver on that call. We spend a lot of time in this gear, and it’s where our comfort level is at. In our minds, this is truly not a Nordic race. I have done the GT for 12 of the 13 years. The first eight were on Nordic-type gear. I really prefer the AT gear.

Mojo: Did you guys change tactics at all with the new course versus your plan for the normal route?

Wickenhauser: I think the main change was that we felt we could now go even harder and faster to the Friends Hut, due to the long downhill at the turnaround. It really allowed for some good recovery time on the downhill with this gear versus Nordic gear.

Mojo: What was the hardest part of the day?

Wickenhauser: Hardest part of the day was racing Jay Henry and Mike Kloser up Crested Butte resort the last 15 minutes, for what we thought was a fight for first place. Unbeknownst to us, they had taken a shortcut, so they ultimately got DQ’d. In our minds we could not let them win this race for a fourth straight time!

Puryear Nepal Updates! The First Ascent of Takargo

2010-03-25T16:48:00.002-07:00

Generally I would post photos and a small synopsis before sending you to the actual page, but this is just too good to spoil.

The First Ascent of Takargo - Joe Puryear

BBC Earth Explorer

2010-03-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

Great site to check out with a few options

First Ascent: Puryear, Gottlieb Climb Takargo

2010-03-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Joe Puryear and David Gottlieb reached the summit of Takargo on 3/12/10, and descended safely back to the Tradkarding glacier.
Updates should be posted in the next week.

http://www.climbnepal.blogspot.com/

New climbing flick - Core - by Chuck Fryberger Films

2010-03-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Check out the clip -

CORE Official Trailer from Chuck Fryberger on Vimeo.

AMEX Takepart commercial

2010-03-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

It seems as if one good thing did come out of the Academy Awards Sunday night......... this commercial. I tend to think that the Academy Awards are a big load of useless super fluff, but those who take part in it do have a huge influence over the public.

The damn that's highlighted in the commercial is Matilija Damn, a useless crumbling mess of a damn that now serves no real purpose.

It blocks a tributary of the Ventura River, and if it is released it will allow the Southern Steelhead to spawn again, as well as give local beaches much needed sediment from the canyon walls.

http://www.wildsalmon.org/
http://www.thecleanestline.com/

Elephant birth in capitivity may rewrite textbooks

2010-03-10T11:07:00.001-08:00

courtesy of BBC News.

An elephant has given birth two a live calf after six days of labour in a Sydney Zoo. Experts believed that the calf had died in the womb.

continue

Cerro Catedral - Trip Report

2010-03-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of the AAC blog Inclined.

Make some popcorn, pop open a frosty beverage, and settle in for half an hour in front of the computer. This video trip report is well worth your time.

Mason Earle, a 2009 AAC Mountain Fellowship winner, traveled to Chile’s Torres del Paine in January and February with Britons Pete Rhodes and George Ullrich to attempt an all-free route on the El Cap–size east face of Cerro Catedral. The trio of young climbers planned to start up La Escoba de Dios and then strike off for a corner and crack system to the left. In the end, they climbed 15 pitches (nine of them new) and did some very impressive free climbing (several 5.12 pitches) despite horrendous conditions.

Los Fabulosos Dos - Cerro Catedral '10 from Pete Rhodes on Vimeo.

Incidentally, this same Patagonian peak was the scene of an award-winning film by AAC member John Catto, who filmed his teammates Charlie Fowler, Pete Gallagher, and Max Kendall as they completed the first ascent of La Escoba de Dios in 1992. You can get a taste of the film via this old National Geographic Explorer clip below

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ZBYewIdYU

Earthquake Reports Positive

2010-03-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

courtesy of the Alpinist.com

After the most recent earthquakes in South America, many climbers wanted answers regarding climbing areas that may have been affected.

click for full article

The 'Fun Hog Expedition' Revisited

2010-03-01T12:06:00.001-08:00

The WSJ has a interesting write up of the famous Chouinard and Tompkins journey into the South American wild. This story produced the DVD Mountain of Storms, which is a cult classic and personal favorite - complete with 60's surf music. Now though - there are two new realeases: a book, 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless, and a new film entitled 180° South by the Malloy Brothers. Read and watch them both. For the full story continue here.

Fighting Marlaria - Harvard Magazine

2010-02-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

The outbreak of Malaria is still a very prevalent problem in tropical nations - and especially it's ability to evolve. Harvard Magazine has a great piece on it this month.

Malaria article

Climbing creates unexpected bonds

2010-02-23T12:05:00.001-08:00

From the OC Register -

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/leveille-235818-guy-climbing.html

Sports Tourisim in Afghanistan?

2010-02-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

story notification courtesy of INCLINED

Nadjib Sirat has dreams and aspirations of becoming the "worlds highest Afghan".

The 30-year-old believes that by becoming "the world's highest Afghan," he can draw attention to what his country has to offer besides war, poverty, misery and terror.

"There are fabulous summits and skiing destinations that are comparable to Tibet, Kashmir and Nepal because some parts of the country are very mountainous, with very high mountains and snow above 2,000 metres," he said. (AP)

Interesting stuff there, and a good well deserved idea. It's easy to forget that Afghanistan shares the Hindu Kush range with Pakistan, and those are not small mountains (7000+m). Tirich Mir is located in the Hindu Kush - a mountain locals consider impossible to climb because of the witches and demons that inhabit the ridges. I've got to go....Hindu Kush is serious.

Read on for the full story

King Tutankhamun - Bone Disease, Club Foot, Incest?

2010-02-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

It seems as if King Tut was born with a compromised immune system.....
King Tuts father, Akhenaten, married his sister - and thus created Tut. It seems as if the issue at hand was a weakened genetic cauldron due to incest. Continue reading at the Guardian

Japan wants deal to scale down 'scientific' whaling

2010-02-16T16:13:00.000-08:00

For more whaling in the waters surrounding Japan??? Bogus -

(AP) TOKYO — Japan will propose scaling down its troubled annual whale hunt in Antarctica on condition it is allowed to whale commercially in its own coastal waters, a fisheries official said Wednesday.

Tokyo will present its proposal to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at its annual meeting in Morocco in June, the official said, even though a similar plan was rejected by the 85-nation body last year.

"We have been studying ways to reach a packaged agreement and to normalise the IWC activities," said the Fisheries Agency official, who declined to provide specific details of Tokyo's proposal. "The efforts continue today."

Japanese whalers kill hundreds of the mammals a year in Antarctic waters, where their fleet has repeatedly clashed in recent months with militant environmental activists of the Sea Shepherd society.

for more, see http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iPU0wyS1QaQhvmSdTT2iNMscXwdA

(NEW) AAC Promo Trailer!

2010-02-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

Check out the link on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxNI17-bjZg&feature=youtube_gdata

11 First Ascents in Antarctica

2010-02-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

The first Austrian Expedition to Queen Maud Land this past year produced 11 first ascents. Team members Christoph Hoebenreich, Karl Pichler, and Paul Koller believe that these are previously unclimbed peaks.

The main peaks that were climbed were: Tiroler Spitze (2,201m, S 71°52’15.8’’, E 8°55’00.6’’); Austrian Peak (2,177m, S 71°52’27.9’’, E 8°54’50.6’’); Peak Alexey Turchin (2,232m, S 71°51’19.8’’, E 9°00’12.7’’); Kamelbuckel (Camel’s Hump, 2,184m, S 71°50’28.1’’, E 9°00’01.5‘‘); Mt. Galileo (2,528m, S 71°55’23.6’’, E 9°01’38.8’’), and Peak of Silent Solitude (2,550m, S 71°54’59.2’’, E 9°03’28.1’’).

This was Hoebenreich's 11th Polar expedition

For more info, read aaj.americanalpineclub.org

180° South: The Film

2010-02-07T14:55:00.001-08:00

We're looking forward to this film being released, and probably trying to get it for the next Deep South AAC meeting - check out the cleanest line for details.
It's a film based on the original trip that Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, and Dick Dorworth took in 1968 to climb the rarely attempted Cerro Fitz Roy. They first had to drive from California to southern Argentina in a sketchy van. They also spent their time surfing waves all along the coast. This adventure was originally profiled in the DVD Mountain of Storms, see clip below -

Awesome is Ranulph Fiennes

2010-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes actually -

Check out this animated short film narrated by Ran Fiennes. Fiennes is often called the worlds greatest living explorer - and for good reason, he's circumnavigated the globe vertically (52k miles), climbed Everest at 65, discovered a lost city in Oman, written scores of books, and even amputated his own fingers to stave off the pain of frostbite.........

Source - theadventurelife.com

Tawoche Central South Buttress by Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards

2010-02-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

Renan Ozturk USA and Cory Richards CA have climbed a new route on Tawoche's (6501m) south central buttress, in Nepal's Khumbu Himal. After a three-day blast up 1200 meters of rock and ice, the North Americans climbed a line along the Central South Buttress; they summited on January 15.
See vid below, for full story check out the alpinist or planet mountain.

TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #5 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Alpinist.com link
Planetmountain.com link

Reinhold Messner interview

2010-02-01T14:55:00.000-08:00

Reinhold Messner Interview

The man, the mountains, the famous alpinist. Interview by Erminio Ferrari and Ellade Ossola . Make sure you hit the EN tab for english

Interview - via planetmountain.com

Mt. Robson climb - Barry Blachard 2002

2010-01-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Great 10 min vid of Barry Blanchard and Co. putting up a new route on Robson - Emperor Face. I stumbled across it on themountainworld blog.

http://www.barryblanchard.ca/video.php

Major New Grant - Copp - Dash Inspire Award

2010-01-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last spring in Sichuan, China (I heard of this while climbing in Peru) climbers Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and filmmaker Wade Johnson perished in an avalanche. The new award, which will be administered by the AAC, and sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardwear and Patagonia. A pool of $20,000 in grants will be provided for chosen North American climbers for expeditions between May 1, 2010, and February 28, 2011.

- see the link below

COPP DASH AWARD

Landslide Disaster in Karakoram

2010-01-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

An enormous landslide in the Western Karakoram has buried a village, destroyed a large section of the famous Karakoram Highway and dammed the whole width of the Hunza River, see link below.

BMC site link

Italians Explore West Greenland Coast

2010-01-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

From the Alpinist Magazine. Great photos -

West Greenland Coast Link

Pakistan Peak fee's for 2010

2010-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Under the discount plan, which has been in place for the past several years in an effort to lure climbers to the troubled country, there is no fee for peaks up to 6,500 meters and a sliding scale for higher peaks, topping out at $6,000 for a team of seven on K2. The fee for peaks in the Chitral, Gilgit, and Ghizer districts, other than popular Spantik, is even lower—just 20 percent of the 2010 reduced rates.

The 2010 fees for teams of up to seven climbers are:

• K2: $6,000 , plus $1,000 per additional climber
• 8,001m to 8,500m: $4,500 plus $750 per additional climber
• 7,501m to 8,000m: $2,000 plus $250 per additional climber
• 7,001m to 7,500m: $1,250 plus $150 per additional climber
• 6,501m to 7,000m: $750 plus $100 per additional climber

December 2009 Okefenokee Trip

2009-12-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a 4 day 3 night Okefenokee paddle trip. We loaded the car up with gear for 6 people( Chad + Emily Hagan, Ken Kamler, Granis Stewart, Carl Muller, Wade Sonenberg), and headed down to Stephen Foster State Park.

We took trail #8 which left from SFSP and went 8.2 miles to Floyd's Island. We paddled through Minnie's Lake (stopped at a rest platform), and then onto the camp. The directions were tough to decipher.

Just remember to stay RIGHT the entire way. This sign had two arrows, but the one pointing left had been disturbed. We ended up staying in a cabin on Floyd's Island, it was a great experience. You have to "porter" your gear across the island to the exit.
There was a good amount of wildlife at the camp, in fact Wade and Carl heard a large boar in the early morning hours.

The next day we took left and went towards Canal Run (pic on left is the entrance). Fairly easy paddling to the Canal Run shelter, which made for extra time at the camp and an early night. (7:30 pm)

The next day we took the Canal Run trail to SFSP, going through Minnie's Lake. The Canal Run trail was a serious paddle.

Trail #8 was a great trip with tons of wildlife and serious paddling, highly recommended.

India May Ease Access in Ladakh

2009-12-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

The Indian defense ministry has agreed to open as many as 104 mountains in Ladakh to climbers.

URL for story is here: http://indmount.org/openpeaks.html

The Gertrude Tompkins Expedition

2009-11-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from the Explorers Club, Robert Hyman is handling this expedition, very interesting stuff here.

YouTube link on the expedition

Local Explorers to Resume Search for the

“Last Missing WASP” of World War II

An expedition of explorers, divers and airplane and marine archaeologists from across the country, including two from the Washington, DC area, will gather this fall in the Los Angeles area to restart the search for Gertrude Tompkins Silver, the last missing member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II.

According to expedition spokesman Lew Toulmin, a resident of Silver Spring, Maryland and a member of The Explorers Club, “The WASP were absolutely vital to the war effort. They ferried all types of aircraft over 60 million miles from factories to shipping locations on the east and west coasts. Gertrude Tompkins Silver was one of these WASP, and she disappeared in the Los Angeles, California area on 26 October 1944, in her powerful P-51-D Mustang. She is the last missing member of this famous and dedicated group, and her disappearance is one of the great remaining mysteries of World War II.”

Robert E. Hyman, a resident of Glover Park in Washington, DC, a Fellow of The Explorers Club and one of the leaders of the expedition, noted that the WASP are still very much in the news. “On July 2, 2009, President Obama signed a bill awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to the 300 surviving WASP for their service. The President said, ‘The WASP answered their country’s call in a time of need, while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since. ’”

Gertrude Tompkins Silver had only been married a month when she took off at about 4 pm on 26 October 1944 from Mines Field -- now Los Angeles International Airport – and headed for an evening landing in Palm Springs. She departed into the wind, into an offshore fog bank, a common late-afternoon weather condition in Southern California. She never arrived at her destination. Due to a paperwork foul-up, the search did not get under way for several days, and while the eventual search of land and sea was massive, it failed to find a trace of Silver or her plane.

According to Hyman, “We will carefully process each of about 40 underwater sites that we have identified. First we will use side scan sonar and a remotely operated vehicle, to see if we can rule out each object. Then we will drop a camera on the object. If the item is still interesting, we will send down divers. They may have to dive as deep as 200 feet, far beyond the capacity of recreational diving. To undertake this effort we have recruited one of the top FBI divers in the country to lead our dive team.”

Colleen Keller is a resident of San Diego, a pilot and expert in search theory with Metron Inc., who has just returned from working on the June 2009 disappearance of Air France flight 447 off Brazil. She is a member of the WASP search team who has looked into the possible causes of the Tompkins Silver crash. She said, “The most likely cause is pilot disorientation in the fog. But other possibilities include distraction due to a faulty canopy, problems with the center of gravity in the Mustang, and problems with the engine. If we find the plane and are very lucky indeed, an investigation might be able to shed some light on the cause of the crash.”

Robert Hyman stated that the effort will bring together an integrated team of skilled experts to try and find this plane. “This effort is backed by the experts of the private Missing Aircraft Search Team (MAST), which recently contributed to finding the missing Cessna N2700Q in Arizona. The team includes experts in search theory, expedition management, diving and historical research. Our team has located and interviewed three WASP who were apparently present the day Gertrude disappeared, who had never before been interviewed about this case. And we have conducted numerous other interviews and undertaken scenario analyses of the possible causes of the accident. We are very excited about this expedition, and have our fingers crossed that we can solve this great mystery in the next few months.”

YouTube link on the expedition

News from BBC Nature, Starfish "pump up" to cool down

2009-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Read the story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8328000/8328311.stm

AAC and High Country event - October 1st

2009-09-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Location:
High Country
3906 Roswell Road
Atlanta, GA 30342
Phone: 404-814-0999

The AAC and High Country are having an evening with Ken Kamler this Thursday, October 1st, at 7pm. Ken is an Everest veteran and an Explorers Club member. It should turn out to be an amazing event.

Max Gallimore - new book out now!

2009-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Max Gallimore.

A good friend of mine and Explorers Club luminary has just finished his book, From Here to Caprock.
Take the time to check it out, it should be amazing.

Link to his website and book

REEL ROCK TOUR coming to Nashville 10/1

2009-08-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

The North Face is bring REEL ROCK to Nashville, check out the details:

REEL ROCK FILM TOUR

New Bike Routes + Atlanta area

2009-08-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ga/atlanta/748124813482280701"&amp;gt;Brookhaven Buckhead Route&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ga/atlanta"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Atlanta, Georgia&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ga/atlanta/500381660"&amp;gt;Northside loop&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ga/atlanta"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Atlanta, Georgia&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Washington County Wilderness Bill Becomes Law!

2009-07-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Southern Wilderness Utah Alliance Press Release

Yanapaccha, Cordillera Blanca, Peru (5460 meters)

2009-07-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

Here are pics from the attempted new route on Yanapaccha, June of this summer. New route is in GREEN, and the standard route is in RED.
The proposed new route had 4+ ft of snow on the ridges, so it had to be aborted, and we carried on with the standard route.
The view from top of the rock mess at Morena base camp.

Here is Morena Base Camp.

We did a standard "alpine start", and even with the high altitude + moonlight most the pictures taken did not turn out.
Right before we were gearing up with ropes and crampons, I did hear an avalanche over the Huandoy massif area. It sounded like a freight train hitting a brick wall (the force of the snow and debris made an awful screeching sound on the way down, pretty gnarley stuff).

Walter Albinos, making his way up the ridge, during a short refill. As you can see, we were surrounded by clouds.

Here is a crevasse that we passed on the way up.
View of Huandoy

We ended up turning around from the bid with 120 meters left. I was exhausted after only a few hours of sleep the night before and the visibility was bad. I'll be back to climb Yanapaccha next year via a new route, as well as a few others.

Here are a few pics from Huaraz:

Huascar'an from the hotel balcony

An unclimbed peak that I may do next year. It looks a lot like the Matterhorn, with a bigger base.

At Laguna Churup

GA 400 Century July 12 6:30 am!

2009-06-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

http://400century.com/

Here is the info for the upcoming century ride, there are a few different mileage options as well. It's for a great cause, so please try and get out. We are shutting down GA 400 for a good stretch!! That should make everyone happy...any questions, email me at chagan@gmail.com

Best - Chad

GA 400 steering committee member

Waxman – Markey Climate Change Bill

2009-06-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

From the Cleanest Line...
On May 21, in a 33-25 vote, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454). The bill is designed to create millions of new clean-energy jobs, save consumers hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs, enhance America’s energy independence and cut global-warming pollution.
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ECAD 2009 Dinner, Waldorf Astoria.

2009-06-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is the largest annual event that the Explorer Club puts on for members and guests each year. My wife and I ventured up for the first time since joining, in 2007.

The event starts off with cocktails, and an exotics buffet. It was pretty interesting; I had a few scorpions and pickled duck tongue.

Super biologist E.O. Wilson was honored at the event, and Josh Bernstein and Jim Fowler MC'd.

The next day we were at the clubhouse, having drinks and chatting with friends. The Bio Blitz that I had planned in Atlanta for 2009 has been postponed until 2010, which is upsetting, but probably for the better. We'll be able to make sure there's a massive turnout and amazing speakers.

Clubhouse pictures

http://www.explorers.org/spec_events/ecad/ecad2009/

Mt. Hood Pics - Apine Start

2009-06-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Charity climb, July 4th 2008 wknd Mt. Hood, Oregon.

We left at 2:00 am/ Alpine start, and the whole climb took about 11 hrs. We lucked out on the weather being perfect.

Cloudline, 6 am.

Summit shot, 9:30 am.

Reinhold's Manifesto

2009-05-27T15:29:00.001-07:00

The Murder of the Impossible

Reinhold Messner

What have I personally got against "direttissimas"? Nothing at all; in fact I think that the "falling drop of water" route is one of the most logical things that exists. Of course it always existed - so long as the mountain permits it. But sometimes the line of weakness wanders to the left or the right of this line; and the we see climbers - those on the first ascent , I mean - going straight on up as if it weren't so, striking in bolts of course. Why do they go that way? "For the sake of freedom," they say; but they don't realize that they are slaves of the plumbline.

They have a horror of deviations. "In the face of difficulties, logic commands one not to avoid them, but to overcome them," declares Paul Claudel. And that's what the 'direttissma' protagonists say, too, knowing from the start that the equipment they have will get them over any obstacle. They are therefore talking about problems which no longer exist. Could the mountain stop them with unexpected difficulties? They smile: those times are long past! The impossible in mountaineering has been eliminated, murdered by the direttissima.

Yet direttissimas would not in themselves be so bad were it not for the fact that the spirit of that guides them has infiltrated the entire field of climbing. Take a climber on a rock face, iron rungs beneath his feet and all around him only yellow, overhanging rock. Already tired, he bores another hole above the last peg. He won't give up. Stubbornly, bolt by bolt, he goes on. His way, and none other, must be forced up the face.

Expansion bolts are taken for granted nowadays; they are kept to hand just in case some difficulty cannot be overcome by ordinary methods. Today's climber doesn't want to cut himself off from the possibility of retreat: he carries his courage in his rucksack, in the form of bolts and equipment. Rock faces are no longer overcome by climbing skill, but are humbled, pitch by pitch, by methodical manual labor; what isn't done today will be done tomorrow. Free-climbing routes are dangerous, so the are protected by pegs. Ambitions are no longer build on skill, but on equipment and the length of time available. The decisive factor isn't courage, but technique; an ascent may take days and days, and the pegs and bolts counted in the hundreds. Retreat has become dishonorable, because everyone knows

now that a combination of bolts and singlemindedness will get you up anything, even the most repulsive-looking direttissima.

Times change, and with them concepts and values. Faith in equipment has replaced faith in oneself; a team is admired for the number of bivouacs it makes, while the courage of those who still climb "free" is derided as a manifestation of lack of conscientiousness.

Who has polluted the pure spring of mountaineering?

The innovators perhaps wanted only to get closer to the limits of possibility. Today, however, every single limit has vanished, been erased. In principle, it didn't seem to be a serious matter, but ten years have sufficed to eliminate the word 'impossible' from the mountaineering vocabulary.

Progress? Today, ten years from the start of it all, there are a lot of people who don't care where they put bolts, whether on new routes or on classic ones. People are drilling more and more and climbing less and less.

"Impossible": it doesn't exist anymore. The dragon is dead, poisoned, and the hero Siegfried is unemployed. Not anyone can work on a rock face, using tools to bend it to his own idea of possibility.

Some people foresaw this a while ago, but they went on drilling, both on direttissimas and on other climbs, until the lost the taste for climbing: why dare, why gamble, when you can proceed in perfect safety? And so they become the prophets of the direttissima: "Don't waste your time on classic routes - learn to drill, learn to use your equipment. Be cunning: If you want to be successful, use every means you can get round the mountain. The era of direttissima has barely begun: every peak awaits its plumbline route. There's no rush, for a mountain can't run away - nor can it defend itself."

"Done the direttissima yet? And the super diretissima?" These are the criteria by which mountaineering prowess is measured nowadays. And so the young men go off, crawl up the ladder of bolts, and then ask the next ones: "done the direttissima yet?"

Anyone who doesn't play ball is laughed at for daring take a stand against current opinion. The plumbline generation has already consolidated itself and has thoughtlessly killed the ideal of the impossible. Anyone who doesn't oppose this makes himself an accomplice of the murderers. When future mountaineers open their eyes and realize what has happened, it will be too late: the impossible (and with it, risk) will be buried, rotted away, and forgotten forever.

All is not yet lost, however, although 'they' are returning the attack; and even if it's not always the same people, it'll be other people similar to them. Long before they attack, they'll make a great noise, and once again any warning will be useless. They'll be ambitious and they'll have long holidays - and some new 'last great problem' will be resolved. They'll leave more photographs at the hut, as historical documents, showing a dead straight line of dots running from the base to summit - and on the face itself, will once again inform us that "Man has achieved the impossible."

If people have already been driven to the idea of establishing a set of rules of conduct, it means that the position is serious; but we young people don't want a mountaineering code. On the contrary, "up there we want to find long, hard days, days when we don't know in the morning what the evening will bring". But for how much longer will we be able to have this?

I'm worried about that dead dragon: we should do something before the impossible is finally interred. We have hurled ourselves, in a fury of pegs and bolts, on increasingly savage rock faces: the next generation will have to know how to free itself from all these unnecessary trappings. We have learned from the plumbline routes; our successors will once again have to reach the summits by other routes. It's time we repaid our debts and searched again for the limits of possibility - for we must have such limits if we are going to use the virtue of courage to approach them. And we must reach them. Where else will be able to find refuge in our flight from the oppression of everyday humdrum routine? In the Himalaya? In the Andes? Yes certainly if we can get there; but for most of us there'll only be these old Alps.

So let's save the dragon; and in the future let's follow the road that past climbers marked out. I'm convinced it's still the right one.

Put on your boots and get going. If you've got a companion, take a rope with you and a couple of pitons for your belays, but nothing else. I'm already on my way, ready for anything - even for retreat, if I meet the impossible. I'm not going to be killing any dragons, but if anyone wants to come with me, we'll go to the top together on the routes we can do without branding ourselves murderers.

- Mountain #15, 1971

Miha Valic dies on Cho Oyu

2009-05-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

This is really tragic, and I said I'd list it if I ever had a blog. . I remember reading Miha's 82 X 4000m post in the American Alpine Journal last fall ,and thinking how cool it was. 82 peaks in a single winter season in the Alps. He was my age, actually one year older (30) when he died, and it was within days of my reading about his aforementioned feat in the AAJ (Oct of '08).

Explorers Web list:

http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=17614

82 x 4000m newswire:

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP19/newswire-valic-alps-4000-meter