Degree of Difficulty

With the end of 2005 approaching a couple of "Best Of" lists are starting to be published. First there is the Best of 2005 from MountEverest.net. This has become an annual event where they select the best expeditions from an incredibly wide range of adventures. Not only do they consider mountain climbing but also polar expeditions, ocean crossing and space travel. I guess they don't call themselves Explorersweb for nothing! The current list has the honorable mentions with the top 10 to follow soon. It makes for interesting and entertaining reading during the holiday doldrums.

Mountain.ru reports on the nominees for the Piolet d'Or 2005.The site does an excellent job of summarizing the nominees which are:
Nanga Parbat, Rupal Face, 8125m, Pakistan
Broad Peak, 8047m, Pakistan
Chomo Lonzo, 7540m, Tibet
Khumbu express, Cholatse, Tawoche, Ama Dablam, the Himalaya
Cerro Murallon, 2831m, Patagonia
Cerre Torre, 3128m, Patagonia

As I read these reports I am always struck with the courage, resourcefulness and imagination in the human spirit. It is easy to get pulled down by all the scandals and negative news we are exposed to every day, but these reports remind us that there is a huge world out there remaining to be explored. What I climb pales in comparison to these climbers. They take on new routes, harsh conditions, limited equipment and budget and practically no support. They are climbers that represent the best in our sport. Climb on!

Courage and Knowledge

While these "climber's climbers" are being celebrated, the family of a young British climber who died on Everest six years ago is suing according to this report from the Times Online. The 22 year-old died on the decent while with Out There Trekking (OTT) who changed their name to Alpine Mountaineering and now is defunct. This is something I would not be surprised to see in the the law-suite happy United States but in the UK? If they win this, look for all guiding companies to raise their fees dramatically in order to buy more expensive insurance.

It is always sad when someone dies doing what they love and my condolences go out to his family. I have been a strong advocate for guiding companies to run safe and professional expeditions but I have always appreciated the non-US companies "big boy" theory of climbing: You know what you are getting into, stuff happens and you need to be self sufficient - especially if you are attempting a Hill like Everest.

http://www.alanarnette.com

Posted by Alan Arnette at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 15, 2005

Breath In, Breath Out, Breath In ...

What do you do for a story if you run a major climbing website and it is almost Christmas? Well, MountEverest.net is running a multi-part exposé on using supplemental oxygen. It is very educational as well as some might say inflammatory, but it is certainly thought provoking. If you have aspirations of climbing an 8000m Hill you need to read it.  I found it interesting since we have spent some time looking at the various oxygen delivery systems from our Broad Peak/K2 climb in June next year. We spoke with all the usual suspects mentioned in the exposé and concluded we will use the tried and true POSIX system. At the end of the day it not only your time, effort, money, hopes and dreams but also your life.

Speaking of breathing through the Nose..

As already widely reported by almost every climbing media outlet known to man (and woman), on October 17 Tommy Caldwell free climbed the Nose and Tommy’s free bid of El Capitan in less than 12 hours. This is significant because this is only the second time that the Nose has been free climbed in a day. Read more at the Outside Online site. The climb was rarely less than 5.10 which in layman's terms is vertical! This is serious rock climbing and an amazing feat!

A sport with an obituary page

One of my favorite questions about my passion for climbing was from a friend who noted that climbing is the only sport he knows of that in their magazine they have a regular obituary page. Well he is probably correct. So after letting my membership lapse, I recently renewed my American Alpine Club membership at the $75 a year level. There are a few reasons: 1) I like the fact a professional organization is fighting for climber rights 2) Their annual Accidents in North American Mountaineering is an excellent read to avoid being featured in one of those climbing magazines - in a bad way! And 3) their recent support for the victims of the Pakistan earthquake.

What's in your stocking?

With the annual season for getting and giving gifts upon us (notice how I avoided using the word Christmas! - how sad!), I edited my own gear page by adding a little Santa by the lower cost items that are easy to buy for the climber in your life. A great source for climbing books and such is Mountaineers Book. Merry Christmas!

Posted by Alan Arnette at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

To the Bottom of the World!

The AAI team made it to the summit of Vinson after a few false starts. Now they are off to the South Pole ... by skis. For a very interesting read on Antarctica take a look at the Nova/PBS website on their documentary of Jon Krakauer's 2001 climb of Vinson. As usual on this type of site it is the multimedia clips that makes it interesting. Take a look at Patriot Hills panorama for sure.

Russian Ice Dancing

The Russians held their annual climbing award ceremony in Moscow. The Russian equipment company, Bask is a major sponsor. I found it interesting to look at their website to see what kind of gear you can get over there. Anyway, the event is a chance to award the best climbers and to recognize the Russian"Piolet d’Or" winners which is given to the "strongest sportsmen who have made the most outstanding ascensions" by the French GHM (Groupe de Haute Montagne) and Montagnes magazine in Grenoble France. I would love to attend this one year just for the food!

American Ice Dancing

If you have not made your reservations in Ouray ... forget it. That is unless you like camping in -15F temps on 6 feet of snow. Seriously, the annual Ouray Ice Festival is a great event for Ice Climbing. It is January 11 and 12, 2006. The small town of Ouray in Southwest Colorado serves as the host and all the hotels sell out quickly. But if you can make you get to witness world-class ice climbing by some of the best around. Not to mention getting some time on the ice yourself! All the major companies run clinics so it also a nice way of checking out cool gear. I wonder if they give away samples?

More Forums than Rome

The slickest (and most expensive) climbing magazine out there, Alpinist, has started a forum section on their website. There are not a lot of postings or activity yet. It will be interesting to see how it does as compared to the well established sites such as SummitPost.net, Climbing Boulder.com and Rock Climbing.com. If you ever get a chance to browse a copy of Alpinist, take it since it is beautifully published. More like Architectural Digest than Popular Mechanics! Now all we need is a coliseum for the ice dancers to compete in!

http://www.alanarnette.com

Posted by Alan Arnette at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 1, 2005

Europeans Gone Mad ... film at 11:00

I always admire the Russians for their no-fear style of climbing but let's add at least one Frenchman to the list. A well known climber, this gentleman was arrested in Houston this week for climbing outside a 46 story building. Apparently Alain Robert has made a career of mistaking concrete and glass for granite and ice. According to Reuters, Robert said "... All these buildings are like mountains I would like to climb, but I am forbidden." Climb on!

Yeah but the humidity is low

The AAI Vinson expedition is making progress and may summit tomorrow. In one of the recent dispatches, Vern Tejas notes the wind was so strong they had to retreat and move camp to a more protected area. Antarctica is arguably one of the harshest environments on the plants. I recall my friend Borge Ousland talking about the hardships of his solo, unsupported traverse of the continent in 1996. He is one of the toughest humans out there. Take a look at his site for an education.

Location, location, location

One of the last Ama Dablam climbs is underway. Also from AAI, they report being at C2 with a summit bid in the next day or so. Good luck guys! Joe Acerao, AD summiteer, posted his pictures for all to enjoy. He has quite a collection. I especially like the one of C2 perched up high. Joe told me that AD was much tougher this year with less snow and more rock than in 2004.

Yes he did! No he Didn't! Yes he ...

The ongoing discussion about whether Mallory and Irvine made it or not continues to be a source of obsession for some people. Not that I am criticizing them, mind you. I find it intriguing to think the two Brits might have summitted Everest almost 25 years earlier than the Kiwi and Sherpa. But the debate has moved to a new level with the "Battle of the Everest Web Sites." MountEverest.net has hosted a series of rebuttals to the EverestNews.com never ending series of who did what when. Hey, all I want to know is if the helicopter really summited this year or not!

Pick a side

Speaking of debates, I am really enjoying the new Blog by Doug MacDonald. He is refreshing, has a point of view and is credible. However, he did pick a small fight with his complaint about National Geographic's Adventure Magazine selection of Ed Viesturs as "Adventure of the Year." As everyone knows, Viesturs completed the 14 8Ks without O's. Basically, MacDonald's point was that Ed was not the first and what he did was not all that special given the alternative adventures that await us out there (probably a dangerous paraphrase so you really should read it yourself). He writes "...True adventure, I think, requires breaking new ground." Coincidentally (or not) MountEverest.net published a story today about the "adventurer's" achievements.

Oh, And one more thing!

Finally in the world of mountaineering achievement, or lack thereof, there is a heated debate on my favorite climbing community site, SummitPost.net about the merits of supplemental oxygen in mountaineering. To be honest, I have not taken the time to read all SIX pages of the "Cheater! Liar!" dialog but it is clear that this subject evokes a lot of emotion in the climbing community. Maybe I will write an editorial on my views but for now, please let it suffice to say that I admire anyone who gets off their butts and climbs a mountain, any mountain, first, last, highest, shortest. In the words of a famous Philosopher" "Why can't we all just get along?"

Quake Victims need our help

Reports are already coming in about children dying in the earthquake zone on Kashmir. Wonderful progress has been made to get them tents but the needs outnumbers the supply by magnitudes. The American Alpine Club sent several tons of gear last week. Field Touring of Australia led a drive to donate over 4000 tents but more is needed. You can still donate coats, tents, blankets and sleeping bags via http://www.kashmirrelief.org and http://quakehelp.net.

http://www.alanarnette.com

Posted by Alan Arnette at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)