Amazing Mountaineering Video on Trango Towers

My friends over at Gorida posted an amazing mountaineering video last week that is amongst the best that I have seen in a really long time. It tells the story of four French guides who traveled to Pakistan to put up a new route on the Trango Pulpit, part of the Trango Towers, which offers some of the most imposing and impressive big walls anywhere in the world.

The video is quite long, but well worth the watch. It shows the team en route to the mountain itself, giving an indication of just how remote the region is, and then proceeds to show them climbing the face, and eventually reaching the 6050m (19,849 foot) summit. In between, you see some footage that will make your mouth drop.

So, sit back, and enjoy, because mountaineering videos don't get much better than this one.

Azazel - bigwall in Pakistan
by Petzl-crew

Patagonia Wants Your Classic Climbs

The spring catalog from gear maker Patagonia has a theme that focuses on classic climbs, which they define as "a handful of routes that consistently capture the minds and hearts of climbers from around the world."

The Cleanest Line, the official blog of Patagonia, has posted their very select list and it's tough to argue with any of them. Each of the climbs also comes with a link to a field report with more information as well. The routes that they chose are as follows:

The Nose. High Exposure. Pinch Overhang
Aguja Guillaumet, Chalten
Hotline, Yosemite
Vandals, Shawangunks
Ahab, Yosemite
Zap Crack, Squamish

There you have it. Six great climbs that are hard to argue with. Would you add anything to the list? Anything they missed? How about The Eiger Direct? It seems to meet the category for me. Great list though.

Amazing Climbing Videos From Patagonia

This site was sent my way be regular reader Carl Hancock, who always has great things to share when he sends me a note. The page is titled Vertical Carnival Dispatches and it's full of videos, 14 of them to be exact, from a recent climbing expedition to Patagonia.

This first video has the team preparing for their climb in South America by warming up in Eldorado Canyon State Park in Colorado. The story is also revealed that one of the climbers tragically lost his wife, and it was her wishes to have her ashes spread out across her home in Brazil. She was a climber and adventurer herself who dreamed of going to Patagonia too, so to honor her, that is exactly what the team did. The results are these stunning videos that have a ton of great climbing footage. Really great stuff and a great story.


Vertical Carnival Video #1 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Nice Climbing Video

This video made it's way through the Twitterverse this morning. Apparently it's about a year old or so, but it's still beautifully shot and great to watch. It shows climber Natalija Gros working a wall with grace and skill. The music is a perfect accompaniment too. Enjoy!



Natalija Gros from Jure Breceljnik on Vimeo.

Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten Claim 2009 Piolet d'Or

The Hardwear Sessions, official blog of Mountain Hardwear, is reporting that that Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten have won one of three 2009 Piolet d'Or awards, given out annually for outstanding accomplishments in mountaineering. The amazing duo took home their prize for their first ascent, in Alpine Style, of the North Face of Tengkampoche, a 6500m peak in the Khumbu Valley.

Upon winning the award, Ueli released the following statement:

I

t is a great honour for me to receive the "Piolets d'Or 2009" award. This award is given away by mountaineers who know what alpinism is all about. This prize should also be trendsetting. Therefore it is a great confirmation that Simon and I are on the right track. Alpinism is not comparable. First of all it is a matter of personal experience and personal challenge. That's why it is important to be able to follow some rules. With today's modern technique everything is achievable. Every mountain can be climbed. But the mountain is no longer the determining link between success and failure. Personally this is exactly what most matters: that the alpinist is the most important element between success and failure and not primarily the technical means. Thanks to all my sponsors, which have been supporting me during all these years and who give me the opportunity to realise such idealistic goals.

Thank you also to Simon: this was one of the most beautiful expeditions I could experience.

Although this prize was for 2009 I am proud of all my ascents. And we do not have to forget: it's not over yet, it will go on. I am totally consumed by my projects. And the next one is closer than we might think."

Ueli and Simon are a class act both on the mountain and off, and everyone already knows their part in the Inaki Ochoa incident last year on Annapurna. Obviously this award is well deserved, as they exemplify everything that the spirit of mountaineering is all about.

The other two winners of the Piolet d'Or include Japanese climbers Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi completing the first ascent of the South-West face of Kamet and Fumitaka Ichimura, Yusuke Sato and Kazuki Amano, also of Japan, opening a new route on the North Face of Kalanka. Both climbs were completed in Alpine Style.

Congrats to all the winners.

Will Gadd in ESPN the Magazine

It's not often that climbing, in any of its fashions, is reported on by the mainstream media. And when it is it's generally to report bad news. That's why it's always fun to find a story on a climber in a periodical such as ESPN the Magazine, which has devoted some space to ice climber Will Gadd.

I've posted on Gadd before. He's the globetrotting climber always looking for a new challenge to sink his ice axes into, and he's put up some tough routes all over the planet. He was even on the Jeep World of Adventure Sports when he did some underground ice climbing in an abandoned iron mine in Sweden.

This article is a profile on Will and his approach to ice climbing. ESPN caught up to him in December while he was working a small frozen waterfall in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia's, a short distance from where he lives. The training was preparation for a much bigger, and more challenging, water fall that he had projected to climb this month, with a slew of filmmakers and photographers in tow.

The story goes on to look at some of Will's other climbs, his start in the sport and his motivations. He's one of the top ice climbers in the world, and it's a nice profile that will probably not resonate with much of the ESPN crowd, but it is cool that they at least did the story, and showed him as the athlete that he is. Good stuff.

And check out one of Will's climb videos that they included with the story.

Summit Up! Project Off and Running

I first mentioned the Summit Up project back in February, when Mark Zimmer first announced his intentions of climbing to the highest point in every state in the U.S. Now that April has arrived, he's off and running, bagging these "peaks" as quickly as he can.

You can read all about Mark's progress on his blog, where you'll learn that he has already claimed the high points in Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. He's now off Colorado, where he'll go after the 14,433 foot Mount Elbert, which is likely to be one of his more challenging climbs until Denali or Rainier.

The Summit Up project is not only a cool adventure though, it also an attempt to raise funds, and awareness, for Alzheimer's research with the Alzheimer's Association. Mark is working with some very good sponsors, such as North Face and Cloudveil, to help supply his climbs, and is accepting donations as well. Obviously, this is a very worthy cause, and a great way to bring awareness to it.

Be sure to drop on by the Summit Up website in the weeks ahead, as Mark continues to go after his goal.