News…

• Dai Koyamada adds a potential V15 called Shanbara near Toyota, Japan:

On 20th December 2011, I completed a new line in Toyota, Japan.
This problem is a sit down start version of Agartha, V14, and is called Shanbara.

• Iker Pou is well known for repeating finger intensive testpieces like Action Directe (5.14d) and Demencia Senil (5.15a), so it’s not surprising to see Kairn reporting that Pou has done the FA of Nit de bruixes in Margalef, Spain suggesting a grade of 5.15a for the line.
• Sasha DiGiulian has been in Hueco Tanks for the past couple of weeks where she’s done a couple of V10′s¹ and the V11 Sunshine according to her 8a scorecard.
• In the past couple of weeks Jimmy Webb did the 3rd ascent of Daniel Woods’ Crook By The Book (V14) in Hueco and added two V13s near Chattanooga according to his 8a scorecard.
• Isabelle Faus and Kasia Pietras were also in Hueco and both succeeded in repeating Sunshine (V11), with Pietras following that up with another V11 once she got home to Chattanooga.
• Jorg Verhoeven and Katha Saurwein have been cruising around Bishop climbing several notable highballs including Ambrosia (V11) for Jorg and Golden Shower (V10) for Katha.  Check out videos of them getting high off the deck here,  here and here.
• Alex Johnson has been busy on the higbhalls of Bishop this winter as well:

On this trip she has taken things to a new height by getting off the deck on some of the area’s taller problems. It impresses to hear of her ascents of Mesothelioma (v7), Golden Shower (v10) and The Ninth (v6), all at The Pollen Grains (a.k.a. Lydija Boulders) in a day.

• Magnus Midtbø climbed two 5.14ds in Santa Linya, Spain as 2011 came to a close with repeats of Fuck The System and Open Your Mind Direct.  Footage of the latter route can be seen here.

…and Notes…

• Short interview with Camp 4 Collective’s Renan Ozturk who went from nearly dying in an avalanche last year to being part of the team that did the FA of Meru Shark’s Fin:

Yeah, it was a really intense year going from a complete state of helplessness after the big accident (two broken vertebrae in my neck, fractured skull, severed vertebral artery) to taking part in a very intense and demanding Himalayan expedition

• Rock band The Killers come to the defense of Red Rock:

As members of the rock band The Killers, we don’t usually get involved in local politics. When we learned how Red Rock Canyon is being threatened, however, we wanted to do all we could to help. Timing is urgent.

• Alex Honnold reports on the gym scene in Poland:

The contrast to US gyms was stark. Where a US gym is meant for fun, Polish gyms reminded me more of small training centers. Systems boards, steep bouldering caves, campus boards, and a few weights all crammed into a dark, extremely dusty little nook. Not really a place to play, but certainly a place to get extremely strong.

• The 2012 Hueco Rock Rodeo fast approaches with this year’s event scheduled to take place March 3rd and 4th.  This year’s event, which is sponsored by adidas, features clinics, slideshows and much more.  Can anyone keep up with Daniel Woods?

• Save the dates of September 27-30 for the 2012 Idaho Mountain Festival

News & Notes – 1/17/2012 from Climbing Narcissist

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News…

• Lynn Hill turns 50 and send Rifle’s Living In Fear (5.13d)
• Also in Rifle was Joe Kinder who added a direct start to Lungfish which should be somewhere in the mid-5.14 range.
• Before returning to the U.S. to compete in the Lead World Cup in Boulder, Sasha DiGiulian finished her stint in Spain by onsighting a few more 5.13ds, redpointing a few more 5.14s and doing this interview with PlanetMountain.
• According to her 8a scorecard Andrea Szekely climbed three 5.14a’s and fourteen 5.13′s during a recent trip to Rodellar, Spain.
• Micky Page had a strong visit to Rocklands, South Africa, repeating two V14s and doing the FA of a problem in the V14/15 range.
• Anthony Gullsten has done the first repeat of Nalle Hukkataival’s The Globalist (V14) near Helsinki, Finland.
• Not long after Daniel Woods repeated this problem, Guntram Jörg ticked off Anam Cara in Silvretta, Austria.
• According to his 8a scorecard Danilo Pereyra has done the likley 3rd ascent of Ali Hulk extenstion, a hybrid boulder problem/route that weighs in around the 5.15a range.
• A nice update from Katie Lambert about a few climbs she did in Tuolumne and The Needles, including a first female ascent of Golden Rose (5.13c) on Medlicott Dome.

…And Notes…

• The world’s tallest climbing wall opened on October 1 at Reno, Nevada’s CommRow development.  In addition to the 164 ft. wall, the facility also features a couple of free-standing boulders and a speed climbing wall.  Several professional climbers were on hand for the unveiling including Dave Graham, Jon Cardwell, Josh Levin, Emily Harrington and Alex Johnson.  Levin blogged about it here while Johnson blogged about it here.
• It’s been 50 years since John Gill first climbed The Thimble in the Needles of South Dakota
• It’s also been 50 years since the first ascent of the Salathé Wall on El Capitan
• More pictures from last month’s UBC Pro Tour event in Burlington, VT
• Via The Spot’s blog comes this gallery of images from the recent Lead World Cup in Boulder
• I can never get enough of pictures from the Eastern Sierra

News & Notes – 10/12/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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8. News & Notes – 8/3/2011

News…

• Sasha DiGiulian has just about wrapped up her stay in Rodellar, Spain, and her final ticklist is pretty impressive.  Some might say world record breaking¹.  In addition to the 5.14c redpoint and the 5.14a onsight she redpointed a pair of 5.14a’s and flashed a 5.13c.  In total she did 12 routes 5.13b or harder with almost half going down first try.
• Another American in Rodellar is Ben Spannuth.  Clearly motivated by that one time he and I talked shop over a bottle of Buffalo Trace², he too has redpointed Cosi Fan Tutti according to his 8a scorecard.  In addition he’s done 6 other 5.14s since he left the States to climb overseas.  He could not, however, do the famous DWS Loskot And Two Smoking Barrels which sounds pretty horrifying.
• Dai Koyamada reporst on his blog (in Japanese) and to UKC that he did the FA of Dark Matter, a potential V14 or 15 in the Darkness Cave in Magic Wood, Switzerland.  The problem starts on In Search Of Time Lost and exits out From Darkness To Sunshine.
• New route on the Incredible Hulk:

600 feet 19 bolts, 10 days, 6 brushes, 4 partners and 1 route later, here is the long-winded tale of my experience new routing on the Incredible Hulk.

• According to his 8a scorecard Jon Cardwell has repeated Daniel Woods’ Aslan (V14) in RMNP for the problem’s (at least) 7th ascent.

And Notes…

• The 8th Yosemite Facelift starts next Tuesday
• Indian Creek Volunteer Work Day(s) this coming weekend
• Lincoln Lake cleanup Saturday, September 17th.  Bring your supplemental oxygen…
• This Saturday is the 1st Annual Gunks Climbers Coalition Membership Party in Rosendale, NY.  The party will highlight the GCC’s new joint membership agreement with the Access Fund.  For more info check out gunksclimbers.org.

• Also this Saturday is the 1st Annual Meyers Climbing Festival & Bouldering Competition in South Lake Tahoe.  More info on that here.

• Help rebuild the fire lookout at The Needles in California that unfortunately, and I guess ironically, was destroyed in a fire
• Jamie Emerson shines the B3Bouldering spotlight on some of the new areas being developed in Wyoming with this takeaway message:

I would also like to say that I have been astounded by the amount of new rock that seems to be cropping up out there in the woods, not only in Wyoming, but Colorado, Idaho and Montana as well. If you want to come up to Lander, by all means, come on up. But don’t think for a minute that there aren’t 20 other areas on the list waiting to be explored. There are thousands of boulders to be climbed out there. I have shared many new areas and problems on this site, with the intention that climbers will enjoy them. But as I often have said in the past, I would encourage boulderers to think outside the box, not follow the trends and get out there and find some adventure for yourself!

News & Notes – 9/14/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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News…

• Jorg Verhoeven had a good week recently redpointing Hades (5.14d) at the “God Wall” in Nassereith, Austria and sending The Never Ending Story (V14, although V13 is getting mentioned a lot these days) in Magic Wood, Switzerland.
• Adam Pustelnik and Nico Favresse teamed up to make the first repeat of the much-hyped multi-pitch Orbayu on the Naranjo de Bulnes formation in Picos de Europa, Spain.  The climb was first done in 2009 by the Pou brother Eneko and Iker with difficulties suggested up to 5.14c/d.  In this report on Black Diamond’s website Favresse and Pustelnik confirm the quality of the line but humbly suggest that most of the pitches felt easier with difficulties “only” up to 5.14a or b.  Best wishes to Pustelnik as he was badly injured in a ground-fall attempting a new route after the Orbayu ascent.
• According to her 8a scorecard Audrey Sniezek redpointed her first 5.13d in Porn Star at Washington’s Little Si.
• I had to double-check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April Fool’s Day after Jonathan Siegrist posted some pictures of a huge swoop of blue limestone south of Salt Lake City called The Hoop.  That rock can’t be in American can it?  Apparently it is, and Siegrist had made the trip there to do some work on a video project for Arc’teryx.  Like a true professional he managed to throw down a repeat of Chris Sharma’s “savage, delicate and powerful” Moose Licks (5.14b) after four tries.
• Sasha DiGiulian blogs about her win at the European Youth Cup in Imst, Austria.
• Since breaking his back in a fall in Rifle last summer Josh Wharton won the 2011 Ouray Mixed Climbing comp, enchained three summits in Patagonia and now he’s done the FFA of the Dunn-Westbay route on the iconic Diamond of Longs Peak:

On the day of the free ascent I stumble and fall, and generally epic before sending the crux pitch on my third try of the day. Above, I fall again, cramping and fighting wet rock on numerous sections of tricky 5.12. The rope gets pulled and I manage to put it all together for the first free ascent. I’m tired for a week.

…and Notes

• The Access Fund is looking for your feedback on a series of grant proposals
• The 2011 Bouldering World Cup wraps up this weekend in Munich, Germany.  Scheduled to compete for Team America will be Daniel Woods, Alex Puccio, Courtney Sanders, Sasha DiGiulian and Audrey Sniezek.  Watch the comp live starting Friday at IFSC.tv.
• Speaking of amazing looking rock
• The Outdoor Retailer Trade show has come and gone.  I don’t know if I’ve just been conditioned by my overlord Steve Jobs to want to run out and buy new products the second I see them or what, but I find the product cycles of the outdoor industry to be a bit frustrating.  Some interesting products are being unveiled but it seems like you are lucky if they are actually released within 12 months of being unveiled.  That said, for an overview of some products you might see at some point in the future check out the OR recap from Splitter Choss as well as part 1 and part 2 of DPM’s coverage.
• Today is the last day to enter for a chance to win a free download of Better Than Chocoloate
• On Saturday, August 27th the Rifle Climbers’ Coalition will be putting on the 2011 Rifle Rendez-S.P.E.W in conjuction with the annual clean-up day.  More on how you can compete in the elaborately thought out game of S.P.E.W. here.

• In southern California?  Head out to Carlsbad to meet Steph Davis and Chris Sharma tonight at the SoCal premier of Chuck Fryberger’s latest movie, The Scene.

• Comping up September 2-5 is the Skaha Climbing Festival in Penticton, BC, Canada.  The event will have the usual array of clinics, competitions, gear demos and appearances by Will Stanhope and Beth Rodden.

 

News & Notes – 8/17/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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A few lingering pieces of News & Notes left over from my recent vacation…

News…

• Jonathan Siegrist had a pretty productive month of July.  On a trip to Ten Sleep, WY he managed to send 2 5.14a’s on his first try, gave the featured presentation at the International Climber’s Festival in Lander, WY, did the first repeat of Ben Gilkinson’s Wide World Of Fitness (suggests 5.14b) at Little Si, WA and made quick work of A.D.A.T.O. (5.14b) at Vancouver Island near Squamish.
• Sonnie Trotter checks in with Black Diamond to report on some new route efforts he and Tommy Caldwell did in the Canandian Rockies.
• Nick Duttle has made a rare repeat of Tommy Caldwell’s Grand Ol’ Opry (5.14b) at the Monastery.  Commenting on his 8a scorecard he confirms the difficulty of this route that was originally given a grade of 5.14a:

This is a true technical test piece. By far the hardest line I have sent on granite. 8c+ is a grade that falls on easier lines than this one… Respect to the 4 prior ascents!

• Not done, Duttle then made the trek to RMNP’s Upper Chaos to repeat Wildcat (V12) for an impressive double dip.  Climbing a 5.14 sport climb and a double-digit boulder problem in the same day is something that I can’t imagine has been done by too many.
• One of England’s first 5.14d’s, Big Bang, sees its first repeat at the hands of James McHaffie
• Bernd Zangerl adds two new problems in Rocklands, South Africa

And Notes…

• Alex Puccio signs a multi-year endorsement deal with Fila Korea
• The New York Times tries their best to take a look at the increasing popularity of the sport of bouldering:

News & Notes – 8/3/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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Somehow we went all of May without a News & Notes update???

News…

• According to his 8a scorecard Ethan Pringle has done the 2nd ascent of Le Cadre Nouvelle Version, a 5.14d in Céüse, France.
• Cedric Lachat and Nina Caprez did the 2nd and 3rd ascent of the multipitch Délicatessen in Corsica that has difficulties up to 5.13d.  This report on Caprez’s blog has some great pictures of the route as well as some pictures of another beautiful looking route, Tom et je ris (5.14a) in France’s Verdon Gorge.
• Carlo Traversi established a new V13 called Flux For Life last week in Colorado’s latest hotspot, Endovalley.  In true Colorado fashion the problem already has 4 repeats by the likes of Daniel Woods, Jon Cardwell, Jimmy Webb and Brion Voges.
• Speaking of Webb & Voges, they both repeated Dave Graham’s proposed Endovalley V14 Glow In The Dark Estrellas.  New beta was found that brought the grade down to V11 although Webb comments that, “What dave climbed is def v14…”
• Simon Carter has a report complete with quality photos of Lee Cossey’s FA of Sneaky Snake (5.14b) at the incredible Taipan Wall in the Grampians.
• Black Diamond has a report from Ines Papert about her repeat of Super Cirill, a 600+ ft. trad route with difficulties up to mid-5.13 in Ticino, Switzerland.
• While not “news” in an international sense, I wanted to take a moment to give props to a local Wisconsin climber who had an excellent season at the Red River Gorge.  In the course of two months he took his max redpoint from 5.13b up to 5.14a culminating in an ascent of Transworld Depravity in the Madness Cave.  Since he’s not big in the online spray department I’ll refrain from mentioning his name, however anyone that has spent time climbing at Adventure Rock over the past 10 years probably knows the affable and oftentimes goofy looking young man I’m referring to.

And Notes…

• Petzl has a notice posted on their website regarding the potential for a rope to get jammed behind the cam on their new GriGri 2 belay device.  While at least one report seems to indicate this causes the rope to slide through the device, Petzl says otherwise:

Don’t worry: this jamming does not damage the rope. Our internal testing shows that even with the smallest diameters, the rope remains intact, even if the climber falls. Note also that even with the rope in this position, the cam functions normally and the climber’s fall will be arrested.

• Gallery of photos from this past weekend’s Bouldering World Cup in Canmore.
• DPM has a quality video from Joe Kinder featuring the UK’s Tom Bolger climbing in Santa Linya, Spain
• Despite last week’s bad news life goes on in the Red River Gorge with efforts underway to rebolt the entire Motherlode.  Check out this thread on RedRiverClimbing to learn more about the plans and visit Team Suck to donate.
• This cave in Flatanger, Norway can’t be real, can it??
• Will Stanhope details his attempts on the famous route Parthian Shot which left him on crutches
• Cautionary accident report from Lake Tahoe’s Lover’s Leap
• And on a more positive note, check out the website for Green Climbers Home, a new outfit being opened by two German climbers in Laos.

News & Notes – 6/1/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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8. News & Notes Bonus Edition – 4/29/2011

Busy week on the climbing news front so here is a bonus edition of News & Notes

News…

• Emily Harrington did her 8th 5.14 in Full Eqip, a 5.14b in Oliana, Spain according to Climbing.com.
• Enzo Oddo and David Firneburg who are 16 and 15 respectively both repeated Chris Sharma’s Era Bella (5.14d) in Margalef, Spain.
• German Dorothea Karalus reports on her blog that she repeated Pura Vida (V12 or 13) in Magic Wood, Switzerland.
• On the heels of a 2nd place finish at the first bouldering World Cup of the season Austrian Jakob Schubert added his name to the growing list of people who have repeated Chris Sharma’s Papichulo (5.15a) in Oliana, Spain.  More on the ascent at UKC.
• In Red River Gorge news, Nick Duttle repeated James Litz’s The Shocker (5.14b) despite the fact that it apparently is never going to stop raining in Kentucky leading to at least one of the holds on the route being wet.

…And Notes…

• Alex Puccio has a blog
• Will Gadd sets the record straight on “sports performance diets”:

Chris Sharma does not eat Paleo/Zone/WTF. In fact, I can’t think of one truly elite athlete that follows any incredibly strict diet. I would bet they are conscious of what they eat because they know their bodies, but not religious about it. Yet there are legions of people out there trying to improve their amateur sports performance through bizzare diets. I would call them idiots, but it’s really a form of gullibility brought on by wishful thinking.

• It was sad to read this morning about the passing of Swiss alpinist Erhard Loretan, someone I recall reading about many times over the years.

News & Notes Bonus Edition – 4/29/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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News…

• Nik Berry reports on his blog that he did the FFA of Lunar X in Zion at a proposed grade of 5.13.  The post initially included some great photos from Jeremiah Watt, but it looks like we’re going to have to wait for an upcoming issue of Climbing before we can see those again.
• The Mother-Son team of Robyn (age 47) & Shawn (age 12) Raboutou both found success on Boulder Canyon’s Hard Boiled (V11).
• According to his 8a scorecard Dave Graham did the FA of Ali Nomad (5.14b), a short hybrid boulder-route at Colorado’s Clear Creek Canyon.
• Writing for DPM, Daniel Woods shares more on his recent sending spree in Switzerland.
• Writing for Black Diamond, Adam Ondra shares more on his recent sending spree in Spain.  Plenty of cool pictures to look at as well so be sure to check that one out.
• It’s been really interesting and informative to follow Dave MacLeod as he’s worked on his latest bouldering project, sharing his insights along the way.  After a prolonged effort he managed to send the line, dubbed Seven of Nine, at a proposed grade of V14.

And Notes…

• The IFSC has suspended the membership of Brazil’s sport climbing governing body, effectively barring climbers from that country from competing in IFSC sanctioned events like the World Cup and the upcoming World Championship in Arco, Italy.
• B3Bouldering explores some of the different reasons a boulder problem like Daniel Woods’ The Game can change over time which can result in the perceived grade of the problem changing.
• Dani Andrada reports (in Spanish) that preparations for the October 2011 Petzl Roc Trip in China are just about complete.  They’ve prepped somewhere in the neighborhood of 230 routes on some “amazing” walls.
• Similar to their guidebook for the Red River Gorge, Wolverine Publishing recently released an iPhone version of their new guidebook for the climbing in Joshua Tree.  In addition, they will be releasing guidebook apps for the climbing at Summersivlle Lake/Gauley River, WV and the climbing at the New River Gorge/Meadow River Gorge, WV in short order.
• Bouldering in Pakistan??
• Even pro climbers like Paul Robinson need a vacation…
• Vote for free climbing shirts!
• Joe Kinder checks in with some photos from a Sterling Rope shoot with Chris Sharma

News & Notes – 4/27/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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8. News & Notes – 8/17/2011

Not a ton of news to get to today, but the notes are piling up so here is the latest edition of News & Notes:

News…

• Nina Caprez and Cedric Lachat had a pretty nice trip to Oliana, Spain recently.  Caprez did Full Equip (5.14b) 2nd try (which she thought was no harder than 5.13d) and Fish Eye (5.14b) while Lachat pulled off a send of Sharma’s Papichulo (5.15a).  Check out Caprez’s blog for some excellent pictures of their efforts.
• According to her scorecard Holly McMullen repeated Gross’s Roof (V11) at Cumberland, TN, her first of the grade after just over 2 years of climbing.
• Kevin Jorgeson has a nice report on his blog about his likely 2nd ascent of Dale Bard’s Transporter Room (5.12 X) on the Grandpa Peabody boulder at the Buttermilks.
• Fred Nicole is still getting it done
• The first bouldering World Cup of the 2011 season is this weekend in Milan, Italy.  The U.S. will have 2 representatives in Alex Puccio and Alex Johnson.  Full start list is posted here.

…And Notes…

• In a nice gesture in an otherwise selfish sport, Adam Ondra has become the public face for the push to get climbers to sign up to become bone marrow donors:

Not everyone has such luck as myself, not everyone is “merely“ lucky enough to be healthy as most of the others and just go climbing, enjoy every day without any serious helathy problems at least while being young. To become a potential marrow bone donnor was quite an obvious choice for me, there are people on the world who might need me to save their lives, I asked myself if it was worth of sacrificing one week of life (if there will ever be person for whom I would be useful) for way longer and happier life of another person. Yes, the operation might be awkward, might hurt, it would avoid me to live my ordinary life for at least 1 week, but for me, it is definitely worth of it, what about you?

• Nice interview with Joe Kinder as he embarks on his trip to Europe
• Interview with Paige Claassen
• Profile video of the other Alex Johnson
• Planet Granite, a trio of gyms in the San Francisco area, has announced their new PG Gives Back program which aims to give back to the local community through a series of grants and donations to various causes.
• The parents of Chloé Graftiaux, who tragically died in a fall last year, have put together a book and non-profit association to help give, “nudges to the young people who have projects in climbing, in mountain sports or in mountain assistance,  but with the goal of sharing a passion”.  Read more about the project here.
• The Access Fund announces the recipients of over $18,000 in the first round of their 2011 Climbing Preservation Grant Program
• The American Alpine Club is hiring
• Probably not a shock to many of you but the British Mountaineering Council has issued some guidance warning against the use of campus boards by children under 18.
• National Geographic recently launched a new videos series entitled Fringe Elements.  The series covers a broad range of outdoor activities including this video of Matt Maddaloni free soloing…with a net.

News & Notes – 4/12/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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6. News & Notes – 9/14/2011
7. News & Notes – 8/17/2011
8. News & Notes Bonus Edition – 4/29/2011

News…

• Ok, this Adam Ondra situation is getting a bit ridiculous.  Desnivel reports that he onsighted yet another 5.14c, this time Chris Sharma’s Mind Control in Oliana.  Oh yeah, and parts of the route were soaking wet.
• Also not afraid of some wet rock is Daniel Woods who, according to B3Bouldering, did the long-awaited 2nd ascent of James Litzs’ Warpath at Idaho’s Castle Rock.  Video of the FA can still be seen here.
• According to her scorecard Thomasina Pidgeon has done Jesse Bonin’s The Aquarium, a long V12 at the Sad Boulders in Bishop, CA.
• Ryan Palo writes on his blog that 11 year-old Drew Ruana sent Rude Boys (5.13c) in Smith Rock, OR.
• Brion Voges and Brad Weaver had a good spring break trip to Colorado.  Voges managed to send Suspension of Disbelief (V13) in Eldorado Canyon and Fantasia (now V13 apparently) near Denver while Weaver made a fast repeat of Circadian Rhythm (V13) in Poudre Canyon as well as the 4th ascent of Fantasia.  A nice video from their trip can be seen here.
• According to her scorecard Flannery Shay-Nemirow did 2 V11′s over the course of a few days with sends of Hardboiled in Boulder Canyon and Formula 50 Direct Exit in Clear Creek Canyon.

…And Notes

• The Access Fund is celebrating their 20th anniversary, and in this post on their website they look back at 20 milestones they’ve achieved over the years.  Be sure to check that out.
• The American Alpine Club launched their “Unite” campaign to help promote their vision of “uniting climbers to advance the climbing way of life”.  The goal behind this campaign is to highlight the benefits of AAC membership to current and prospective members.  Learn more about the campaign, which includes several high resolution images you can download, by clicking here.  In addition, the deadline for various AAC grants is the end of March.  Read more about that here.

One of the images from the AAC’s Unite Campaign

• Lee Cujes breaks down the bolting situation in Thailand and outlines a few ways in which people can help:

Let me relate a story real quick. A new multipitch route on Fire Wall (Tonsai, Phranang Peninsula) goes up with stainless expansion bolts. The very same bolts that are used throughout all of Europe and the States. One year later a team of two Norwegians go to repeat the route. The leader climbs the first 6b pitch without falling and establishes the belay at two bolts. Before bringing up his seconder, he clips the rope into the first bolt of the 7c pitch above. When the seconder reaches the belay, both climbers lean back to survey the pitch above and BOTH BELAY BOLTS SNAP.

Yes.

They are left hanging by the single bolt on the next pitch. That could have been two deaths right there, and it was really just luck more than anything else that saved them. I mean, who would think that an entire belay which isbasically brand new would self destruct under bodyweight?

Well this is what happens to stainless steel bolts in a few select places in the world, and southern Thailand is one of these places.

Forget what you think you know about bolting. It does not apply here.

• A few pictures from Canada’s Tour De Bloc climbing series
• This Saturday in Moe’s Valley, UT there will be a Trail Cleanup and Bouldering Competition

• DPM interviews Pete Lowe about the bouldering scene around Las Vegas
• I meant to post this link a long time ago but somehow forgot.  Check out this post full of excellent photos from a summer spent “Storming Castles” in California’s High Sierras.

News & Notes – 3/22/2011 from Climbing Narcissist

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