Climbing Narcissist » Mountaineering

And Now For A Cleansing Of The Palette…

Narc — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:20:06 +0000

Surely all of the indoor pebble wrestling talk that has permeated this site of late has rubbed some of you the wrong way. While I love indoor climbing just as much as the next guy (or gal) I also have a high appreciation for all things outdoor climbing. So, in order to cleanse our collective palettes, if only briefly, from all the indoor climbing talk here is a video that is basically the opposite of an indoor bouldering comp. The video is from the blog No Way Down (vai the guys at PullHarder) and features a winter ascent of the aid route Zenyatta Mondatta on El Cap:

Along these same lines is the plethora of news and inspiring images coming out of Patagonia of late. Climbing.com has a nice wrap-up of some recent ascents and here are a few blogs I’ve been reading as well:

Jason Kruck and Chris Geisler come within 40 meters of doing a “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre’s southeast ridge
Furry Murry & Slow and Heavy both blog about the difficulty of climbing 2 peaks in a day and the good “problem” of the weather being too good
Mikey Schaefer and Kate Rutherford climb Chairo di Luna on St. Exupery as well as a new route on Fitz Roy
Neil Kaufman and Josh Wharton establish a new line on Aguja Desmochada
PlanetMountain interviews Colin Haley

On a totally unrelated note, yesterday marked the 4th anniversary of this blogsite’s creation. I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone who has visited and supported the site throughout these past 4 years. It really means a lot!!

And Now For A Cleansing Of The Palette… from Climbing Narcissist

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New Indoor Climbing Short Coming From Big Up Productions

News & Notes – 3/29/2010

Narc — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:40:43 +0000

Deadpoint Magazine reports on an 8 year-old girl from New York sending Power Of Silence (V10) in Hueco Tanks.
The Enlightened Chuffer captures a few shots of Daniel Woods working what could potentially be the hardest problem on Boulder, CO’s Flagstaff Mountain.
Excellent interview with Royal Robbins
Check out this video of a new gym being built in Atlanta. Once completed Stone Summit will be the largest climbing gym in the country, and it will be the site for 2010 Youth Sport Climbing Nationals as well.

When Finnish boulderer Nalle Hukkataival went to Spain earlier this year it was assumed that he would try his hand at the infamous First Round First Minute project at Margalef since its bouldery style would no doubt suit him well. It turned out he never got the chance to try FRFM as it is apparently a closed project. In the comments of a recent post on his blog Hukkataival says that, “When I went to Spain, my main motivation was to try a very well known project, but I was not allowed to try it.”
In a post titled Live and Learn, Bolt Smart Joe Kinder addresses questions over some routes he bolted at the Red River Gorge in 2008 calling the situation “embarrassing” and “something that I have learned a drastic lesson over”.
Splitterchoss.com had a couple interesting route development posts of late as well. One post is about The Eight Unfortunate Truths of Route Development and the other asks the question Do First Ascentionists Own The Rock?
In other Red River Gorge news, a gate has been installed along the trail to PMRP areas Solar Collector and the Dark Side to remind climbers that those areas were not free and to encourage continued donations to the RRGCC.
The Cleanest Line blog brings us this amazing story of one man’s journey from life in East Germany behind the Berlin Wall to a career with Patagonia.
Never Stop Climbing interviews Fitz Cahall, the man behind popular online climbing media Dirtbag Diaries and The Season. If you haven’t seen it yet, here is episode 9 of The Season in which Matt Maddaloni continues his work on the “anti cam”:

The Season Episode 9 from Fitz Cahall and Bryan Smith on Vimeo.

2 separate couples donate $2,100 to the Access Fund for a day of climbing with Chris Sharma
Colin Haley used a helmet cam to shoot this video of his solo ascent of Aguja Mermoz in Patagonia. I enjoyed how the video demonstrated some of the solo-ing systems he used as well as the spectacular Patagonian scenery; however, I did not enjoy the motion sickness brought on by the constant head bobbing in the footage. Just thinking about it as I write this is making me dizzy again. Watch the entire 13 minutes at your own peril.

VIDEO: BD athlete Colin Haley wears a helmet camera during a solo ascent of Aguja Mermoz in Patagonia from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

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Update: To follow up on the FRFM tidbit and the notion that Big Up has something to do with who can climb on the route, Big Up says on their blog that “we don’t tell Chris what to do, that is some silly speculation. It’s pretty standard on top-end routes to respect the equipper’s effort.” Make of that what you will.

News & Notes – 3/29/2010 from Climbing Narcissist

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News & Notes – 1/27/2010

Narc — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:10:15 +0000

Despite all the joking around about the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show there were a few cool products unveiled at the show. Probably the most intriguing thing I’ve seen so far is the upcoming Red River Gorge iPhone App from Wolverine Publishing. Coinciding with an upcoming release of a 3rd edition of the Red River Gorge guidebook, the iPhone app looks to be a fully functional guide that you can take with you right on your phone. The possibilities for something like this are pretty amazing so I can’t wait to see the finished product. You can read a bit more about it at Western Colorado Climbing.
Iker Pou did the 2nd ascent of Chris Sharma’s Demencia Senil (5.15a) at Margalef, Spain. Pou is no stranger to the type of hard pocket pulling needed on Demencia Senil as he is well known for his early repeat of Wolfgang Gullich’s finger tweaking testpiece Action Direct (5.14d) back in 2000. Here’s a video of Pou doing a neighboring route at Margalef, Llamps y trons (5.14c):

For all the props Chris Sharma gets for his First Ascents of super hard sport routes, he also deserves credit for bolting a lot of these new lines as well. Lately, he seems to be one of the few top climbers that actually bolts his own projects. In that vein, he bolted a new 50m line at Oliana dubbed Chaxiraxi (after their dog?) that could be one of the hardest routes in the sector according to Daila Ojeda’s blog:

This place is wonderful and the lines are five stars of course! and now also Oliana has a new line of 50 meters bolted by Chris the last week… the name is Chaxiraxi and it can be one of the hardest route in the sector… 9b?? We will see that the machine says.. If it’s like this Chris has bolted four 9b routes in Catalunya Golpe de Estado 9b in Siurana, Neanderthal 9b inSanta Linya, First round First minute 9b project in Margalef and Chaxiraxi 9b project in Oliana. And with this line Chris has bolted in Oliana 10 routes. Looks like Chris doesn’t want just to send the hard routes, he want to create it too.

Finnish bouldering powerhouse Nalle Hukkataival has done his first 5.14c, Duela la realidad, in Oliana, Spain
Also in Oliana, Jon Cardwell and Dave Graham both recently dispatched the 5.14b Identifacation y placas
Desert Rat Productions has been hard at work on a guidebook for Moe’s Valley, a small bouldering area near St. George, UT. Check out their website for a free preview of the guide. They hope to have it ready by early Spring.
If you live in the Ft. Collins, CO area Pat Ament’s The Disciples of Gill will be featured tonight at CSU. The movie is being shown in the Clark A Building Room 103 and it starts at 7pm. Tickets are $10.
Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards completed the first ascent of a new line on Tawoche, a 21,000′+ peak in Nepal. Throughout their trip they somehow found the time, energy and internet connection to put together some pretty amazing video dispatches. The final dispatch is below and the others can be seen here.

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

It’s cool to see companies like The North Face supporting projects like the one Ozturk and Richards just completed, however it’s not cool to see them doing things like this.

News & Notes – 1/27/2010 from Climbing Narcissist

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New AAC Grant Inspired By Jonny Copp & Micah Dash

Narc — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:30:45 +0000

Alpine climbing is not really the main focus of this blog, but its something I’ve long been interested in. The images and stories brought back from remote mountains are something I think any person with a sense of adventure can appreciate.

Unfortunately 2009 provided many stark reminders of the dangers associated with mountain adventure, most notably the loss of Jonny Copp, Micah Dash and Wade Johnson in China. Hoping to preserve their memory and inspire other small teams to share their adventures, the American Alpine Club recently announced the $20,000 Copp-Dash Inspire Award:

Jonny and Micah believed the summit meant something, but style was everything. They pursued climbing in the same manner they lived—with vigor and passion, and with a strong desire to share their adventures with the rest of the climbing world through photographs, videos and slideshows. The Copp-Dash Inspire Award has been formed, therefore, to support climbers who choose to follow a similar path, both in life and in the mountains. The fund’s goal is to assist climbers before, during and after expeditions with financial grants and multimedia instruction to help empower them to share their current and future adventures with a wider audience.

Sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardwear and Patagonia, and with in-kind support from Adventure Film Festival, Alpinist Magazine, American Alpine Club and Sender Films, the Copp-Dash Inspire Award will help support small teams tackling difficult climbs in the great mountains of the world who plan to personally document and share their ascents through a multimedia blend of storytelling elements.

Entries will be accepted until March 31st of this year.

American Alpine Club Copp-Dash Inspire Award

New AAC Grant Inspired By Jonny Copp & Micah Dash from Climbing Narcissist

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Pete Takeda Remembers Jonny Copp

Narc — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Writing on the Cleanest Line blog, Pete Takeda remembers his friend Jonny Copp. Pete Takeda Remembers Jonny Copp from Climbing Narcissist Become a fan of ClimbingNarc.com on Facebook Related posts: New AAC Grant Inspired By Jonny Copp & Micah Dash Micah Dash, Jonny Copp & Wade Johnson Lost In China Video Tributes to Micah Dash, [...]

Pete Takeda Remembers Jonny Copp from Climbing Narcissist

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Climbing Videos: Alpine Climbing In Canada & Alaska

Narc — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:53:36 +0000

One of the trends in the online climbing world that’s gaining popularity is the self-filmed expedition report. While quality photographs of alpine expeditions make for great eye candy, they struggle to capture the full scope of what it’s like to be in the mountains. Fortunately for those of us stuck sitting at a desk climbers are more and more willing to carry a camcorder (increasingly HD to boot) in order to chronicle their trip for sponsors and/or general public enjoyment.

One recent expedition to share a window into their experience was that of Jason Kruk, Will Stanhope and Matt Segal. Reporting on his blog, Kruk recounts their successful expedition to free routes in Canada’s Bugaboo Mountains. Capitalizing on dry conditions, the trio successfully freed an old aid route called Chocolate Fudge Brownie at 5.12+ as well as a route called Sendero Norte, also at 5.12+.

The North Vancouver/ Miami variation to Chocolate Fudge Brownie – Photo: Jason Kruk

Here is a video the team put together while working their way up CFB:

Another expedition to share their story via video is that of Zack Smith and Renan Ozturk. The pair recently made a trip to Alaska’s Ruth Gorge where they were thwarted attempting a big link-up. Despite not achieving their main objective, the pair brought back some amazing HD footage of what it’s like to be in Alaska pushing ones limits. Also worth reading is their report on Black Diamond’s website where they speak to the difficulty of returning to the mountains after the tragic passing of their 3 friends earlier this year.

Climbing Videos: Alpine Climbing In Canada & Alaska from Climbing Narcissist

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Craig Luebben Killed In Cascades Icefall

Narc — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:10:47 +0000

Climber, guide, author and Climbing Magazine Senior Contributing Editor Craig Luebben was killed yesterday while climbing on 8,120-foot Mount Torment in Washington’s Cascades:

Craig Luebben, 49, an experienced climber, climbing author, and climbing guide from Fort Collins, Colorado was killed yesterday, August 9, after been hit by falling ice on 8,120-foot Mount Torment in Washington’s Cascade Range.
Craig, a friend and fellow author for FalconGuides, was climbing with Willie Benagas in preparation for an American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) test for their coveted Alpine Guide certification. After the accident, Benagas was able to call rescuers who picked the pair up by helicopter yesterday afternoon.

2009 has been a rough year for deaths in the climbing community to say the least. Our thoughts are with Craig’s friends and family.

Photo of Mt. Torment from SummitPost

Update: More details here

Update #2: Full report at Stewart Green’s excellent About.com blog and a recent interview Luebben did with Frontrangebouldering.com

Craig Luebben Killed In Cascades Icefall from Climbing Narcissist

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Video Tributes to Micah Dash, Jonny Copp & Wade Johnson

Narc — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:40:52 +0000

It’s been several months since I last watched The Sharp End, Sender Films’ last movie. I had forgotten about the segment in the movie that featured Jonny Copp & Micah Dash doing their thing in India, France and elsewhere. Sender Films has been nice enough to share that segment with everyone online to help commemorate their lives as well as the life of Wade Johnson who helped produce the segment. It’s actually a little bit eerie to watch as Copp & Dash are nearly buried in an avalance during the filming, and they talk candidly about the inherent dangers in what they do.

In addition, here is a clip put together by friends and family to help remember the 3 who were lost:

Our thoughts remain with the friends and family. Stay tuned to the Adventure Films Blog for more updates.

Video Tributes to Micah Dash, Jonny Copp & Wade Johnson from Climbing Narcissist

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Micah Dash, Jonny Copp & Wade Johnson Lost In China

Narc — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:19:50 +0000

It’s not often the untimely death that sometimes finds those that use the mountains as their playground hits home in the rock climbing community, but unfortunately that is exactly what has happened with the recent passing of Micah Dash, Jonny Copp and Wade Johnson. As you have no doubt heard, the trio were likely killed by an avalanche while attempting a climb on Mt. Edgar in the Western Siuchan Province, China. The Adventure Film Festival blog has been a great resource for news and touching stories throughout this entire ordeal and I highly recommend checking it out for the full story.

While I never met Jonny Copp or Wade Johnson, I did have the good fortune of meeting Micah Dash on a couple of occasions. My first introduction to Micah was at the local climbing gym when he came in early 2008 to give a slide show about his recent ascent of the Shafat Fortress with Jonny Copp. As you can read in my report at the time, I was immediately taken by his enthusiasm and charisma.

I ran into Micah again this past February when we were in Boulder for ABS Nationals, and he reiterated his desire to come visit our gym again to share stories about his upcoming trip to China. Both Mrs. Narc and I were looking forward to seeing Micah again and the fact that this will never happen has touched both of us despite only meeting him briefly. As you read all the stories on this unfortunate accident from around the internet I think you will find that these three guys have touched countless people in a similar way.

Our thoughts are with the friends and families as they deal with this incredibly tough time.

I’ll leave you with this essay I found while paging through one of my mountaineering books the other day:

Mountaineers climb because they love the mountains, yes; but they climb too because climbing prepares them boldly and tenaciously for death, then guides them faithfully to the edge of another world, a world I now recognize as the world of the dead, and there allows them to dance, mountain after mountain, year after year, as close to death as it is possible to dance; which is to say, within a single step.

“The Mountain of Love and Death” from Mountains of the Great Blue Dream by Robert Leonard Reid

Micah Dash, Jonny Copp & Wade Johnson Lost In China from Climbing Narcissist

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CO Based Mountaineers Missing In China

Narc — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:36:27 +0000

The news of the possible disappearance in China of Boulder, CO based climbers Micah Dash and Jonny Copp along with filmmaker Wade Johnson has been blazing around the internet today on blogs, news sites, twitter and The Facebook. Visit this blog for all the updates. My thoughts are with the friends and families…

CO Based Mountaineers Missing In China from Climbing Narcissist

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