Recently in the Climbing Category

Yesterday GearJunkie published an interview with attorney and blogger Sara Lingafelter (RockClimberGirl.com), who just returned from the Nepal-Tibet border, where she attempted to climb Mount Pumori. The most remarkable part: she’d never climbed more than 10,000 feet before.

“There were two ‘hardest things’ for me. One was sitting at base camp, listening to the guys up on the mountain on the radio say their goodnights, and then listening to avalanches and rock falls all night (Nuptse was really active while we were up there). I worried until I heard the “all clear” in the morning. Most of us had really vivid, usually terrible, dreams while we were at altitude.”

Calum Macintyre, a 16-year-old Scot, has become the youngest person to reach the top of Ama Dablam in the Himalayas. His dad credits cross-country skiing and mountain biking with helping his son build the strength to ascend the highly technical mountain. “Calum said: ‘I am delighted to have reached the summit. The last 50 metres or so will stay with me always. The climb was a massive physical challenge for me with exposed and difficult climbing. There were times when I did not think I was going to make it but I pushed on and finally reached the summit with fantastic views of Everest and many other peaks.’” David Ross in the Scotland Herald.

Amy Clark recommends Colorado’s Mt. Elbert, California’s Mt. Shasta, and Washington’s Mt. Baker — in order of increasing difficulty. “Like many other physical feats, mountaineering takes practice — and lots of it. Fortunately, you’ve got plenty of options. The United States alone has 87 peaks that reach 14,000 feet or higher. And even though all are in the western half of North America, the panoramic views from the summit are worth the trip. Since you’re a beginner, plan to tackle one peak at a time, starting with an easier ascent, and then progressing to a more technical guided one.”

The Wall Street Journal’s extreme sports correspondent, Michael Ybarra, climbs frozen waterfalls above the Icefields Parkway in Canada. “I’m standing in the sun, belaying my partner who’s hacking his way up a frozen waterfall, when I realize that for the first time all day I’m actually reasonably warm. It was seven degrees when we left the car this morning, and for most of the day I’ve been either really cold (while belaying) or with my head and body overheating and my hands and feet freezing (while climbing).”

The Oregonian’s Terry Richards points to the key spots for outdoors nuts in the central Cascades, including the head of the Metolius, the Badlands, and Newberry Crater: “The national volcanic monument near La Pine has two gorgeous mountain lakes with lodges, a giant mound of black obsidian and a classic mountain bike trail around the rim of the caldera.”

Jamie Shortt looks at his progression from a “standard-issue” backpacker to “lightweight” to “ultralightweight” and ends up with some highly specific lists of gear. “The daily temperatures dropped to below freezing as we prepared to camp. We set up our poncho tarps, heated our freeze-dried dinners, and warmed ourselves by a small fire before going to bed shortly after 8:00 p.m. to fend off the cold. Scott was in my Marmot Hydrogen (30 F bag) and me in my GoLite Ultra 20 Quilt. My new gear included a MLD Ultralight Bivy and an Integral Designs Silponcho.” On BackpackerLight.com.

Dennis Foster and his wife take Bright Angel Trail into the Grand Canyon, hiking a route that gets a high volume of traffic during the summer but is almost empty in winter. “Perhaps the most difficult part of hiking the canyon in the winter is getting good footing on snow-packed trails below the rim, especially if mules have compacted the snow into hard, slippery ice. For this hike, I picked up a pair of Yaktrax for Cara Lynn and Kathoola micro-spikes for me. Both worked as advertised and we had no problems keeping our footing along these steep and slippery trails.” In the Arizona Daily Sun.

Terrain Map of Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon | Wikipedia

Rob Gauntlett, who with climbing partner James Hooper was the youngest ever to climb Mount Everest, died yesterday in the French Alps, possible as the result of an ice fall. “A young British adventurer whose exploits included climbing Mount Everest at age 19 died Saturday in the French Alps, his family said. A rescue team found the bodies of Rob Gauntlett, 21, and another British climber high on Mont Blanc de Tacul near Chamonix, The Sunday Times reported. Gauntlett’s mother, Nicola Gauntlett, told the newspaper the two friends were ice-climbing.” Full story by UPI.

"Turning Whitney into a day hike sounds half-mad. The standard route is a 22-mile roundtrip slog through the Sierras on relentlessly rocky terrain. It involves gaining more than a mile in altitude before reaching Whitney's approximately 14,500-foot summit. Sensible souls do it in two or three days. In some years, two-thirds of day hikers fail. Those who succeed may spend 15 hours or more on the trail, fighting fatigue, dehydration and altitude sickness." In the Wall Street Journal, George Anders and his unlikely crew fight the same thin air, cold and nausea that challenges hikers who don't take California's Mount Whitney quite seriously enough.

Where Is It? | Wikipedia

"Four days and 263 miles into a backcountry race and Kathy Roche-Wallace isn't even halfway to the finish. She's limping on a big toe that is infected and swollen. She has a purple bruise the size of a grapefruit on her left thigh from a spill down a mountainside. Her sweat smells of vinegar and ammonia, a sign her fuel-starved body has started burning muscle."  Alexandra Alter writes about the popular 500-mile race through Montana's backcountry. In The Wall Street Journal.

Where Is It?