December 2007- January 2008
news
New Nose Speed Record
In 2002, Yosemite saw an explosion of interest in speed ascents up the Nose of El Capitan, with various teams vying for the record, driven largely by the discovery and adoption of new and sometimes risky techniques such as short fixing of aid lines,minimal protection and simul-climbing long sections of the route. Throughout summer and into fall, the times tumbled until they settled around the three-and-a-half hour mark, when the gains became smaller, culminating in Dean Potter and Timmy O’Neill’s time of 3:24:20, and with it the consensus that it would be difficult, maybe even impossible, to complete a sub three hour ascent. However, the late arrival of the team of Yuji Hirayama and Hans Florine demolished the previous records and their stunning marker of 2:48:55 was so impressive that it simultaneously broke the sub three hour barrier as well as the will for further attempts on the record by anyone except, that is, the brothers Alex and Thomas Huber.
The Hubers were top sport climbers during the 90s, establishing numerous cutting edge routes. In the last decade, the duo shifted their focus to objectives in the traditional and alpine realms, applying their skills to bold new lines in the Dolomites, Himalayan walls and Yosemite. Particularly for Alex Huber, Yosemite seems to have become an obsession. He has freed the Salathé, established El Nino and Golden Gate and holds the speed record for the Zodiac with his brother Thomas. For the past year, the project that has most intrigued the Hubers is a new speed record up the nose of El Cap.
The Huber brothers made extensive reconnaissance, climbing the route six times to ensure they were able to “climb safely despite the speed.” Despite some problems, such as Thomas dropping a set of aiders, on October 4, the duo succeeded on their second attempt at setting a new record of 2:48:35, beating the old record by only twenty seconds. Dissatisfied by the narrow margin, and wanting to eliminate any possibilities for controversies or disputes, the Hubers launched up the nose in the early morning four days later for one more attempt in order to own the record outright. This time, with the pressures off since they already had the record, more simul-climbing as opposed to aiding from Thomas (the second) and a bit of luck, things went much more smoothly and the pair were able to shave almost three minutes off their previous mark with a new time of 2:45:45.
With regards to the still very obscure specialty of speed ascents, Alex Huber
commented that “risk is the all-important factor in speed climbing. We could climb even quicker, but this is always connected to a significant increase in risk. We’re significantly exposed to risk and in the end it is this risk which determines the final time of ascent. If someone hoping to set a new record isn’t prepared to accept this level of risk then he’s failed before even starting. What is important though is to realistically judge one’s ability level, otherwise the results could be fatal.”
Whether this will set off a new round of competition for a new record remains to be seen, but the Hubers’ ascent will eventually be bettered. This raises an intriguing question. Climbers are used to pushing the boat out for new standards, but what about taking risks for speed?–AC
Wheel of Life Repeated
The massive Hollow Mountain Cave at the Grampians in Australia houses a plethora of hard boulder problems, mostly in the V8–V12 range. The proximity of the problems leads locals naturally to link-ups and variations, with even visiting luminaries such as Klem Loskot and Fred Nicole leaving their mark by adding link-ups Cave Rave V13 and Eve Rave V13/14. However, an obvious link-up of the entire cave, more than 60 moves in all, had eluded all until Japanese strongman Dai Koyamada’s visit three years ago. The resultant Wheel of Life was controversial both for the hefty V16 grade Koyamada gave it, as well as the stamina nature of the problem, which climbed more like a route than a boulder problem, despite the ropeless ascent and V grade.
Sydney resident Chris Webb Parsons didn’t know if Wheel of Life was worthy of V16, or whether it was more route than boulder problem, but he did know that he wanted to climb it, badly. Having worked through most of the problems and their permutations, Parsons set to work in earnest in September, taking most of the month to send Sleepy Rave V15, which climbs all of Wheel of Life save the V8/9 start.
The gulf between Sleepy Rave and Wheel of Life proved bigger than one V9 problem, however, as Parsons fell a dozen times at the end and needed a return trip in October to bag the second ascent of Wheel of Life.–ACRed River Rage
With temperatures usually in the teens and good chances for dry weather, Autumn is by far the best time to visit the sport climbing Mecca of Red River Gorge, a fact highlighted by the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition’s (RRGCC) hosting of Rocktober Fest every fall. This year, with the fortuitous combination of a Petzl Roc Trip held at the same time as the festival, quality lines and brilliant weather brought with it a perfect storm of top climbers from around the world. The aftermath left a trail of open projects turned testpieces and established testpieces turned journeyman routes.
Leading the charge is none other than Canada’s own Sean McColl. Fresh from a successful trip sampling Spanish limestone, the Vancouverite wasted little time getting down to business. McColl opened with an impressive flash of Dave Hume’s Thanatopsis 5.14b, with on-the-fly beta from Mike Doyle, returning the favour for Sean’s role in Doyle’s flash of Millennium 5.14a in Maple Canyon a few years back. Warmed up from the flash, McColl followed with an onsight of White Man’s Shuffle 5.13d, his best to date. For the finale McColl made the second ascent of Lucifer 5.14c, a steep 100 ft line featuring thin edges and shallow pockets, after only two days of work. Doyle, the first ascentionist, took six weeks to redpoint the route, despite having made fast repeats of many local testpieces.
Freshly minted French National Champion Mickaël Fuselier nabbed the first ascent of the designated “ultimate” route and long-standing open project 50 Words for Pump at the Bob Marley crag. A stout V11 problem guards the way to a further 70 ft endurance test. Unable to clip the fourth draw at this crux, Fuselier handpicked Tony Lamiche as his belayer before skipping the bolt for his successful redpoint.
Representing the women, Emily Harrington sent the neighbouring Ultra Perm 5.13d, while a rejuvenated Liv Sansoz and Marietta Uhden of Germany both climbed the women’s ultimate route, No Redemption 5.13b.
With the cooperative weather and long endurance-based climbs with movement
conducive to onsights and quick ascents, Red River Gorge proved to be one of the most successful and popular Roc trips for attending athletes, as well as a bountiful fundraiser for the RRGCC.–AC
Anker and Houlding Play Mallory and Irvine
The centrepiece of the debate about whether George Mallory and Sandy Irvine climbed Everest in June 1924 is a steep 30 m cliff at 8,600 m known as the Second Rock Band. The pair were last seen at the top of the step by Noel Odell, shortly after being sighted below it. Some Everest historians like Graham Hoyland doubt they could have climbed the band so quickly. The Chinese, who made the first recognized ascent of the route in 1975, registered their opinion on the subject by bolting aluminum ladders to the cliff. But speculation about whether Odell’s sighting was accurate started in earnest when the band was first climbed free in 1985 by Spaniard Oscar Cadiach at 5.7/8, which was within the technical abilities of top climbers of the 1920s.
In June, a crack team attempted the band on the same calendar days as Mallory and Irvine were last seen, without the benefit of the ladder. Conrad Anker, one of the world’s most experienced climbers played the part of Mallory, the most seasoned climber on Everest in 1924. Although Irvine had no climbing experience prior to Everest, his part was played by Leo Houlding, perhaps the most accomplished traditional climber today.
Anker and Houlding were the first party to remove the ladder and climb the step in the same condition as Mallory and Irvine. Although they didn’t carry out their plan to wear 1920s style wool and cotton clothing, their successful ladderless ascent lends credence to at least the possibility that Mallory and Irvine climbed the band and died on the descent from a successfulsummit.–DCS
Pringle on a Mission
American Ethan Pringle has been climbing like a man possessed, making his way around some of the best European crags and methodically ticking many of the hardest routes. Starting at Ceuse, Pringle sent the 5.14c original version of Biographie in a quick three tries, then manage to climb through the crux of Realization on his seventh attempt, only to pitch before the chains. There progress stalled as Pringle fell again and again near the top, before discovering a new hold and sequence he used on his send. Pringle’s month-long siege is the quickest ascent (by far) of Realization to date.
Moving on to Spain, Pringle had a considerably easier time at Rodellar, dispatching Geminis and Pata Negra, both 5.14b, in a quick two tries, the latter of which is probably the most onsighted 8c in the world. A week later, Pringle onsighted the two-pitch Iron Man 5.14b, before redpointing Los Borrachos de Mascun 5.14c the same day.
Though he has long been one of the best climbers to come out of North America, Pringle has until now managed to keep a relatively low profile given his resume. That will change with his most recent ticks, and not just because of the difficulty or speed of his ascents. Unusually, Pringle has downgraded most of the routes he got on, including all of the 5.14a and 5.14b routes at Rodellar. Predictably though, most of the attention is focused on Pringle’s ascent of Realization, and his speculation that it may not be 5.15a. Long regarded by many as the first confirmed 5.15a, due largely to Sharma’s epic quest to redpoint it, Pringle’s dissenting opinion points out the curious fact that though all of the ascentionists have raved about the aesthetic quality of the line, none have evercommitted to the 5.15a grading.–AC
Canadians on Pakistani Alpine Rock
Canadians continued exploring steep unclimbed alpine rock in India this season. Jeremy Frimer and Ken Glover tackled a huge rock ridge on Peak 5.750 near Latok II. Their route, The Outside Penguin 5.10 A1 had 1,150 m of climbing. They climbed alpine style with one bivy. In the same region, Canadians Sarah Hart and Jacqueline Hudson were joined by Briton Luisa Giles to climb a 1,000 m granite ridge on an unnamed rock peak close to Latok III. Although the climb shares some terrain with a 1996 British line, most of it was on unclimbed terrain.
Serious New Routing in the Rockies
Two very different new routes were done in the Rockies this fall, one a multi-pitch rock route to the summit of Mount Alberta, the other a much-discussed, serious alpine ice route on Mount Snowdome. Raphael Slawinski and Eamonn Walsh finished a line initially explored in 1963 on the west face of Mount Alberta after 15 pitches of climbing up to 5.10+. This was the first ascent of the West Face of Alberta. Slawinski, no stranger to Rockies loose rock, described the climbing as “crimping on crumbling edges, the last knifeblade a distant memory, basking in my fear.”
Eighteen days later, Cory Richards, Dana Ruddy and Ian Welsted climbed Polarity VI WI 5+, a committing new 800 m ice route on the North Face of Mount Snowdome. The spectacular line ascends steep technical ice with good protection and stops just below a series of overhanging seracs. The line once inspired a hoax in which it was enhanced with Photoshop and published as Ice Porn VII WI 7+? M9 A3. The first ascensionists of Ice Porn were unavailable for comment on the serious downgrading of their masterpiece.–DCS
Kazakhs Blast First Alpine Style Ascent of K2
Crack Kazakh team Serguey Samoilov and Denis Urubko climbed the remote Chinese side of K2 via the North Ridge on October 2. Their four-day ascent of the 1982 Japanese route followed a frustrating struggle with poor weather and conditions on the unclimbed North Face.
K2 is one of the most formidable 8,000ers. More than 56 people have died attempting it, and in many recent years there have been no summit climbs. Widespread oxygen use on the peak only started in 2004, however, and since then there have been many more successful ascents. The North Ridge is a difficult route which, in 1990, saw one of the finest efforts on K2 ever when Greg Child, Greg Mortimer and Steve Swenson climbed it alpine style, in a single push without oxygen. Since, however, they utilized fixed ropes left by the Japanese, Samoilov and Urubko’s ascent came closer to the ideal alpine style ascent. They also made the latest K2 climb of the summer season.
The two have an incredible record of Himalayan new routes and fast repeats and are now one of the finest alpine teams on the planet.–DCS Byron Smith Summit Lawsuit Dismissed
On May 21, 2000, Albertan Byron Smith, leading a CBC-sponsored Everest climb, posted the following photo caption on his website: “Byron Smith Successful Summit, May 21, 2000 – I can’t go any higher.” ExWeb, a Himalayan climbing site, reported that the image was not Smith but rather Danish Everest climber Mads Granlien. The well-known repository of Himalayan summit climb information, Liz Hawley’s Himalayan Database (which is associated with the American Alpine Club), changed Smith’s claimed ascent to ‘no summit.’ Despite some Canadian climbers’ support for his claim, Smith said the bad press affected his truck dealership and his business as a motivational speaker and sued the American Alpine Club for damages. On August 21, however, the U.S. District Court in Colorado ruled the case “dismissed with prejudice,” vindicating the American Alpine Club.–DCS
Croft Bugaboo Enchainment Record Broken
In August, Squamish climber Matt Maddaloni upped the record for Bugaboo free routes soloed in a day by one climb when he made a 15-hour marathon out of Mc Tech Arête II 5.10, the Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo spire III 5.7, The West Ridge of Pigeon Spire II 5.4, the Beckey Chouinard of South Howser Tower V 5.10a and the Kraus McCarthy on Snowpatch Spire IV 5.8+. In total, he climbed 50 pitches in a 15 hour effort.
In 1984 Pete Croft climbed all of these routes, except the admittedly much easier Pigeon Spire line, setting a record for Bugaboos enchainments that held until Maddaloni’s climb.–DCS
The British Columbia Mountaineering Club Turns One Hundred
They were explorers and adventurers. No one had ever ventured into the valleys and mountains they wandered in the early years. For several years a number of enthusiasts had individually been making forays into the local mountains. As their numbers increased and they started to make contact with each other, they formed a club to formalize their efforts. In early October, 1907 Mr. George Jarrett arranged a meeting. The Vancouver Mountaineering Club was born. A crest was designed and presented that has been in use ever since. It represents the mountains most climbed by the club: Grouse, Dam, The Lions, Goat, and Crown. At the second annual meeting in 1909, the club name was changed to the British Columbia Mountaineering Club.
Five acres were secured by the club on Grouse Mountain in 1910 for the construction of a cabin, the first of many to be built by the club over the years. Two new sections of the club were formed in 1911. Conservation and land issues have also been a large part of the club since its beginning and it was heavily involved in getting Garibaldi made into a provincial park after its 1926 camp in the area.
Many local mountains and glaciers were named after club members such as Dalton, Bishop, Warren and Trory. Yet the BCMC has always been seen as a club for the average Joe. It has always had courses instructed by club members, for club members, from summer and winter camps for hikers to expeditionary type camps in far away places. The BCMC has been noted as the club that opened up the Coast Range Mountains with something for all.
The club has always published articles for members and the general public pertaining to mountain access, huts, club events and trip reports. Recently it has assisted the publication of guidebooks, climbing and mountaineering books and information on access to the B.C. outdoors.
Being an independent club has given the BCMC a unique place in the mountaineering world. By working together, the 100 years of volunteering by club members has kept the BCMC a vibrant and ongoing organization.–David Scanlon
BCMC Facts
- Perhaps the club ’s best known member, Order of Canada recipient John Clarke (d. 2003), is in the process of having a mountain and, perhaps, a range named Hxsilken, his first nations name.
- A Canada Post stamp was designed and made having the new crest on it.
- A centennial cabin is in the process of being researched to be built to complement the others the club has built over the years.
- Garibaldi mountain was first climbed by the BCMC in 1907. On July 1, 2007, the club re-enacted the first ascent in period clothing, taking with them the ice axe used by J.J. Trory in 1907.
- Waddington Range pioneers Don and Phyllis Munday were long-time members.
obituaries
Total Alpinist
René Desmaison, 1930–2007
When Desmaison was pulled from the Grandes Jorasses on February 25, 1966, he had survived 14 days on the wall in atrocious weather and left behind the frozen body of his partner, Serge Gousseault, who had died of hypothermia and exhaustion three days earlier. The doctor in the hospital in Courmayeur told him, “Your medical check-up says you’re dead.”
But Desmaison, one of the most talented alpinists of the post-war generation, a man known for his creativity and ruthlessness with himself and his partners, was not claimed by the mountains. He passed away at 77 after a long convalescence in his beloved southern French Alps of the Devoluy region.
Today, televised and blogged climbs are the norm, but in 1963, when Desmaison hauled TV cameras up the first ascent of Mont Blanc’s Shroud (one of the last great step-cutting epics in the Alps) he came across as a new kind of self-promoting alpine star. The accusation of egotism followed him when, in 1966, with American Gary Hemming and Briton Mick Burke, he rescued two German climbers from the West Face of the Drus. As a result, he was thrown out of the Company of Guides of Chamonix, who had handed over the responsibility for rescues to the French Police.
When, in 1966, Desmaison had to signal unambiguously for two days before a rescue was initiated on the Grandes Jorasses, he blamed the delay on the machinations of the guiding fraternity still angry with his unofficial rescue on the Dru.
Unlike many climbers in the public eye, however, Desmaison represented the very highest standards of style. Like Walter Bonatti, he accepted risk and eschewed bolts, fixed ropes and other compromises. A pioneer of 114 new winter and solo climbs in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes, he embraced danger. On a first winter ascent he was 25 m from the belay with no protection when he did a double handed dyno for a hold. If he missed he would fall to his death. “There are only two drugs,” said Desmaison, “danger and beauty.”
His poetically written books, 342 Hours on the Grandes Jorasses and Total Alpinism, propagated an ideology of completely committed climbing that encompassed even death as a possible and acceptable outcome.
With Desmaison’s death, another one of the great generation of mid-20th century alpinists leaves us. Acknowledging that Desmaison’s contributions should not be diminished by ancient rivalries, the Company of Guides of Chamonix re-admitted the 75-year-old Desmaison in 2005. At his funeral Pierre Mazeaud, a French constitutional lawyer, the first Frenchman atop Everest and a survivor of the deadly Bonatti-led 1961 attempt on the Freney Pillar, emotionally admitted, “Everyone will say that you, René, are master.”
