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Above & Beyond
Feature articles, stories and trip reports
A collection of climbing stories from climbers around the world. To submit your story to the Above & Beyond section, please send your story and photos to luke.laeser@gmail.com |
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 Mountain Weather
Updated 11/13/09 by Michael Fagin - Weekly updates on mountain weather for a different location each week and updated every Thursday. We will cover the following: Alps, Cascades, Sierra, Aconcagua, and more will be added. Lead forecaster Michael Fagin has been providing mountain weather forecasts since the 1970's.  MINI EPIC: Love on the Rocks
By Joe Antol - I’ve always felt women have a special Spidey sense when it comes to their men, so why should climbers be any different? This much was proven on a perfect autumn day in September 2006 at the Gunks, during a tragicomedy on a three-pitch Trapps 5.8.  The Longest Climb
This is an attempt to set a new world record. An attempt to raise £10,000 for three charities: Amnesty International, Heart UK, Mountain Rescue England and Wales. This is two guys, Tom Lancaster and Jonathan Briggs, attempting to climb the height of Mount Everest, 8,848 meters (or 29,029 feet), in one stretch, on an indoor climbing wall. This equates to 738 times up the 12 meter wall.  UK's first DigiWall opens at The Warehouse climbing centre
The first DigiWall climbing attraction to be installed in the UK by Innovative Leisure Ltd. has opened at The Warehouse climbing centre in Gloucester city centre. Each section of the DigiWall features 24 grips for hands and feet, each one incorporating a sensor and light which are linked to a computer. A surround sound system is another feature and a variety of games with different levels can be played by users as they climb over the wall. Each game also uses its own sound design.  Two Giants Break World Records on Kilimanjaro
The Guinness Book of World Records might soon add two giants on its lists of record breakers. Chris Waddell pedaled and Tajiri Mungaya hobbled recently to the top of the snow caped Kilimanjaro, the highest mount in Africa, becoming the first paraplegic and amputee respectively to reach the 5,895 meter summit unassisted.  THE BIRTH OF ALPINISM
The English Alpine Club began in 1857 - This new ‘Gentleman’s Club,’ formed by a few wealthy young men in London caused immediate interest in the Alps of Switzerland. Twenty-seven year old Leslie Stephen became one of the charter members. Having finished Cambridge, he immediately followed his ambition to conquer many Swiss glacier-laden mountains. Stephen was one of the most prominent figures in the Golden Age of Alpinism (the period between 1857 and 1875).  PENMEN Cartoons
Updated 10/30/09 - Climbing.com is pleased to present the PENMEN Cartoons by Colorado Springs climber Gary Blehm. Visit his website penmen.com for posters, animations, music videos, games, and more...  Ghosts, the Rock Gods, and Colombian Climbing
On an overcast night in Suesca, Colombia, three climbers huddle around a campfire. The cliff is one hundred yards away and covered with hanging moss and web-like green vines. The wall cast a shadow from the only street lamp in front of Campo Base, the climber’s campground. Ricardo, the campground manager, Freddy who runs the climbing store, and me, a Canadian on a South America climbing trip, watch as two owls swooped out of the tree and flew over our heads.  Marines Rappel at Sea Abord the USS Bonhomme Richard
Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 2/4 rappelled from a helicopter parked on USS Bonhomme Richard’s flight deck October 6th to an elevator platform three stories below. “It’s pretty scary at first but nice once you’re on the ground,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua D. Thornbloom, 23, from Portland, Ore. “It doesn’t help that we’re leaning out over the rear of the helicopter with the ocean under us. The intimidation factor goes up a little bit.”  Spidermen at large in Swiss cities
Five climbing teams all posed for the camera at the Red Bull Urban Boulder held between 2 - 3 October. Their mission: to use urban space as their playground for creating spectacular Boulder Pics in specified categories within 36 hours. Each team – one professional climber and one local climber, accompanied by a photographer – set off for a different Swiss city equipped with only a city map, guidebook and train ticket.  The Old Man and the Sea - Gorge du Verdon, France
In August and September 2009, Toni Lamprecht, Uli Strunz and Benno Wagner spent several weeks in the Gorge du Verdon with the target of establishing a first ascent on one of the amazing limestone walls in the south of France. The result is Le Vieux et la Mer or The Old Man and the Sea, with 7 pitches up to 5.13b/c. German climber Toni Lamprect believes this one of the nicest and most beautifull first ascents he's made.  Former Olympian Carl Swenson Wins First Annual Kismet Cliff Run
North Conway native Carl Swenson, a nordic ski Olympian, made it a memorable first ever Kismet Cliff Run as the winner of what more than one competitor commented is destined to become a classic race in northern New England. For the fifty Kismet Cliff Run participants, Sunday, September 20th was a perfect early fall day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Second Free Ascent of Quinto Imperio (8b, 500m), Naranjo de Bulnes, Spain
At the end of August 2009, Leopoldo "Leo" Faria and Pedro “Primo” Nogueira established the first repeat of Quinto Imperio (V 8b or 5.13d) on the West Face of Spain's most famous big wall, Naranjo de Bulnes (also known as Picu Urriellu).Quinto Império is a 500 meter long route that was opened in 1996 by the Portuguese climbers Francisco Ataide and Sergio Martins and first free climbed by the Pou brothers in June 2006.  Whispering into a Roar
By Majka Burhardt / MajkaBurhardt.com - This is a story without a conclusion. Maybe that will change by the end. At this point, I’m not betting on it. Four weeks ago, I wrote a piece about trying to understand death in the face of more death, and in spite of life. I thought that, by writing it, I would move on from it - be released from it. But here’s the thing about writing about death: it creates conversation about death. And when you write about death and climbing, it creates a roar.  Traverse of Africa's Ruwenzori Mountains
Trip report and photos by Felix Berg / Summitclimb.com - July 2009 - Our plan was to traverse the Ruwenzori Mountains, the third highest African peak, from the West to the East. Not due to technical difficulty, but for political reasons, this route has most likely not been done for the last 20-30 years. After 16 years of civil war, maybe even longer unrest, we have used the late seize-fire-agreement to explore this long-forgotten mountain from the unknown Congolese side and traverse the highest peak, Mount Stanley (5100 meters), to the more traveled Ugandan side.  Gorgeous French Limestone at the Gorges du Loup's Deverse Sector
Videos by PhilippeGatta.fr - Deverse, also called Pupuce Surplomb is the hardest cliff, in term of difficulty, in France's Gorges du Loup. The first free climbing route was Déversé Satanique, open by Bernard Duterte in the mid 1980’s. Now graded 8a+ (which may be a tad soft) it remains a fantastic climb. Shown here is Philippe Gatta on Qoussaï and on Déversé Satanique, both 8a+ or 5.13c, plus his wife Anna Gatta on Mekanik Destruktive Komando (7c or 5.12d) all at the Deverse Sector in the Gorges du Loup, France.  Obsessed by a Mountain
By Alberto Giovannini / guidedolomiti.com - Climbing the Tofana di Rozes' Dimai-Eötvös , Dolomites, Italy - How can a grown, educated man, be obsessed by a mountain? This is what I have experienced and want to describe. It is a mountain I know well, the Tofana di Rozes. I have been going to Cortina since I was a small child, and I have been taking countless hikes around it.  The FFA of Cerro Capicua, Valle Cochamo, Chile
By Jvan Tresch courtesy of Arc'teryx and video by Michi Tresch - In January 2009, Tom Holzhauser, Dominik Angehrn and brothers Michi and Jvan Tresch traveled to Valle Cochamó, Chile, for two months of big wall climbing on beautiful granite. They arrived without any specific plans — only an article from the web and a few photos that inspired them and hoped to make a nice first ascent.  THE MEXICAN GUIDE at EL GRAN TRONO BLANCO
By Preston Tierradulce - If you want a climbing article, a pitch-by-pitch travelogue on this secluded place, this story ain't for you. I'd rather tell a saga of our encounter out there, with a saint of a man on this rugged section of Baja. This piece is a review of a fellow who jumped out of the chaparral and helped us survive. This tall tale is a tribute to our friend who taught us the meaning of a simple Spanish word that few north of the border really appreciate or understand: simpático.  BetaCreator - New Tool for Making Perfect Climbing Topos
A Provo, Utah climber / programmer has designed a free tool for the easy creation of route lines on photos. The program works much like a simplified photo editing program but with tools specifically designed for creating topos for climbing routes. BetaCreator Is both PC and Mac compatible. |
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