 |
|
|
 |
Above & Beyond
Feature articles found only on Climbing.com
A collection of climbing stories from climbers around the world. To submit your story to the Above and Beyond section, please send your story and photos to luke.laeser@gmail.com |
|||
 The Dirtbag Diaries - Episode 21: No Car No Problem
By Fitz Cahall - A 1,200-foot rock wall in a wilderness area – that's standard summer fare. In a day and back before dinner? Sounds easy. Without a car? That’s when my climbing partners stopped returning my phone calls. Recreating without a car might seem impossible, but this summer I set out to test the preconceived notion.  The Limestone of Yangshuo, China
Text and photos by Gerhard Schaar / www.gerhardschaar.com - With about 20 different crags, and about 400 routes, all no further away than a 30 minute mini-bus drive, Yangshuo is the biggest climbing area in China. The rock is limestone, and there are as many as 70,000 Karst towers scattered throughout a region with a size of only 70 square miles. See a photo gallery by Gerhard Schaar  It's "Dojo" time in Boulder, Colorado
By Mike Adamson / thespotgym.com - There comes a time in every gym rat’s life where you begin to crave more beyond the good ol’ walls you’ve come to know and love. Enter The Spot Bouldering Gym’s newest wall, the Dojo, unveiled September 5.  It Only Took Me Four Years to Summit the Grand
By John H. Ridge - My attempt to climb Grand Teton in August 2004 was my first time on a “real” mountain. Prior to that, my only experience in the mountains consisted of training climbs on Mount Si, a 4,167-foot peak in the Washington Cascades favored by beginners like myself.  Yosemite and Rainier Weather Forecasts
Updated 10/02/08 - By Michael Fagin, lead forecaster for West Coast Weather - EverestWeather.com - West Coast weekend forecast and live weather cams for Denali, the Squamish Chief, Mt Rainier, Yosemite and Joshua Tree.  The International of Glenwood Canyon
Story and photos by Mike Schneiter and Chris Van Leuven - "I’ve long harbored a fascination for the towering walls of imposing rock in Glenwood Canyon. The moment I moved to the Roaring Fork Valley I heard rumors of a near-fanciful route that climbed to the canyon rim," reflects Mike Schneiter on the International Route, Glenwood Canyon's longest line.  The Dirtbag Diaries - The Shorts: The Simple Joy of Moving Upward
By Fitz Cahall - If you plan on calling Craig DeMartino inspirational, he would prefer you wait to see if he can even drag his butt off the ground. After loosing his leg in a climbing accident, DeMartino had to retrain his body and learn his craft all over again. He hoped one day he would compete against the able-bodied, but taking on Chris Sharma in a World Cup? That was beyond dreams.  An Adventure in the Dolomites
By Enrico Maioni / guidedolomiti.com - During my many years in the mountains and my numerous trips abroad, I’ve had the good fortune of living quite a few adventures. Today I’ll tell you my most recent adventure, so you think about how an alpine guide earns a living, especially if you think he does so in the most casual manner ... CLICK HERE to see all the photos from this adventure  Cowboys on K2
By Guy McCarthy / watershednews.blogspot.com - The weekend of September 6-7, 2008 marked the 30th anniversary of the first American ascent of K2, the world's second-highest mountain and widely considered the most dangerous. In early August, 11 climbers were killed high on K2 in one of the deadliest episodes in mountaineering history.  THE NOSE GOES QUICKER
Story and Photos by Eric Perlman / MastersofStone.com - July 2, 2008: “Go Hans! Go Yuji! Go Hans! Go Yuji!” a crowd of onlookers howls from below the 3,000-foot prow of El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California. The cheering spurs on Yuji Hirayama and Hans Florine, mere specks on the Nose (VI 5.9 C2; 2,900 feet; 31 pitches), as they charge to reclaim the speed record held since October 2007 by the German brothers Alex and Thomas Huber.  The Bugaboo Experience
By Jeff Zimmerman / JeffZimmermanPhotography.com - Deep in the Purcell mountain range of British Columbia lies the Buagboo Provincial Park, a remote and rugged alpine wonderland about 4-5 hours from the US border (or Calgary), and about 50 kilometers off Highway 93. Any seasoned BC climber knows, alpine starts are important due powerful afternoon thunderstorms. And, as expected, the Bugaboos didn’t provide us any favors this trip.  Tying into the Sharp End - An Interview with Peter Mortimer
You've seen Peter Mortimer's films. I assure you that you liked them. I know because they are great films. Well he's about to drop another one for us. It's called Sharp End. I sat down and watched the trailer a few nights ago and thought WOW — This is going to be awesome! Some completely legit shredding of the gnar-gnar. Click Here to watch the Sharp End Trailer by Sender Films  A Week in the Bugaboos
by Luke Laeser - Mike Brumbaugh and I finally made a trip to the famed Bugaboos within the mighty Purcell Mountains at the end of July, 2007. Mikey’s been a good friend since we met sport climbing at Rifle in Colorado and we’d been talking about taking a trip up to this fantastic British Columbian spot after years of drooling over photos.  Bloqueando Bouldering Competition – Challcupuncu, Bolivia 2008
By Daniel Aramayo - Photos by Juan Gabriel Estellano - On July 19 and 20, we celebrated the second edition of “Bloqueando”, a bouldering event. It's more of a gathering of participants rather than a competition with mostly Bolivian's but also some French, English, German and Mexican climbers who measured their skills and strengths over the weekend on some magic volcanic boulders.  AMONGST THE CHAOS
By Julie Lilienkamp and photos by Gerri Kier — www.educationelevated.org - Initially, the idea presented to me to climb for charity seemed appealing. After all, I had been rock climbing and mountaineering for the past seven years — just to escape life itself. This trip, however, would mean the complete opposite. View a photo gallery of this trip by Gerri Kier  Project 365 – Climbing Devils Tower Every Day for a Year
By Luke Laeser - Frank Sanders, 57, owns Devils Tower Lodge, a guide service and basecamp for climbers located a few hundred yards away from the crack climbing kingdom of Devils Tower National Monument in Northeast Wyoming. Frank succeeded in climbing on the tower every day (except for five days when his back was out). Despite this small hurdle, he still managed to top out 365 times.  Matt Segal Interview
By Caroline Treadway - Matt Segal made climbing history with his first free ascent of Iron Monkey, Eldo's hardest traditional route to date. Lately, Matt's been climbing up a storm, bringing fresh ambition to the trad world, plus a little attitude. We met up for a morning interview at the Trident, Boulder's favorite Buddhist-owned cafe/office. The next day he sent his project up at Independence Pass near Aspen, Colorado.  The Citadels of Sinai Granite
Story and photos by Alexander Orlov — web.mac.com/aorlov - It was a snowless winter in 2006 and all of the previous summer and autumn we, as all climbers do, trained hard and surfed the internet with the aim of learning about new lines and high peaks. I found a site describing about 200 routes on the Sinai Peninsula among the granite citadels, some 600 to 800 meters tall, in a place named St. Catherine, Egypt.  Q & A with Jonathan Siegrist
On Monday, June 2, 2008 Jonathan Siegrist, 22, made the third ascent of Grand Ole Opry at the Monastery, Colorado. Originally rated 5.14a by its creator, Tommy Caldwell, the climb was uprated to 5.14c by Andy Raether after he did the second ascent, in 2007. Climbing hard and under the radar, Siegrist, a full-time student at Naropa University and routesetter at the Boulder Rock Club, did the route in just around 10 days.  Iranian Challengers organize expedition to Nanga Parbat to help save Iran's Karun River
Right now, an extraordinary event is happening. Leyla Estandiari, an Iranian woman has been chosen to lead a team to the top of Nanga Parbat (ninth highest at 26,657 feet), known as the "Man Eater" by some — a peak second in difficulty only to K2. |
|
Copyright 2008 Skram Media LLC, All rights reserved.