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 Two Seventeen-Year-Olds Summit Everest
In an amazing week of Himalayan climbing two seventeen-year-old Americans have successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest. A third seventeen-year old, Arizona based Erica Dohring turned around at camp III. John Collinson of Snowbird, Utah reached the summit on May 19th, 2009, followed by Johnny Strange of Malibu, California on May 20th.  Persistence Pays Off
By Guy McCarthy / watershednews.blogspot.com - Blasting winds, heavy snow and grinding ice destroyed three of his tents on the world's eighth-highest mountain. At times he endured temperatures 40 below zero Fahrenheit and colder, in a realm so devoid of oxygen those who go there call it the Death Zone. He assisted in two rescues and the elements contributed to at least one fatality.  Marooned in the Fisher Towers
Story and photos by Chris Van Leuven - It’s a storming March afternoon in the Fisher Towers, Utah. Four of us are huddled in a two-man tent at the base of a cirque of desert towers reminiscent of late-night dinner candles covered in chocolate-pudding-fight aftermath. The melting landscape, now, in a moment of suspended animation, is blanketed in white.  First Ascent Team Summits Everest!
On the morning of May 19, two legendary mountaineers on the First Ascent "Return to Everest" expedition reached the highest point on Earth. Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker stood on the summit with members of their production crew before descending to High Camp at 26,000 feet.  The Phil Schaal Interview
By Caroline Treadway (aka C-Note) courtesy of pimpinandcrimpin.com - Phil Schaal’s been killing it recently. In the past year alone, this Connecticut climber has ticked 15 V13s, including some rare repeats of hard East Coast lines —The Book of Bitter Aspects (V13) in Bradley, Conn., Agent Orange (V13) in the Gunks, and the Chelsea Smile (V13), Ty Landman’s new sit start to Divine Providence in Lincoln Woods.  Perfect Blocks in Ticino, Switzerland - Trip Report
Every year hundreds of boulderers travel to southern Switzerland to climb on the perfect granite boulders surrounding the small villages of Cresciano and Chironico in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. This year I joined up with Red Chili team members Dani and Phil Hrozek and the two youngsters, Sammuel Adolph and Lukas Bolesch. See a photo gallery from this trip.  ARCTURUS - Part 2
Remembering the agony of defeat and injury - They say that completing a goal isn‘t the best part of the experience, but that it ís the journey that counts. Unfortunately, my story is not one of great success. It is of pain, discomfort, and months of a climberís worst nightmare: rest and recovery.  The Dirtbag Diaries - The Shortz - The Great White Book
By Fitz Cahall / dirtbagdiaries.com - “Life isn’t a bolted sport route,” says writer Scotty Kennedy. “The gear is sketchy and the route is difficult to read.” In 2001, Scott and his wife Sophie were living in the States. Scott was interning at a magazine. Sophie was dirtbagging it in Camp Four. On weekends, they would meet up to climb in Yosemite’s high country, Tuolumne.  High-Altitude Rescues on Manaslu
Helicopters can't fly to the roof of the world. People who try to go there know this. When climbers in the Himalayas get into trouble they have to get themselves down. A 24-year-old climber from Hermosa Beach who is trying to climb the eighth-highest mountain in the world - Manaslu in the Nepalese Himalaya - assisted on two high-altitude rescues in the past few days.  The Dirtbag Diaries - Episode 27: The Cowboy and the Maiden
By Fitz Cahall - In September 2008, Chad Kellogg and climbing partner Dylan Johnson stood atop 6250-meter Siguniang in Western China after completing the 10,000-foot-long SW Ridge. It was a mind-bending ascent through a massive big wall, a razor edge ridge and high altitude ice climbing. The two friends endured days without water and several sleepless nights. Dylan lost 30 pounds over the course of their ascent.  ARCTURUS - Part 1
Attempting a First Free Ascent of Yosemite's Half Dome - July, 2006 - I am staring up at the black metal bars. Lying in the early morning light, the pain continues in my lower back and I hear folding papers in the distance. Mike Anderson is reading and I am silently crying. We have been here at Todd Skinners place in southern California over a week and the pain seers through the rest of my body.  A Trip Report from Patagonia and Valle Cochamo
By Camilo Lopez and Anna Pfaff - This season in Chile and Argentina, despite lots of snow and rain, we made good friends, partied, ate lots of meat, drank good wine, and most importantly, we climbed! Amidst multiple weeks of waiting out bad weather we beat all odds and climbed two spires in the Fitz Roy Range and spent eight days in Valle Cochamó - “The Yosemite of Chile”. Click here to see a photo gallery from this trip.  Destruction of our climbing areas at our expense
By Ann Schmechel - The environmental cost of fires and water contamination related to natural gas and oil drilling is simply unacceptable. Where we hike, climb, camp and bike are directly affected by the numerous toxic chemicals they use to extract the gas and oil, spills, improper run off and the resulting fires from "blow-outs'. Even more disturbing is the tax deductions for oil and gas companies and the cost of massive clean up and restoration comes out of our pockets.  Cerro Torre - The Lie and the Desecration
By Jim Donini - Over the last four decades I have climbed on all seven continents. During that time it became apparent to me that Cerro Torre was the most magical mountain that I would ever encounter. A spike of light brown granite soaring over a vertical mile out of an ice sheet and capped by an otherworldly ice mushroom. Cerro Torre is also a peak of ever changing moods predicated by swirling storm clouds or an intense orange alpine glow on the rare clear days.  Going Big on the Costa Blanca
Story and photos by Shawn Boye - I first travelled to the Costa Blanca, as so many do, for a sunny respite from the long, dark Swedish winter. The chance to climb sporty limestone routes irresistibly drawing me south, we would end up in Calpe and with a view from the 15th floor the Peñón de Ifach would dominate our morning preparations and evening victories and defeats.  Grandmother with towering ambition could be oldest U.S. woman to top Everest
A 65-year-old Flint, Michigan area grandmother has one towering ambition that could put her in the record books, twice. This spring, Nancy Norris will attempt to conquer Mt. Everest. If she succeeds, she will become the oldest U.S. woman to have climbed the world’s highest peak – and the oldest woman in the world to have climbed the highest mountains on all seven continents.  Welcome to DEATH Oregon Style
To put it into my own words... while the Christian Brothers houses some truly incredible lines — the west face stands in sharp opposition as, the rock crumbles and wanders, even as it plows through talus and lichen (which we are never liken). The Christian Brothers Traverse, at 5.7 X, is no exception.  We're Looking For A Few Good Men
Do you have a compelling story to tell about a defining moment in your life? The editors of More Than a Few Good Men are sponsoring a national writing contest and are accepting submissions through May 1st, 2009. The contest is open to men ages 35 to 60. Essays should be from 1,000 to 3,000 words long and written in the first person.  This is Buildering
One can only witness the true essence, the intriguing energy of buildering in the deep of the twilight. Late in the night when a change occurs. It is an athletic alchemy, provoked partly by the bartender, telling everyone that it’s closing time, they have to leave. Some think, ‘one more cigarette or a bong session, perhaps a silly movie, maybe the twelve pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the fridge at home?’ Others think about climbing buildings.  The First Adaptive Athletes Have Conquered Bridal Veil Falls
On a clear crisp February morning blind climber Erik Weihenmayer and climbing partner Chad Jukes, a below-the-knee amputee, geared-up in Telluride, Colorado to begin a snowshoe hike to the base of this classic landmark. Guided by veteran climber Mike Gibbs of Ouray, Colorado and accompanied by a host of cameramen, the team approached the falls which could still be heard from a distance as water cascaded over portions of the precipice. |
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