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 FIND A GUIDE - OR WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ONE
Updated 2/05/10 - The Dream Meets Education - Nothing can replace the simplicity of mentorship in the context of learning and nothing can overshadow the need for continuing education in climbing. For a pursuit in which ones survival literally relies on proper training it pays to get more than hard skills and a piece of paper from a course; the impact of mentors and friends in my development as a climber certainly cannot be overstated. Read interviews with Andrew Klotz, Mark Sedon, Ryan Waters, Marty Molitoris, Ryan Stefiuk, Joseph Vitti, Guy Cotter, Dave Elmore, Dick Jackson, Amos Mac Whiting, Adrian Ballinger , Pete Keane, and Markus Beck.  Lakpa Rita Sherpa has Seventh Summit in his sights with February climb of Mount Kilimanjaro
When Lakpa Rita Sherpa flies from Seattle on February 7th, 2009, bound for Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, he goes knowing he has the privilege to do what no Sherpa has done before—climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. The 43-year old man, from Shoreline, Washington, expects to summit the 19,340-foot peak on February 13th.  Super Albert: Upping the Ante Every Year
By Mark Krasnow - In 2006 for his 32nd birthday Albert set his mind to lead as many routes in a day as he was old. Red Rocks was the destination, and friends from near and far gathered to assist. Ropes and belayers were dispatched to different locations between the first and second pullouts to make the day as efficient as possible.  The Dirtbag Diaries - The Shortz - The Peach
By Fitz Cahall / dirtbagdiaries.com - Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Climber and writer, Kelly Cordes had one hell of resume by the time he applied for a position baking bread. The work was simple, came with food and the early starts would teach Cordes to like the dreaded 3 a.m. starts demanded of cutting edge alpinism. Check out The Alpine Briefs, an international newsletter from the American Alpine Journal, mentioned in this episode of The Dirtbag Diaries.  The Climbing Personality and Proficiency Exam for Potential Partners
By Elijah Merrill - Let’s face it: we, the intelligent beings that we are, are relying more and more on tests to make decisions for us. We seek guidance for just about every aspect of our life, which means two things: it is either a reflection of our species's confidence in our decision making abilities, or it may just be that we’re too damn lazy ...  The Horse and Pony Show
By Chris Van Leuven - I’m dangling 500 feet above the deck in a sea of choss. A hammer, crowbar, chalk bag, brushes and ironmongery dangle off my harness. My face is covered in a dust mask and helmet is on tight. With one hand I’m tending to the belay device while the other is feeding the rope out of its coils.  How does video affect climbing?
Gaia (E8 6c) is one of those routes we all know about. You’d be hard pressed to find many climbers that haven’t stumbled across the horrendous fall in the opening scene of Slackjaw Film's Hard Grit. It’s interesting reading people's thoughts on the internet and in magazines, about how video is directly affecting modern climbing. When is watching a video beta?  TEAM PROBES WHY CLIMBERS DIE ON MOUNT EVEREST
For the first time ever, an international team of experts has probed every known death on the world’s tallest mountain, shedding some light on what makes Mount Everest one of the most dangerous places on earth. The team’s surprising findings shatter commonly-held beliefs about the prevalence of deaths caused by avalanches, falling ice and pulmonary oedema (lung problems) and highlight severe weather deterioration as a major factor in deaths.  High-altitude climbing causes subtle loss of brain cells and motor function says Everest and K2 study
A study of professional mountain climbers has shown that high-altitude exposure can cause subtle white and grey matter changes to the area of the brain involved in motor activity, according to the October issue of the European Journal of Neurology.  Hampi: Bouldering in Southern India
Text and photos by Sonnie Trotter / www.sonnietrotter.com - In January, 2008, the day after News Years Eve, Sonnie Trotter and his girlfriend Lydia Zamorano boarded a plane for southern India in search of rock climbing, yoga, and a new lifestyle experience. During his trip Sonnie was fascinated by the areas beauty and vowed he would take at least one photograph per day, during his nearly three month pilgrimage. CLICK HERE to see a photo gallery by Sonnie Trotter  The Kilimanjaro glaciers are turning straight to vapor
An Interview by Navaya ole Ndaskoi with Alex Lemunge / East African Voyage Ltd - The Arrow Glacier is no longer on Kilimanjaro. The Heim Glacier was a very famous for glacier climbing before 1996 but now almost all of it has evaporated. The Northern ice fields are mostly gone as well and half of the Fortangular glacier has receded.  Climbing Mont Blanc - Chamonix, France
Story and photos by John Wutzer - In August, 2008, as I checked into my hostel for a week long climbing class in Chamonix, the hostel manager asked me if I had heard. Heard about what I replied? He indicated that a freak ice and snow avalanche buried 8 climbers at 3 am on their way to the Mont Blanc summit via the du Tacul route.  A Trip to the Miyar Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Trip report and photos by Camilo Lopez and Anna Pfaff - On the 13th of August we started our trip to India. About 18 hours of the "most comfortable airplane seats" and a few hours of waiting in between we made it to our first destination...Delhi, India. We loaded up and got into the mini bus taxi, which smelled like incense and cigarettes, the perfect combo after a long flight.  Not Busted: Free Climbing Half Dome's Regular NW Face
Story and photos by Chris Van Leuven - It didn’t matter how hard I bared down on the chickenhead, the hold was not positive enough to support body weight. There was just enough friction on Half Dome’s featureless, grainy granite to smear my feet against and stand in place, but not enough to not advance on.  Bouldering Therapy 101
By Robyn Puro - I’d finally cut ties with my corrupt, evil, horrible, poisonous boss and was eager to rid my home-office of negative juju. I wasn’t entirely sure how I had gotten myself into that situation, but “the mindful life” it was not. My days had been full of angry phone calls.  Yuji and Hans Speed Up The Nose - An El Capitan Dispatch from Yosemite, CA
By Larry Arthur / MountainTools.com - We saw our friends Hans Florine & Yuji Hirayama on Sunday, October 12th, 2008, before, during and after their world record ascent of The Nose in 2:37:05! This was 9 minutes and change faster than their previous record last year (6 minutes faster that their ascent in July, 2008).  The Southwest Ridge of Siguniang (6250 meters), Changping Valley, Sichuan, China
Trip report by Dylan Johnson - Chad Kellogg and I, funded in part by a Lyman Spitzer Award from the American Alpine Club, completed the first ascent of the Southwest Ridge of Siguniang (VI 5.11 A2 M5 AI3+), 72 pitches. 9,200’ from base camp, in southwestern China over ten days, September 21-30, 2008.  A Mountaineering Duathlon in Tanzania
Interview by Navaya ole Ndaskoi - Andres Perez, a lawyer at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, set out on what he calls a "Mountaineering Duathlon". Supported by East African Voyage Company Ltd., Perez biked from the town of Arusha to Mount Meru (Tanzania's second highest), climbed it, then biked to Kilimanjaro, climbed it, and finally biked back to his home in Arusha.  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 |
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