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Three Women, a Mountain and a Mosque
Three women tackle a new 950-meter free rock line in the Karakorum, where they discover that friendship and solidarity are the keys to success and survival.
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Maxim Apogee 9.1 70m Rope: Stands Up to Abuse
I had initially stayed away from using longer ropes due to their weight and bulk. The Apogee, at 9.1mm, dispenses with this concern, but its slim profile gave me doubts about its durability. After significant testing on summer alpine rock routes in the Tetons, alpine climbing in the Bugaboos and the establishment of new multi-pitch…
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IF I WERE BAT-HOOKING UP SOME NASTY A5…
Stirring the pot of ethical debates, Chris Kalous–who apparently has some sort of climbing credentials, though I know not where–gives a nice seven minute speech about the inaccurate and self aggrandizing nature of aid ratings.
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Everest Update: From the Olympics to Yak Difficulties
I am just back from my follow up visit to China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) in Lhasa, Tibet. On our agenda was the following issues: the impact of the Olympic expedition on other climbers, theft and misconduct on the mountain and the difficulty of managing the yaks.
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Obsession and Ingenuity, Part II: The Old Man and the Ice Tower
The fixtures of Silver Gulch–a bar and microbrewery in Fox, Alaska–had something to talk about: an 152-foot ice blob rising out of the flattest part of Alaska. What they didn’t know: The Ghost Raven Ice Tower was a proving ground for the precocious.
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Wild Country Infinity Sprint 8.4 60m Double Rope: Infinitely Durable?
Over the summer I tested the Sprint double rope (8.4mm, 60m), a member of the new Infinity line from Wild Country. While the company is a relatively new rope manufacturer, they’ve got the time-tested reputation to back up their products, and I was not disappointed. The rope, weighing in at 64 grams/meter, has a UIAA…
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KILTED ICE CLIMBERS IN MINNESOTA
While reading the weekly feature about Ontario ice, I noticed the sole picture of Minnesota ice climbing. I felt it necessary to add to the discussion by indicating that Nightfall (WI4+, 60m), Minnesota’s longest natural ice fall, is also the site of the Gentleman’s Occasional. This almost annual event is, likely, the most important gathering…
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Stolby Style: Siberian Free Soloing
Jonathan Thesenga and Brittany Griffith, the first American rock climbers to climb at Stolby, Siberia, share the madness of the local ethic–family free soloing en masse.
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WORST. CLIMBING. VIDEO. EVER.
I wanted to like this because I love the Huber brothers. If I could climb 5.14 in leather pants, I would. Actually, if I could climb 5.14, I would do it in leather pants to prove a point. Much like the Hubers. Alex is a physicist, too, just to spice things up. In any event…
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Petzl e+lite: For Emergencies and Every Day
The luggage gods are not kind. Multiple times, when traveling internationally, I’ve had to wait days for my luggage to catch up with me. I’m starting to get used to it–but it becomes problematic when I’m scheduled to guide clients and my gear is in airline purgatory. This was the case at the outset of…
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SMOKING ON EVEREST IS COOL, OR WAS IN THE 1920S
Captain GJ Finch, who took part in the Mount Everest expedition, speaking at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, London, last evening on the equipment for high climbing, testified to the comfort of cigarette smoking at very high altitude. He said that he and two other members of the expedition camped at 25,000ft for…
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