Between September 28 and October 4, 2015, Alpinist contributor Paul McSorley posted his photos and stories on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages as part of our Alpinist Community project. McSorley has been featured on our website and his image appears in “A Season in Patagonia” in Alpinist 0.
Below is a compilation of his work from that week. McSorley calls this collection of seven photos “lines that have changed my perspective.”
Inspired by the John Catto film La Escoba de Dios (The Broom of God), I went to Patagonia in the 2001/2002 season. After a slow start, I ran into Chris Van Leuven [Alpinist’s Digital Editor] in Torres del Paine and we climbed the Bonington-Whillans route (ED: IV 5.11 A2, 700m, Bonington-Whillans, 1963) on the Central Tower of Paine (2460m).
Read Steve “Shipoopi” Schneider’s story on the Central Tower of Paine in Alpinist 18.
I returned to Patagonia a couple years after my first visit in 2001/2002, this time partnered with John Walsh, and within four days of arriving to town we summited Fitz Roy (3375m) via a new route on the South Face we called The Canadian Route (5.10 A1, 900m [500m new]). Next we went up to the Torre Valley and freed the Donini/Crouch route on the West Ridge (5.10d A1, 24 pitches, Crouch-Donini, 1994) of Aguja Rafael Juarez (2450m).
Read the NewsWire by Jon Walsh from September 1, 2005 here.
Day two on Fitz Roy (3375m) during the first ascent of The Canadian Route (5.10 A1, 900m [500m new]).
After making the first ascent of Cerro de La Mariposa, in Rio Turbio, on the Argentina-Chile border, via the 700-meter Northwest Face route La Vuelta de Los Condores (5.11 A2), Will Stanhope and Marc-Andre Leclerc pose like they’re in El Cap Meadow.
Watch the video of their trip here.
February 2015, Senja, Norway: Mike Pennings, Jon Walsh, Jesse Huey, Paul Bride and I visited this enchanted Island in the Arctic Circle. Jesse and I established the 450-meter climb Ice Princess (M6+ AI4), on the Scottish Wall sector of the impressive 500-meter north face of Brietind, the highest peak on Senja. The route mirrored a bad-relationship breakup scenario: cold, insecure and runout.
Read the Feature posted May 22, 2015 here.
Gaby Fava, Wenny Sanchez and Roberto “Indio” Treu making the first ascent of the Directa Huarpe (M4 90 degrees, 600m) on Cerro Torre (3133m). Twenty-Thirteen/14 was my first mushroom climbing experience; with Chris Brazeau and Tony Richardson we climbed Cerro Standhardt (2730m) on Christmas and Cerro Torre on New Year’s Day.
Read the NewsWire from February 7, 2013 here.
Last summer, Crosby Johnston, Josh Lavigne, Tony Richardson and I opened The Harpoon (5.12 A0, 1100m) on the previously unclimbed north face of Beluga Spire in the Walker Arm, Baffin Island.
Read the NewsWire from September 9, 2014 here.
To learn more about Paul McSorley, check out his blog, view videos tagged with him on Vimeo and follow him on Instagram.