Mark Allen and Graham Zimmerman opened a new route up the SE buttress of Mount Bradley on April 5, 2010. The 4600 feet of sustained climbing over varied terrain was named Vitalogy (Alaska Grade 5, 5.9R A1 WI5 M6+) and consists of 29 pitches, 19 of which were M5 or WI4 or harder. The ascent took 66 hours, much longer than anticipated, leaving them without food for the 33 hour tricky descent to base camp.
The generous coating of sticky rubber and a roomy toe box make the Grandstones perfect for chimneys and offwidths, but they flail on smaller cracks that require a sleeker profile.
Alpinist reported on Jon Griffith and Will Sim’s great experience in Patagonia soon after the two returned to the UK in “East Face of Piergiorgio”. But the Newswire couldn’t capture the “full value” of the experience. Though it might take a little while to load, we at Alpinist think you will enjoy the following video. -Ed
Recently, we at Alpinist picked the brains of the speediest climbers to learn more about speed climbing and how it fits into our grade-crazy community. “I think it is nice to be able to climb a peak in several hours instead of several days. You don’t have to suffer so much.”
Even though stainless steel isn’t the ultralight miracle metal that one might believe, Black Diamond’s design and construction alone make the newest Cyborg one of the best tools available for hard winter climbing.
