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The Asgard Project: A Q&A with Alastair Lee
Hauling 30-plus pounds of equipment up the 1000m face of Mt. Asgard, Filmmaker Alastair Lee foregoes light-and-fast style in order to produce a film that is visually outstanding and leaves the audience with sweat-drenched palms and a hankering to seek out epic of their own.
Boltless Mixed FA in Canadian Rockies
In the last weeks of winter, Grant Meekins and Raphael Slawinski put up a bolt-free ice and mixed line, The Peach (WI5 M8, 110m), at Storm Creek in the Canadian Rockies. Slawinski later returned with Jerome Yearly to make the second ascent, with Wiktor Skupinski along to film the climb.
FA Bourbon Tan in Hyalite Canyon
Craig Pope and Mark Pujic on the first ascent of their new mixed line in Hyalite Canyon, Bourbon Tan, M8+. According to videographer Pete Tapley “[The]verall length is right at 60m and the grade is M8+ with some bolt protection to start off, then classic Hyalite M6 choss on natural gear to reach the ice.” The video shows Pope’s first attempt on the route. (Pope did some of the drilling so it was a complete surprise but, well, see the video.)
Metolius Master Cam: Sleek and Sexy
While there is a cam or two on the market that has a wider expansion range and can handle shallower cracks, the Master Cam is a worthy competitor and an expertly manufactured piece of pro.
Speed Series Part IV: Hans Florine
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 we may have [speed climbed] before we called it that… We were in college, and we wanted to get in as much climbing as we could before classes on Monday.”
Piolet d’Or Nominees
Since the Piolet d’Or’s rebirth, multiple awards have become standard, and it seems likely that on April 15 there could be several given out. Each of the teams exhibited good style in a committing environment. The Piolet d’Or’s festivities will run from the weekend April 9-10 through April 16 with evening events open to the public. In an age when guided ascents and commercial fiascos on Everest seem to dominate the mainstream media’s view of climbing, honoring the alpinists mentioned above could be a chance to show off the climbing community’s values to the general public.