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| Messages 1 - 12 of total 12 in this topic |
klk
Trad climber
cali
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yeah, very cool. over 30 years later.
and props to the giri-giri boys for choosing a worthwhile objective.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Wow! Still awaiting a second ascent after all these years!
Latok I is certainly up there in a category almost all of its own, with the obvious inclusion of the Ogre, first climbed by Chris Bonington et al. Doug Scott broke both of his legs on the descent and had to crawl down. Thomas Huber [not Tomaz Humar] told me that his team's Second Ascent was made after 25 previous attempts, all of which failed.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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I'm perplexed, climbers today are stronger and have far better gear and knowledge. I root every year for whatever team is there to finally slay the dragon. That's probably the wrong metaphor. we just visit the mountain cathedrals, they will reign supreme when humans are long gone.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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From the article
One of the main difficulties of climbing on Latok is finding good conditions and weather throughout its considerable length, area expert Mark Richey said. "The [routes are] so long that they span many different conditions strata. Conditions could be good at the base and bad at the top or vice versa."
Sounds like the right combination of guts, skill, strength and so on, still needs lots of luck.
Perhaps global climate change will someday make the whole proposition easier (or harder) as seasons in Patagonia (or the Eiger or Matterhorn) lately have shown that climate counts
Peace
Karl
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TripL7
Trad climber
san diego
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Beautiful shot of JD by MK. Jeff's account of that historic ascent/attempt on Latok I is a must read. Someone should post the link.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Awesome! After all these years and attempts. I remember Donini's post-trip slide show (or at least parts of it). He came back pretty skinny from the epic.
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Karl has an excellent point regarding climatic effects on the snow and ice conditions in mountain ranges . . . the Alps are a perfect example with classic ice routes from the 1970's being completely altered. This is not to detract from the classic high point effort, it is just a factor to be considered in regard to all alpinism.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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True about conditions effecting success, that's THE major factor in alpine climbing. Latok 1 is not an ice route it is a ridge with a variety of climbing that probably hasn't changed substantially over the years. Day to day and week to week conditions in terms of weather and snow conditions can and do change dramatically. They did for us in our 26 days on the route. We had a week long storm early on and another one of equal duration at the end. It's hard to imagine all 25 plus attempts over the years all experiencing conditions/weather that completely negated their efforts. As I said, I'm perplexed but confident that success is around the corner- I'll buy the Champagne.
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schwortz
Social climber
"close to everything = not at anything", ca
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donini -
not to blow smoke up your a*#....but it _is_ possible that you guys are just serious bad asses who were as they say, ahead of your own time...
but like you say....could be just around the corner...
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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"I'd rather be lucky, than good"--Lee Trevino
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| Messages 1 - 12 of total 12 in this topic |
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