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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 26, 2009 - 07:11pm PT
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This route set the mark for bold alpine style in the Himalaya for an American team. Enter the A team, most of whom post here! From Climbing March/April 1979.
Any reflections on this adventure guys, thirty years on?
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WBraun
climber
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Apr 26, 2009 - 07:48pm PT
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The sherpa has the "look" of OMG!!! after seeing the 120 lb pack he's got to lug to the base for 15 cents a day!!!!
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More Air
Big Wall climber
S.L.C.
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Apr 26, 2009 - 10:52pm PT
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Thanks Steve:
Yeah, I was a little disappointed the article was so short, because I wanted to hear all about it. Fortunately George Lowe came through town soon after the climb and gave a slide show. It was very memorable. Many of the slides included these ridiculously exposed bivys cut into the knife edged corniced ridges.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Apr 27, 2009 - 05:31pm PT
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Let's see how the new kid on the block fares. It's a hell of a wall.
"Colin Haley, North Ridge of Latok 1, Pakistan; with Josh Wharton and Dylan Johnson. The climbers propose an attempt on this longstanding, oft-attempted (20 attempts) prize of Himalayan Mountaineering, climbed nearly to the summit in 1978. They propose beginning on snow and ice beside the ridge crest, to make quicker progress down low."
(from the Muggs Stump Award site: http://www.bdel.com/mugs_stump/);
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Gene
climber
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Apr 27, 2009 - 05:34pm PT
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Jello with Dengue up there. Boggles my tiny mind. Took me six month to recover from D at sea level. Jello is the MAN.
gm
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Apr 27, 2009 - 06:40pm PT
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Wow, what a line.
Thanks for posting these historical pieces.
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yo
climber
I drink your milkshake!
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Apr 28, 2009 - 10:33pm PT
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Dream team bump
Cut 'n run like little schoolgirls, hehe.
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Mimi
climber
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Apr 29, 2009 - 01:25am PT
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Bump for the big four!
Please tell us a story. Epic!
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 08:57am PT
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Here is the meat of an article I wrote for Rock & Ice, published in issue 157, March 2007.
We arrived in Islamabad on a sweltering day in early June, determined to climb the North Ridge in the best style possible. But first we had to get to the mountain. Lost baggage, bureaucratic formalities and cancelled flights had delayed our arrival in Skardu by a week; the overland route via the Karakoram Highway was still under construction. We had no choice but to place our faith in PIA (Pakistan International Airlines, better known as Please Inform Allah) to get us to the roadhead. Skardu was just the sort of rough, Wild-West outpost that we expected, a collection of less-than-sanitary hovels on a dusty plain at the edge of the Indus River where we spent five days awaiting our baggage. Like mountain people everywhere, the Baltis were incredibly hospitable, but one can only drink so many cups of tea and eat so many chapattis before frustration sets in.
Eventually, we loaded everything into a couple of beater Jeeps and bounced over 50 miles of bad roads to the village of Dasso and the beginning of the approach march.
We hadn’t seen a cloud in days, and the heat was unbearable in the harsh, precipitous desert of the Braldu River Gorge. Each day we started hiking at 3 a.m. so we could sleep through the torrid afternoons. I got dehydrated on the second day, puked all night and barely made it to camp the following evening after a hallucinatory 12-hour death march. At one point I crawled under a rock, the only shade I’d found in miles. Jeff fell ill with some sort of tropical virus for several days. As we were about to leave Askole, the last village, the porters staged the obligatory strike, extorted a few extra dollars from us, and later slaughtered a celebratory goat on the edge of the Panmah Glacier. Thankfully, George and Jim avoided illness, and Jeff and I had pretty much recovered by the time we arrived in basecamp at the end of June.
As the porters disappeared down the glacier, a sense of excitement and apprehension settled over our little group. We were totally isolated; no sat phone, no WiFi, no one else within at least 30 miles. Our only communication with the outside world would have been via the mail runner we’d neglected to hire. The North Ridge dominated the skyline. The climbing looked more reasonable than we had expected, but the scale was a little hard to fathom. This thing was huge, nearly twice as tall as that famed Alpine testpiece, the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses.
We spent three days in basecamp, resting, sorting gear and food, packing, repacking, and wondering what to bring and what to leave behind. Most of our discussion centered around tactics. One look at the mountain confirmed what we had expected before we left the U.S.—the only practical way off was to rappel the route, and that meant bringing a bunch of extra gear. More important was the question of style. We had hoped to climb in pure alpine style, but were prepared to adopt a capsule approach similar to that employed by Boardman and Tasker on Changabang. After much back-and-forth, we decided to take all eight 50-meter ropes we’d brought, to give us flexibility between bivy sites. Food was another matter. Jeff and I thought 12 days’ worth, George and Jim pushed for 20. We settled on 17, and with everything else—the ropes, sleeping gear, tents, stoves, fuel, clothing, crampons, ice axes, runners, carabiners, 60 pitons, assorted nuts and 30 ice screws—we ended up with over 300 pounds to carry. So much for going light and fast!
We were either woefully ill-informed or willfully ignorant of the need to acclimatize, and suffered accordingly, particularly on the first half of the climb. Fortunately, our progress was slow enough that no one became seriously ill. Each day, one pair would lead and fix ropes (the fun part); the other two would follow on jumars, carrying the loads. The climbing was sustained and not terribly difficult, 5.8 or 5.9 with short sections of aid, but the terrain was usually too low-angle to haul on, and for the first few days it took two or three trips to get everything up. The heat and altitude sapped our energy. Temperatures often reached 60 degrees but felt much hotter, and it wasn’t unusual to climb in a T-shirt during the afternoon. We made slow, steady progress until a storm immobilized us at 18,500 feet for three days. Unwilling to give up hard-won ground, we survived on half-rations and hope.
The storm cleared and a long period of good weather followed. We’d been on the route for 10 days. Our loads were lighter now with some of the food gone. As we gained altitude the temperature dropped to a comfortable level, and we encountered more mixed terrain and pure ice. The overall difficulty remained surprisingly consistent, the climbing always thought-provoking, but never desperate. To make the descent easier, we left a couple of ropes fixed across a horizontal corniced ridge at about 21,000 feet.
The higher we got, the worse the campsites became. We slept three nights in the open above the corniced ridge, huddled on tiny ledges hacked out of the ice.
The setting was absolutely stunning. Hundreds of unnamed and unclimbed peaks stretched out toward the horizon, punctuated by the occasional recognizable bulk of K2 and Broad Peak. There was not a sign of life anywhere on the glacier a mile-and-a-half below our feet. At one point or another, we each proclaimed some variation of the same sentiment, that this was the best climb we’d ever been on.
On Day 19 we took what little food remained, maybe three days’ worth, and a bare minimum of equipment, and pushed for the summit. Early that afternoon we arrived at a snowy shoulder, the first place since we left the glacier where we could safely unrope. Jeff and Jim set to work digging a snow cave while George and I fixed two ropes up a steep rock headwall that barred access to the easier snow-and-ice slopes leading to the summit ridge. We were still at least 700 feet from the top but the going looked much easier.
Clouds had been building all day, and as we rappelled back to the shoulder they engulfed us, spewing out thick flakes at a steady pace. Jeff and Jim greeted us with hot tea and warm smiles. We huddled anxiously in the snow cave, wondering what the morning would bring.
Day 20 dawned gray and cold and windy. A foot of snow had fallen overnight. Jeff felt sick. We put off a summit attempt hoping that the weather would clear. That night it snowed another six inches. Jeff felt worse, food and fuel were running low, and the storm showed no sign of dissipating. Decision time. We headed up.
A rope length after the headwall we turned around. We knew we wouldn’t get another chance, but disappointment was soon overshadowed by a greater concern. Jeff felt worse than ever. The symptoms were reminiscent of the virus he’d suffered from on the approach, exacerbated no doubt by altitude, dehydration and exhaustion. Coughing and feverish, aching to his very soul, he was shattered to the point where we feared for his life.
Jim nursed him through the night as the storm continued. Another day crept by. It would take us at least two days to reach the cache of food and fuel we’d left at the last good campsite, halfway up the route. The unspoken question was whether or not Jeff could survive an open bivouac. We decided to wait.
After five nights in the snow cave Jeff’s condition had improved marginally but the weather hadn’t. We were down to a few scraps of food. We divided up Jeff’s gear and headed into the maelstrom, descending 1,500 feet in a 14-hour day of aching limbs, frozen hands and grumbling stomachs. That night, Jeff and Jim occupied one miserable ledge, George and I another, 20 feet below, and spent the night awash in spindrift, sodden sleeping bags pulled up around our shoulders, butts and legs cramping on the uneven perch. None of us wanted to think too much about what Jeff was going through. Jim later confessed that he expected to wake up next to a corpse in the morning. As a comic aside (at least in retrospect) I’d taken off my ice-encrusted sunglasses earlier in the day and now suffered from a mild case of snowblindness: We were the blind leading the infirm. As I eked the last bit of flame out of the stove in my lap, George asked if he could lean against me; a minute later he was fast asleep, proving once again his mastery of this key climbing skill. His peaceful snore was a suitable counterpoint to the gritty ache of my teary eyes.
The clouds began to thin in the morning. Thankfully, Jeff not only felt much better, he was positively chipper. The rappels were straightforward, and late in the afternoon we reached our cache. The first thing we did was to eat, devouring a one-pound tin of peanut butter between us in under three minutes. We collapsed into the tents, relieved that the end was in sight. The last morning dawned clear, and even raging hunger couldn’t dampen our spirits. Late that afternoon we were back in basecamp, 26 days—and a lifetime—after leaving.
In the 28 years since our attempt, I’ve thought often of those days, remembering with great fondness the wonderful simplicity of being focused and present for such a long period of time. What strikes me now is the remarkably calm and respectful attitude with which we approached the climb. George, Jeff, Jim and I played to each others’ strengths. We equally shared the joys of leading and the labor of hauling. We each had our good days and bad, but I don’t recall any horrible temper tantrums or moodiness. We may have been annoyed by someone else’s disgusting habit of slurping soup, or leaving dregs of jam in the peanut butter, or farting just before leaving the tent, but such concerns seemed petty and unimportant and they were quickly forgotten. It seemed as though we’d all suspended our latent selfish/mean/impatient tendencies—at least for a while. We were a team, and remain friends to this day.
I never had any desire to return to Latok. Perhaps I was too lazy to repeat all that hard climbing, or afraid to fail again. I prefer to think, though, that the experience was complete in and of itself, despite the lack of a summit. I learned what I could from the North Ridge, and would eventually apply those lessons to other climbs and to other challenges. For me it is enough for Latok to remain a memory, an ideal once aspired to that still resonates today.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 09:00am PT
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And here is the history.
Latok I North Ridge
7145 meters/23,441 feet
Latok I, located between the Choktoi and Biafo Glaciers in the Karakoram of Northern Pakistan, is guarded on all sides by steep rock buttresses and hanging glaciers, and presents no obviously safe and easy path to its summit. The North Ridge is the exception, at least as far as safety goes; while there is some danger from serac fall at the base of the route, you pass quickly through the hazard zone, and once on the route you only have to deal with the more manageable risks of cornices, snow mushrooms and technical difficulty.
The route has been tried at least 20 times since we were there in 1978, including multiple attempts by the same climbers. No one has yet reached our high point, poor weather and too much snow being the usual barriers. What will it take for someone to complete the North Ridge? A well-acclimatized team climbing in pure alpine style should be able reach our snow-cave site at about 23,000 feet in four or five days. Another day should suffice to reach the summit and return to this high bivouac, with two more days to complete the descent. Carrying a minimum of seven days of food and fuel and sufficient hardware to rappel such a long route would be brutal but necessary. In the end, luck will probably be a big factor, as the ideal combination of good weather, dry conditions, and sufficiently motivated and skilled climbers will be elusive at best.
With a few exceptions, the attempts on the North Ridge have been in at least as good a style as ours. It is my hope that future parties will continue to treat the route with respect by leaving as little trace of their passage as possible.
The following chronology is as complete as possible given the source material available. I welcome additional details of these or other attempts I may have missed.
July-September, 1975 – A Japanese team led by Makoto Hara circumnavigates the Latok group via the Biafo, Simgang, Choktoi, Panmah, and Baltoro Glaciers. Avalanches and rockfall prevent any significant attempts.
July-August, 1976 – A Japanese team led by Yoshifumi Itatani attempts the couloir between Latok I and Latok III (Latok East), reaching about 18,700 feet before turning back in the face of serac fall.
August-September, 1977 – An Italian team led by Arturo Bergamaschi investigates the route attempted by the Japanese in 1976, but decides it’s too dangerous. They make the first ascent of Latok II from the Baintha Lukpar Glacier.
June-July, 1978 – Americans Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy (Canadian by birth but resident in the United States), Jeff Lowe and George Lowe attempt the 8,000-foot North Ridge, climbing capsule-style and spending 26 days on the route. They reach a high point of about 23,000 feet.
1979 – A Japanese team led by Naoki Takada makes the first (and to date only) ascent of Latok I via the South Face. After a lengthy siege and fixing much rope and three camps on the rock buttress left of the couloir between Latok I and Latok III, six members reach the top on two separate days. June-July.
July, 1982 – British climbers Martin Boysen, Choe Brooks, Rab Carrington and John Yates attempt the North Ridge twice, the second time to a high point of about 19,000 feet.
July, 1986 – Norwegians Olav Basen, Fred Husoy, Magnar Osnes, and Oyvind Vlada attempt the North Ridge, fixing at least 600 meters of rope and reaching a high point of about 21,000 feet after 18 days on the route. They spend another 10 days in heavy snow before giving up.
July-August, 1987 – French climbers Roger Laot, Remy Martin, and Laurent Terray fix rope on the first 600 meters of the North Ridge, and encountering heavy snow, turn back at about 19,700 feet.
June, 1990 – British climbers Sandy Allan, Rick Allen, Doug Scott and Simon Yates, and Austrian Robert Schauer make a number of climbs in the area, but don’t attempt their primary objective due to “the difficult and dangerous snow conditions and the forbidding appearance of the pendulous snow mushrooms adorning the North Ridge of Latok I.”
July-August, 1992 – Jeff Lowe (U.S.) and Catherine Destivelle (France) try the North Ridge, encountering huge snow mushrooms on the route. Carol McDermott (New Zealand) and Andy McFarland, Andy MacNae and Dave Wills (Great Britain) reach about 19,300 feet on the route during two attempts the same summer.
July-August, 1993 – Americans Julie Brugger, Andy DeKlerk, Colin Grissom and Kitty Calhoun attempt the North Ridge, turning back at about 18,000 feet in the face of bad weather.
August-September, 1994 – British climbers Brendan Murphy and Dave Wills try the North Ridge, reaching a high point of about 18,300 feet on their second attempt.
July-August, 1996 – Murphy and Wills return, reaching about 20,000 feet before a dropped rucksack forces retreat. Two subsequent attempts are thwarted at 19,300 feet by poor weather.
August, 1997/1998 – Americans John Bouchard and Mark Richey attempt the route three times, the last with Tom Nonis and Barry Rugo, reaching a high point of about 20,000 feet. Unlike previous expeditions, they report high temperatures and dry conditions, which resulted in “considerable melting and rockfall from high on the face.” They follow the rock pillar from the bottom of the route, finding superb climbing up to 5.10. Bouchard, Richey and Lyle Dean return the following year for another attempt, but never get on the North Ridge due to bad weather.
August, 2001 – Wojciech Kurtyka (Poland) and Yasushi and Taeko Yamanoi (Japan) have a permit for the North Ridge but never attempt it due to poor weather. Stein Gravdal, Halvor Hagen, Ole Haltvik and Trym Saeland (Norway) reach about 20,500 feet after 15 days on the route.
2004/2005/2006 – Twin brothers Willie and Damian Benegas (Argentina) try the North Ridge three years in a row. The first two years they encounter much snow and bad weather during their attempts in June and July; they find drier conditions in
August 2006, but a major storm stops them at about 18,000 feet.
August, 2006 – Maxime Turgeon and Louis-Phillipe Menard (Canada) attempt the futuristic North Face, retreating from 17,400 feet in the face of dangerously warm conditions. They turn their attention to the North Ridge, but are turned back at a similar altitude by deep, fresh snow covering the previously dry rock.
Sources:
The American Alpine Journal (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999)
The Alpine Journal (1991/92, 1993, 1997)
Alpinist (Number 2, Number 4, website story 9/18/06)
High Magazine (#171, 1997; #234, 2002)
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Apr 29, 2009 - 10:40am PT
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Just Amazing!
Thanks Michael.
A truly inspired adventure!
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philo
Trad climber
boulder, co.
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Apr 29, 2009 - 10:57am PT
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Outstanding! Thank you for posting this legendary adventure up. This reminds me of the inspirations that fueled my dreams and ambitions. I so clearly remember when news of this mighty climb came out. Most of us mere mortals were utterly slack jawed by the audacity and brilliance of their effort. Most younger climbers probably don't understand what their style of ascent meant in those days. In those days the standard was huge expeditions sieging slowly upward. Self contained alpine style was in it's infancy and only on smaller peaks. This mighty accomplishment, albeit devoid of a summit, set a benchmark of achievement and style that still stands today three decades later. Bravo to the A Team.
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Olihphant
climber
Somewhere over the rainbow
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Apr 29, 2009 - 10:59am PT
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That goes double ditto for me.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 11:00am PT
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Thanks Steve and Michael. Brings back memories- most of them painfull.
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Riotch
Trad climber
Kayenta, Arizona
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Apr 29, 2009 - 11:07am PT
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One of those rare and inspiring adventures where the original objective becomes irrelevant, and survival becomes the sweetest victory.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 11:23am PT
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Jim, Jeff and George were the A team - I was merely hanging on.
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Olihphant
climber
Somewhere over the rainbow
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Apr 29, 2009 - 11:30am PT
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Yeah right!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 11:38am PT
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I'll second that- yeah right!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 29, 2009 - 12:13pm PT
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This Antonio Machado poem seems appropriate for this thread. Just discovered it a couple of days ago.
"Wanderer, your footsteps are
the road, and nothing more;
wanderer, there is no road,
the road is made by walking.
By walking one makes the road,
and upon glancing behind
one sees the path. . ."
Antonio Machado
Who had the desire to try Latok first out of the team? Shipton's travels came pretty close, if I recall correctly, to the Latok group.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Apr 29, 2009 - 01:10pm PT
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I saw a Shipton photo of Latok I in the mid-70s, but George and Jeff were the ones who got the trip going. Not sure if you were in on the early stages or not, Jim. I was the last one invited on the trip, as I remember. A mere opportunist.
Here's what I wrote about this stellar lot:
As a naďve and relatively inexperienced 26-year-old, I was in awe of my companions. The Utah cousins George and Jeff Lowe were two of my climbing heroes. Deservedly celebrated as the best American alpine climbers of that era, they’d made significant first ascents all over the world, including such visionary climbs as the North Face of North Twin in the Canadian Rockies (George Lowe and Chris Jones, 1974) and Bridalveil Falls in Colorado (Jeff Lowe and Mike Weiss, 1974). At the time I didn’t know Jim Donini very well, but he, too, had a vast wealth of experience, including the first ascent of Torre Egger in Patagonia (with John Bragg and Jay Wilson, 1976). Humble and down-to-earth, yet fiercely committed to an adventurous climbing ethic, these three also brought with them those personal qualities so crucial to a happy expedition: persistence, a willingness to suffer and a sense of humor.
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Olihphant
climber
Somewhere over the rainbow
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Apr 29, 2009 - 02:01pm PT
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A mere opportunistic hanger on?
I'll say it again, YEAH RIGHT!
You four were the inspiration that has fueled the amazing accomplishments of the past few decades. When I stare in awe of the recent accomplishments of luminaries like Garribotti, Haley, Copp, Anderson and House just to name a few I think it is safe to say they can all trace some part of their personal approach to the fantastic four on Latok 1.
So will generations of alpinistas who will follow in footsteps to big to fill.
And big kudos to Steve for posting another fine thread.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 29, 2009 - 02:34pm PT
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At least Michael isn't claiming to have been the token Canadian or anything. But then, weren't Chouinard's parents Canadian?
A magnificent climb and team, however you look at it.
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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Apr 30, 2009 - 11:19am PT
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Outstanding climb.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Apr 30, 2009 - 12:09pm PT
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Yeah Dingus, but I guess not many people will post to it since it doesn't discuss religion or politics.
60 degrees!
(thats 140F)
Summer of '78 I thought I was toughing it out climbing in Zion in 50 degrees.
Gawd what a wimp.
Cheers to the team, hope the elbow is healed up Mike.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
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Apr 30, 2009 - 12:16pm PT
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What's there to say after 20 futile attempts that didn't come close to the first other than it must be global warming (wink)?
A seminal effort.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Apr 30, 2009 - 01:54pm PT
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I lost count, but it was 3 full days of rappelling, the first two in a storm. We wanted to get down, so we weren't hanging around admiring the view.
For some reason rappels always make me nervous.
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scuffy b
climber
Bad Brothers' Bait and Switch Shop
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Apr 30, 2009 - 02:21pm PT
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I'm certainly glad this has come up, and especially stuck around
long enough for me to finally read in full.
Congratulations to all, of course, for undertaking and surviving
this endeavor.
Michael, your writing in the Rock and Ice article is
particularly gripping and absorbing.
Thanks, much.
sm
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aguacaliente
climber
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Two superb renderings of the story. Thanks for posting it, for those of us who wouldn't have been reading Climbing in 1979.
What's the elevation of the base camp in the first picture, that is, how long is the ridge? The 440-foot difference in height between the high point and summit makes it look like the ridge gains about 4000 feet, but from the descriptions I think it must be much longer.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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The vertical gain from BC to summit is about 8000 feet, maybe a bit less. Elevation at BC was 15,500 ft. according to our maps at the time. There is some foreshortening in the first photo in the 1979 article. The glacier is pretty flat so you don't gain much height from BC to the bottom of the route.
We did about 80 pitches on the ridge, basically lost track after a while, so the total distance climbed was ... who knows?
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RDB
Social climber
way out there
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Great story and historical perspective. Thanks!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 10, 2009 - 01:25am PT
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Bump for inspired climbing!
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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May 10, 2009 - 03:43am PT
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For some reason rappels always make me nervous.
Me toooooooo.
I remember that article, I still may even have it in a box somewhere.
Awesome.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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May 11, 2009 - 02:09pm PT
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When I come across a gem of a thread like this I like to bookmark it in a separate folder, that way it's retrievable when it sinks into the Supertopo Tar Pit. This sort of thing, where the FA party chimes in with their input and the gods of my youth are revealed to be ordinary conversational human beings is the thing most unique about this site compared to other climbing boards. Thanks to all ya'll like Jim & Mike who just step up to the plate and tell their stories, it's much appreciated.
Good luck to Colin on this route, a talented and charming individual from the PNW home team.
Oh, and ditto on the rappel anxiety, its a good time to pay close attention.
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duncan
Trad climber
London, UK
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May 11, 2009 - 03:25pm PT
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And up.
"August-September, 1994 – British climbers Brendan Murphy and Dave Wills try the North Ridge, reaching a high point of about 18,300 feet on their second attempt.
July-August, 1996 – Murphy and Wills return, reaching about 20,000 feet before a dropped rucksack forces retreat. Two subsequent attempts are thwarted at 19,300 feet by poor weather."
Brendan was Irish and Dave Wills very much still is a Kiwi, although both were/are UK-based.
Their repeated attempts were the subject of gentle leg-pulling as to when they were going for the Red-Point ...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2009 - 10:48am PT
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And with a lost sack to boot! I bet they got an earful that didn't empty for a long while! LOL
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 6, 2009 - 01:04am PT
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Big time adventure bump!
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Missed this first time around. It was my greatest failure - in a positive sense. Normally in my climbing I was used to being the strong one. Then here, on Latok, it was my illness forcing retreat. Two could have gone to the summit, and one could have descended to our high camp with me. But we were the four musketeers, "...all for one and one for all". The high point we reached on Latok was a twin highpoint of my career: the most coherent/compassionate team, and the most personally humbling yet inspiring experience I ever had. In the end, my three great partners would never allow me any guilt over our turning back.
-JelloGetsHighWithALittleHelpFromHisFriends
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Nov 29, 2009 - 10:13am PT
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hey there say, all... so much to read and learn here... not sure if i saw this a ways back... but i have so much to write, as to my stories, that i can't always read everything, so i have to "dip in and soak up a bit" and then travel on...
very nice stuff to learn here on ol' supertopo though...
thanks so much... seems steve grossman has a lot of great stuff to bump-up here this thanksgiving weekend...
thanks for all the share, you guys... :)
*say, not meaning to neglect others... lots of other nice post, too... and trips... i just can't get to them all, this is kind of an odd season for me... keep posting, folks, even if only a few readers show up---eventually, we find all these treasures.... >:D<
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pc
climber
East of Seattle
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Nov 29, 2009 - 10:54am PT
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Fantastic! What an inspring story. Can't even begin to fathom the suffering though. Nice to have friends in high places.
pc
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d-know
Trad climber
electric lady land
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Nov 29, 2009 - 11:46am PT
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pure gold inlaid with platinum
and studded w/ diamonds this
thread is.
aside from an adventure told and
most of the team chiming in,
i really dig what jello sez:
In the end, my three great partners would never allow me any guilt over our turning back.
-JelloGetsHighWithALittleHelpFromHisFriends
and thanks to the archivist who
shared .
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nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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Jan 29, 2010 - 09:43pm PT
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Bump for goodness... I haven't read it all yet but I love what I've read so far.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Apr 16, 2010 - 02:48pm PT
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I don't really think this one can be bumped enough. Especially since Jello is up for the award.
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Roxy
Trad climber
CA Central Coast
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Apr 16, 2010 - 03:16pm PT
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lunch time bump - what a find!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 16, 2010 - 06:00pm PT
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Lots of Le-talk about Latok in the most recent Alpinist! Timely Bump!
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Apr 16, 2010 - 06:16pm PT
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Bump a dump, Steve. No kidding it is an OUTSTANDING article about
all of the Latok peaks in #30!!!!!
If you don't have it you want to get it!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Apr 16, 2010 - 07:24pm PT
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This thread is exactly the kind of important stuff we love superT for!
Great climb.
Adventure.
Drama.
History!
The main players right in here with us!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 27, 2010 - 09:44pm PT
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And how about posting that superb photo of the main players from last weekend!
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old toad
Trad climber
yosemite, Ca.
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Jul 27, 2010 - 11:48pm PT
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This is the kind of post that keeps me looking at SuperTopo...so many of the posts on this site are not worth reading! (not in the least climbing related)... thank goodness for this one.
Ron Skelton
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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"We divided up Jeff’s gear and headed into the maelstrom..."
What! Before he was even dead?!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 7, 2012 - 03:51pm PT
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Big Alpine Style Bump to keep Jim's thread company!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Oct 26, 2012 - 02:21pm PT
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bump for great story and photos
can't believe this thread has 61 posts and political thread over thousands..wow
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Oct 26, 2012 - 03:41pm PT
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I heard that Richard Nixon had Jeff "dosed" by the plumbers on the approach.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Oct 26, 2012 - 04:18pm PT
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Perhaps a few pictures will help, the few who still climb here are reading impaired.[photoid=270384]
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Conrad
climber
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Oct 26, 2012 - 06:14pm PT
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Thanks Jim. You guys set the bar.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Oct 26, 2012 - 06:36pm PT
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I wonder what alien species think of Alpinism.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 26, 2012 - 07:15pm PT
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I heard Meru climbers might be able to do this climb...
Whatcha think Conrad?
poke poke
hehe
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Oct 27, 2012 - 01:18am PT
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Conrad...just saw the Meru film tonight in Gunnison. Beautifully done, a real story with intelligent narrative and, wow, what a climb!
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ß Î Ř T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Nov 20, 2012 - 02:02am PT
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... just saw the Meru film ... NBC had it on last Saturday morning (instead of cartoons).
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MATOCO
Big Wall climber
argentina
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Dec 10, 2012 - 12:55pm PT
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I am Matoco.. I was in the same expd whit Damian and Willie 2005... also big mushroom obligate to go down... but we climb many peaks around waiting for good wheather...
I want share this picture..
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Spanky
Social climber
boulder co
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Dec 10, 2012 - 01:01pm PT
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Thanks for the rad thread. I saw a slideshow Jim did at Neptunes years ago called epic failures in which he showed a bunch of those photos. It was a great show because he talked a lot about how climbers only show/talk about successful trips and he really talked a lot about how much he learned from these trips even when they didn't get the summit. And the descents sounded terrifying. By the way those guys were BADASS!!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 10, 2012 - 01:17pm PT
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They still ARE badass...
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Dec 10, 2012 - 03:03pm PT
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Incredible story, still.
How much human suffering has gone into that ridge anyway????
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Gene
climber
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Dec 10, 2012 - 03:11pm PT
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Incredible story, still.
Amen!! Enhanced by three of the four contributing to this thread. A treasure.
g
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 10, 2012 - 03:22pm PT
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One of the top five great stories
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Dec 20, 2012 - 11:54am PT
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Bump so a Brit can access the info.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 15, 2013 - 10:53pm PT
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Pure Adventure Bump...
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10b4me
Sport climber
www.tenbeephotography.com
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Mar 31, 2014 - 09:24pm PT
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Bump
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Sanskara
climber
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Mar 31, 2014 - 09:31pm PT
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Thanks 10b..
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Back to the top for this one!
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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May 12, 2014 - 09:55am PT
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Bump. Great comments from three of the participants. This is the heart and soul of ST.
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
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May 12, 2014 - 11:33am PT
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This is an awesome story, just read it again. Incredible and inspirational effort! What a team. Hard core!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 24, 2014 - 10:12pm PT
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Don't know about the DNA but we did have a pretty good work ethic.
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TripleS_in_EBs
climber
Poulsbo, WA
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Sep 25, 2014 - 09:43am PT
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Might as well just put the photo here if Jim and Jeff do not object. Does this photo not capture the era, the moment, and the attitude?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Sep 25, 2014 - 10:48am PT
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I wish the weather was as good today here in Squamish as it was when I took that picture on Latok.
We started climbing in the initial snow/ice gully at midnight to avoid sun triggered avalanches. At dawn we traversed onto good granite and climbed to the ledge pictured above in perfect weather. The weather was so good we slept out in the open for that first night on the route. The next day we moved up to another ledge, saw the high cirrus coming in, set up our tents, and hunkered down for what was to be a six day storm.
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Cruiser
Mountain climber
Cody
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Jun 18, 2015 - 06:35pm PT
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I was 17 years old and had been climbing for 5 years when I read this issue. Dumfounded and inspired by the A team. Later in life I named my climbing shop Alpine Style. What a true definition of 4 brave Alpinists. Cheers,
Kirt Cozzens
Cody, WY.
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yanqui
climber
Balcarce, Argentina
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donini, Michael Kennedy, Jello and even Matoco .... cool
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Going back to the Latok cirque on 8/11....it's only been 38 years.
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Avery
climber
New Zealand
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Thanks Steve. Great thread!!
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smith curry
climber
nashville,TN
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Thanks Donini for continuing to inspire all of us, but esp those of us getting a little long in the tooth
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Don't know about the DNA but we did have a pretty good work ethic.
~ Jim Donini
Understated as usual.
The ones who really have been there and done that usually are.*
Everyone is rooting for you. May your trip be blessed!
*Not sayin' I'm in that company - just an observation.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 3, 2016 - 03:01pm PT
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Bump for the return of the A team.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2017 - 10:19am PT
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Bump for Donini's slide show at Feathered Friends in Seattle July 6 on their unmatched adventure in this fabled area.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Jun 25, 2017 - 11:29am PT
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I just saw Donini's slide show at COR last Monday; it was quite good. It was fun to see a generator powered slide show outdoors at the group cam. It started after sunset, so it kept me awake past my 9 PM bedtime but it was worth it.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 23, 2017 - 11:14am PT
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Holy Grail of Alpinism Bump...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 21, 2018 - 06:41pm PT
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bump anticipating the slide show...
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Aug 12, 2018 - 10:09am PT
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From the link above
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Aleš, Tom and Luka returned to the base a few hours ago, we climbed a new direction in the north bay and came to the top of Latoka 1. Follow ... sleep.
Well done, nice accomplishment
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Aug 12, 2018 - 02:41pm PT
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True??????
AMAZING! Finally, 40 years later!
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Jim Clipper
climber
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Aug 12, 2018 - 08:00pm PT
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Bumped over Trump (thread)!
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Aug 13, 2018 - 09:22am PT
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"Latok I North Ridge line by Livingstone, Česen and Strazar
Natalie Berry - UKC13th August
This has been read 1,984 times
A British-Slovenian team consisting of Tom Livingstone, Aleš Česen and Luka Strazar have made the coveted first ascent of Latok I's north ridge (7145m) in the Pakistan Karakoram. According to early reports from the team, they opted for a safer line on the face in the last quarter, rather than risking an integral ascent of the ridge. The ascent took 7 days from Base Camp to Base Camp. More details on their line to follow.
A brief message posted on the Choktoi 2018 expedition page on the Planinska Zveza Slovenije (Slovenian Mountain Union) website reads:
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Aleš, Tom and Luka returned to the base a few hours ago, we climbed a new route on the north ridge and went to the top of Latok 1. Next ... sleep."
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Aug 13, 2018 - 09:27am PT
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WOW!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Aug 13, 2018 - 01:50pm PT
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I just saw Jim's slide show on this. I am assuming he was over there when it happened. I know he has talked to several of the teams. Congrats to those guys and to Jim and his mates for such great climbing lore.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Lights on! climbing content bros out there bump
Bump All climbing content
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