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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 22, 2010 - 11:32pm PT
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Hello all, coming back to Estados Unidos is a mixed bag. Looking forward to warm rock and blue skies but traffic jams and TV commercials weren't missed.
Regarding climbing and the weather I want to say that I am located a couple of hundred miles north of El Chalten and the Fitzroy Massiff in a beautiful, wild area adjacent to the North Patagonia Ice Field. I refer to this area as "wild patagonia" and the Chalten area as "Chamonix Patagonia." I'm pretty much done with the Fitzroy area, the scene has become, well, that's the point, it's now a "scene", not the wild, hard to access area it was when I first visited.
My wife and I have built a small but comfortable home on the shores of what is surely one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The view from are deck is incomparable and I say that having climbed on all seven continents. There is nothing comparable to Fitzroy or Cerro Torre but the wildness and unexplored nature of the area are serving as a tonic to this aging climber. I've managed to summit four unclimbed peaks in the last couple of years and the best, I hope, is yet to come. Nothing will qualify for "Hot Flashes" but the intricate approaches and remote feel of the climbs is something hard to find on this crowded planet.
The weather was the worst in recent memory but it forced me to look at the other offerings of this special place and I've come home with an even greater appreciation. I cant even imagine being in El Chalten cloistered with climbers with big agendas and little patience- those days are over. Exploring remote mountain valleys and discovering "small gems" is where my heart is and I have found that place.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2010 - 11:39pm PT
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I remember Bonatti, in one of his books came to the same conclusion. One of those "excursions", was Patagonia.
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Michael Kennedy
Social climber
Carbondale, Colorado
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Feb 23, 2010 - 06:55am PT
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Great thoughts, Jim. Glad to have you back.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Feb 23, 2010 - 07:02am PT
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Its not all traffic jams and commercials. There are still some undiscovered ICs,...
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 23, 2010 - 10:49am PT
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Jim,
All talk and no photos?? WTF?
Glad you have a zone that makes your spirit fly. We all need one.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Feb 23, 2010 - 11:06am PT
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I've seen Russ with his pant legs TAPED!!
And TAPE on his wrist!
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Last clip of Lichen Lunch
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Feb 23, 2010 - 11:11am PT
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Candidate for tapefetish.com.
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L
climber
Just surfin' the tsunami of life...
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Feb 23, 2010 - 02:25pm PT
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"...a small but comfortable home on the shores of what is surely one of the most beautiful lakes in the world."
Welcome back, Jim. Thanks for bringing some of that serenity back with you.
Looking forward to the photos...;-)
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hooblie
climber
from where the anecdotes roam
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Feb 23, 2010 - 02:53pm PT
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i'm ok with how brand new volcanic islands suddenly sprout numerous unlikely species. birds and seeds broadcast throughout the continents, easy enough to figure. but i'm completely flummoxed as to how most every high lake got populated with trout given the waterfalls and cascades that seem typical where the ice has recently receeded.
thought i'd throw this down on donini's shebang because frankly he seems less wrathful than those guys on the creationist thread
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kubok!3
climber
Austin, TX
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Feb 23, 2010 - 03:18pm PT
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sounds like you're living the dream down there!
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Fritz
Trad climber
Hagerman, ID
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Feb 23, 2010 - 03:37pm PT
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Donini: You old fart! Welcome back.
RE Hooblie's question on fish in every mountain lake.
They have been transplanted by that evil ecological menace: Whitie!
Idaho Fish & Game does seasonal air drops of small trout in otherwise fishless mountain lakes.
I recall some environmental purists object to this pollution. I do my best to legally remove them. Most mountain lakes don't even support fish reproduction, so they get replanted every four years or so.
Eastern Brook Trout were put into a lot of lakes here in the 20's. They don't need much to reproduce, so Brook Trout Lakes end up with a mass of 8" long starving trout. They sure taste yummy.
OK, back from "thread drift."
Lets see some photos Jim. Did you ever glimpse the "project mountain?"
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