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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 17, 2013 - 01:34pm PT
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Talking trying not plying with respect to George. Besides what DIDN'T folks do in the Old Testament? LOL
Over a glass of wine, Greg Lowe told me that George was in the habit of paring down the rack to the minimum only to bitch about the shortage once climbing. Doing the adventure dance to an old school tune.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Feb 18, 2013 - 07:54pm PT
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I was thinking today of how George Lowe, whom I have not met, has influenced my climbing, and three things came immediately to mind: first, his uncanny ability to spot "the line" (e.g., in addition to North Twin, the Infinite Spur, the Kennedy-Lowe on Hunter, the Black Ice/West Face, etc.); second, his single-minded commitment to the climb (obviously); third and perhaps most personally relevant, as far as I can tell, he wasn't/isn't a guy who climbed/climbs 300 days per year -- maybe not even 50 days in any given year. It's one thing to hike the Cassin when you've been guiding the West Butt all season long and are 25 years old, but quite another if you're a thirty-something cube monkey using all 3 weeks of his vacation.
So GL has been a big influence on me, for sure. I hope I get a chance to see him at an AAC or other event.
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Brandon P
Mountain climber
Canmore
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Feb 19, 2013 - 04:02am PT
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Cool Forum.
Lots of rad facts and cool opinions.
This summer Ian Welsted and I made the fastest ascent car to car out of the Black Hole via the Abron Route (North Ridge) of the Twin. Under 30 hours car to car. 2nd ascent of the route.
Here is the write up:
http://brandopullan.blogspot.ca/2012/08/north-twin-via-black-hole.html
Try writing some local Rockies climbers for further info instead of relying on apparent armchair mountaineers (coast climbers are not Rockies climbers fyi)
All Canadian ascent. Welsted tried the face a few years ago but after rock fall shattered his arm they made a 2 day descent from near the top of the North Pillar, bad ass! Ian is the stoke factor that drove the first all Canadian ascent of Twins Tower this year out of the black hole. Rockies climbers... well... we are kinda the real meal deal(in terms of we drink Canadian beer and eat Canadian Beef). No we did not do the North Face proper we climbed just to the right because during that time of year it is suicide.
O Canada eh!
Peace,
Brandon Pullan
PS: Pick up the next issue of the Canadian Alpine Journal for further details.
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RDB
Social climber
wa
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Feb 19, 2013 - 12:15pm PT
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"Try writing some local Rockies climbers for further info instead of relying on apparent armchair mountaineers (coast climbers are not Rockies climbers fyi)"
Nice :) I like it!
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nah000
Mountain climber
canuckistan
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Feb 19, 2013 - 01:41pm PT
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here's cheesmond's very short writeup about his, kallen and friesen's summer 82 attempt of the lowe/jones.
there's a note in gadd/scott/dornian's The Yam: 50 Years of Climbing on Yamnuska mentioning steve demaio and ward robinson's late 80's attempt of the nt [p. 106]. all it really says is "we didn't get very far".
ian welsted wrote up his attempt with chris brazeau in summer 04. the article is in the 2005 canadian alpine journal and is titled dead. if i understand correctly, over two days, welsted/brazeau made about 30 raps on a single 50 m line to get off the face after rockfall broke welsted's arm. crazy intense story.
jason kruk has made a couple of attempts recently. one with hayden kennedy in spring 11 and another with jon walsh in summer 11.
as far as writeups regarding other partial attempts i don't remember seeing any. but if there are more out there, i too would be interested in knowing where i can find them.
with the likes of blanchard and house chiming in, this thread has been an awesome one. it'd be cool to see more first hand accounts continue to come out of the woodwork. i'm sure there is still a lot of oral history floating about.
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Brandon P
Mountain climber
Canmore
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Feb 21, 2013 - 03:11am PT
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Tim F is still around. I climb with him, Urs Kallen, Andy G, Trevor Jones once a month at the indoor cave in Calgary.
The boys are keen! Led by Urs Kallen!
These guys are retired, experienced and searching keen dudes on the regular, it is hard to keep up.
If you want to know more I have aimed to know much about Rockies history.
Email away: bmpullan@gmail.com
Cheers,
Brandon
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Feb 21, 2013 - 11:50am PT
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I think the fa of the Wall of Shadows(Kennedy/Childs) ranks pretty high as well
It's pretty amazing that so many outstanding alpine first ascents have a Lowe associated with them.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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this thread always gets my mojo flowing
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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tired of seeing inferior threads rise (if that's the word) to the top
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nah000
climber
canuckistan
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Sep 15, 2013 - 09:47am PT
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sweet stuff.
Brandon P [or anyone else who knows]:
in your [at least i'm guessing you're brandon pullan] gripped write up you say this is the fifth ascent of the face.
who nabbed the fourth?
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BlackSpider
Ice climber
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Sep 15, 2013 - 01:20pm PT
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Question for those in the know: is there any chance the obvious diretissima (basically straight down from the summit, splitting the space between the Lowe-Jones and North Pillar routes) could go, or is there just no line there?
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Sep 15, 2013 - 01:42pm PT
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Great bump
Spectacular ascent
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Brandon P
Mountain climber
Canmore
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Sep 15, 2013 - 01:44pm PT
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I was not including the ridge climb.
Of the North Face:
74 FA Jones/Lowe
83? FA Traverse of the Chickens Freisen/Cheesmond
85 FA Bubba/Cheesmond
04 FA House/Prez (April, winter conditions)
13 Walsh/Wharton repeat Bubba route
North Ridge
65 Abrons
12 Myself/Welsted
I think the direct line has not been done because of a number of reasons, one being the lack of a consistent line. Walsh and Kruk had climbed all new ground on their last attempt on the headwall, I am not sure where they were, before Jon had his foot bashed by rock fall.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 15, 2013 - 02:55pm PT
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Did you guys have as dry a summer as we did in Seattle?
Dry rock is crucial for the Blanchard-Cheesmond at 5.10d mandatory free climbing.
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johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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Sep 15, 2013 - 05:16pm PT
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Bruce Kay why someone would head to the Ruth is beyond my. Don't get me wrong it's a cool spot but there's bigger and better stuff up here. I can think of a dozen peaks with the relief of Dickey that have virgin summits and twice that many that have only one or two routes. Are you still active in the alpine climbing game? I need some more partners. Here a shot of a 3000' virgin spire in front of a 7500' virgin face on a 14,000' peak that has been summited only twice. Kevin took this photo while we were rapping off of another virgin peak after getting spanked.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Sep 15, 2013 - 08:02pm PT
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Mental you beat me to it. Johnkelly that thing looks sick. Could you tell me where it is please?
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johnkelley
climber
Anchorage Alaska
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Sep 15, 2013 - 11:15pm PT
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I'll tell you if I'm lucky enough to get up it
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nah000
climber
canuckistan
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Sep 16, 2013 - 01:19am PT
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this is from the 1983 aaj and is written by cheesmond:
"In July 1982, Urs Kallen, Tim Friesen and I attempted to repeat the Lowe-Jones route on North Twin's north face. We were four days on the face but were unable to do the final wall as it was streaming with water caused by unusually warm conditions. Instead we traversed left to the ridge and followed this to the summit. We then crossed the icefield to the highway. We believe this is the most difficult face yet climbed in the Canadian Rockies. It still awaits a second ascent eight years after the first."
considering the above statement, cheesmond himself didn't consider his, friesen and kallen's 1982 climb to have been a successful ascent of the face. combining this and that any other public record considers house/prezelj to have made the third ascent of the face proper, i'd say it's a strange bit of historical revisionism to suddenly consider the walsh/wharton ascent the fifth.
pedantry aside, sweet shIt. always inspiring to hear about big stuff going down in your backyard.
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