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fsck
climber
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:28am PT
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Standing Rock
Titan
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enjoimx
Trad climber
Kirkwood, ca
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:52am PT
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Astroman
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pile
Trad climber
CA
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:55am PT
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Happy to bump a CLIMBING thread...my 3, in order
Vampire, Iron Cross, Rebolting Development
bvb- pink royd man that climb has some character eh! good choices you have selected there
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Dec 15, 2011 - 02:09am PT
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Gotta be the Cassin on Denali.
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KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
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Dec 15, 2011 - 02:23am PT
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Dear Riley, and Brokendown,
I'll have a better shot at the B/Y than anything in the Dolomites. At least it's only an hour or so's drive away.
But - specifically - I traded Patagonia for a once in a lifetime shot at the High Arctic. If I can't handle Yos VI, then the Fitzroy/Torre/Paine are simply out of my league...and so do not even merit the airfare for a simple hike. Except, maybe...
I will say, however, that when S'Cole made it down there, not only did he make the Cerro Torre Bolts, but his party's ascent of Fitzroy via the California (Fun Hog) Route was in fact the 2nd ascent of this route...after a passage of at least 15 years. If my facts are accurate, this great Mountain had seen less than 6 ascents at this time in the mid 80's.
And, by High Arctic, well, we're talking very high latitudes here, my friends. If memory serves (and I don't think it is right now), our '07 EuroAm North Pearyland Expedition still holds the World's record for furthest north land - the "Ultima Thule" which has surpassed Peary's 1906 Cape Morris Jessup by some 3 or 4 miles; the 1924 Danish Survey which reset our horizons to Kaffeklubben Island ("Coffee Club" - some wag even left a broken coffee cup on it, when we hiked across the Arctic Ocean ice pack to visit this Godforsaken spot just for grins)- a mile or two north of Morris Jessup.
Oodaak Island was reached by helicopter in 1976. Located about 1 mile N of Kaffeklubben, about an acre in area, and averaging a couple of feet above sea level...sorry to say, it hasn't been seen since - we did a fly over with its GPS coordinates.
We bested Oodaak by about 3 more miles north, reaching today's
"Furthest North" at about 83.44.48N. Since these are depositional, and not tectonic, Arctic Ocean islands, the pack ice could bulldoze them around till hell freezes over.
Which, on a subsequent reread of Dante's Inferno, is the type of hellscape You Shall Encounter. Makes for some most unique hiking, though. I mean, covering several miles of Arctic Ocean (Lincoln Sea, specifically) ice pack.
Pearyland, academically considered as tectonically distinct from the Greenland subcontinent south of Independence Fiord, is largely ice-free, except for some atypical montagne ice streams. Dry tundra, compared to, say, the North Slope of the Brooks Range, but don't be expecting any heather meadows fairies and pipers. It is just weird!
Anthropologists, archeologists, and simple architects who tend to read too much and think too little, have clearly identified human occupation at Independence Fiord, the southern defining bounds of Pearyland (Fredricksland, et al). The northernmost fiord in the world, this clearly occurred during a climatic optimum (like- warmer than now). Off the top or bottom of my head I can't for the life of me recall if it was the astT (arctic small tool Tradition) or the Dorset (who preceded the Thule [who greeted Lief, the son of Eric the Red]). What is known is that these pre-Colombian cultures inhabited (and still do, as Inuit, Athapascan) the darkest, most barren and desolate places on this planet, and, until the Dorset culture was superceded by the more sophisticated Thule marine hunters, may have numbered less than 500 individual human beings across the entire Canadian North.
Planning and Danish governmental Permit acquisition for our little "Walk in the Park" required about 1 year for our mighty team of 6. The largest National Park in the World, occupying about 1/4 of NE Greenland, merits exactly one sentence in the excellent travel guide book series "Lonely Planet (Greenland and The Arctic)": 'Due to the extreme Permit conditions imposed by Denmark, only the most determined of scientists and explorers may expect to visit -"(where the Eye of Man has never set Foot" - that's an old John Lennon joke from Magical Mystery Tour, not to be be redundant). A personal trip to Copenhagen by the Expedition Leader, and Second Bottle Washer, was evidently necessary to procure Permits for the whole shebang. At Station Nord, our paperwork filled a 3-ring binder, and we were warned to keep quiet about out little, personal (and worthless, non-op) walki-talkies, because they had been omitted from our Permit, due to some oversight.
Station Nord is the base camp for the annual winter "Sirius Patrol," which sweeps the entire north coast of Greenland to Ellesmere Island. It seems that the Russians have this bad habit of sneaking over in the winter, and establishing mining operations. There is also a somewhat controversial treaty among the Polar Nations (Denmark, Norway, Russia, Canada - with the U.S. not in accord) - that these countries may lay claim to lands presently submerged by a couple hundred feet. Hence, Russian's planting of their titanium flag that selfsame year at the geo NP...merely 12,000 feet below sea level.
We damned near got bumped from our flight to Station Nord by some DPI (Danish Polar Institute) bigshots up to retrieve some sonophones they were using to map beneath their land boundary on the Arctic Ocean, with the intent of establishing their frontier boundary another 200 miles to the north. For, with the reality of Global Warming upon us has been resurrected the earlier talk of a "Polar Mediterranean." Stockholm to Yokohama is some 8,000 miles less via and ice-free NW passage than through Panama. As I write, Canadian capital is being directed towards ports and Arctic terminals.
(Did I mention that we, ourselves, were about 325 miles from the Pole? And to look north is to at once wish to simply embark, yet fill one with utter awe and respect for the unbelievably rugged scarps, the open waters of perennial polyannas, faced by Peary, Nanson, and their contemporaries.)
"West Stray Dog Island" was discovered via Danish military sat photos - don't even bother trying to Goggle Earth it. That cost about $4,000. SAR insurance: $5,000. Commercial air service took us to Longyearbean (No Doubt about that placename!) via SAS, SF - Boston -Rejkjavik - Oslo - Spitzberbegen (which latter is actually quite affordable and accessible - unless, say, you're hankerin' for one of the countless FA's available on greater Svalbard - including Big Walls)(You can Google Longsyearbean in low res)
Having traveled 12 time zones, netting a speeding ticket in the Tuoulumne timed zone by Lembert Dome, racing from Bishop to SFO - and, "would I mind if we searched your car for mj or firearms?" (another Thread, another Time, but quite relevant!);
the travel via Twin Otter from Longsyearbean to Station Nord, a Danish military post just N of 82N took us into another world.
Like the Grand Canyon, the Polar Ice Cap...specifically its margins, is something that every explorer should witness once in his or her lifetime.
A passably level dry tundra landing strip, scouted out by out Fearless (and somewhat aging) Leader in the 90's. set us within a cool, 12 hour hike, with 75# packs, to Camp 1. Next "Day" - did we all forget that @ that latitude the sun maintains a fairly consistent azimuth of approx 28 degrees, 24/7? - we struggled further to Camp 2. About 1 mile away.
Hey!
Why didn't I write this in to the AAJ?
Actually...it was published. Elsewhere.
But we are not going to go there.
IMO: "Brokendown" has already seen action in the Dolomites.
Maybe I should post a few photos. Next week, perhaps. I mean, they're all over the place and all, but maybe some folks may not know that much of Svalbard Wall is on...sandstone?!
I guess these midnight words go to the "Global Warming" Threads. Political Threads. BC Skiing Threads.
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Prod
Trad climber
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Dec 15, 2011 - 09:31am PT
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@Brassnuts.
Road to Naked Edge.
Prod.
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Grampa
Trad climber
Orange County
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Dec 15, 2011 - 10:21am PT
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I always wanted to climb the Dihedral Wall.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Dec 15, 2011 - 10:49am PT
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Steep Climb Named Desire.
Mustagh Tower.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 15, 2011 - 11:17am PT
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To paraphrase Eli Wallach in The Good The Bad And The Ugly;
If yer gonna climb; then climb, don't talk!
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Dec 15, 2011 - 11:33am PT
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I've never done the Lost Arrow Tip and since I'm going to be 75 years young next June ,I'm going to find some other almost-mature person who wants to climb it.
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Dec 15, 2011 - 11:47am PT
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Well the Magic Line on K2 is a no go. lol.
SO..
My goals remain, however: My Number One Climb: the Torre Venezia in the Southern spur of the Civetta Group, and realistically by any of the 3 fine routes available. The Direct South Face by the Tissi route (15 pitches, 1600 feet, UIAA Grade VI-), or the S.E. Corner by the Andrich-Fae (9 pitches, 1000 feet, UIAA Grade V+). My Number Two: Pala di San Martino, by the famous Gran Pilastro (20 pitches, 2000 feet,UIAA Grade IV-); my Number Three: the Cima Piccola, "Gelbe kante," or Yellow Edge (14 pitches, 1200 feet, UIAA Grade VI-).
I want to climb with Brokedownclimber. I am up for adoption by the way. At least I am mostly house broken.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Dec 15, 2011 - 11:50am PT
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Solo Iron Hawk in the Spring and then another El Cap route with Max in the fall. (Route TBA)
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sac
Trad climber
Sun Coast B.C.
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Dec 15, 2011 - 12:08pm PT
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Star Wars... complete, inaday... a first.
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Off White
climber
Tenino, WA
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Dec 15, 2011 - 12:42pm PT
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Well there's this white tape 11b at the warehouse rock gym...
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Dec 15, 2011 - 12:44pm PT
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STRATOSFEAR in the Black Canyon. (I'm probably too chicken, though).
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:04pm PT
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STRATOSFEAR in the Black Canyon. (I'm probably too chicken, though).
Oh BLARGGLE! First you and Hank would send the Sfear.
Secondly you could always do what the FA team did and rap in, prehearse and preplace pro.
Hell you could top rope the whole damn 5 pitch variation if you wanted to.
Now if you really want to step up to history book status go do the first all free ascent of the Forrest-Walker. We left it 98% free already and that was 30 years ago. After all the Sfear is only an odd variation to two greater climbs. It has been done enough to mean very little. Come on Grug you can do it!
And Hankster what better way to bust your Black Gash virginity than with one for the record books?
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Prod
Trad climber
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:11pm PT
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Hey Philo,
Make that toon bigger.
Thanks
Prod.
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fsck
climber
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:25pm PT
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Welp, I clicked on the mp.com page for Notch Peak last night at about midnight. Next thing I knew, it was 3am so I guess that one is on the list now.
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:26pm PT
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In all honesty I really want to heal up and get back into the fray.
If I can I would want to do another route on the Diamond, another route in the Black Gash and maybe a return to Mt. Wilson RR. Time will tell and we will see.
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Karen
Trad climber
So Cal urban sprawl Hell
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Dec 15, 2011 - 01:30pm PT
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Third Pillar of Dana. If I never climbed anything again but could do this route, I would be content.
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