Rock Climbing Company: March 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

More Spring Break Photos

Me about to dive into a giant pothole on top of the Monitor near Moab, Utah. I actually went back and freed the single pitch aide route to the top. It goes free at about 5.12+. If you were to fall into a pothole, you would be stuck forever! Some are up to 40 feet deep with smooth overhanging walls on all sides.

Me, heading up a route on the Merrimack just outside Moab, Utah. Monitor is in the background. The route goes at 5.6 but is a bit heady as you walk/crawl/climb the narrow ledge to the top.

Braden pointing out the route that we climbed to the top of Merrimack. It was that long angling ramp to the top.

Photos being taken on Trail of Tears, North Wash. Andrew Burr on the left, Pete "the Greek" in red and Alex Honnold on belay duty.

Me and Layla at the Purdy's in St. George. I got my hair done that night, and I think a cold too!

I am really glad that you have visited my blog.
Thanks and I hope to see and hear from you soon.
Rob Pizem

And last but not least, don't forget to check out my favorite sites:

http://www.scarpa.net
http://www.arcteryx.com
http://camp-usa.com
http://sterlingrope.com
http://ColoradoMountainJournal.com
http://www.wunderground.com
http://climbing.com
http://rockandice.com
http://deadpointmag.com
http://urbanclimbermag.com
http://andrewburr.com
http://ladzinski.com

"Unclimbed": Seven Years Later

I've just been editing a story for the American Alpine Journal about the first ascent of the north face of Chang Himal in Nepal, by British climber Andy Houseman. Andy said his climb, with fellow Brit Nick Bullock, was inspired in part by an article called "Unclimbed," published in 2003 in Alpinist 4, in which various writers identified nine great unfulfilled challenges in the alpine world. Which, in turn, inspired me to dig up the article and see how climbers have done over the last six and a half years.

Not bad, as it turns out, not bad at all. But these lines have proved to be worthy challenges. Here are the nine routes and their status:

Annapurna III, Nepal, southeast ridge. Not yet, but the peak has seen some action: The southwest ridge was climbed in 2003 by Kenton Cool, Ian Parnell, and John Varco. And Britons Jon Bracey, Nick Bullock, and Matt Helliker are headed to Nepal this spring to attempt the stunning southeast ridge. [Photo courtesy of Annapurna3expedition.blogspot.com.]

South Tower of Paine, Chile, south face. Not yet, but big-wall soloist Dave Turner spent months in the Paine in early 2009, hoping to attempt the face, before an injury forced him to focus on smaller objectives.

Shingu Charpa, Pakistan, north ridge. Climbed. Twice, more or less. Or not at all. Depends on how you look at it. In 2006, a Ukrainian trio claimed to have climbed the route, but it later turned out they had turned back perhaps 100 meters below the top of the peak. A month later, Kelly Cordes and Josh Wharton climbed most of the route, but also retreated near the top because they didn't have the right gear for the summit icefields. In 2007, a Russian team climbed the east face and continued up the final section of the north ridge to the summit. [Photo by Clint Estes.]

Namcha Barwa, Tibet, west face. Nope. The 7,782-meter peak has been climbed only once, in 1992, from the south. The 3,300-meter west face has never been attempted.

Janak, Nepal, southwest pillar. Climbed! Slovenians Andrej Stremfelj and Rok Zalokar pulled off a stylish alpine-style ascent in 2006.

Chang Himal, Nepal, north face. Climbed! Those Brits, Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman, polished off the route, alpine style, in a five-day round trip from the base of the wall.

Mt. Tyree, Antarctica, southeast face. Not yet. Antartica's biggest and steepest alpine wall remains untouched.

Latok I, Pakistan, north face. Not yet. Several teams have attempted the line but diverted to the north ridge, also unclimbed.

Torre Traverse, Patagonia. Climbed! Rolando Garibotti and Colin Haley linked Cerro Standhardt, Torre Egger,and Cerro Torre in January 2008.

So, more than half of these routes remain unclimbed. But it would be a mistake for either climbers or the media to focus attention exclusively on these lines. As the Alpinist compilation's editor, Sean Easton, wrote in his introduction, these climbs "represent only a minute sampling of what remains to be found."

Indeed, one of the great thrills of working on the American Alpine Journal is seeing photo after photo of great unclimbed walls around the world (and those other mountains, barely in view over the shoulder of that peak in the foreground...what are they?). The world still holds enough great alpine challenges for generations of ambitious climbers to come. Time for a new article?

Friday, March 26, 2010

Kite Skiing on Patagonia Ice Cap

Don't miss Dave Turner's wild stories and photos of kite skiing on the Patagonia Ice Cap. Absolutely crazy! Click on the link in the Black Diamond Journal sidebar to the right.

Monday, March 22, 2010

North Wash

My old roommate and climbing partner from years ago, Braden. He is just finished carving out the new route plack for a .75 inch splitter that we established while at the North Wash (south of Hanksville, Utah) next to the old route No Way Jose 5.13.

The crack master in all his glory, Alex Honnold. He onsighted No Way Jose and Trail of Tears(he linked the two pitch route into one giant) while with us this weekend. Both 5.13 desert splitters and both in the finest fashion.

The .5 inch No Way Jose, just slightly overhanging at the top. a wonderful desert splitter. Congrats to the folks who found this gem.

Hiking back to the road from some off width climbing on the west side of the road. We found lots of petrified wood and some dinosaur bones/teeth in the area. What a beautiful and easy to access place.

Alex's fans! We were scouting climbs with the spotting scope on the side of the road when some folks stopped to ask us if it was really THE ALEX HONNOLD? Alas it was and they had their photos taken with the crack master.

Spring Break 2010 Video 2

Spring Break 2010 Video

Spring Break 2010

Cleaning gear in the snow storm in the Zion Narrows.
We hoped to get out before a flash flood came through! You can see that the beginning of the route is steep, lucky for our gear.

Entering the park on the day of the blizzard. WOW.

The day before in between the rain storms this is what we encountered. LAME. So, we couldn't get into the narrows again!

I tore my nail while hiking out of the narrows. It wasn't as cool as it looks. : ) I am better now.

What the route looked like on day one. Dry, clean, fun. What did we know... no much. Oh well it will have to wait till later in the year.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Best Climbing Trailer Ever Made

The movie is Core, by Chuck Fryberger. The world premiere is April 7 at the Boulder Theater.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Marko Prezelj Slide Show: Repost

Sorry for the technical difficulties with the Marko Prezelj slide show (below). I was climbing at Shelf Road (T-shirts, sunburn, sharp rock...the usual excellence), so it took me a couple of days to fix the problem. I believe I've got it sussed; if not, I'm sure you'll let me know!

Friday, March 12, 2010

ST Patricks Day Parade

My old backyard when I lived in Salzburg, Austria. This is the Untersberg (you know, from the movie, The Sound of Music) 1500ft of perfect limestone only an hours hike from my old flat.

Golling was the home of this 200ft tall waterfall.

I used to hike here on rainy days cause the water really got crazy!

Jason Haas on his roof crack, Comprometido.

This weekend should be a good time in Denver.

I will get to watch the parade with my wife and some good friends.

Eat some of the sugar cookies that I made tonight (Friday) (eggs, lambs, and bunnies)

Climb on Sunday and then see what happens out west on Monday.

Denver Action

Coming back to Denver because of the bad weather in Zion has been a good thing.
For one I got spend some more time with my wife.
Secondly, I had time work and send the crux pitch only of Comprometido, the South Platte roof route that Jason Haas completed just a few weeks ago. I was excited to try to finish the route when my Zion trip became rained out. My motivation and training allowed me to send after a couple days of reworking the moves. I was really happy when I was able to do the hardest moves very quickly. Due to the crux being a throw off one finger it is difficult to fully commit. I think that I was just ready to hurt my finger and found out that I didn't, so it was cool to see the moves come together. The rest of the climb is pretty mellow as it's hand jams and the finish is after a no hands knee bar rest.
Congrads to Jason for his send and hard work.

Also I was lucky enough to make the cover of the 2010 Climbing Magazine's Gear Guide.
What a week.

Next week I will head back out to the desert to play on some more sandstone cracks.

I am really glad that you have visited my blog.
Thanks and I hope to see and hear from you soon.
Rob Pizem

And last but not least, don't forget to check out my favorite sites:

http://www.scarpa.net
http://www.arcteryx.com
http://camp-usa.com
http://sterlingrope.com
http://ColoradoMountainJournal.com
http://www.wunderground.com
http://climbing.com
http://rockandice.com
http://deadpointmag.com
http://urbanclimbermag.com
http://andrewburr.com
http://ladzinski.com

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Marko Prezelj: Images of Norway

Marko Prezelj, the fantastically accomplished Slovenian alpinist, is also a gifted photographer. In the four years that I've been working on the American Alpine Journal, he's already had one photo on the cover and is likely to have another this year. Recently, he sent me some beautiful photos from a trip to Norway for an international ice climbing meet in Fjellkysten. "I was climbing there with Luka Lindic, and we were exploring the area and climbed several interesting lines," Marko said. "The images are my diary. Climbing was my main interest, and I didn't really focus on photography."

Maybe he wasn't focused on shooting, but Marko came away with some striking images of Norway, reinforcing my strong desire to visit there someday. Indeed, he told me, "It is such a unique place that you should not think twice." With Marko's permission, I offer a selection of his unique images:

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Rock Climbing In Your Living Room

At last, soon there will be no need to ever go outside, or even to a sweaty, dust-filled climbing gym, to experience "the thrill and adrenaline of free soloing." Game maker Human Soft has announced that it is developing a rock-climbing game for Wii called HardGrip.

I quote: "HardGrip takes players on a tour of exotic and stunning locales around the globe as they compete in open events or invitation-only official races. With no harnesses or lifelines, players must solve seemingly impossible challenges and conquer their fear to make it to the top. Speed counts, but climbers who prove their ingenuity and daring will earn more respect. As climbers progress, their skills will have to become truly awesome to make the grade."

Become truly awesome in the comfort of my own home? Sign me up!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Zion Update

Day one:

Hiked up the narrows.

Picked the route. (40 minutes into the narrows)

Started the route.

Got stumped and needed more gear (hiked out to car and back)

Climbed some more.

Slept in St George.

Day two:

Rain, closed narrows due to flash flood warning.

Went running, read and slept.

Day three:

Rain, canyon way too wet, climbed at VRG.

Day four:

? hope to get some gear from the route (may not have time to finish) : (

Friday, March 5, 2010

Inspiration

Going through some old files, I came across this Chip Carey shot of John Truden, the multi-time Heavyeight Ski Champion from the early 1970s. Truden tipped the scales at more than 400 pounds. I still think this is one of the most inspiring ski photos I've ever seen.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

April Plans

Jane climbing at Shelf Road, Colorado. photo by Keith Ladzinski

Jane in a tree! Near my parents house in Ohio. (December 2009)

Well, Jane and I have signed up for our first trail running race of the year. It is called the Desert Rats trail running festival. It is located in Fruita, Colorado and will be on the weekend of April 17th/18th. http://www.geminiadventures.com/DesertRATSfestival.html

Because Jane is an animal when it comes to trail running, she is racing the 25 mile course on Sat and the 10 mile race with me on Sun. It should be a great time. The trail is along side of the Colorado River and it shouldn't be too warm in mid-April.

It's my first race where I haven't tried to finish DAL (dead ass last). In high school, my friends and I would always dress up in cos tums and run charity races to finish last and raise everyone's spirits. This time I will try to compete and not finish last. Since it is my first race, I have no expectations of winning, but I would like to make it the 10 miles and not have any severe knee or back pains. I have been training since the new year and feel good about the distance as I often walk nearly as far to go climbing with a heavy pack.

Get out there and enjoy the almost spring time cause winter is just about over!!!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What's Next?

Norway, Lofoton Islands. Summer 2009. (Our crew seeing the deserted island where we were jet boating too for some new routing)

On Friday of this week it's time to get back on the road for some rock climbing.

I head to Zion to play at my favorite place. Mike B and I will try a new route in the

Zion Narrows. We will put on our waders and head up stream until we see something

beautiful and hope that it is possible to free climb. Then we will aide, free and ascend the wall

cleaning off loose and dangerous rocks, put in anchors and fix ropes to the top. After all the work is complete and the route is clean from sand and dirt, we will rest and then try to climb it in one day. It is always a lot of work, it always takes a few 16 hour days, and it is always a great time being on the wall hanging in a harness exploring.

I hope you all have an adventure of your own coming up.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Whew

Nelson and his boom. The Hilti box is a weight for the end that he steers, while the camera is on the other end floating in space.

Me, sitting at the base of the sandstone wall, with all my warm clothes on waiting to give the route another try. My feet are wrapped in a fleece and I have the warmest Arcteryx goodies on possible!

Nelson, taking care of business high above the valley floor in Cuchara, CO.

Dan and Nelson on the way back to the car. It was much nicer hiking out on a packed trail. I had them wear red, so I could find them if they got lost!

Well, suffer we did. Nelson forgot to tell Dan that he needed snow shoes and not snow boots, so at 6am saturday morning we left Nelson's and stopped at Dan's to pick up his pair. Three hours later we arrived at Cuchara, CO and saw lots of snow. Now it is at an elevation near 10,000 feet so we knew there would be some, but the approach was through three-four feet of the white stuff.

I broke trail and it wasn't one of the easier snowshoeing adventures that I have been on. At the cliff's base there was plenty of dry space to change out of my soaking wet clothes into the dry and warm stuff, I waited nearly forty minutes for the others to reach me.

Then it was time to climb the route for video and stills.

Take a peek at http://www.dangpix.com/peacock/index.html for Dan's photos and keep an eye on Deadpoint Magazine for a video of the day in the coming weeks.

The highlight of the day was taking the big whip from the last possible move on the route. I fell nearly the height of the wall only to be caught by Dan. I then booted him in the head as we came together in mid air just a few feet above the ground. Good times. The air temperature was around the upper 30's or even 40 so it was really perfect for climbing. I hung out in all my clothes while we changed angles for the cameras, but it really was quite pleasant out in the snow.

Thanks to Dan and Nelson for coming out to play.

Enjoy my photos and Dans and the 5 minute video short that Nelson and Chuck are putting together.