Rock Climbing Company

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.