UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => chuffing => Topic started by: Stu Littlefair on May 09, 2012, 08:05:28 am
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Absolutely brilliant. Haven't read better.
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Grimer you should do a compilation of all your writing in a book or something? Stunning writing/writer.
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I was just thinking that the other day, Perrin has done enough books from his climbers columns. High time Red Roddy got a wider airing.
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That is brilliant. I would definitely buy a book of Grimer's writing :2thumbsup:
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Likewise. I liked some of the non-climbing related stuff he used to put on UKC too, like the one about the guys microwaving their brains for a laugh.
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Oh hey, thanks everyone :) I can print them all off at work and flog it for a fiver.
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Add me to the list of people who'd buy a Grimer Compilation book.
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Oh hey, thanks everyone :) I can print them all off at work and flog it for a fiver.
Another failed business idea right there!!
No hankerings of North Wales?!
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Brilliant. I'd buy said book
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Is there a link anywhere to Grimer's story about staying in a random eastern Europeans flat and freezing to death in a tent in Font (I think that's what it was about)!?
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it's been republished on UKC; (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=4231) naturally they all found it horribly offensive.
As much as I hate linking there, there are some more here (http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/profile.php?id=21073)
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The weird wanking stories might broaden the appeal to other niches outside climbing.
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Blush blush. Very kind of you all.
There's loads of good stuff around. I kinda imagine folks on here don't buy mags much but Climb comes through my door and I always find myself enjoying stuff in it. The last one had something by someone called Sarah Jane Dobner that I really liked.
But in case anyone hasn't seen this, this is mindblowing
http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham (http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham)
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I would definitely buy said book.
I really used to enjoy your BMC blog - link here (http://www.thebmc.co.uk/blogs/guidebooks/index.html) for anyone who's not seen it.
Last blog entry Feb 2008 - time for an update :please:
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http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham (http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham)
DG article is amazing. I'd buy that book too.
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DG article is amazing. I'd buy that book too.
Dave Graham Pro Blog @ Climber (http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/problog/davegraham/)
Remember reading the last entry just after he'd done The Island, its more about discovering a state of mind (oh and he didn't get on with the French police).
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There's loads of good stuff around. I kinda imagine folks on here don't buy mags much but Climb comes through my door and I always find myself enjoying stuff in it.
I buy it intermittently and am always impressed with the writing and photos, and actually read most of it. Which I haven't done since early OTE days.
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:agree: I came across it whilst wasting time at work, reading through a few of the blogs, didn't think it really stood out. However the Grimer article is great.
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I have seen links to that article all over the internet. What is that people like about it? Seems like a fairly linear account of trying some problems with a few scatterings of unprofound introspection. What am I missing?
I like that it's an insight into the process and thoughts of the most prolific developers of hard boulders in the world at the top of his game. I guess it would be less remarkable if he was talking about doing Brad Pit or 1,8,14, but he's talking about repeating an 8C and opening 3 8B's in a newly discovered bouldering area, on blocks which he's had the vision to see contain 3* hard problems. I think that's pretty cool.
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In that regards its a rehash of his "The Island" blog post further up, I found that quite interesting, less so the more recent one on 5.10 (could be down to the fact that I've been to Font but not the US locations though).
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Blush blush. Very kind of you all.
perhaps you could publish that story you wrote about being caught by your parents with a pr0n mag?
had me chuckling for days
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brilliant, did you ever get an answer from dean?
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How to put people off visiting somewhere (http://www.scarpa.co.uk/latest-news/2012/04/05/Latest_Article_By_Scarpa_Athlete_Percy_Bishton/)
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I'm astounded. Scarpa refer to Percy as an Athlete.
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Grimer was the original reason why I bought climbing mags when I first started climbing - totally awesome then and still is now.
A Grimology question: When you wrote that article about different types of climber and one was called the "Bumbly", was that your coining of the term?
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A Grimology question: When you wrote that article about different types of climber and one was called the "Bumbly", was that your coining of the term?
"Bumbly" was common usage when I started climbing in the early 80s.
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Yep, I had a cartoon poster of "the bumbly climber" on my wall as a kid in the very early '80s...
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But in case anyone hasn't seen this, this is mindblowing
http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham (http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13017-conquering-the-unknown-factors-david-graham)
New post from the warped mind of Dave Graham (http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13176-australia-deuce-david-graham) who's been out in The Grampians with Nalle Hukkkkkktatviealalal for a month or so now.
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Usually some good stuff to read in the American Alpine Journal (http://aaj.americanalpineclub.org/extras/eaaj-support/eaaj-downloads-via-payloadz/)
Peru & Bolivia new routes 2010/2011 is a free PDF download as is the 2011 AAJ.
Various articles on the website too (http://aaj.americanalpineclub.org/features/).
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Not read all this yet but looks potentially interesting
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/12/852.full?ijkey=Fk0DYOppDwi5Q&keytype=ref&siteid=bmjjournals&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3293&utm_content=BJSM%253A%2520celebrate%2520our%2520new%2520Impact%2520Factor%2520and%2520read%2520our%2520most%2520cited%2520articles&utm_term=Physiological%2520responses%2520to%2520rock%2520climbing%2520in%2520young%2520climbers&utm_source=Adestra_BMJ%2520Journals (http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/12/852.full?ijkey=Fk0DYOppDwi5Q&keytype=ref&siteid=bmjjournals&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3293&utm_content=BJSM%253A%2520celebrate%2520our%2520new%2520Impact%2520Factor%2520and%2520read%2520our%2520most%2520cited%2520articles&utm_term=Physiological%2520responses%2520to%2520rock%2520climbing%2520in%2520young%2520climbers&utm_source=Adestra_BMJ%2520Journals)
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I liked this
http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/ (http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/)
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http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=39887 (http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=39887)
Not necessarily good writing, but an interview with Fred Nicole is always interesting reading
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Its bouldering not chuffing but...
Excerpts from my adventure through the Southern hemisphere - David Graham (http://fiveten.com/community/blog-detail/13474-excerpts-from-my-adventure-through-the-southern-hemisphere-david-graham)
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I liked this
http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/ (http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/)
Yeah, very nice. I like the expression "lying like a shag carpet"
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Andy Kirkpatrick (http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog) is aiming to climb El Cap with his 12 year old daughter Ella who is blogging daily about her adventure (http://elcap2012.blogspot.co.uk/)
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Reminds me of this nice bit of writing http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/halfdome-kara.html (http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/halfdome-kara.html)
Only way that might happen for me is if the kids get good enough to drag me up!
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Reminds me of this nice bit of writing http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/halfdome-kara.html (http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/halfdome-kara.html)
Aye, thats a great read.
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Tommy Caldwell on Rätikon/Wändestock (http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=40230). I wonder what the reactions will be when they find out about Montrebei?
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Read that earlier and was going to post it here, great read, sounds tres scary.
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“The free ascent is a way of harmonising the sport with the beautiful surroundings in which it is practised. It has become a subtle game where the climber climb without cheating, and the people who see the beauty of the mountains can also appreciate the beauty of movement in hight-standard free climbing. In advocating this pure standard of free climbing, PA was a founding father. Only once in his climbs did Allain use aid, on the Doigt de l'Etala on July 18, 1938, with Jean Leininger.
From “Everyone knows his name - Pierre Allain (http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1957536/PIERRE-ALLAIN-MTN-62)” by Yves Ballu
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Andy Kirkpatrick (http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog) is aiming to climb El Cap with his 12 year old daughter Ella who is blogging daily about her adventure (http://elcap2012.blogspot.co.uk/)
Really liked this, my daughter is 8 so might show her this one.
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Show her the website I put a link to just after that as well.
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Saving time, wasting time and explaining climbing on the Internet (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12f/wfeature-dirtbag-diatribes-number-two)
Amusing in a few places, should probably be stickied to the front page of FUKC :whistle:
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I liked this
http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/ (http://thestonemind.com/2012/07/17/its-not-cool-to-care/)
That was a good read. No idea who wrote it but it's good.
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Saving time, wasting time and explaining climbing on the Internet (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12f/wfeature-dirtbag-diatribes-number-two)
Amusing in a few places, should probably be stickied to the front page of FUKC :whistle:
Just noticed this. Good stuff, the best of the Dirtbag Diaries so far.
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Change it from 'Magazine' to 'Classic'
http://blog.bethrodden.com/?view=classic (http://blog.bethrodden.com/?view=classic)
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From here (http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/ch_page12.html)...
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page12.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page13.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page14.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page15.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page16.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page17.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page18.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page19.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page20.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page21.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page22.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page23.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page24.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page25.JPG)
(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page32.JPG)(http://climbaz.com/chouinard72/graphics/page33.JPG)
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Brilliant :great:
The sort of article which , if it were written today about some other topic, I could imagine getting dismissed as unrealistic idealism.
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An interesting piece on cheating (http://coldthistle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/what-cheaters-have-done-to-us.html) by Mark Twight on cheaters (which is slightly tangential to the No Longer taboot to ask for proof? (http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=21378.0) thread , but lying about things you've not done could be considered a form of cheating).
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Not so much an article but on R4 at 4pm today:
'Bolt Wars': Lisa Bogardus spent 16 months researching and observing the rock climbing world. She describes a battle for the cliffs in which climbers clash about the need to reduce risk and danger.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q8qq5 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q8qq5)
http://jce.sagepub.com/content/41/3/283.abstract (http://jce.sagepub.com/content/41/3/283.abstract)
No doubt be available on iplayer thereafter.
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its here if anyone wants a look: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2948013/Journal%20of%20Contemporary%20Ethnography-2012-Bogardus-283-308.pdf
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Dave Graham gets serious about his current project...
But I'm not taking any chances. I started doing push-ups. And also sit-ups. (http://island.io/NoaGfElG)
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Good interview with Brenna:
http://eveningsends.com/2013/03/striven-an-interview-with-cristian-brenna/ (http://eveningsends.com/2013/03/striven-an-interview-with-cristian-brenna/)
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A Practical Guide to Applying the V-System by John Sherman (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Tp7eUBRn4M4C&lpg=PA65&ots=idDGZPzITJ&dq=sherman+exposed+v+scale&pg=PA69&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=sherman%20exposed%20v%20scale&f=false)
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Don't think this is a repost..some serious food for thought:
http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2012/04/adam-ondra-good-bad-or-bad-good/ (http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2012/04/adam-ondra-good-bad-or-bad-good/)
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I'm guessing (hoping) it's a joke.
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I'm guessing (hoping) anyone couldn't think otherwise. ;)
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Oh it's obviously a joke.
Ondra isn't the harry potter of climbing.
He's the napoleon dynamite.
Adam Ondra Dances 0001 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeYQhAoYRkg#ws)
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I'm guessing (hoping) anyone couldn't think otherwise. ;)
Wasn't implying you didn't realise by the way. I was thinking out loud. Via text.
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I'm guessing (hoping) anyone couldn't think otherwise. ;)
Wasn't implying you didn't realise by the way. I was thinking out loud. Via text.
Don't worry, I didn't think you were!
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http://www.climbing.co.za/2013/05/space-race-a-new-route-on-table-mountain/ (http://www.climbing.co.za/2013/05/space-race-a-new-route-on-table-mountain/)
Nice account of success after a nasty event.
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(http://www.billdenzmountaineer.com/assets/Uploads/_resampled/SetWidth210-photo1.png)
I enjoyed this piece (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web13s/wfeature-bill-denz) on climbing with legendary NZ hard-man Bill Denz. Bill made multiple solo attempts on Cerro Torre in the late 70s and early 80s, getting most of the way up the last headwall pitch on the compressor route, to within inches of easy ice to the top. Close but no cigar. We had several mutual friends who spoke of him in a mixture of awe and horror. It was no real surprise to anyone that he died on Makalu in 1983.
There is a further personal connection. The 'John Sheffield', Dave Austin's partner on the 'first turkey ascent' of The Shield, is actually John Fleming (from Sheffield). John also did an early ascent of Zodiac and, closer to home, put up Splintered Perspex on Chee Tor. His tales inspired several of us to visit The Valley and get on those big routes. If anyone knows of John, can you put him in touch, I still have his ancient Mike Graham portaledge.
Mescalito, 1982.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LTJY8yk-juo/UZH6xRkJGpI/AAAAAAAADlo/w-7T-lytFo8/s640/mecalito%2520matt.jpg)
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I was reading about him in this month's Alpinist. Bonkers.
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Not sure whereabouts this should go but here seems right.
www.verticallifemag.com.au/magazines/ (http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/magazines/)
Online (pdf) climbing mag from over here and NZ. Some good stuff.
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Trip report from a friend of mine:
http://www.alpineessence.com/2013/05/solo-on-mount-hayes.html (http://www.alpineessence.com/2013/05/solo-on-mount-hayes.html)
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I thought this was a good read: http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/niad-kara.html (http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/niad-kara.html)
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This is an article - and a video (trailer) and its semi travelling/climbing - so god know sif this is the right thread - but hey, I liked it.
http://www.over-caffeinated sugary drink company.com/en/adventure/stories/1331596103488/video-karakol-kyle-dempster (http://www.over-caffeinated sugary drink company.com/en/adventure/stories/1331596103488/video-karakol-kyle-dempster)
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http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=68674&f=0&b=0 (http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=68674&f=0&b=0)
New to me but maybe not to those who are older...
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A Yosemite legend, partial inspiration for the film Cliffhanger - John Long wrote an early version of the screenplay and - allegedly, of course - responsible for funding many European climbing vacations in the late 1970s!
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http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=68674&f=0&b=0 (http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=68674&f=0&b=0)
New to me but maybe not to those who are older...
I'm certainly older but I've never heard that story. Quality!
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I'm older than you Jasper -and I've heard that story. I can't remember the source - and I'd normally be sceptical- but I think it may well be true.
I didn't bother to read the Supertopo thing properly but it's about the plane crash, isn't it? And the myth of bad karma afterwards for the beneficiaries?
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The article posted at the start of the supertopo thread was just about the crash and the ensuing riches. There's a couple of posts about what happened to people afterwards but not much
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We have the newbury by-pass rope access kerfuffle, the yanks typically go big and have a drugs plane crash in the wilderness!
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Was this mentioned in the Heinz Zak/Alexander Huber Yosemite book? Can't remember where I first read about it, but that seems likely.
I'd love to read the screenplay, wonder if that's still knocking around somewhere.
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There's a film coming out about it soon. One of the segments in Reel Rock 8 was called Stonemasters and it touched on the story of the plane crash. It was really more of a trailer for "Valley Uprising" than a short in itself but the final film should be good.
A few climbers were set for life after that!
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not sure if this has been posted before but following the Ben moon article on the interview thread. Not knowing who Fred Rouhling was I did some googling and found this:
http://www.climbing.com/climber/fred-rouhling/ (http://www.climbing.com/climber/fred-rouhling/)
Its an interesting article that starts as a witch hunt but ends completely differently.
I really enjoyed it.
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Read that a while ago but it's well worth rereading. A classic.
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If that's the Fred film I am thinking of, filmed at his home crag with the mattress stashed in a cave, it's some of my favourite climbing footage ever. It's just so joyous: the sheer uncomplicated pleasure he shows, merrily swinging off hideous monos with child-like glee.
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A Yosemite legend, partial inspiration for the film Cliffhanger - John Long wrote an early version of the screenplay and - allegedly, of course - responsible for funding many European climbing vacations in the late 1970s!
One visiting Australian made enough money to take a weekend trip back to Aus for a family celebration.
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This is from July but doesn't seem to have been linked before. Daniel Woods, Alex Honnold and friends take a boat trip down the Green River (http://www.neverstopexploring.com/blog/2013/07/unearthed-daniel-woods.html) during which Mr Woods learns how to do trad climbing.
Woah, leading is way different despite difficulty. I had never fallen on gear before, so the picture of potential ground fall entered my mind. I quickly learned to block those thoughts out and focus on the present situation.
... by making the third ascent of a 5.13R on his second day
I felt nauseous before my first lead attempt. "I could fall on the intro boulder and hit the ground or fall in the crux and potentially hit the deck." These were not positive sending thoughts.
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That first picture on the link makes it looks like woods had the hardest paper round going! Glad to see he's checking out the other pews in this grand church though
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The film with him and Yuri Hirayama that's part of Reel Rock 8 explains the new craggy Woods look- he basically turns up for a high-altitude trip in his jeans and trainers and gets fucked up everyday going out without sunglasses or sunscreen. :ohmy:
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The film with him and Yuri Hirayama that's part of Reel Rock 8 explains the new craggy Woods look- he basically turns up for a high-altitude trip in his jeans and trainers and gets fucked up everyday going out without sunglasses or sunscreen. :ohmy:
It was in Borneo on Mount Kinabalu National Park (~4000m) and he got a "little" sunburnt...
(http://www.planetmountain.com/img/1/12513.jpg)
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This is a good read...
Mesca-Dawn: A Remembrance of Bill Denz by David Austin (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web13s/wfeature-bill-denz)
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http://eveningsends.com/2013/10/maxing-beta/ (http://eveningsends.com/2013/10/maxing-beta/)
Biggest Beta Bitch nominations please.
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This is a good read...
Mesca-Dawn: A Remembrance of Bill Denz by David Austin (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web13s/wfeature-bill-denz)
Cheers for that Slackers.
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http://eveningsends.com/2013/10/maxing-beta/ (http://eveningsends.com/2013/10/maxing-beta/)
Biggest Beta Bitch nominations please.
I totally fail to see the problem with asking for help.
Is it just me, or does someone else find that author to be the most whiny writer in climbing?
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I think he is one of the most interesting writers in climbing (that I have come across) at the moment..
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I totally fail to see the problem with asking for help.
I think you totally failed to read the whole article if you think that's the main point.
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Allen's quip about speed reading ("I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.") sadly applies to me. But this reads exceedingly whiny to me, even on a second read:
You see this a lot in Rifle, which is one of the more beta-intensive places to climb. Strong rope guns who are passing through don’t want to flail or put in their dues to learn the style of movement here; so they soak up all the beta they can, which is sometimes information that literally equates to 20-plus years of other climbers’ efforts and refinements. They get the redpoint second try and record as many points as they can get away with on their 8a.nu scorecards. (Strangely, these same climbers think that these routes, many of which were first climbed without kneepads, are sandbagged despite the fact that every single hold and sequence is handed to them on a platter. There’s no question that the 1,000th ascent should technically be easier than the first ascent, though grading trends seem to suggest otherwise, likely because people nowadays think they’re stronger than they actually are.)
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I think it's an even veiw on beta in general. Saying in small measures it's a good thing, but too much is a bad thing.
I don't think that paragraph is overly whiny, more like fair comment.
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Perfect Play (http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/perfect-play-what-it-took-to-climb-la-dura-dura-5-15c-the-worlds-hardest-route?page=1)
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I like that, thanks.
There's such a strong tradition of good writing about mountaineering and trad climbing, but very few people seem to be making any effort to write anything thoughtful and halfway articulate about what sport climbing is and why it is interesting and worthwhile. Bisharat is one of those people, and although I find the quality of his writing patchy I admire him for trying. I find this one of his better efforts.
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I like that, thanks.
There's such a strong tradition of good writing about mountaineering and trad climbing, but very few people seem to be making any effort to write anything thoughtful and halfway articulate about what sport climbing is and why it is interesting and worthwhile. Bisharat is one of those people, and although I find the quality of his writing patchy I admire him for trying. I find this one of his better efforts.
:agree:
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The psychology of redpointing is really interesting but rarely written about well.
Maybe one of the erudite denizens of this chapel could write something?
Could even be a new feature of UKB... "Articles"
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:wub: Sharma, :wub: Ondra, inspiring stuff.
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An interview with Ramon
http://www.restjug.com/2013/11/all-about-ramon-julian-puigblanque/ (http://www.restjug.com/2013/11/all-about-ramon-julian-puigblanque/)
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Interview with Mark Twight (http://jukebox.uaf.edu/denali/html/matw.htm) from 2000, just after the single-push ascent of the Czech Direct on Denali.
Very detailed and fascinating on the logistics/tactics/psychology of such a thing, even for someone like me who has no aspiration to anything of that sort.
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Oxford Climbers Find Mishaps, Tomfoolery and New Routes in Greenland (http://alpinist.com/doc/web13f/wfeature-mishaps-tomfoolery-greenland)
Bloody hell, kids these days etc.
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You sail half way around the word to climb original route on high tor
(http://alpinist.com/media/web13f/greenland-5.jpg)
very jealous, and bitter.
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Old Neil Carson interview about Big Bang from 1997.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/5x7add.jpg)
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The questioning is so much better than modern mags
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http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/03/oceans-of-my-life/ (http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/03/oceans-of-my-life/)
Brief history of climbing on SA's Klein Winterhoek.
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Old Neil Carson interview about Big Bang from 1997.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/5x7add.jpg)
Is the second page to this available?
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Dave Graham on music and fishing (http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/dave-graham-looking-backward?page=all).
Back in the glory days of Spain, when I was rollin’ deep with my homies Chris Sharma and Dani Andrada, even though we were having a blast, the conversation would always circle back to them making fun of how small my biceps are. They also said I looked like a puppet when I fell off routes. I hated that shit!
Somebody should invite him to the UKB Summer Angling Match.
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Good stuff, anyone have a copy of the Jonathan Thesenga article he said upset him, “Why One of America’s Best Climbers Should be One of the Worst.” Sounds interesting but googling didn't find it.
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You could substitute "America's" for "the Worlds". If you had a lineup of the top 20 climbers in the world, I bet no no non-cliber would ever pick out Adam Ondra as the best.
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More a trip report, but a pretty hard core climb.
http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/04/clinton-martinengo-wall-of-silence-solo/ (http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/04/clinton-martinengo-wall-of-silence-solo/)
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More a trip report, but a pretty hard core climb.
http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/04/clinton-martinengo-wall-of-silence-solo/ (http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/04/clinton-martinengo-wall-of-silence-solo/)
Yeah - the guy sounds quite a character. I've climbed with Joe who he mentions in the article and he says that Clinton basically lives on white bread and coca cola and still remains scrawny as a sparrow. I chuckled when I saw a Coke can in one of the pics.
There's a write up of the ascent of Art of Hearts somewhere that's very much in a similar vein. Doubt I'll ever be good enough but that Ampitheatre is the one place on the planet I'd love to climb.
Cheers for that Chris.
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Topropes with Extraneous Gear on their harness.
You don’t need an ATC, belay gloves, nut tool and/or random single locker for toproping.
He's not wrong. Otoh I can state from direct personal experience (yesterday) that it can also be embarrassing to arrive at a single-bolt lower off that you intend to thread and clean, only to find you are armed with a grand total of one quickdraw.
Plays any of the following at camp or in the parking lot: ... Guitar.
There was a bloke playing guitar at Oma Eichler's at the weekend who was actually good. Admittedly that doesn't happen very often.
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Rock and Ice have re-published this article of Jonathan Thesenga's online (originally in the print mag about a year ago): "Climbing Deal Breakers (http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/climbing-deal-breakers)". I feel it deserves an honourable mention in here just for the number of people he has wound up ... read the comments. Quite North American centric of course.
I scored a 8.5/50(gave myself a .5 for Teva's instead of chacos...)
I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing :-\
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I scored a 8.5/50(gave myself a .5 for Teva's instead of chacos...)
I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing :-\
If only you didn't take your cats to the crag on leashes you'd have been ok.....
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3/50 but have only ever hollered allez/venga/ganba/davay/come on/etc ... to french/spanish/japanese/slavic/english climbers. Is that considered faux-pas?
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3? Really....
Tevas - Check (.5pts) Best approach shoe for wet tundra and talus
Rolled up pants - Check Not always, but when the occasion demands-up they go
No Shirt/Beanie - Check Not 100% why, but I know I've done it before, and will likely do it again
Chalk Ball - Check Anyone doing developing in wet weather knows the value of a chalk ball over loose chalk
Stick Clip - Check When in Rome.... Learned to stick clip at the Red and loved it :)
Clipped to pack - Check It varies, but there's always something that I forget to pack, then remember and can't be arsed to stuff inside
Fist bumps - Check I climb w/ a bunch of kids, can't be helped. Never initiate, but figure it's polite to respond in kind rather than leave em hanging
Belay's w/ shoes on - Check My gym shoes for rope climbing are super comfy so why take em off
Chalkbag w/ biner - Check Not sure, but I think I lost my chalk bag belt at some point and never got a new one
The only guilty one for me is #3, but it's pretty rare as I don't wear beanie's all that often.
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Kind of NA-centric list, so it's not strange that overaged old-world climbers score low.
Wears manpris. Check. When it's really warm and there might be knee bars on the route.
Hollers non-native language encouragements such as “Allez,” “Venga”, “Come one” or “Jiyo” to partners. Check. No one understands my native language where I live.
Kneebars on a warm-up. Check. If there is a knee-bar on a route, and I have jeans I use it, whatever the grade. I also jam cracks, drop knees and use other new-fangled techniques on my warm ups.
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Kind of NA-centric list, so it's not strange that overaged old-world climbers score low.
and yoof-centric :lol:
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Beanie/shirtless (cos my head gets cold while my body overheats)
Chalk-ball (cos loose chalk alone doesn't get enough on my hands, and blows out easily)
Sports wear (cos fuck spending £50 on fancy prana trousers)
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Do fist bumps and foreign words in a satirical fashion count? Guilty of both.
Otherwise just the IKEA bag and a nut key hanging off harness for me.
I had to google 'tuque'.
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a nut key hanging off harness
I have more than once regretted not having one of these when I take a set of "just in case" wires on runout semi-sport routes.
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The Mentorship Gap : What Climbing Gyms Can't Teach You (http://www.climbing.com/climber/the-mentorship-gap-what-climbing-gyms-cant-teach-you/)
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Rock and Ice have re-published this article of Jonathan Thesenga's online (originally in the print mag about a year ago): "Climbing Deal Breakers (http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/climbing-deal-breakers)". I feel it deserves an honourable mention in here just for the number of people he has wound up ... read the comments. Quite North American centric of course.
It's quite funny how offended the people in the comment section are
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Has a pet named Denali, Lhotse, Makalu or Sharma.
At my younger son's school there are kids named Everest and Mckinley :o
Defo a Canadian/US thing - the wife of one of my old climbing partners was called McKinley. Can't imagine it catching on in the UK - kids named Scafell? Although there are plenty called Ben...
Ref the Thesinga article - I'm massively CDB positive. Although the guy strikes me as a bit of a princess (is that me being faux american? deal breaker) - I remember watching him throwing a hissy fit and throwing his shoes down the crag in an epic sulk after not sending his goal route at Ceuse. The contrast between 'J-star', living the life in the apartment at the campsite, and Ondra, dossing in his van in the free parking lot, was stark. Ondra was throwing hissies too, whilst sending Jungle Boogie (9a+) and flashing Biographie/falling off the flash of realization.
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Ref the Thesinga article - the guy strikes me as a bit of a princess (is that me being faux american? deal breaker) - I remember watching him throwing a hissy fit and throwing his shoes down the crag in an epic sulk after not sending his goal route at Ceuse. The contrast between 'J-star', living the life in the apartment at the campsite, and Ondra, dossing in his van in the free parking lot, was stark. Ondra was throwing hissies too, whilst sending Jungle Boogie (9a+) and flashing Biographie/falling off the flash of realization.
Isn't the "J-star (in orbit)" Jonathan Siegrest (http://www.jstarinorbit.com/) not Jonathan Thesinga (the author of the article) or does he use the same "name"?
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Bollocks yes you're right. What a douche (I am).
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less occasionally I definitely employ a stick-clip, though I don't actually own one.
This is a double transgression in my view, using a stick clip whilst trying to claim the moral high ground (I've been asked on more than one occasion if someone can borrow my 'cheat' stick).
I was guilty of several CDBs and had justification for each but then realised I should not try and justify my way out of them but just suck it up - anyone want to buy a clip stick?
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Seigrist may not have Ondra's ticklist, but he's pretty handy, multiple 9a first ascents etc.
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You're climbing shoes are too tight (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/climbing-shoes-tight/)
Took some searching but the study he mentioned but failed to cite is...
Can't find an openly available PDF of the 1998 study cited but the abstract is here (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9735622) and in addition to the papers Tom Bond cites at the end of his post I also came across a paper from last year...
Foot Overuse Diseases in Rock Climbing
An Epidemiologic Study (http://www.japmaonline.org/doi/abs/10.7547/1030113) (again no freely available PDF).
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Lots of those cool/not cool lists can be shorten by just spelling out clearly that it's not cool to be poor (wearing adidas/nike at the crag) and that having more money is better (wearing overpriced designer clothing like Prana etc).
That is a fact of life, but I find it a tad gauche to spell it out...
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if someone is wearing addidas at the crag I don't think of them poor. . .
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Lots of those cool/not cool lists can be shorten by just spelling out clearly that it's not cool to be poor (wearing adidas/nike at the crag) and that having more money is better (wearing overpriced designer clothing like Prana etc).
That is a fact of life, but I find it a tad gauche to spell it out...
Some of the stuff on the CDB list (using an aid-climber's daisychain for going into a sport belay, having an OTT chalk bag, getting a personalised number plate) are to do with trying too hard and spending unneccesary money though.
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Lots of those cool/not cool lists can be shorten by just spelling out clearly that it's not cool to be poor (wearing adidas/nike at the crag) and that having more money is better (wearing overpriced designer clothing like Prana etc).
That is a fact of life, but I find it a tad gauche to spell it out...
Nike and adidas are still fairly pricey if your after trainers, sweats or jumpers n whatever else to be fair
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Just seen the rock and ice list,
Well psyched at how many of those I get to tick:
Crocs (chee dale river crossing innit)
non native encouragement
visor - hell yeah!
stick clip- obis
stuff clipped to outside of pack - my crag admin is crap so makes sense, especially wet crocs!
Mainstream sportswear- 'das and Nike obvs!
use of "crush"
extensive use of "word"
fist bump- now and then.
Well I never!
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clipping your crocs to outside of your pack has to be worth double points haha
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' running on a treadmill at the climbing gym—while wearing climbing shoes'
No treadmill, but there are rowing machines at the castle. Some incredible shit goes down in that gym. And could have a sub section 'weird stunts on campus board'.
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Does it contain someone trying to do a rock-over (barefoot) and getting stuck in the position whereby their only means of exit was exploding off backwards?
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Does it contain someone trying to do a rock-over (barefoot) and getting stuck in the position whereby their only means of exit was exploding off backwards?
Of course. I've always wanted to do a crimes against campus video but never got round to it etc.
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The Mentorship Gap : What Climbing Gyms Can't Teach You (http://www.climbing.com/climber/the-mentorship-gap-what-climbing-gyms-cant-teach-you/)
A rebuttal....Climbing Gyms Aren’t the Problem; Assholes Are (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/climbing-gyms-arent-problem-assholes/).
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This deserves reproducing:
Climbing is a game of personal responsibility. You have to wonder what kind of person could look at a cliff and not see the obvious consequence of going up there without knowing what they’re doing.
I suspect that describes my teenage self perfectly.
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Not really surprising though is it? If you start in very similar artificial version where it really isn't your responsibility... and when you go outdoors none of the anchors are your responsibility either...
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Then ...you probably don't climb on grit?
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Mick Ward takes another trip back in time
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6360 (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6360)
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Enjoyed that.
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I wasn't that impressed either. It did, however, remind of Alex MacInytre's classic article Mama's Boys about his ascent of the Harlin Route on the Eiger. One of *the* definitive pieces of climbing writing of that era but iirc not in Games Climbers Play or Mirrors in the Cliffs.
Anybody with a collection of Mountain magazine able to dig out a copy?
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http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2014/06/a-punters-guide-to-australias-well-ard-climbers/ (http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2014/06/a-punters-guide-to-australias-well-ard-climbers/)
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http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2014/06/a-punters-guide-to-australias-well-ard-climbers/ (http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2014/06/a-punters-guide-to-australias-well-ard-climbers/)
Very funny article on which Aussie climber is most likely to be the first to climb 9a. :thumbsup:
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I've written a hefty tome about my trip to the yosemite last year. I can't quite decide what to do with it. I don't have a blog and am not really interested in blogging, but I quite liked the process of writing about it.
I have no idea if it is the kind of thing anyone would be interested in reading. It's probably poorly written, egotistical drivel. If anyone wants a peek let me know. Haha.
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It's probably poorly written, egotistical drivel.
Send it in to one of the UK Climbing Mags?
(Alternatively just copy and paste it into a post here... Seems a shame to have put all that work in and not have others read it)
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Since a few of you asked to read it, here's my trip report from Yosemite. This is Part 1 - I'll upload part 2 later. Part 3 isn't even written yet, and might never be.
I'm not sure this should be in "quality chuffing articles"...
Be warned, it's long. (http://alpinegearreview.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/the-road-to-el-capitan/)
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That cam spreadsheet is a fine bit of engineering geekery.
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Thought you might like that one Chris.
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Quality Chuffing/Bouldering article:
http://037200b.netsolhost.com/blog-page.php?Flashback-Rich-Goldstone-19 (http://037200b.netsolhost.com/blog-page.php?Flashback-Rich-Goldstone-19)
Flashback: Rich Goldstone
Progenitor of bouldering in the 'Gunks and first to introduce chalk to climbing in the area, Goldstone talks the Vulgarian-Appie battle, John Gill and the first ascent of the Trapps’ Mac Wall Testpiece, Co-Ex
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It is here:
http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,11074.msg420876.html#msg420876 (http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,11074.msg420876.html#msg420876)
I have a vague memory that I hunted down the Wittgenstein-quote Adler referred to as well...
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On the picture of JB Tribout campusing - is that a rabbit looking up from the bottom (on the left)? (clearer on Slackers colour scan..)
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Facing the Indian (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=5754)
This is from a year ago but I had missed it until now. I don't want to come across all ukc, but Johnny is always worth listening to
Things have changed a bit. I like Dixon's observation: "people don't seem to be into death as much as they used to be"
... which isn't necessarily a bad thing
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Always good reading about that period and such climbs.
People need to be into ultra-hard, ultra-bold, but non-death climbs. Ground-upping Rhapsody, that's what it's all about. Maybe.
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Really enjoyed this from Mr Bullock (I once burnt him off at the Beacon you know...)
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6604 (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6604)
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Hazel on learning to climb granite cracks and being a female hard climber (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/day-sent-golden-gate/)
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Cheers for that link chap. Pretty much addresses all the crap that goes through my head, expecially the not trusting myself and being put off climbs by others.
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It's kind of the American Indian Face and might therefore be seen as a bit ukc / via non grata in these parts, but I still found John Bachar's account of the first ascent of the Bachar Yerian (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP26/first-ascent-bachar-yerian) interesting.
At least it was done ground up :worms:
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Cheers, much appreciated. The B-Y, and nearby Peace more so, are two of the the very few routes that I've walked under and found their beauty both elating yet upseting.... as I knew I'd never be up to them.
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Hazel on learning to climb granite cracks and being a female hard climber (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/day-sent-golden-gate/)
Really enjoyed that. I was actually in Squamish the same time she was on her gap year and briefly chatted about some routes that we had done and were planning to do. At the time, the routes we were doing were on the same ballpark. I've always kept an eye on her progress and contrasted it against my own progress, or lack thereof.
Mini beast!
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Hazel on learning to climb granite cracks and being a female hard climber (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/day-sent-golden-gate/)
Excellent.
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http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6646 (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=6646)
this is another level of stupidity for the pair.
:2thumbsup:
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http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219 (http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219)
Free issue online including great piece on Edlinger by Ed Douglas.
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The Edlinger piece is quality - like real journalism. Don't see that too often in the mags nowadays. (http://www.jonrb.com/emoticons/oldgit.gif) :coffee:
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http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219 (http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219)
Free issue online including great piece on Edlinger by Ed Douglas.
Thanks for the link. Really enjoyed the Edlinger piece. He was a great hero of mine when I started climbing. Such a sad end to his life.
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Me too. I had a VHS with a 15 min short on it that I watched over and over. Great writing, I guess the depth of research isn't worth doing for a Uk mag. Couldn't see them putting that pic on the cover either.
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Did like it also. My best friend and climbing partner who was no slouch either in the 80's had the opportunity at that time to climb alongsides Hill, Edlinger, Destivelle, ... and felt he couldn't even reach their ankles.
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That paragraph on Mr. Ed's moment of triumph at Snowbird is excellent.
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http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219 (http://www.rockandice.com/new-magazine-flip-book/rock-and-ice-219)
Free issue online including great piece on Edlinger by Ed Douglas.
What everyone else said: the Edlinger piece is fantastic.
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Thanks for that JB. Excellent article.
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Ditto, good read that
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It is really good, we need so much more of this. There's just one line early on about being 'set unknowingly on a course that would end 30 years later in tragedy' that I hated. Is that how life works, almost as though its written in the stars?
Pernickety I know, it just jarred with the rest of the article.
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oh well, it's all too easy to fall into religious language when talking about drug abuse: destiny, redemption, abandonment etc...
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Dear Brutus, no.
I think it's fine to delineate the inevitable consequences of a choice made years ago- except that's not what Ed Douglas does there, he's just momentarily lapsed into the portentous/melodramatic. I don't think there's clarity -even being discreet- about how Edlinger came to decline as he did. I don't really need to know that though, that's personal.
What is relevant is how he came to be at the cutting edge of a sport he did so much to shape himself and the article is superb on that. And that paragraph about his apotheosis at Snowbird- that's quality.
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I've not always rated Ed Douglas and generally it's because he's veered too much into the flowery and verbose possibilities of a writer rather than just telling the fucking story. Which in writing about climbing is almost always all that's necessary.
I agree with Andy that that phrase was unnecessary and an indulgence but it barely raised an eyebrow as the article as a whole was bloody good.
I'm looking forward to his book about Moon. I just hope he holds back on the flowery shit and writes it as well as he obviously can. This article makes me feel positive that he can/will/might.
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Jon, you're right, it was a real lapse. If the rest of the article hadn't been so good it wouldn't have stood out so much. For some reason it really bugged me.
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Someone should tweet him up about it. I wouldn't be surprised if it had been added by an editor.
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Non-quality interview with Yuji Hirayama (https://www.thebmc.co.uk/yuji-hiramaya-big-issue-was-just-a-prologue-uk-trad-is-real-climbing) from Sarah "missing the point by several km" Stirling redeemed by completely quality picture of the man himself in full Yukio Mishima mode.
(https://www.thebmc.co.uk/Handlers/ArticleImageHandler.ashx?id=6920&index=0&w=605&h=434)
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http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/11/magnetic-wall-evolving-story/ (http://www.climbing.co.za/2014/11/magnetic-wall-evolving-story/)
Nice bit of TM history plus new development.
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Crags interview with Ron from circa mid-70s
Just who doesn't yo-yo? If you have to lower down off a runner to rest—just who does take all their runners out 'before trying again. You tell me. I always wear EB footwear and if not in shorts I wear 'Helly-Hansen polar trousers and jacket, which is warm,hard wearing and allows total flexibility
The Footless Crow blog is generally a bit odd. Old farst rambling on about severes in mid-Wales, trying to be Jim Perrin without the writing sk1llz, but then the odd flash of John Redhead.
And this.
Ron ... Crags magazine ... Helly Hansen kecks .... hard to see how it could be more quality.
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I thought this was a good though melancolic little piece by Andi Turner:
http://climber.co.uk/articles/climbers-voice/the-climbers-voice-on-the-fringe-of-tragedy.html (http://climber.co.uk/articles/climbers-voice/the-climbers-voice-on-the-fringe-of-tragedy.html)
It had my spine shivering at the thought of Norbert Casteret alone, underwater, in the blackness.
Also thought it was good to see a magazine piece that questions, in an interesting way, how things are.
These sort of articles are conspicuous by their absence nowadays, when so much mag content seems to be centered around someone sponsored (or looking to be) conforming to the standard model of pushing their profile by writing unchallenging articles detailing where they've been climbing and calling it a destination article.
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Nice article, although I've always thought the Leek mafia scene looked pretty hearty with a down-to-earth appreciation of climbing.
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Great article!
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Agree, good stuff.
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The Day I Sent Color Blind (5.13a R) (http://eveningsends.com/climbing/day-sent-color-blind/)
Interesting first person account of a hard trad headpoint. Ballnuts placed on the lead, and fallen on.
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I thought this was a good though melancolic little piece by Andi Turner:
http://climber.co.uk/articles/climbers-voice/the-climbers-voice-on-the-fringe-of-tragedy.html (http://climber.co.uk/articles/climbers-voice/the-climbers-voice-on-the-fringe-of-tragedy.html)
It had my spine shivering at the thought of Norbert Casteret alone, underwater, in the blackness.
Also thought it was good to see a magazine piece that questions, in an interesting way, how things are.
These sort of articles are conspicuous by their absence nowadays, when so much mag content seems to be centered around someone sponsored (or looking to be) conforming to the standard model of pushing their profile by writing unchallenging articles detailing where they've been climbing and calling it a destination article.
Great article. Interested in your comment about mags - I don't read them anymore.
bye-the-bye I dithered over Not To Be Taken Away a few weeks ago, wimping off onto mats from near the top jug before going back to do it. Yet I first did it calmly as a teenager. Above a beer towel. Progress?
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Just come across this.
Bryden Allen's 1963 FA of Balls Pyramid, 1800ft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
http://brydenallen.com/First%20Ascent%20of%20Ball's%20Pyramid.html (http://brydenallen.com/First%20Ascent%20of%20Ball's%20Pyramid.html)
(http://brydenallen.com/images/1ea-ballsp-route.jpg)
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Not claiming this to be actually quality but there's not a lot of other options so I'll settle for this thread.
Heard of some guy in my area who had flashed a 7a+(5.12a), after only climbing 5 months. Having only just sent a 7a+ recently after more years than I'd like to admit I thought this was pretty incredible and felt like an interview was in order.
This is the result: http://taiwanrocks.net/fivetwelvefivemonths/
Feedback appreciated. be gentle please my ego is fragile
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great stuff
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Colin Haley's account of his and Alex Honnold's Torre Traverse Day trip Attempt (scroll down) is a highly recommended read. Total gripping!
http://www.colinhaley.com/chalten-2014-2015/
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Fuck me. That's badass.
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(http://www.colinhaley.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/012.jpg)
Wow
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I'm off to look for a yoga for alpinism course :blink:
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(http://www.colinhaley.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/012.jpg)
Wow
where is that pitch? Simply superb looking!
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It's the crux pitch - 6c fist jamming - on the modern classic Rubio y Azul on the Media Luna (the sit-start to the SE ridge of Cerro Torre).
http://pataclimb.com/climbingareas/chalten/torregroup/medialuna.html
An incredible set of routes done in one season, exhausting just to read. What I find most amazing is that he comes back from this complete epic, but three days later he is hiking back up the hill off climbing again. I'd take months to recover physically and mentally if I was ever pushed remotely that far.
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Not really about climbing but by a climber...
I thought Andy Kirpatrick's latest blog was really good (as is most of his blogging, even if it is rather revealing at times)
The Code of Me (http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/the_code_of_me)
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Andy Cave's Desert Island Climbs (http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=7348)
Wow.
:bow: :bow: :bow:
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Pumping Standstone by John Long
(https://i.imgur.com/Z2oHaOK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/sYaEAYq.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FzPRkww.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Jpy03zE.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/uvEFkyh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/OG4fqxJ.jpg)
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Does anyone have and can scan the articles on London urban climbing published in High, April and July 1985?
There's a reference to them in Dave Turner's sandstone guide and I'd really like to see them.
Thanks
Mike
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Alex Honnold has a ghosted memoir out. Not as early in his career as Wayne Rooney but you'd hope he has a few more years left...
Excerpt (https://www.stridehealth.com/blog/post/alex-honnold-alone-on-the-wall), from his health insurance sponsor's site.
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Not your average tale of scary routes and big balls...
http://nickbullock-climber.co.uk/2015/12/01/from-dawn-to-dusk-from-dusk-to-dawn/
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Alpinist articles are always worth a read...
Lizzy Scully...
Birth, Sickness, Old Age, Death: Chapter 1 (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web15y/wfeature-birth-sickness-old-age-death-1-lizzy-scully)
Birth, Sickness, Old Age, Death: Chapter 2 (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web15y/wfeature-birth-sickness-old-age-death-2-lizzy-scully)
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Dave Stainthorpe on redpointing tactics and generally having his life sorted! (http://climbonline.co.uk/energia_positiva.htm)
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65?
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https://www.v-publishing.co.uk/blog.html
Short but sweet interview with Mark Leach about belaying Pollitt on The Bells at North Stack Wall. Really looking forward to reading this book!!
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http://sendage.com/community/articles/shadow-casting/#more-1160 (http://sendage.com/community/articles/shadow-casting/#more-1160)
Good one on a bit of squamish trady action and history.
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Colin Haley's account of his patagonian cimbing this season; it's very long, but well written and with some fantastic photos.
http://www.colinhaley.com/chalten-2015-2016/
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http://squamishclimbingmagazine.ca/antihydral-skin-doping-for-climbers/
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I enjoyed reading this bit of writing on Lundy by Andy Moles, it's from my communal blog so not an article by any means.
http://www.nectarclimbing.com/words/notes-in-the-margin
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Great stuff Guy.
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I enjoyed reading this bit of writing on Lundy by Andy Moles, it's from my communal blog so not an article by any means.
http://www.nectarclimbing.com/words/notes-in-the-margin
No, but it could, and should, be! Good writing.
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Only skimmed it, is it all as cringingly and unreadably flowery as his usual blog posts?? Usually makes Jim Perrin look concise and clear and my eyes start going in opposite directions....
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Only skimmed it, is it all as cringingly and unreadably flowery as his usual blog posts?? Usually makes Jim Perrin look concise and clear and my eyes start going in opposite directions....
sorry fiend I just can't stop looking at your cock
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Down to the Wire (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web16b/wfeature-down-to-the-wire-alpinist-1-jack-tackle)
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Some good stuff here;
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_GB/experience-home
Looks like it will be updated pretty regularly too
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Some good stuff here;
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_GB/experience-home
Looks like it will be updated pretty regularly too
Good spot, just read this one, really good: http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_GB/experience-story?cid=hazel-findlay-one-year-later
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He got a nun preggers didn't he?
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Dawes?
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Really enjoyed that. I know it's petty, but is it not Air Sweden not swedin?
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Ah, cheers.
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Not chuffing, but don't think we have a bouldering equivalent? Anyway, nice Fred Nicole chat :
http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2016/07/deliberately-slow-fred-nicole/
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..I’d forgotten what makes trad climbing so special — it’s all the faffing around.
It’s not about climbing hard; sport and bouldering do that better. It’s not about being fast and efficient, because then it becomes calculated and arbitrary — as does the weird sub-sport of head-pointing, which is not trad climbing. It’s not primarily about being in beautiful places, because we sometimes climb in Lancashire.
To my mind, it’s about falling back into a slower pace of life, and focusing on the here and now. It’s got a fancy name these days — mindfulness."
..from here (http://dmmclimbing.com/blog/south-africa-trad-climbing-renaissance/).
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Planet Mountain has a nice write-up on the 25th anniversary of Action Directe (http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/action-directe-wolfgang-gullich-25-year-old-frankenjura-masterpiece.html).
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Good article.
Sykora had originally bolted the line coming in from the right, managed to climb the individual moves through the upper section and believed the lower section to be feasible but too difficult for himself. He generously offered the project to Güllich, who promptly bolted the direct start. Hence the name.
I was always led to believe it was named after the terrorist group.
Has Ondra not done it? Saving it for the onsight?
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Has Ondra not done it? Saving it for the onsight?
Read to the bottom and you'll see this nice list....
Action Directe (9a), Waldkopf, Frankenjura (GER)
1. Wolfgang Güllich, Germany (14/09/1991) - First ascent
2. Alexander Adler, Germany (1995)
3. Iker Pou, Spain (2000)
4. Dave Graham, USA (2001)
5. Christian Bindhammer, Germany (2003)
6. Richard Simpson, UK (2005) - contested
7. Dai Koyamada, Japan (2005)
8. Markus Bock, Germany (2005)
9. Kilian Fischhuber, Austria (2006)
10. Adam Ondra, Czech Republic (2008)
11. Patxi Usobiaga, Spain (2008)
12. Gabriele Moroni, Italy (2010)
13. Jan Hojer, Germany (2010)
14. Adam Pustelnik, Poland (2010)
15. Felix Knaub, Germany (2011)
16. Rustam Gelmanov, Russia (2012)
17. Alexander Megos, Germany (2014)
18. Felix Neumärker, Germany (2015)
19. Julius Westphal, Germany (2015)
20. Stefano Carnati, Italy (2015)
Your favourite search engine throws up this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz2eTqnT3Zc
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Shit, must be suffering coffee blindness. I looked through the list at the bottom, but didn't see it
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when I clipped the anchors and lowered, I tried not to vomit
Ball Nuts and Big Bros: Conquering No-Fall First Ascents in the Desert (http://www.climbing.com/people/ball-nuts-and-big-bros-conquering-no-fall-first-ascents-in-the-desert/) Top article on headpointing a sketchy first ascent on dodgy desert sandstone by gnarly-US-tradster-I-had-never-previously-heard-of Molly Mitchell
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http://www.gq.com/story/fall-fashion-rock-climbing-joshua-tree
Quality as in fucking hilarious
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http://www.gq.com/story/fall-fashion-rock-climbing-joshua-tree
Quality as in fucking hilarious
I saw this yesterday - glad to hear they took the cute girls along...
It's such an odd article. Daniel Woods with the hat and drink looks brilliant. It's also crazy what some clothing costs!
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God that's depressing
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I saw this yesterday - glad to hear they took the cute girls along...
Needs some guys to model clothes, we'll get some climbers. Needs some girls, oh, just pick a couple of cute ones...... Why not have girl climbers?
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"Sponsored" climbers paid to wear things and climb. :o :slap:
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I saw this yesterday - glad to hear they took the cute girls along...
Needs some guys to model clothes, we'll get some climbers. Needs some girls, oh, just pick a couple of cute ones...... Why not have girl climbers?
It's pretty crazy isn't it - though I guess that as it's GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly I think) magazine the focus is on the men, hence having male climbers only.
However the choice of words and their portrayal is far from correct.
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From the same mag. http://www.gq.com/story/stonemasters-rock-climbing-oral-history (http://www.gq.com/story/stonemasters-rock-climbing-oral-history) Yosemite in the 70's with everyone looking infinitely cooler than those in the fashion shoot.
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(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/enhanced/webdr06/2013/5/8/12/enhanced-buzz-23943-1368029117-4.jpg)
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"Sponsored" climbers paid to wear things and climb. :o :slap:
They're not really climbing though, they're posing like fashion models. Presumably all of the climbing women who were approached by GQ told them where to get off!
When I talk about climbing disappearing up it's own ar*se this is what I'm talking about.
Thank God we have Jam Crack Podcast to take us back to a time when climbing was dirtbag.
#rosetinted #oldgit #notinmyday
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It's honestly one of the most shameless things I've ever seen.
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I don't disagree that its not really climbing as you, I or many others perceive it, but they're people who make a living out of being paid to sell stuff, the dress horses for their 'sponsors', selling a 'lifestyle', GQ probably approached TNF and asked them to help out. The idea that someone who climbs would buy, let alone wear those clothes given their stated prices is laughable. Kind of why I tried to emphasise the "sponsored" bit.
I think the term 'dirtbag' has also been massively romanticised in recent years and on that topic (and vaguely steering the thread back on topic) I thought this tongue in cheek article was rather good....
New Indian Creek Camping Fees Infuriate Privileged White People (https://fringesfolly.com/2016/09/19/breaking-news-new-indian-creek-camping-fees-infuriate-privileged-white-people/)
...and from the same author there is the following piece that criticises Valley Uprising (he cites Andrew Bisharats piece (http://eveningsends.com/valley-uprising-nostalgic/) which is in a similar vein)...
Valley Downfall: How Valley Uprising Distorts Climbing History (https://fringesfolly.com/2015/02/16/valley-downfall-how-valley-uprising-distorts-climbing-history/)
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I don't disagree that its not really climbing as you, I or many others perceive it, but they're people who make a living out of being paid to sell stuff, the dress horses for their 'sponsors', selling a 'lifestyle', GQ probably approached TNF and asked them to help out. The idea that someone who climbs would buy, let alone wear those clothes given their stated prices is laughable. Kind of why I tried to emphasise the "sponsored" bit.
I don't mind the guys dressing like tits for money, it's the "and we took a couple of cute girls along" bit that I object to.
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Thats part and parcel of what they're being paid to do though.
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"Sponsored" climbers paid to wear things and climb. :o :slap:
They're not really climbing though, they're posing like fashion models. Presumably all of the climbing women who were approached by GQ told them where to get off!
When I talk about climbing disappearing up it's own ar*se this is what I'm talking about.
Thank God we have Jam Crack Podcast to take us back to a time when climbing was dirtbag.
#rosetinted #oldgit #notinmyday
+1
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Ease up dude, I'm off to get me
Vest, $3,395, (similar style) Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci / Sweater, $3,295
like that one worn by Jimmy Chin, Adventure Visionary
If you're that gullible, well that's just how some folk roll I guess...
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Nostalgia is perhaps the defining symptom of our age. Everywhere you look people are recycling the past.
The entire hipster culture is nothing if not genuine nostalgia, loosely wrapped in extreme irony.
(http://media.gq.com/photos/57d7279bac9282531c39a89e/master/w_800/good-hang-gqstyle-16.jpg)
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"Sponsored" climbers paid to wear things and climb.
I know why they do it, doesn't mean we can't take the piss when it's deserved though.
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Valley Downfall: How Valley Uprising Distorts Climbing History (https://fringesfolly.com/2015/02/16/valley-downfall-how-valley-uprising-distorts-climbing-history/)
Really good. (=My thoughts exactly :) )
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OR has done an amazing response to the GQ crap :
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/stories/we-took-falls-crunchiest-designer-clothes-to-watch-ladies-rock-climbing-in
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Bravo [emoji106][emoji106]
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:clap2: that's brill.
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Fuck me that's funny.
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when I clipped the anchors and lowered, I tried not to vomit
Ball Nuts and Big Bros: Conquering No-Fall First Ascents in the Desert (http://www.climbing.com/people/ball-nuts-and-big-bros-conquering-no-fall-first-ascents-in-the-desert/) Top article on headpointing a sketchy first ascent on dodgy desert sandstone by gnarly-US-tradster-I-had-never-previously-heard-of Molly Mitchell
Whole article unfortunately totally undermined by all the "super empowered" gibberish spouted in this video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MsEbKGNqU3g
I enjoyed the article but the video had me cringing.....
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I like that Missoni sweater.
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Not chuffing as such, but good words
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=8744
It’s a rare combination, pretty much a cross between geocaching and powerlifting.
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I like this bit:
What's next for you?
I’ll probably head out blackberry picking with Rhona when she wakes up.
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That picture with Dan and his daughter seems to be missing the credit; whats that sweater he's wearing?
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Peephole Pringle
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Refreshing....
Undiscovered: The Isabelle Faus Profile (http://www.climbing.com/people/undiscovered-the-isabelle-faus-profile/)
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Refreshing....
Undiscovered: The Isabelle Faus Profile (http://www.climbing.com/people/undiscovered-the-isabelle-faus-profile/)
Since hearing she was going out with Chad Greedy I always assumed she was mid-late 30s and was currently at her peak. At 23, it sounds like she's only going to get better.
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sponsorship companies would rather put money into cookie-cutter Barbies and CrossFitters.
Meow.
She trains and cross-trains, with at least four days a week of climbing and some other activity almost every single day—usually cardio, yoga, or opposition exercises.
Does cross training not make you cross fit?
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sponsorship companies would rather put money into cookie-cutter Barbies and CrossFitters.
Meow.
She trains and cross-trains, with at least four days a week of climbing and some other activity almost every single day—usually cardio, yoga, or opposition exercises.
Does cross training not make you cross fit?
Depends on how many instagram followers you have.
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Refreshing....
Undiscovered: The Isabelle Faus Profile (http://www.climbing.com/people/undiscovered-the-isabelle-faus-profile/)
It's glorious to read that. I understand the whole sponsor whoring yourself out thing, always having a over-caffeinated sugary drink company can with the logo facing outwards stuff, but I can't help but feel a little bit violated every time I see it.
Get her a 40 degree board, screw on some micro crimps, get her doing a bit of god bothering and a new messiah could be born.
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Balls. For all that I think Faus is awesome, making no effort to put yourself or your acheivements out there and then complaining sponsors aren't interested is nonsense. (I know we've been over this before, and I also think the other extreme is bullshit too. Refusing to play the game is fine, cool even, but to then complain you didn't win is pretty naive at best.)
(And I do think she's fucking great)
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Ability vs sponsorship has been hashed out many times here. Here's Nalle's view
Good to see one of the best female climbers in the world finally getting a bit of acknowledgement in the media. Shouldn't someone at the cutting edge for women be all over the news? Good question, to which the answer is - not necessarily in 2016.
“I know I’m one of the best and anyone who really likes climbing knows that too,” she said, “but when it comes down to it, sponsorship companies would rather put money into cookie-cutter Barbies and CrossFitters. I’m a rock climber and I don’t fit into their box, so they simply aren’t interested.”
That's something that's going on in the climbing industry at the moment. There are climbers doing impressive, ground-breaking ascents and barely getting any coverage, while media favorites are making headlines for all their publicity stunts.
Who it's really affecting are the up-and-coming young climbers with a dream of becoming a pro. Often I get asked for advice on how to actually become a pro, and sadly the best advice I can give them in 2016 is to put climbing aside and go to a marketing school. It's become so much about the spray and much less about the content.
This trend is killing off professional climbing for the new generation. Where it seems to be headed, we'll just have climbing models - some who climb relatively hard and some who aren't even really into climbing.
There is great marketing value in top level climbing, like any other sport, but we live in a precarious moment where many companies find it more convenient to tap into the sex appeal aspect. The companies get to decide who they want to sponsor, but ultimately it's you as the consumer who has the power to let them know what you want to see more of.
A picture of a pretty girl climbing a V4 in a bikini is going to pop out more than a grainy photo of someone climbing 9b in the dark. But am I going to walk into the store and buy the pair of shoes she was wearing? Not anytime soon.
Is this just supply and demand - what people want to see? Or merely a direction the climbing industry is swaying towards? Any thoughts?
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I nice article from Mark Anderson about sieging a route in Rifle
https://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/2016/09/26/mark-anderson-sends-shadowboxing-5-14d/
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That was really good. I've zero interest in sport climbing or projects at the moment and I still really enjoyed reading it. I must go to Rifle one day.
I’m told hangboarding doesn’t cause forearm hypertrophy. Someone please tell my camera.
He knows full well that crossing your arms like that makes your forearms look massive. ;)
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I must go to Rifle one day.
During the process I (or others) broke at least seven holds that I can remember
Really?
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Consensus in sport physiology holds that isometric exercises cause hypertrophy
Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk
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I must go to Rifle one day.
During the process I (or others) broke at least seven holds that I can remember
Really?
Sounds mint. Just like the tor, except taping rubber to your body isn't frowned upon (acceptable, even!)
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Really?
I imagine the routes I'd be climbing will have cleaned up a bit more than the 9a he did.
I've just always liked the idea of Rifle- I'm drawn to "take the rough with the smooth" kind of places for some reason, the situations look spectacular, the history of the routes is interesting, I like the US sport climbing scene atmosphere and I'm told that the style (again, probably more the 11s and 12s than the 14s) would suit me.
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I nice article from Mark Anderson about sieging a route in Rifle
https://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/2016/09/26/mark-anderson-sends-shadowboxing-5-14d/
Nice article, than he drops this punchline at the end.
It wasn’t an experience I enjoyed....
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"At my moment of greatest doubt, although not uttered particularly loud, I heard clearly, as though he were standing next to me, Dave Graham* calmly urge “Allez”. I can’t explain it. It wasn’t the word but the way he said it–like he was talking to himself, and sincerely wanted me to do it. That was the difference, and in that moment I chose to do it. I slapped up and stuck it."
Brilliant reading stuff like this makes me want go out and siege. I remember quite a few years ago when I was having some Redpoint goes on a project and I happened to have that poster of Rich Simpson on A Muerte (I think it came with one of the climbing magazines) in my bag. I placed it on a boulder at the foot of the climb hoping it would inspire me and give me the edge.
Unfortunately it didn't and I didn't get the route.
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Dave Graham must be an inspiration to climb with. Objectively weak as, but very, very happy for others to climb hard in hi presence (no ego as far as I'm aware) and mind-blowing wizard skills to learn from.
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Objectively weak as
That's a stern definition of weak you have...
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Objectively weak as
That's a stern definition of weak you have...
Ha.... true! "Weak as" meaning way, way stronger than most mortals but still a good bit behind many other top boulderers in the pure power/strength stakes.
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Games Climbers Play by Lito Tejada-Flores (http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1968_files/AJ%201968%2046-52%20Tejada-Flores%20Games.pdf)
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Copied from https://www.8a.nu/? so you don't have to visit it.
A very reflective interview with Sachi Amma (not quite an article, but a perspective that I thought would be of interest).
Sachi Amma stopped competing after he won the World Cup in 2014. Next year he reached his goal to do ten routes 9a or harder. In 2016, he has slowly been shifting again and just stopped doing hard routes after a 9a+ in Flatanger this summer. (c) Sam Bie above Leonidio.
"I can not find any value to be a better person by comparing myself with other climbers. That is why I stopped competing and climbing hard routes. Why do I need to be better than the others? I my case, I had strong beliefs that I am the tiniest concept of myself. I needed to cover this weakness by doing amazing things (winning comps or climbing hard) but I noticed that you will never be satisfied by being better than the others. Because the essential problems are just covered and they are still there.
Please do not misunderstand that this way of thinking applies to all people. I think competition is very good way to learn yourself (And I know that lots of my friends who compete do it not just for winning....) I am pretty sure that comparing with others never gives you the real happiness.
So what is your goal now?
(10 seconds of silence) I do not know...
I am in the maze of my life. Today the image of climbing, specially media's focus, is mostly about power, strong or crazy. It is masculine. But my point of view, human has a feminine side too which is like smooth or beautiful. If the balance of climbing becomes more feminine, it will be beautiful! But this new vision came to me after stop pushing myself and it is still an undeveloped area for me.
And another vision is to createa place where climbers can show there passion and spirit, specially in Japan. There are not so many slideshows or film festival in Japan. I hope people who loves climbing (even if they are not strong) stands up more. I just want to get more ideas to enjoy and expand the potential of climbing.
Could not Tokyo Olympics become a motivator for fame and sponsors again?
I have thought about this a lot and first I did hesitate but, no. This huge topic let me think what I really want to do and it was not Olympics.
So what is the next plan?
I keep asking myself this all the time as I asked myself, "Why am I doing this?", when I was competitive... (10 seconds of silence)I will go to Spain for three weeks in December. But I do not know what I will climb. But I believe if I just keep being myself, life goes where I want to go!
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Not sure whether this should go in GooDadvice, power club or here. Might be a little bit DMAc in places but some thoughts on achieving for the time-starved.
EDIT: link would be useful....
http://squamishclimbingmagazine.ca/maximum-sending-minimum-time/
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I enjoyed this. The German Way: Sonnie Trotter visits Familie Megos in the Frankenjura (http://www.climbing.com/places/the-german-way-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-megos-in-frankjura-and-elbsanstein/)
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I enjoyed this. The German Way: Sonnie Trotter visits Familie Megos in the Frankenjura (http://www.climbing.com/places/the-german-way-sonnie-trotter-and-alex-megos-in-frankjura-and-elbsanstein/)
Really nice article - makes me want to get back there ASAP!
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Manolo revisit one of his unrepeated routes
http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/manolo-climbing-and-il-mattino-dei-maghi-first-repeat-in-35-years.html
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More quality writing and less whining.
I'll add the following from Mountain 62, 1978. OCR and correction by yours truly
-------------------
Everyone knows his name
PIERRE ALLAIN
By Yves Ballu
PIERRE ALLAIN was born on January 7, 1904, at Mirebeau in central France. He first went mountaineering about 1923 in the Allevard massif, but his activities were limited to walking the footpaths and cattle tracks. Some time in 1928 Maurice Paillon suggested to him and his companion, Robert Latour, that they go to Fontainebleau where they could try “real climbing”. Pierre Allain did not even know that there was such a thing as the French Alpine Club — Latour did not tell him that until some time later!
The two grass-climbers — their limited alpine experience consisting of a couple of trips to the Meije — discovered the pleasures of rockclimbing at Fontainebleau in 1930. Weekends spent at 'Bleau soon changed their attitudes and ability. The small group of regular climbers were dedicated to rock climbing. Far from decrying the rocks because of their small size, they looked on the sandstone cliffs as a gymnasium where they could train themselves in rock climbing and perfect the techniques of hard free climbing.
The difficulties were already so great that alpinists of the old school considered them as acrobatic tricks fit only for the circus. Among the regular climbers there were many who were later to become famous, but there were also others who have remained anonymous. Even at this time there were “Bleausards” who saw climbing at Fontainebleau not just in terms of preparation or training for the Alps; for them the pleasure of climbing on the small holds of Fontainebleau sandstone was a game of its own, without need of further justification or alibis. This attitude was widespread and even if, in imitation of Pierre Main, many alpinists of all standards did use the crags as a training ground for higher things, there were many others who came there just to climb, to take exercise, or simply for the sport.
For all that, the part played by Fontainebleau in the history of French alpine climbing, and particularly in making it a popular sport, should not be underestimated. Allain and Latour were unusual in that they went there first; more often the Parisian climbers discovered climbing at Fontainebleau after they had heard of Alpine climbing and mountains.
This expansion of climbing at Fontainebleau is full of interesting detail, especially as regards the social character of the sport. Pierre Allain saw this and wrote about it in Alpinism and Competition. As for the climbing, the sandstone cliffs of Fontainebleau offer a great range of types of climbing at all standards without real danger the biggest cliffs are barely 40ft high.
The standard attained by Allain and his contemporaries was very high. Most of the Grade Six problems were done in this era and still inspire respect today. A good example is the Angle Allain on the Rempart; others are the Marie-Rose on the Cuvier (put up by R Ferlet and repeated by Allain) and Allain's own Arete de Genou.
“There were many climbs done at this standard by many different climbers, and a lot of diem weren't recorded,” Pierre Allain recalls. “But there were such things as the Deudon crack on the Rempart, or the Borniol — you did that with one hand only, either the right or the left. With the left was harder. After the War Guy Poulet had a party piece. He would do the Nationale (to the right of the Prestat on the Cuvier) with one hand and then do a handstand on the top.”
All these climbs show high standards of which the “old-timers” were capable. As well as Allain and Latour, other names from this era are Pierre Chevalier, Marcel Ichac, Jean Deudon, Dr Pierre Madeuf, Frederic Neuenschwander — who was known as "The Viscount" and photographed the climbers — the brothers Jacques and Didier Boudin, Alain le Ray, Guy Labour, Henri “Kiki” Brenot, Jerome Levy, the Gaby sisters, Elisabeth and Raymond Lartigue, Gil Deleau, Pierre Mach, Lucien Coupelle , Charles Authenac, Jean May. Daniel Souverain, Hugues Paillon, the Jonquieres brothers, Yves Feutran, Borniol, the Leininger brothers and others.
In 1931 Pierre Attain had his first serious alpine season, climbing with Robert Latour. He climbed with Latour until he left for the colonies in 1934.
From time to time other Bleausards would team up with them. It was an arrangement of this casual nature which led to Megevan going with them to climb the Dent Parrachee. It became a memorable climb and was to have far-reaching consequences. The rope of three took longer than expected to climb the route, and were forced to bivouac near the summit in a crevasse. During the long hours of enforced meditation “PA” became convinced that good bivvy gear was an essential. The strength of the conviction was shown four years later, when he slept on a mattress during the first ascent of the North Face of the Drus. The equipment that he used on that climb was of advanced design: the design and the manufacture were both his own. The night on the Dent Parrachee was the last uncomfortable night that PA spent in a bivouac.
The following year he climbed many of the classic routes in the Mont Blanc area — the Requin, the Charmoz, the Grepon, Mont Blanc and so on. Slowly he and his companions became aware of the possibilities open to them if they could use their free-climbing skill to break through the accepted limits. This was an exciting feeling; it made them feel good and it contained a strong element of competitiveness. That was nothing new. Climbers had long experienced the pleasure to be had in doing something that you thought you couldn't do. This feeling was often linked with the idea that you had done something that others could not do — acceptable as a reference point for standards. But it was new to find someone expressing such sentiments publicly, as Pierre Allain did; it had been generally accepted that competition in mountaineering was neither suitable nor wise as a motive. It was for these reasons that Alpinism and Competition was a threat to mountaineering tradition: not just the provocative title, but the underlying insolent threat to the accepted aesthetic ideals first put forward by Ruskin.
The rebellion had really started when Mummery announced; "I would go climbing even if there wap no view." Pierre Allain's open competitiveness constituted a new stage in the argument between the “Contemplators” and the “Acrobats” — or, more simply, the walkers and the climbers. In the long run PA's ideas have contributed, ironically, to a reconciliation of the opposing views. The pure ethic of free climbing that he advocated — artifical aid reduced to the minimum — has been taken up by modern rock climbers. The free ascent is a way of harmonising the sport with the beautiful surroundings in which it is practised. It has become a subtle game where the climbers climb without cheating, and the people who see the beauty of the mountains can also appreciate the beauty of movement in high-standard free climbing. In advocating this pure standard of free climbing PA was a founding father. Only once in his climbs did Allain use aid, on the Doigt de l'Etala on July 18,1938, with Jean Leininger.
But that wasn't his only contribution. He was and is an incorrigible inventor and never short of ideas. Who has never thought of using sucker pads to climb otherwise smooth slabs? Pierre Albin did more than just think about it, he actually tried out different types of suckers on Fontainebleau and on granite! Strange behaviour for the champion of free climbing? Not really. If you ask the man who pushed the limits of free climbing harder than most of his contemporaries why he did it, he'll tell you with a mischievous grin: "I might have been lucky." He had to try if for himself, though.
The rock-climbing technique that he developed at Fontainebleau was scarcely ever found wanting. Confident in his ability, he turned his attention in 1933 to the “last problems” of the Mont Blanc area. To set the tone, he repeated the climb on the central point of the Aiguille des Deux Aigles first done four years earlier by R Greloz and J Grobet — but without the lassoing tricks used by them to get to the summit. The pitch, climbed on July 25,1933, is still Grade Six.
A few days later, again with Latour — but without Jean-Claude Boudin, who had been killed on the Aiguille du Plan — he made another difficult and much-sought first ascent: the South West Ridge of the Aiguille du Fou. It had been explored by descent several times before. Bobi Arsandaux, R Cache, Robert and Jacques Jonquiere had been on it, as had W Alexander, Alfred Couttet and A Cerico, and F Batier and A Ravanel had tried it as far back as 1930. In 1931 the route had been paid the honour of a 12 page article in La Montagne (March/ April 1931 by Bobi Arsandaux). The success of Pierre Allain and his friends caused quite a sensation in Alpine climbing circles.
But PA had no intention of stopping there. It was at this time that he first thought about climbing the North Face of the Drus. Nothing outrageous, just a climb regarded as one of the Last Great Problems of the Alps which had already repulsed several strong parties. PA had to find a “sucker” brave enough to go with him. The attitude of the guides didn't help. Some of them let it be known that they thought the descent would be no problem — “You'll come down in a sack”. Jean-Marie Pruvoist let himself be talked into it, but was immediately talked out of it by his friends and didn't turn up for the climb. Allain also asked Jean Vernet, but he too refused. The response was general: nobody liked the idea of two or three days on the North Face of the Drus.
Disappointed but not discouraged. Allain spent the winter making suitable bivouac gear: a duvet jacket, a big cagoule and a pied d'elephant in waterproof cloth (“The cagoule was designed to cover both the wearer and his sack, and to protect them from rain and snow. The shape of the cagoule remains the same today, no matter what commercial name has been tagged on to it.” PA). Not only did he think up the designs, he also made the gear himself. Then, realising that climbers were badly equipped and that there was no suitable gear available commercially, he began to make it “for my mates”. Making things was not a new experience for him, and it became an important theme in his life. When he left school at the age of 15, he had worked as a turner in an engineering works. After his military service he worked as an electrician. He also had training in sewing, having helped his father to make table linen for hotels and restaurants. Together, these assorted skills were the ideal combination not to modernise climbing gear — because climbing gear was almost nonexistent, — but to invent the accessories so familiar to modern alpinists.
The following summer, 1934, Pierre Allain trained at Fontainebleau again and set off for the Alps with a headful of schemes. This time he could count on his seconds: he had with him the Leininger brothers, Jean and Raymond. But the shocking weather of the summer of 1934 did not allow him to make a serious attempt on the North Face of the Drus. Eventually he and Jean Leininger set off south in search of the sun. On September 5, with Jean Charignon and Jean Vernet, they climbed a fine, hard new route up the South-West Ridge of the Pic Sans Nom in the Oisans. On the 12th, with Vernet, Allain climbed the first part of the South Face Direct on the Meije, finishing up the ordinary route. The climb remains one of the most highly recommended routes in the area.
On his return to Paris, Pierre Allain committed himself irrevocably to climbing by opening a shop — in the Rue des Ciseaux until November 1937 and then the Rue Saint-Sulpice until 1963 — where he started to manufacture and sell his bivouac gear.
He made sure that his business left him plenty of time to climb at Fontainebleau, so he began 1935 with a fitness matched to his ambitions. The North Face of the Drus, still unclimbed and ever visible from the valley, attracted him more than ever. The attraction turned to unrest one day when he learned that the guide Raymond Lambert was on the face with three other climbers. He and Raymond Leiniger set off immediately for “his” North Face — gaining some satisfaction from helping the Lambert party to retreat.
The full story of the Dru climb is told by Allain in Alpinism and Competition. One look at the photograph of the two of them on the descent (August 1, 1935) tells the story, though: tired, happy and proud. It has been said that this ascent was a great victory for French climbing, putting it up to the level of the Germans and the Italians; this is chauvinism. The success of Allain and Leininger was really the success of a new style of climbers, the Bleausard free rock-climbers, and a new concept of Alpine climbing, Pierre Allain's concept.
Fontainebleau climbing had certainly come of age with the climbing of the North Face of the Drus by two Parisian climbers. As for Pierre Allain, who had always regarded the problem as relatively simple, he was now convinced that his ideas on how to climb in the Alps were realistic. If you ignore the element of luck necessary for the success of any exploit such as this, the climbing of the North Face of the Drus was the triumph of a certain sort of ingenuity: ingenuity in the choice of the route, and also ingenuity in the style of free climbing. Looked at in this way the climb was not just a victory for French climbing, but a landmark in the progress of alpine climbing as a whole.
Happy, but not yet satisfied, Allain and Leininger — who had already made the first ascent of the East Face of the Dent du Caiman on July 17/18 as a training climb — returned to the Oisans to complete the South Face Direct on the Meije. This time they did it with the direct finish to the summit (August 21, 1935). Pierre Allain's brilliant climbing career continued in 1936 with a place on the French Himalayan Expedition. In 1937 he made the first ascent of the East Ridge of the Crocodile (July 29/30 with the Leininger brothers) and the North East Ridge of the Grands Charmoz (July 30, with Yves Feutren) and in 1938 the ascent of the Doigt de l'Etala without the rope tricks (July 18, with Jean Leininger).
At the beginning of the Second World War he was called up to serve with the army. Initially in Lorraine. he was posted to Paris in December 1939 to join an engineering workshop. After the fall of Paris he went to the Alps, where he stayed until the summer of 1944 and participated in the liberation of Chamonix (August 1944). During the war he met such promising young alpine climbers as Lionel Terray, Louis Lachenal and Gaston Rebuffat, who became his friends. He did little climbing during the war years; the only route worthy of note was the North West Ridge of the Aiguille d'Argentiere (July 10, 1941. with Paul Boniface and Jean-Marie Pruvost).
In the Autumn of 1944 Pierre Allain returned to Paris and to Fontainebleau, where he met old friends and made new ones who were to be his companions on climbs — people such as Rene Ferlet, Guy Poulet and, a little later, Jacques Poincenot. With Poulet he made the first traverse of the Aiguilles from the Plan to the Charmoz. (August 4/5, 1945) The following year, on the same dates, he made the third ascent of the Walker Spur with Poulet, Ferlet and Poincenot. To complete the list of his climbs there was the first ascent of the West Face of the Aiguille de Blaitiere (September 10,1947) with A Fix (the original route has been largely removed by a rock fall, but the Fissure Fix remains to attest to the high standard of free climbing) and the North West Ridge of the Grands Charmoz (August 28, 1950, with Marcel Ichac).
The list of his climbs would seem to indicate that he had a bias towards rock. climbing, for which he was better prepared and which he found less tedious than the step-cutting ice-climbing of his time. It should be remembered, though, that he was looking for difficult climbs, and most of the obvious difficult climbs at this time were the big rockfaces, so he had little reason to climb on ice. All the same, he did climb the North Face of the Courtes in three hours in 1938, with Henri Brunot and Jean Leininger.
He had no time at all for artificial climbing. This dislike was behind the famous comment he made on the West Face of the Drus: “On a face like this alpinism looses its rights: only scaling ladders or similar trickery will enable it to be climbed. That wouldn't be climbing in the Alps, just labouring in them.” (Alpinism and Competition.) Pierre Allain has recently explained that comment “My remarks about the West Face of the Drus were based upon the view we got of it (from the North Face), where we saw only the parts where free climbing is out of the question. They are still unclimbable free: bolts are the only way. That was incompatible with the ethic of our time. It could be said that the apparent error of judgment was caused by our limited view of the face.”
Reinforcing this explanation is the fact that he made a casual attempt on the West Face with Yves Feutren which never got beyond the Rognon. About that he said: “It was another classic mistake, definitely a mistake. We turned back without having a real look, because of some insignificant difficulty. It was probably best that we did turn back, because we were not ready for a major artificial climb.” (Pierre Allain, May 30, 1977).
Dr Courturier, a friend of Allain's, put forward an explanation for his astonishing agility — that he had an extra muscle unknown to medical science! The truth of the matter is that Pierre Allain was both an ace rock-climber and an excellent mountaineer, and that these factors explain his outstanding climbing record.
In 1950 Henri de Segogne suggested to Pierre Allain that he became President of the Groupe de Haute Montagne. He refused, primarily because his shop took up too much time but also because of his dislike of what he called “official business”.
Where is he how?
He is still involved with climbing gear. In 1939 he made the first aluminium alloy karabiner. In 1947 he marketed the first commercially available karabiners of this type (still made under sub-contract by Messrs Foy at Marolles-en-Hurepoix). In 1948 the famous PAs first appeared, with the inventor's initials the only mark on them. The smooth and supple soles were designed to suit the climbing at Fontainebleau.
In 1963 he left his Paris business and set up at Uriage near Grenoble. Since then he has personally supervised the production and marketing of his karabiners. PA himself also manufactures and markets caving ladders and other accessories.
Today PA is 74 and still making 30,000 karabiners a year on his own. The way he does it is characteristic of the exceptional talents of the man: he has designed and built a series of machine tools, marvels of ingenuity, to perform all the processes of manufacture and assembly. In order that this “factory” — really the ground floor of his house in the country — functions uninterruptedly, he maintains a remorseless schedule of work.
A tuft of hair that obstinately refuses to lie flat; the walk of a young man; hands which tell the story of their life; mischievous eyes looking unblinkingly at the world. That's PA today. He has changed; he no longer looks like a climbing animal in a black beret as he did in the old photos, and as his friends remember. But that's the outside: inside, there's still the real PA.
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Just stumbled across this lovely article about Roland Pauligk, the inventor of RP's, who sadly passed away recently.
http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2017/01/rp-the-story-behind-the-initials (http://www.verticallifemag.com.au/2017/01/rp-the-story-behind-the-initials)
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Thought some people might like to read this.
http://www.climbing.co.za/2017/02/andy-de-klerk-interview/
Not sure where else it should go.
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This looks interesting; the kind of thing generally missing from British climbing media. Anyone seen the full piece?
https://www.avauntmagazine.com/adventure/stevie-haston-climbing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=button
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Anyone seen the full piece?
https://www.avauntmagazine.com/adventure/stevie-haston-climbing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=button
Not even in London. Very elegantly put together. Outside crossed with what I imagine Yossarian reads with his morning coffee.
I enjoyed this piece in Alpinist (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17w/wfeature-alp57-wired-rethinking-mtn-gloom) on the history of our relationship with wild places. Roll over Wordsworth and Coleridge.
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I've been meaning to organise a subscription but keep failing to get round to it. It's produced by the team that do Port magazine, and the polar guy Ben Saunders is involved too.
Re my morning coffee - this morning it was actually a slightly mouldy southern sandstone guidebook that I found in the attic last night. The new edition of Kulturfolger is gathering dust...
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http://www.nectarclimbing.com/words/notes-in-the-margin
I really liked this. I also really like nectar, now I've found it...
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I was getting quite into that Haston article. But there were a few words randomly missing, which really put me off paying £11 to read more. As much as I was keen to read the rest of the article..
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
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http://www.nectarclimbing.com/words/notes-in-the-margin
I really liked this. I also really like nectar, now I've found it...
Andy has a wrote a bit more on his blog, his latest one is great (very loosely climbing related).
http://throughother.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/american-tales-hot-tub-cougar.html
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Only had a quick glance at lunch at the Haston interview and was instantly bugged/put off by the "After a day in the route...." thing.. just pure instant radge. Seems like such a punterish thing. Sorry if thats harsh but I genuinely felt a let down. Fix that and I'll be interested again.
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[sn**ger]
edit - ha! you can't say sn**ger
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Ivo on Dean Potter http://emontana.cz/dean-potter-ivo-ninov-interview/
Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk
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That's really interesting.
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Enjoyed that, thanks.
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Some good stuff on page 13 there.
Not chuffing but I like this interview...
https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2017/5/13/jacky-godoffe-interview
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Some good stuff on page 13 there.
Not chuffing but I like this interview...
https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2017/5/13/jacky-godoffe-interview
I like the bit where he described his 'huge ego'
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https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=9501
I enjoyed this article on the Free Rider solo, where Pete described it as 'Art' I thought hang on isn't the definition of art something that's created solely for that purpose. As opposed to say craft which has a functional element. But the more I think about it, it sort of makes sense. A bit like DT's infamous solo of lord of the flies it sits in my mind like an artistic performance with the distinction being the emotions generated are based on a very real reaction to the risk involved and the fact that it didn't happen in a vacuum.
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https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=9501
I enjoyed this article on the Free Rider solo, where Pete described it as 'Art' I thought hang on isn't the definition of art something that's created solely for that purpose. As opposed to say craft which has a functional element. But the more I think about it, it sort of makes sense. A bit like DT's infamous solo of lord of the flies it sits in my mind like an artistic performance with the distinction being the emotions generated are based on a very real reaction to the risk involved and the fact that it didn't happen in a vacuum.
Have a listen (if you haven't already) to Grayson Perry's "Beating The Bounds" talk, which he gave as part of his series of Reith Lectures. It outlined what, to him, were the boundaries of what could be considered art. Obviously he comes at this from the angle of someone who has in the past been maligned by the art world as someone who just does a bit of pottery.
One memorable "rule" which he applied was that, for something to be art, if you saw it in the bins around the back of an art academy, you should be prompted to say "Oh look, someone threw some art away". I can't remember whether he managed to incorporate performance art into the rules.
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Cheers Will I'll check it out. It reminds me of the story of a school visit to an art gallery where one of the children leaves accidentally their glasses on the gallery floor and when they come back to retrieve them half an hour later; there's half a dozen people stood around them discussing 'the spectacle'
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I prefer the institutional/circular definition: art is what is consider as art by people active in the world of art.
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I enjoyed this on t'other channel:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=9511
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I found this completely inspiring. I'm now feeling very guilty about my recent sloth.
https://www.climbing.com/news/first-down-syndrome-summit-of-the-grand-teton/
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Mirror Mirror by Ed Drummond (http://www.rockandice.com/articles/ascent/mirror-mirror-by-ed-drummond?page=1)
Great account of one of the all time climbing epics. Bizarrely it had me fascinated by the Troll Wall for two decades, an itch I'm very happy never to have scratched.
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El Cap in a Golden Day (https://www.climbing.com/people/el-cap-in-a-golden-day-alex-honnold-leads-his-mother-up-lurking-fear/)
:bow:
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:clap2: I never thought I'd read an I-jugged-the-cap article with interest, but hey-ho now I did. Good find.
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That's great. I'd wad you if I could work out how...
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A good article on Hugues Beauzile, a wild man accidentally caught by camera when authoring some of the more outrageous alpine solos in the 90s.
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web18w/wfeature-a60-force-of-the-soul-hugues-beauzile
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Thanks for sharing the article! I tried to explain Claret, the beautiful and fun guidebook and Rouzo, Beauzille and Berardini to younger climbers recently when we were near Claret. Didn't work.
Rouzo was a remarkable figure as well. Sad they are all gone. But they sure had their part of the fun. The guidebooks, the routenames and drawings on the rock as well as the routes themselves remain.
Mort aux cons!
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Interesting interview with Hazel: https://www.rei.com/blog/climb/ask-a-badass-hazel-findlay
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Interesting points made by Hazel. What about those North Face athletes who are not able to 'vote with their feet' and move to another organisation with better ethical standards? Maybe their stock has fallen or they haven't been sending much recently. Not everybody will have that luxury.
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I'm pretty sure Patagonia have a military line too.
http://www.patagonia.com/pro/category/armed-forces-law-enforcement.html
Don't think they do specific military kit, just the above discount.
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No issues with the ClarusCorp/BD/Sierra Bullets/NRA connections though.
Does this go beyond making hunting and target bullets as cited here? - http://onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/sierra-bullets-bought-by-clarus.html?m=1
Or will BD C4 mean something different in coming years?
[/quote]
Well, there's the tie between Sierra and the NRA (probably a requirement as a bullet manufacturer to be fair) but BD is run by Warren Kanders, who owns Safariland (manufacturer and supplier of safety and survivability products to the public safety, homeland security and commercial markets) and used to run Armor Holdings (manufacturer and supplier of military vehicles, armored vehicles and safety and survivability products). It all seems a bit gun, body armour and riot shield heavy for my tastes.....
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I'm not a pacifist so I'm fine with BD, DMM or anyone else producing matt black cams and carabiners. (I'd rather the UK stopped pretending it's 1958, spent much less on defence overall, and focused on its strengths - light infantry - rather than strategic weapons but that's another topic.)
The issue with BD is the management. Exec. chair Warren Kanders was head of Armor Holdings (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14148635), and not necessarily the kind of person you want running a climbing company (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/company-owns-nypd-body-camera-vendor-sold-defective-vests-article-1.2841218).
Outside mag. have a piece on the ethics of gear buying in the wake of the Florida school shootings (https://www.outsideonline.com/2282941/should-our-morals-determine-our-gear-purchases). Camelbak’s parent company Vista Outdoor is one of the largest assault weapons manufacturers in the USA and NRA supporter.
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Outside mag. have a piece on the ethics of gear buying in the wake of the Florida school shootings (https://www.outsideonline.com/2282941/should-our-morals-determine-our-gear-purchases). Camelbak’s parent company Vista Outdoor is one of the largest assault weapons manufacturers in the USA and NRA supporter.
They are the parent company of Cebe and Bolle as well.
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This stuff is interesting. I was explaining to my 10 yr old yesterday how there are really only five food companies and so on. (he's a vegetarian and is interested in how stuff works.).
Its hard being principled.
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would love to hear more about the food thing, but that's a whole thread in itself!
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I thought it was 10 food companies according to oxfam, along the lines of:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/10-companies-control-the-food-industry-2016-9
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Oh I see, it's more about trashy food, I thought there was some conspiracy I hadn't heard about and Coca Cola owned all the sheep in Yorkshire or something! :ninja:
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Oh I see, it's more about trashy food, I thought there was some conspiracy I hadn't heard about and Coca Cola owned all the sheep in Yorkshire or something! :ninja:
Not quite that bad but pretty much anything bought in a supermarket.
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Oh I see, it's more about trashy food, I thought there was some conspiracy I hadn't heard about and Coca Cola owned all the sheep in Yorkshire or something! :ninja:
Not quite that bad but pretty much anything bought in a supermarket.
Only food made in a factory really. Potatoes are not made by Nestle, and eggs are not manufactured by Unilever.
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Not sure where to put this, but I enjoyed this article (https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/hard-grit) about Hard Grit.
(https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5888e176d1758e783f89e2d6/596fb6f59de4bb8efeac96f8/596fb71f414fb56734b47075/1520884413443/HG_RH+3.jpg)
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Spain has 14 climbers who've climbed 9a+ apparently.
http://www.desnivel.com/escalada-roca/los-14-escaladores-del-club-del-9a-espanol
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Ascents of routes with sitstarts included, but not ascents of Bimbaluna. Not quality.
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Even dark horses have bad days: http://murdochjamieson.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-big-whipper-on-ben-nevis.html
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From opening the first children's circuits in Fontainebleau, via pushing the standards in Buoux, to setting the first world cups. Antoine Le Menestrel spills the beans. [In French, but doesn't require more than elementary knowledge + climbing vocab.]
http://www.gratteronetchaussons.fr/2018/06/13/il-etait-une-voie-by-antoine-le-menestrel/
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Merci bien. I think it may require a level a little beyond elementary though...
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My reasoning: No passe simple except être in third person (which can even be heard on radio), so it must be elementary. I'm likely to be wrong.
Anyway, fascinating about historic chipping in B. Also confirmed my suspicion that Edlinger headpointed his routes.
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My reasoning: No passe simple except être in third person (which can even be heard on radio), so it must be elementary. I'm likely to be wrong.
Anyway, fascinating about historic chipping in B. Also confirmed my suspicion that Edlinger headpointed his routes.
Definitely not elementary! Good article though.
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My reasoning: No passé simple except être in third person
:beer2: Impeccable reasoning, duly wadded for working that into a UKB thread.
Interesting article, his aesthetic really comes through in his language. Rose is really chipped isn't it, think there was a lot of 'dentelle de rocher ' to get through there... I've known Antoine in the past, amazing precision when he climbed. A bit like a thin man's John Dunne.
How suitably cultured that Bout du Monde was named after Céline (though some routes named after BDs, like Silence).
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My french isn't very good, but does it tell you how to unsubscribe from his fucking 'lezards bleu' email list?
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https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2018/6/28/rocklands-talk-of-the-crag
A bit heavy on the essay style but an interesting topic.
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My french isn't very good, but does it tell you how to unsubscribe from his fucking 'lezards bleu' email list?
haha... try looking for ''se désinscrire''
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https://www.theprojectmagazine.com/features/2018/8/9/durdle-door
Excellent sounding route and awesome effort.
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https://www.lucien-martinez.com/amuse-bouches/how-to-create-your-own-bait
Nine hypotheses as to why we want to send our project by the indomitable Lucien Martinez. [Quality, but in non-elementary French]
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Nina Caprez writes about a meltdown on Tough Enough
Climbing has this ability of showing us what is really going on inside of us, of bringing our ego to the light, and that’s often painful. I was realizing that in the end I had not really faced this challenge as directly and bravely as I thought I had. I had, in fact, avoided the harder routes whenever I was not convinced deep inside that I would succeed. I had let myself go a little easier than I thought and not learned to deal with not reaching the top. My climbing achievements seemed to all have been called in advance and I had surfed on the satisfaction of sending pitches and making that top anchor clip.
https://blog.arcteryx.com/a-place-of-contrasts/
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Enjoyed that.
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http://www.climbing.co.za/2018/09/africa-amphitheatre-an-historic-big-wall-on-table-mountain/
Interesting history lesson, with a bit of "Long Hardish and Mostly Free" thrown in.
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A list of the 24 hardest long routes in the world. Hardest individual pitch seems to have been the overarching principle, which explains the extremely haphazard look (Dawn Wall not #1, even though it is obviously the hardest long route in the world etc.) Some of the routes are not very long either.
Anyway, interesting list, as they go.
https://www.desnivel.com/escalada-roca/las-24-vias-largas-mas-duras-del-mundo/
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Interesting article, I'm curious why you say "Dawn Wall not #1, even though it is obviously the hardest long route in the world etc."
I've no way of knowing but certainly in terms of the numbers it doesn't look cut and dried in favour of Dawn Wall (the opposite really). Its not like the logistics are simple in Getu cave, especially considering how practised someone like Tommy Caldwell is getting himself established on any part of El Cap to work pitches. Edu Marin is not without pedigree and it took him ages. Did Edu Marin do his route in one push, surely its physically more demanding to do a couple of successive days of continuous roof climbing than relatively slabby climbing - although I guess the sun takes a lot out of you on El Cap.
Not looking for an argument, obviously, just interested.
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i guess Edu spends as much time on horizontal limestone as Tommy does on polished granite!
I think last time this came up Dawn Wall had the advantage in depth of hard pitches?
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380m on bolts: feasible in a day if most pitches are within your onsight grade.
900m on mixed complicated shit + iffy gear: not feasible in a day even if most pitches are totally trivial difficulty wise.
Come on, this is not complicated, anyone who's done a reasonable amount of long routes knows this.
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380m on bolts: feasible in a day if most pitches are within your onsight grade.
900m on mixed complicated shit + iffy gear: not feasible in a day even if most pitches are totally trivial difficulty wise.
There are a couple of things to say about this though...
Come on, this is not complicated, anyone who's done a reasonable amount of long routes knows this.
...but not sure I'm up for another patronising burn.
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Maybe I'm missing something? If I just remove one full number grade from all pitches on both routes (so that the grades have some form of meaning to me), and factor in the length and the seriousness of the routes it seems obvious which one looks a lot easier on paper? Bon, repeats of Valhalla and further repeats of Dawn Wall are surely forthcoming and should give indications.
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Can’t we just decide all this on which one looks better?
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Can’t we just decide all this on which one looks better?
Valhalla is shite and vulgar (https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,29957.msg581375.html#msg581375), so that can't possibly be number 1
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http://mikeowenfrance.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-yorkshire-triple-crown-probably.html
Enjoyed this from Mike Owen about the Yorkshire Triple Crown. I was planning to try and finish this off this summer...maybe next year!
Whats the gossip around Geoff Weigand and The Groove that he dances around?
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From jwi's article I've decided the Ratikon triple crown onsight is the one I'm aiming for.
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http://samountain.co.za/back-issues/
SA Mountain magazine are releasing all back issues online, if anyone wants some SIKE!
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From Mick Ward, about British climbing in the 60s,
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_vector_generation-12796
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From Mick Ward, about British climbing in the 60s,
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_vector_generation-12796
That's pretty good. The sixties does seem to be regarded as a kind of lull between the 50s and the 70s. Mick does a good job of making the case here. There was a superb article by Les Holliwell, I think, called, I think, "Llech Ddu, Lawrie, and Me," in either Crags or Mountain, that gave me a great insight into this period. I would guess the Holliwells would be almost completely forgotten now.
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Whats the gossip around Geoff Weigand and The Groove that he dances around?
I think its where several house martins nests were removed as they were in the way...…
edit - just found the piece, not sure if its about Malham or the above as I think that was at Kilnsey..
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What was the story here?
Closer to home, scandal erupted in The Sunday Times with a well researched article by Peter Gillman. This alleged that a considerable number of new routes in Snowdonia were bogus. While nobody wanted to risk pushing the perpetrator over the edge, equally there was a duty to inform prospective ascensionists that these routes were almost certainly still unclimbed and the grades little more than guesswork.
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The history section of the Groundup Gogarth guide mentions this.
A 'Mr X' of the Apollo Club claimed 26 new routes around the N.Wales area, including 4 on the Upper Tier at Gogarth, in 1967/68. All found to be bogus. It was also known as 'the McAllum Affair'.
''Nothing has been heard of Mr X since 1968''.
:boxing:
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There was a bit of that around Yorkshire limestone. In the 80s/90s I think. Some routes had been claimed around Attermire by one P.G..
Berzins and Sowden (I'd have to check) were on the crag on the day in question and didn't see the climber in question. The routes were climbed properly and given names like White Lies.
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PG also claimed a lot of stuff in Lancashire and a couple of things at Ilkley.
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The history section of the Groundup Gogarth guide mentions this.
A 'Mr X' of the Apollo Club claimed 26 new routes around the N.Wales area, including 4 on the Upper Tier at Gogarth, in 1967/68. All found to be bogus. It was also known as 'the McAllum Affair'.
''Nothing has been heard of Mr X since 1968''.
:boxing:
If I remember, most of them were very futuristic and not actually climbed until much later and at grades no-one was climbing in the late 60s.
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From Mick Ward, about British climbing in the 60s,
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_vector_generation-12796
I enjoyed the article though I'm not convinced the 60s was more than a period of consolidation. Like the 90s, the drugs and music were too good and there was too much prosperity for an advance in climbing standards!
Grant Farquhar's magnificent The White Cliff is required reading if you're interested in this era. It gives much more background to the Holliwells than I ever knew. The McCallum affair is described in detail. A number of new routes were claimed - most notably four at Gogarth - which seemed implausible given their uncleaned state, ability of the first ascensionist, and his vagueness about partners. Ken Wilson wanted to call them out but a libel case would have bankrupted the fledgling Mountain Magazine. The wider world had a surprising level of interest in rock climbing at the time, there were a number TV programmes most famously Joe Brown et al on The Old Man of Hoy which I remember taking hours of TV over a weekend. Wilson and journalist/climber Peter Gillman were thus able to interest The Sunday Times (growing in reputation as an investigative newspaper under Harold Evans) who gave the story a big splash. This might seem like a sledgehammer to crack a nut but it helped make Wilson's reputation and gave him the confidence to confront Maestri over the much bigger fraud on Cerro Torre.
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Pretty amusing list of the five worst routes in the south east of France:
https://www.grimper.com/news-le-top-5-pires-grandes-voies-sud-est
(with a special shout-out to Central Gully at Mam Tor, possibly the worst route the author did in the United Kingdom.)
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Not sure what he was expecting, chossy gully on the chossiest "crag" in the Peak.
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Deep and enjoyable interview with Craig Smith.
https://musclecoach1000.wixsite.com/omniconsumerproducts/post/an-interview-with-craig-smith
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That's pretty good. Weirdly I didn't read it, internally I mean, in Craig's very distinctive voice, which I can hear perfectly.
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Interesting URL there. Wasn't musclecoach recently banned from UKB for trolling the coronavirus threads.
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Its almost like we all knew who it was from the start...what a sad sack.
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Dan should stick to interviews like that - was interesting to read (unlike his posts on here :lol:)
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Its almost like we all knew who it was from the start...what a sad sack.
That wasn't Dan. He's just named the site that.
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That wasn't Dan. He's just named the site that.
Fair enough, I stand corrected. Doesn't change my characterisation though!
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That wasn't Dan.
:lol:
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This is really good from Mick Ward. Excellent historical overview looking at UK climbing’s reverence for boldness.
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/the_stone_children_-_cutting_edge_climbing_in_the_1970s-13297
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Iain Edwards was always a dark horse wasn't he. Only place I've ever seen him mentioned is in the FA list of Baildon Bank. Good article.
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This barely qualifies as chuffing, but quality none the less. Great article in the AAC:
The 8000-er mess
The history of climbing the world's highest peaks is not what it seems (http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201215692)
I have very cursory interest in peak bagging, and even I have known for years that most of the top-claims on e.g. Annapurna are more than questionable. The problems seems to be wider than one would think, and possibly no one has actually climbed all fourteen 8000ers.
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Most people on these peaks are on their holidays. No need to rain on their parade! It just doesn’t really matter now that all 14 have been climbed in less than 6 months. Yet there’s this obsession with 8000m peaks and western climbers thinking doing all of them is a thing. Also I think Damo is wrong, a lot of folk just want to go and experience climbing an 8000er and it’s less about the tick than is made out in the media. Away from Everest anyway.
No one (well hardly anyone) goes to the true summit of Mera. Does it matter? I’m not sure it does really. Most of the 4000m peaks in the Alps are climbed off lifts. The Breithorn?! Scafell Pike is a tougher climb.
Obviously it’s important to be honest which is why I’ve always said Adele Pennington was the first British woman to climb the foresummit of Manaslu (she was working for us). The team didn’t go to the true summit but they stuck it out in bad weather, lost loads of tents and had a great time.
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Quality walking article.
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This made me think about the Inaccessible Pinnacle. There are a few blocky bits on top and it looks like getting to the top of them would involve a few moves of scrambling/climbing - i.e. more technical than walking. I can't remember which of these might have been the tallest, whether they are difficult to get to the top of, and I can't really remember whether we went to the top of any of them? Do the guides get people to go up those bits?
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I can't remember which of these might have been the tallest, whether they are difficult to get to the top of, and I can't really remember whether we went to the top of any of them? Do the guides get people to go up those bits?
yes, or possibly no.
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Looks like this guy doesn't:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDj1L9CFzsI&t=785s
And this guy does:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQu_KDX6AO8&t=593s
Obvs I don't care because summits are for nerds :)
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Up to your second comma that world exists, you live in it.
It's a pity the last bit doesn't exist on the 'popular' peaks but there are plenty of empty mountains. Reminds me of climbing in the Southern Alps of NZ, I especially used to enjoy climbing on the Hooker Valley side of Mt Cook. The Hooker Valley is a no-fly zone and the approach up the glacier takes two days. I'd enjoy walking in with all my gear and food to climb the faces on Mt Cook and surrounding peaks in total isolation, living alone in the NZAC hut for a week at a time. The valley next door, Tasman Glacier, is the normal approach to Mt Cook by flying-in, and you'd be sharing the mountains with plenty of others. Two different worlds.
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This made me think about the Inaccessible Pinnacle. There are a few blocky bits on top and it looks like getting to the top of them would involve a few moves of scrambling/climbing - i.e. more technical than walking. I can't remember which of these might have been the tallest, whether they are difficult to get to the top of, and I can't really remember whether we went to the top of any of them? Do the guides get people to go up those bits?
Are you talking about the right mountain? The In Pin is clearly the summit and the highest bit is big, unambiguous and 'inaccessible'. Yes, munro completists often hire a guide to get them up it. It's a Mod, but very exposed and descent is typically by abbing the V Diff direct. From this info I'd certainly be cynical about your summit claim.
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This made me think about the Inaccessible Pinnacle. There are a few blocky bits on top and it looks like getting to the top of them would involve a few moves of scrambling/climbing - i.e. more technical than walking. I can't remember which of these might have been the tallest, whether they are difficult to get to the top of, and I can't really remember whether we went to the top of any of them? Do the guides get people to go up those bits?
Are you talking about the right mountain? The In Pin is clearly the summit and the highest bit is big, unambiguous and 'inaccessible'. Yes, munro completists often hire a guide to get them up it. It's a Mod, but very exposed and descent is typically by abbing the V Diff direct. From this info I'd certainly be cynical about your summit claim.
The Mod takes you to a long ledge at the top from which you abseil. This ledge has some large blocks on it (which are the abseil anchor) which you can get to the top of without too much difficulty. The Munro bagger under the tutelage of a guide in the video definitely doesn't do it (I don't care). I have no recollection of what we did at the top of the In Pinn other than we abseiled down on someone else's rope. I seem to remember that we were a bit fussy in going to each summit cairn so we probably did nip up the summit blocks. However I have no uncut, 4K definition video of this, and our traverse was witnessed only by an early-rising Spanish dog. Please strike me from the list.
It's just interesting that the same meaningless issues that the 8km nerds obsess over (the difference of one or two metres on an 8000m+ peak - FFS) are not really shared by Munro obsessives who are happy to stand on the In Pinn ledge and not climb the blocks. By the time you get to boulderers you've come full circle and people will laugh you off the crag with their jubilant cries of "DAB!" if a hair on your head brushes a leaf on a neighbouring bush mid-ascent. I predict in a few years time we'll have to invalidate ascents if there's an on-crag wind of more than 20mph.
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On crag winds will be a moot point as everyone will have their own portable fan (and indeed fan-bearer for 9b / 8C upwards).
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I've enjoyed John Middendorf's series of essays about technology and climbing, chapters of a possible book. He's reached pitons in the early 20th century (https://bigwalls.substack.com/p/climbing-pitons-early-evolution-part-ebd). Bolts - the one you're all waiting for - are coming soon.
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Alpinist have been running a similar-ish sounding series on a highly eclectic selection of different bits of significant gear - shorter I think, though, and by different authors.
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Interview with Toni Arbones
https://www.emontana-magazine.com/toni-arbones-siurana-interview/
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The art of downgrading, by Pierre Délas (I presume). Scroll down for English.
https://fanatic-climbing.com/lart-de-la-decotation-downgrading-as-an-art-form/
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https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/utah-base-jumping-rescue-rock-climber/
Learn to offwidth, save a life.
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Not sure if this fits best here but thought some people might be interested…
Whilst on some random instagram stroll, I clicked on the page of a friend of mine (and probably many others here), Ramon Marin.
Noticed he has been involved in creating a book/zine (what actually is a zine!?) about Pembroke.
https://thepembrokebond.com/
Looks really nice, and non-profit. Though something fishy must be going on as that gold-digging, misinformation mongering, atm of the evil empire Rockfax are involved :P
Anyway, maybe if this goes well they will make a nice coffee table book? Would love one of those!
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Clocked that via a link on the other channel, in the article about Ed Morris doing Olympiad….
Ordered my copy right away
;D
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Looks really nice, and non-profit. Though something fishy must be going on as that gold-digging, misinformation mongering, atm of the evil empire Rockfax are involved :P
Anyway, maybe if this goes well they will make a nice coffee table book? Would love one of those!
BP used to sponsor the National Portrait Gallery... it's the sort of vanity project type of stuff you have the luxury of doing when you're an evil empire.
Joking, mostly. Zine looks good.
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Not sure if this fits best here but thought some people might be interested…
Whilst on some random instagram stroll, I clicked on the page of a friend of mine (and probably many others here), Ramon Marin.
Noticed he has been involved in creating a book/zine (what actually is a zine!?) about Pembroke.
https://thepembrokebond.com/
Looks really nice, and non-profit. Though something fishy must be going on as that gold-digging, misinformation mongering, atm of the evil empire Rockfax are involved :P
Anyway, maybe if this goes well they will make a nice coffee table book? Would love one of those!
I'm curious now, what's so evil about rockfax?
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I just think it’s funny that people (especially on ukb) seem to dislike ukc and Rockfax so much. I just jest that they are the evil empire.
I’m not saying they are perfect but they are no different to Most outdoor companies. What exactly people don’t like about them I couldn’t say, though people often cite Rockfax as having lots of mistakes. I can’t imagine there are no guides that don’t have any mistakes- it’s a lot of information to put in a book.
Met one of the SMC publishers whilst on holiday in Scotland recently and he told he put the GPS coordinates in for a crag from the new Scottish rock guide and they were for somewhere in Cornwall!
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2 different things, surprised you wouldn't be aware tbh:
Lots of regulars (including the founder) on here have been banned from UKC for nonsensical reasons. I believe Bubba actually started UKB in response.
Lots of folk dislike rockfax for their history of riding on the back of others work to profit, often at the expense of the local guidebooks and equippers. Certainly lots of European developers have been very down on them for this reason
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I’m banned from UKC for making a joke with a land owner who had requested people to stop climbing in the quarry on his small holding. He said he was going to to contact the BMA to discuss this. I said that wouldn’t be much use unless it was his GP climbing in the quarry. He saw the funny side but UKC didn’t .
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I’m banned from UKC for criticising an article heavily promoting headpointing (well, heavily promoting Franco, really) and criticising UKC for posting it, without any swearing / insulting / personal abuse (I double-checked the UKC forum guidelines to ensure I hadn't contravened them). My post, which apparently was worth banning me for, was still kept up and had a lot of user engagement in terms of likes/dislikes and replies directly to that post.
This is the context of my stance on ethics being well known for 15 years so obviously not trolling, and being the moderator of two major / difficult crags, and having a photo gallery of nearly 800 pictures, the vast majority of which were of routes / crags with no other pictures.
I do think there is a potential clash of interest with a public forum intrinsically, and possibly non-neutrally, linked to a commercial guidebook company, and with a public routes database also being intrinsically linked to the same company.
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I’m banned from UKC for making a joke with a land owner who had requested people to stop climbing in the quarry on his small holding. He said he was going to to contact the BMA to discuss this. I said that wouldn’t be much use unless it was his GP climbing in the quarry. He saw the funny side but UKC didn’t .
Wow. I just went and looked this up thinking there must have been a bit more to it, but there really wasn't. And the landowner clearly took it in good humour. I can't believe you got banned for that.
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I’m banned from UKC for criticising an article heavily promoting headpointing
Also went back and read this and again, it seems bizarre that you got banned for that. Sure it's a strongly expressed opinion that a lot of people won't like, but that is basically what animates every forum on the internet isn't it?
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Lots of folk dislike rockfax for their history of riding on the back of others work to profit, often at the expense of the local guidebooks and equippers.
Personally, this precisely why I dislike Rockfax.
Disappointingly, despite having a couple of pretty public barneys with AJ and CC, I've never been banned from UKC (I've had several identities there because I don't use it and then can't remember my login. At the moment I very occasionally post as B-Team).
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I dislike Rockfax for their inaccuracy and not helping route developers, but on the other hand I also have a Buoux guidebook from the 1990s and it’s incredibly basic.
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I agree, some of the bannings can be quite OTT/heavy handed. I haven’t read either of your threads but they do sound a bit savage, especially yours Webbo.
I don’t know when all that happened but if it was when Mick Ryan was still there then sounded like he was a bit of a dick.
Lots of folk dislike rockfax for their history of riding on the back of others work to profit, often at the expense of the local guidebooks and equippers. Certainly lots of European developers have been very down on them for this reason
I agree some of that stuff isn’t great, but I do think that Alan has seen the error of his ways and now contributes to bolt funds.
I also don’t think Rockfax guidebooks are the best of the best, but they did push standards and guidebooks in the UK are now way better than anywhere else. You could argue that wired guides have piggy-backed off rockfax the concept of a select guidebook and used an exceedingly similar visual format, in fact they did do this in an attempt to squeeze Rockfax out!
As I said before UKClimbing Ltd company isn’t perfect, Alan (who doesn’t own it anymore) can be a funny fella but is a mostly decent guy who is passionate about climbing.
I guess I just find it funny that so much angst is meted out against them but not other companies who can be just as sneaky, and probably give less back, UKC is a free service after all. (Yes you can be a supporter now but you can also not and get pretty much all the same features bar a few?)
DMM loves to copy other companies’ products but you don’t see them getting the same stick.
I did work for UKC for a bit so it might be that I’m biased, but I got paid very little and then got let go with little warning that that was the way it was going… so I could be bitter and hate them too, but I still do think that overall they aren’t so bad and do add some useful stuff to the UK climbing scene.
I haven’t looked at the forums other than to sell stuff for a long long time though.
Maybe I’m massively naive, but I don’t think they are any worse than any other company out there. :devangel:
Edit: that’s my 2p anyway, obviously all welcome to your own opinions! :) also if UKC’s heavy-handed banning created UKB then maybe it is a policy that has some good! :kiss2:
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The Wired guides were never an attempt to squeeze out Rockfax, that would be futile. They were in fact an attempt by the traditional guidebook producers to make some profit to put back into producing loss making definitive guides. This is the main criticism of Rockfax - they have upped the standard of guides considerably but at the cost of making the production of definitive guides for less popular areas less viable because they've captured the market (and profits) of the honeypot areas.
How you feel about that is a personal choice - I'm not bothered either way and as it keeps Fatboy off the streets...
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I agree, some of the bannings can be quite OTT/heavy handed. I haven’t read either of your threads but they do sound a bit savage, especially yours Webbo.
I don’t know when all that happened but if it was when Mick Ryan was still there then sounded like he was a bit of a dick.
It was post Mick Ryan when I got banned. I’m not sure but I think it was someone like Rob Greenwood who wielded the big stick.
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I don't have much new to say about Rockfax that I haven't said many times before. The shortest summary is that it isn't possible to put in as much effort as is required to make a good quality guidebook if you're having to pay your contributors and turn a profit. I don't want to completely slag them, because even to make a poorly researched guidebook requires plenty of effort, and plenty of the people involved are nice. I like Rob, but I'm cross with him because he assured me that UKC would review Northern Rock if we advertised with them and, despite months of me nagging, they then did not review the book. The review was what I really wanted for the book as it would be a fairly reliable Google hit. There's a huge conflict of interest between Rockfax and UKC. Maybe it was Rob being nice because he wanted to completely slate the book and preferred to just not review it at all, but I can't see anybody having that poor of an opinion of it that they'd trash it.
Duncan's right that there will always be mistakes, but not of the sort where a line has been mislabelled as the wrong route. My final proof reading process for Northern Rock lasted from September to February, working on it most nights for a couple of hours or more. I checked every page in excruciating detail. It made me realise just how many mistakes were in the Rockfax Northern Limestone. And these aren't small mistakes either, this is route after route after route shown going to the wrong belay, or only going halfway up the crag when it actually goes 10 or 15m higher, or belays shown in completely the wrong place or not at all. You can shrug and say "who cares?" and you'd be right. Most people don't care. The standard that I tried to hold myself to was perfection and the standard for Rockfax seems to be good-enough-to-sell-and-meet-the-production-schedule.
Independent UK guidebooks are bleeding-out and may as well be declared dead now. Very few people are buying guidebooks any more and lots of shops don't want to stock them. People want to use the Rockfax app, something which the clubs and the BMC are organisationally incapable of competing with. You can hardly blame Rockfax for being too commercially successful, but it does make me very sad because guidebooks always offered something that I thought was special. There was passion on the page that is completely absent from the Rockfax books.
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Was it Rockfax who decided that English Tech Grades and V grades were to be used for bouldering
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They've seen sense on that one. The upcoming Peak bouldering guide will use Font grades only.
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You can hardly blame Rockfax for being too commercially successful, but it does make me very sad because guidebooks always offered something that I thought was special. There was passion on the page that is completely absent from the Rockfax books.
I've got a lot of sympathy for this view (Nick White's South Devon and Dartmoor :wub:), but on the other hand I think it is quite an impractical approach. At the end of the day a guide is a largely functional thing, you have to get to the crag and know which routes you're getting on, and Rockfax's utilitarian approach does this at the expense of more character (Nick's guide being a prime example, pretty hard to use as an actual guide!) This leaves me thinking that guidebooks are not the best medium of expression for an authors creativity, and longer term apps will win out because they're just much easier to use (compare https://www.boolder.com/en to trying to find a problem in font using a paper guide).
Hopefully the same passion that has gone in to guides over the years will find a new outlet.
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At the end of the day a guide is a largely functional thing, you have to get to the crag and know which routes you're getting on, and Rockfax's utilitarian approach does this at the expense of more character (Nick's guide being a prime example, pretty hard to use as an actual guide!) This leaves me thinking that guidebooks are not the best medium of expression for an authors creativity, and longer term apps will win out because they're just much easier to use
You seem to be suggesting that a book cannot give both clear approach/route information AND also have bags of local flavour. There's no reason that this need be the case.
I personally checked all the approach descriptions on Streetview and corrected scores of distances (which when measured out on Google Maps were found to be wrong). Where an approach is difficult I got friends who hadn't visited a particular crag before to road test our description. I badgered the Dunnings and Ibbertsons of the world to check my topos and the grades of hard sport venues; similar with bouldering.
I also filled up any white space I could with amusing anecdotes/locations of swimming spots and canyoning expeditions for hot days/little ticklists - including one of Hidden Gems: fabulous routes which might not be on the radar of first-time visitors. In short, there's loads in there that you won't get from a guidebook produced by people parachuting in to smash-and-grab some topo photos.
You can have your cake and eat it, but you'll never get it from Rockfax.
(I'm not saying that Northern Rock is the best guidebook ever made but I'm still proud of it.)
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Remus.
As a fellow nerd of history I presume you have this ordered? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0CD91XVHY?ref_=dbs_m_mng_wam_calw_tpbk_1&storeType=ebooks&qid=1688975335&sr=8-1
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Remus.
As a fellow nerd of history I presume you have this ordered? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0CD91XVHY?ref_=dbs_m_mng_wam_calw_tpbk_1&storeType=ebooks&qid=1688975335&sr=8-1
I've got the black dog and outside books but hadn't seen stoney was out. Order placed!
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At the end of the day a guide is a largely functional thing, you have to get to the crag and know which routes you're getting on, and Rockfax's utilitarian approach does this at the expense of more character (Nick's guide being a prime example, pretty hard to use as an actual guide!) This leaves me thinking that guidebooks are not the best medium of expression for an authors creativity, and longer term apps will win out because they're just much easier to use
You seem to be suggesting that a book cannot give both clear approach/route information AND also have bags of local flavour. There's no reason that this need be the case.
I personally checked all the approach descriptions on Streetview and corrected scores of distances (which when measured out on Google Maps were found to be wrong). Where an approach is difficult I got friends who hadn't visited a particular crag before to road test our description. I badgered the Dunnings and Ibbertsons of the world to check my topos and the grades of hard sport venues; similar with bouldering.
I also filled up any white space I could with amusing anecdotes/locations of swimming spots and canyoning expeditions for hot days/little ticklists - including one of Hidden Gems: fabulous routes which might not be on the radar of first-time visitors. In short, there's loads in there that you won't get from a guidebook produced by people parachuting in to smash-and-grab some topo photos.
You can have your cake and eat it, but you'll never get it from Rockfax.
(I'm not saying that Northern Rock is the best guidebook ever made but I'm still proud of it.)
For sure it can be done (not that it needs saying, but Northern Rock is a quality example) but from an outside perspective it feels like there's a tension there. Something utilitarian like UKC/rockfax app feels like a more natural medium for a guide in the long term, because incremental updates are easier.
I feel like the rockfax books are almost like an awkward intermediate step in the transition between guidebooks and a fully digitised guide.
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I don't understand people who say that Rockfax guide books lack charm. They have routes drawn on the picture of the wrong mountain, write up 70 m pitches as 50 m, edit out pitches on long complex routes, contain absolutely absurd gear beta, mix up the pitch grades and have many more idiosyncratic edit choices. To rely on a rockfax in the mountain, without double checking with FA topo, definitely adds to the adventure!
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Nick's guide being a prime example, pretty hard to use as an actual guide!
As far as content goes, it was on a par with quality of content in most guidebooks of that era. I never had any difficulty using it to get onto the routes I wanted to do for the years I lived in the area.
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In May, when we visited Taghia, I was looking in the new-route book in the gite for something short, quick-drying and moderately hard after the flurry of snow we had in the morning. I found a brand new route called Soleil de pluie, that seemed to fit the bill. FA by Arnaud Petit, the local guide Mohammed Messoudi and a certain Emmanuel Faber.
I showed the topo for my better half and she immediately spotted the last name in the list. "Emmanuel Faber?, was this route opened by the CEO of Danone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danone)?" (Danone is one of the biggest listed companies in France).
And, yes, the route was put up by the former CEO of Danone. That explains how the route could be so expensively equipped, I guess.
Anyway, Faber is a fascinating figure in the French agricultural industry, and has written a fairly well received autobiography (Ouvrir une voie / To open a new route).
If you have no time for a book, Grimper magazine has an interview with the former boss man
https://www.grimper.com/news-rencontre-emmanuel-faber-grand-patron-prefere-voler-coinceurs-plutot-qu-en-jet-prive
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In May, when we visited Taghia, I was looking in the new-route book in the gite for something short, quick-drying and moderately hard after the flurry of snow we had in the morning. I found a brand new route called Soleil de pluie, that seemed to fit the bill. FA by Arnaud Petit, the local guide Mohammed Messoudi and a certain Emmanuel Faber.
I showed the topo for my better half and she immediately spotted the last name in the list. "Emmanuel Faber?, was this route opened by the CEO of Danone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danone)?" (Danone is one of the biggest listed companies in France).
And, yes, the route was put up by the former CEO of Danone. That explains how the route could be so expensively equipped, I guess.
Anyway, Faber is a fascinating figure in the French agricultural industry, and has written a fairly well received autobiography (Ouvrir une voie / To open a new route).
If you have no time for a book, Grimper magazine has an interview with the former boss man
https://www.grimper.com/news-rencontre-emmanuel-faber-grand-patron-prefere-voler-coinceurs-plutot-qu-en-jet-prive
That's a fun bit of trivia. Danone always scores high in ESG rankings...is that because the big man is a climber??!!
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Mirror Mirror by Ed Drummond (http://www.rockandice.com/articles/ascent/mirror-mirror-by-ed-drummond?page=1)
Great account of one of the all time climbing epics. Bizarrely it had me fascinated by the Troll Wall for two decades, an itch I'm very happy never to have scratched.
I was talking about this with someone at the wall tonight and came looking for the link. It's broken now, does anybody have this article and can share it?
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Text is still available on the WaybackMachine (https://web.archive.org/web/20170908200932/http://www.rockandice.com/articles/ascent/mirror-mirror-by-ed-drummond) although a little awkward to get the text out caus of the formatting of the webpage.
I've put the text into a temporary place here: https://justpaste.it/7w0py (https://justpaste.it/7w0py)
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Good sleuthing! I've uploaded a copy here in case those links break for some reason https://climbing-history.org/file/4b526a2b-177a-7b56-9e8a-dd9a29178901/Mirror%20Mirror.txt
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I had a look for it on Archive.is but nae luck - the cached page is the "404".
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Thanks everyone.
Text is still available on the WaybackMachine (https://web.archive.org/web/20170908200932/http://www.rockandice.com/articles/ascent/mirror-mirror-by-ed-drummond) although a little awkward to get the text out caus of the formatting of the webpage.
I've put the text into a temporary place here: https://justpaste.it/7w0py (https://justpaste.it/7w0py)
I'd checked the Wayback but could only get the first page. Was the full article stored in that first page somehow?
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I don't understand people who say that Rockfax guide books lack charm. They have routes drawn on the picture of the wrong mountain, write up 70 m pitches as 50 m, edit out pitches on long complex routes, contain absolutely absurd gear beta, mix up the pitch grades and have many more idiosyncratic edit choices. To rely on a rockfax in the mountain, without double checking with FA topo, definitely adds to the adventure!
The best one has to be photographing the Verdon Gorge from the rim on the opposite side so that from below not a single feature is apparent.
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I don't understand people who say that Rockfax guide books lack charm. They have routes drawn on the picture of the wrong mountain, write up 70 m pitches as 50 m, edit out pitches on long complex routes, contain absolutely absurd gear beta, mix up the pitch grades and have many more idiosyncratic edit choices. To rely on a rockfax in the mountain, without double checking with FA topo, definitely adds to the adventure!
The best one has to be photographing the Verdon Gorge from the rim on the opposite side so that from below not a single feature is apparent.
That is maybe why some of the lines are drawn in the wrong place as well. The authors don't really find the lines on the photo from across the gorge.
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Surely guides for places like the Verdon are going to get considerably more accurate now drones are widely available and cheap?
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It's one thing to take a photo of the wall, it's quite another to spend the time accurately drawing on the lines.
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It's one thing to take a photo of the wall, it's quite another to spend the time acquiring the knowledge for accurately drawing on the lines.
FTFY
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It's one thing to take a photo of the wall, it's quite another to spend the time acquiring the knowledge for accurately drawing on the lines.
FTFY
This, but even so it is hard, as anyone who has written a guidebook can attest to. I managed to shift all routes one step to the left on half of the line on a crag where I have done all routes multiple times. The proof readers also missed this
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As much as I love a photo topo for single pitch or lesser multipitch routes, I just don't see the benefit in it for places where either:
1. You approach top-down (Vedon, Hebrides, most sea-cliffs.
2. Routes are 250m+
I still think the well-drawn hand topo struggles to be beaten for 2.
For top-down routes, it's often more a case of orienteering to the abb, then good written descriptions. I sometimes wish we weren't so fussy about markings in this country - some way of marking an abb point would often really help.