Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Nepal 2008 - First Peak Ascent, Kang Nachugo (6,735 meters), Rolwaling Himal, Nepal
David Gottlieb and Joe have had great success on making the first ascent of Kang Nachugo (6,735 meters) in the Rolwaling Himal of Nepal. They made the ascent over 5 days, summitting on October 17. Please visit Climb Nepal blog for a full account: http://climbnepal.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Mt. Brooks - North Ridge
On July 16th, we headed up to the North Side of Denali Park to climb Mount Brooks. The weather looked marginal but we were sure it would give us a few good days in our 10 day window.
Packing at Jodi and Bill's before heading to the bus. Ed contemplating the largest bear canister.
Ed and Michelle heading for the bus
We hiked in from the Eilson Visitors Center across the Thorofare River and up Glacier Creek, the hardest part was staying dry
The beautiful Alaskan tundra:
After about 12 miles or so of hiking up Glacier Creek, it was finally time to get on the Muldrow Glacier for some real fun.
It wasn't quite as bad as it looked
One of many cool lakes on the glacier:
OK, maybe it was a tad difficult. Dinner break after a long day on the Muldrow
After about 8 miles of walking on moraines we finally got to the junction of the Brooks and Muldrow Glacier where there was ice showing. Great break from the moraine.
After five days straight of rain and fresh snow, we finally got a little clearing and started up the mountain.
Leaving the moraine and entering our first snow patch.
The weather came in and we were still going strong
Six hours later we were at our high camp at 9,000 feet; where it snowed and snowed.
After snowing hard all night long, we awoke the next morning to a partial clearing and decided to go for it.
It look like the middle of winter with all the fresh snow.
We plowed our way up calf to thigh-deep fresh powder snow for the remaining 3,000 feet to the summit.
The weather stayed okay for about 2 hours before it socked in completely, and all we saw for the rest of the climb was this:
It took us about 6 hours to summit from high camp. We couldn't see anything but it was good to be there.
On the way down it really started to snow hard, and it dumped another foot or more by next morning.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise, with our first view of Wonder Lake in the distance.
Looking down the Muldrow Glacier:
Michelle shoveling off the tent and platform:
We started the descent which went pretty smoothly.
We arrived at the base and enjoyed 2 perfect hours of sun and a nap and some clothes drying before hitting the glacier again on our way back to the bus!
On the way out we got a glimpse of the peak.
The river felt so good on our tired feet
Approaching the road, the bus, a shower, and good food!
Packing at Jodi and Bill's before heading to the bus. Ed contemplating the largest bear canister.
Ed and Michelle heading for the bus
We hiked in from the Eilson Visitors Center across the Thorofare River and up Glacier Creek, the hardest part was staying dry
The beautiful Alaskan tundra:
After about 12 miles or so of hiking up Glacier Creek, it was finally time to get on the Muldrow Glacier for some real fun.
It wasn't quite as bad as it looked
One of many cool lakes on the glacier:
OK, maybe it was a tad difficult. Dinner break after a long day on the Muldrow
After about 8 miles of walking on moraines we finally got to the junction of the Brooks and Muldrow Glacier where there was ice showing. Great break from the moraine.
After five days straight of rain and fresh snow, we finally got a little clearing and started up the mountain.
Leaving the moraine and entering our first snow patch.
The weather came in and we were still going strong
Six hours later we were at our high camp at 9,000 feet; where it snowed and snowed.
After snowing hard all night long, we awoke the next morning to a partial clearing and decided to go for it.
It look like the middle of winter with all the fresh snow.
We plowed our way up calf to thigh-deep fresh powder snow for the remaining 3,000 feet to the summit.
The weather stayed okay for about 2 hours before it socked in completely, and all we saw for the rest of the climb was this:
It took us about 6 hours to summit from high camp. We couldn't see anything but it was good to be there.
On the way down it really started to snow hard, and it dumped another foot or more by next morning.
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise, with our first view of Wonder Lake in the distance.
Looking down the Muldrow Glacier:
Michelle shoveling off the tent and platform:
We started the descent which went pretty smoothly.
We arrived at the base and enjoyed 2 perfect hours of sun and a nap and some clothes drying before hitting the glacier again on our way back to the bus!
On the way out we got a glimpse of the peak.
The river felt so good on our tired feet
Approaching the road, the bus, a shower, and good food!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Desert Tour - Part 3 - The Tower Onslaught
Michelle headed home in early April and I spent a couple weeks climbing towers around Moab with my friends Jim and Stoney, plus one bout of soloing. In all, I successfully climbed 32 towers and a half dozen other routes. The complete trip report can be found on the SuperTopo website:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=584543
Enjoy!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Desert Tour - Part 2 - Red Rocks and Zion
Next stop was Red Rocks, Nevada.
Where you can either visit this:
Or this:
Your choice.
We chose this:
and this:
We spent a few days climbing Dark Shadows, Frogland, and Sour Mash, before our good friends Chin and Raleigh from Virginia showed up. The first day we all cragged a little, then Raleigh and I climbed Eagle Dance and then a twisted variation of The Gobbler and Yellow Brick Road on Black Velvet Wall (this to bypass the cluster on Dream of Wild Turkey's and other routes).
Raleigh hadn't climbed for two years, but right out of the gate he was leading mid-5.10. Okay, I'm only a little jealous.
Raleigh on photo-shoot day:
Chin loving it too:
Me leading the second pitch of The Gobbler, with Raleigh belaying.
All in all we had a great week in Red Rocks, with splitter weather and pretty moderate crowds.
The Red Rocks Rock Stars:
Next stop: Zion.
I love Zion and this is partly why:
We only had a chance to spend two days here. The first day was a bit of a lazy day. We rode up canyon in the shuttle and climbed The Pulpit - a cool little spire at the end of the rode.
Here's Michelle following the one and only pitch:
Day 2 we climbed Iron Messiah, a 10-pitch 5.10 route on the Spearhead.
You gotta love chimneys to like this route:
High on the route (see Michelle at bottom of crack and shuttle bus below), the second to the last pitch was a steller 200-foot corner.
We hadn't done a ton of crack climbing up to this point, so our hands felt a little painful.
A big thanks goes to our good friends Sheriel, Syndi, and Barbara for their amazing hospitality in Zion. Look for them in the upcoming Sherpa catalog...
Where you can either visit this:
Or this:
Your choice.
We chose this:
and this:
We spent a few days climbing Dark Shadows, Frogland, and Sour Mash, before our good friends Chin and Raleigh from Virginia showed up. The first day we all cragged a little, then Raleigh and I climbed Eagle Dance and then a twisted variation of The Gobbler and Yellow Brick Road on Black Velvet Wall (this to bypass the cluster on Dream of Wild Turkey's and other routes).
Raleigh hadn't climbed for two years, but right out of the gate he was leading mid-5.10. Okay, I'm only a little jealous.
Raleigh on photo-shoot day:
Chin loving it too:
Me leading the second pitch of The Gobbler, with Raleigh belaying.
All in all we had a great week in Red Rocks, with splitter weather and pretty moderate crowds.
The Red Rocks Rock Stars:
Next stop: Zion.
I love Zion and this is partly why:
We only had a chance to spend two days here. The first day was a bit of a lazy day. We rode up canyon in the shuttle and climbed The Pulpit - a cool little spire at the end of the rode.
Here's Michelle following the one and only pitch:
Day 2 we climbed Iron Messiah, a 10-pitch 5.10 route on the Spearhead.
You gotta love chimneys to like this route:
High on the route (see Michelle at bottom of crack and shuttle bus below), the second to the last pitch was a steller 200-foot corner.
We hadn't done a ton of crack climbing up to this point, so our hands felt a little painful.
A big thanks goes to our good friends Sheriel, Syndi, and Barbara for their amazing hospitality in Zion. Look for them in the upcoming Sherpa catalog...
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