Lionel climbing out onto a hanging ice dagger
The New Zealand Alpine Team is spending three weeks ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies around Canmore, Alberta this February.
Follow this blog to see what we get up to!
Sun set over Mt Fitz Roy, Patagonia. As a storm fast approaches.
An interesting transition is taking place in New Zealand alpine climbing currently. We are in the process of a generational change.
Like a small wave lapping at your ankles, the next generation often arrives relatively unnoticed. As the years pass, the wave grows stronger, before you know it a large breaker simply pushes past you and there you have it, here they are.
The view West from Aoraki summit. Low lands hugged in cloud.
Papatūānuku shifts imperceptibly in her sleep. Far above, a man stumbles. He is strong, but on this occasion he falls. The snow beneath him begins its slow slide. It gathers pace. Oblivion. She notices not; but for those close to him, their lives change forever. They wander grieving on this earth, alone, and in groups, seeking out his scent that lingers in the places he frequented. They travel to the Anti-crow; the last dwelling he entered, and see the last words he wrote. Others travel south to the hunting grounds of his youth.
Daniel sending the Enduro Corner during Caro and his ascent of Free Rider.
In 2018 I was standing around on top of El Capitan with Jon Seddon a fellow Kiwi and my climbing partner for that particular trip. It was my second attempt on Free Rider with Jon. Earlier in the year my first attempt ended with a dislocated shoulder in the offwidth above El Cap Spire. We were sorting our haul bags and having a quick chat with Adam Ondra who was doing a photo shoot. We had just finished our attempt on Free Rider which had gone well but ultimately we had both fallen a couple of times. Adam asked me dead pan: "Why didn’t you just try again?" I laughed, we did!
Running shorts and running shorts on a mountain summit?
Imagine yourself jogging up the Matukituki Valley with a 3kg pack, cresting Bevan Col, donning light crampons on your running shoes across the Bonar Glacier, taking a late morning snack at Colin Todd, scrambling the Northwest ridge of Aspiring, and ripping it all the way back to the car in time for dinner in Wanaka. Welcome to the exciting world of Trailpinism: combining trail running gear, tactics and efficiency with mountain craft for a new way of tackling higher peaks.
The Macpac New Zealand Alpinist of the Year awards are judged over the 12-month period that follows the previous year’s Remarkables Ice and Mixed Festival. The awards recognise the best alpine climbs during a one year period, taking into account style, difficulty and creativity of the ascent. The award is open to all New Zealand citizens and Expedition Climbers Club members for climbs completed in New Zealand or overseas. This year's awards ceremony will take place in August at the Ice and Mixed Festival in Queenstown, NZ.
Meri Simms climbing the summit slopes of Ishinca in Peru's Cordillera Blanca
Peru and the Cordillera Blanca must have the most easily accessed 6000m peaks in the world. It’s possible to be at a base camp for a peak the same day you leave town. It’s also a cheap country to travel in and climbing requires no peak fees. The dry winter season also has stable weather giving us a good chance of getting up high.
Kim Ladiges firing up an off-fingers splitter crack on Mount Barrill in Alaska's Ruth Gorge
Another serac rips from the summit ice cliffs of neighbouring Mount Dickey, and the familiar roar of avalanche thunders through the valley. My calves shake on crumbling footholds, the infamous “Cracker Jack Gravel” of the Ruth Gorge.
I’m balanced on an arete well above my last piece. I reach for a pecker piton and weld it into a thin crack with my free hand, tightening my crimp on the other. I launch into the corner above, loaded with tottering loose flakes.
Steve Fortune finishing a simul climbing block on the West Face of Cerro Torre
This is a technique that when used right will speed up many alpine and multi pitch ascents. Why speed up your ascent? Personally I think speed is a key factor to moving safely in the mountains. If you climb slowly you are more likely to have unplanned bivvies, get stuck in storms or get caught out by rock fall or serac fall. Moving quickly over technical terrain is also good fun!
Starting with the basics: "simul climbing" is when two climbers move at the same time with a rope between them, placing and removing protection as they go.
