Dave MacCleod’s Climb

This is what Lisa’s talking about in the post below. His 55 minute BBC movie of that climb is called “To Hell and Back” and can be watched here for free or purchased here. From his website:

“First off the BBC TV film To Hell and Back about my first ascent of the E10 on Cairngorm has finally been released on DVD by Triple Echo, after many requests… The climb is still the UK’s only E10 graded mountain rock climb and one of the most serious trad routes anywhere. In the film there’s a fair bit of me getting really quite scared, belayers reduced to tears and even the film crew saying on camera that they wouldn’t film something like it again. You can get a copy here. Enjoy.”

New Opening

I have developed a new opening for the videos I make. Do you like it?

9 Out of 10 Climbers

I just bought this book written by Dave MacLeod whose website is here. Lots of advice on training for technique, developing finger strength and endurance as well as putting some of the initial fun you had as a beginning climber into your training.

One section of his book is devoted to falling. He states “it’s the primary weakness in over 50% of the climbers I  meet for coaching sessions.”

He suggests a fall from every lead climb we do in the gym. He says, “if you do 20 routes per session (that’s a lot!), 3 timers per week, and practice falls from each one, that’s a few thousand falls per year.” There are many ways he suggests to work into this and incorporate it into indoor leading. So Lisa and I have been doing this a little more. We’ll see if it helps.

Ice Climbing Competition

This is a photo of the women’s winner from the t0p of the Ice Climbing World Cup 2010 in Saas Fee Switzerland. She is clipping the top draw. Cool shot.

Endless Ascent

Will Gadd’s training program for his 24 hours of ice climbing at the Ouray Ice Festival included kayaking, rock climbing, biking, crossfit gym workouts and even ice climbing.  Part of his training was doing 50+ laps per day on the ice as shown in this video. What he ate during his climb included “Eight Red Bulls. 18 liters of water/electrolyte mix plus another six or so after the event. An entire tub of Clif Electrolyte mix.”

You Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Pack

Here’s a great way to firm and tone your legs as well as strengthen your back – carry a fridge uphill at altitude using some rope and a tumpline. The backstory of the video is here

.

Vodka Train

I wonder if you drink the whole time or just at nights on this 20 day train trip from Moscow to Beijing.

Trip Report

Russell and Tyler went to Vegas last week to climb at Red Rocks but they were snowed out. So they drove south and climbed at Christmas Tree Pass. I’ll have to bug them about some photos.

More Barefoot Running News

Another bit of evidence that modern running shoes are worse for us than no shoes.

“Runners who wore sneakers ended up landing heel-first 75 to 80 percent of the time. By contrast, barefoot runners usually land toward the middle or front of the foot -- a dramatic difference that recalls the more natural foot strike of early Homo sapiens. Needless to say, early humans certainly were not born to run wearing Nike or Reebok.

The heel-landing without shoes means a painful collision force of 1.5 to 3 times human body weight. But cushioned sneaker heels have allowed runners to change their stride to high-impact running, and likely open up a whole world of pain involving foot and leg injuries.”

A new shoe design:

Training & Goal Setting

More on setting training goals from the web site “Climb Strong”.

“Unfortunately, many climbers reach a performance plateau and seek to break through it via training modes outside of climbing such as running, yoga, or high-intensity weight training. Although these are all valid modes of exercise, each is highly unlike climbing and will offer only limited training value.

The first step to effective training is understanding what, exactly, needs to be trained. Take a good, long, and most of all, honest look at your performance before you decide to double your time in the weight room.”

Reel Rock Winner

This is the winner of the action category for the 2009 Reel Rock Film Contest. (Funny, I didn’t even notice them filming me.)

It’s A Dog’s Life

Buddy, one of several official Fun With Rocks dogs, injured his leg a few weeks ago. (The only reason I found out is that I asked him how his leg was and he said, “Ruff.”)

Anyway, he’s started a physical therapy program and here’s his first day.

Girly-Girl’s Guide To Packing For Adventure

I found this article quite helpful in planning for my next trip. Hope you do too.

Here’s A Good Way To Celebrate Your Birthday

When I turn 100, I will take up smoking too.

New Ice Park In Wyoming

Now if you go to Targhee, you don’t have to waste all of your time skiing. They have an ice park with fixed top ropes.

Two reports here and here.

What Some Moms Do For Fun

For this mother, it’s time to get extreme:

“I tootled to the indoor rock climbing centre, booked myself in for private lessons with a fairly easy on the eye instructor (ah yes, I am a mother but I most certainly am not blind), and began scaling rock walls. Yes I'll be the first to admit that as I hung from a rock wall which was parallel to the floor, with my instructor’s hands on my derriere, I did take a minute to wonder what on earth I was doing. But overall I really enjoyed the experience (no, not JUST the instructors hands on my derriere) and had a fabulous day when we finally went on an outdoor climb. Even the abseiling was fun.”

The Ice Pit

Story and photos from the Ice Pit near Green Bay. Looks a lot like Sandstone.

Let's go to the movies! Who's in?

North Face the Movie - Special Free Prescreening at REI Bloomington
2/26/2010 6:00 PM
Based on a true story, NORTH FACE is a gripping adventure drama about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. In 1936, Nazi propaganda urges German Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif, the Eiger, bringing two reluctant climbers, Toni Kurz (BENNO FÜRMANN) and Andi Hinterstoisser (FLORIAN LUKAS), to begin their daring ascent and attempt to scale the infamous rock face, often called the Murder Wall. A truly gripping film! The film is 126 minutes long and is in subtitles. The links below are a previews of the movie.
Location: REI Bloomington
Contact: REI Bloomington Customer Service 952-884-4315 x. 9
Cost: Free

A review of the movie is here and here.

If the subtitles bum you out, sit by me, I will read them to you. Then we can go out for a beer.

She Has Two Mountains To Climb

This 51 year- old woman with a rare debilitating disease is leaving in April to attempt Mt. Everest.

“My immune system is attacking me. It’s attacking my blood vessels. … it’s attacked my sinuses and my eyes and my throat … You just carry on.” Abbott’s illness requires constant treatment and drug therapy.

I had a cold the other day and didn’t go climbing. What a pansy!

Ice Climbing The Hard Way

Here’s a video of a mixed ice climbing competition where they didn’t even have any ice.

Training For The 7 Summits

Here’s a list from the American Alpine Institute of what courses they recommend for each of the 7 Summits.

 

 

 

Once you’ve gotten the training, here’s a cost breakdown of climbing the “7s.”  Short version - $120K to $180K. That’s why these kids probably have rich parents.

(I’ve got a bid on the “7s” at ebay. I’m hoping I can get a good deal.)

Be One Of The First

They’re accepting orders inquiries for these now. Be the first on your block – or on your planet – to fly with one of these.

Check this video out!

“This  2000 climbing film takes climbing movies to new heights of incredulity. Unbelievable situations, such as taking nitroglycerin on a rescue mission on K2 makes this a must view for all climbers.
If you cannot find the actual full video at your local public library watch this for great tips on HOW NOT TO CLIMB.”

 

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Anyone can shoot a video; even a chimp.

Jumping 120,000 Feet

This is scheduled for 2010; a jump from 120,000 feet high. It’ll take 3 hours in a balloon to get that high and then he’ll jump out and

“Within 35 seconds or so, Baumgartner will hit supersonic speeds and break the sound barrier. No one really knows what will happen at that point, but the scientists seem confident that he’ll maintain consciousness. He will free fall for roughly six more minutes, pulling his chute at about 5,000 feet and coasting for 15 minutes back to solid ground.”

Tawoche Summit

They made it to the summit even though they went 36 hours without water. On their descent, they use several different types of snow/ice anchors (bollards, V-thread) as well as pitons.

TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #5 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Supersuit

This new supersuit might be just the ticket for winter walking in MN.

From puff daddy to slim daddy with new technology. I will miss the puffy look if this catches on.

Sport Climbing Book

There’s a new book on sport climbing with a promotional video posted below. At the 1:05 minute mark, they lasso a quick draw with their rope, which is cool and hard to believe is possible.

Stretching

I was re-reading this article about stretching and the advantages of dynamic stretching vs static stretching such as this:

“The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.”

Here’s an example for tennis players.

Summer Internship

So I get to do an internship this summer for school, and they are look super fun. One of the places that looks more promising is Pangaea Guides out of Valdez, AK. I would be there sea kayak and glacier hiking intern. Helping out with day trips, and potentially getting into some of their multi-sport extended trips. Another one might be working at one of the guide centers part way up Denali, over looking the park. Hopefully I'll find out where I'll be headed in the next couple of weeks.

(Updated by Richard.) I found the website of Panagea Guides in Alaska and sure enough there was a photo of Ben. Kewl!

Climbing Is The Truth

That’s what their friend told them. Here’s part 4 of a climb in Nepal by Renan Ozturk & Cory Richards. They apparently have an indoor toilet now. Lisa will love this quote:

“Climbing on rock like this with only one or two pieces per pitch is against all conventional wisdom .”

 

Tiger’s Lair

Located in Bhutan. Great photo.

Running Up Aconcagua

A 49 year old woman will attempt to run up Aconcagua. She left Monday for South America.

“In the dozen years since brain surgery brought relief from debilitating epileptic seizures, Diane Van Deren has become one of the world’s top endurance runners. She regularly competes in long-distance tests of perseverance, 100 miles or more through wicked terrain and tortuous conditions. Van Deren plans a speed ascent of Aconcagua…It would be a 75-mile (120-kilometer) round trip with 18,000 feet in elevation gain. They think it can be done in less than 35 hours.”

You can follow her here.

Pete, This Is For You

Peter doesn’t have email so this posting is only for his eyes. It’s what I mentioned at VE. This is just the raw video footage of you at Arcola last Monday.

Mel At VE

Mel, I think for some reason you can’t watch these videos. Well, we can. So here you are at VE on Wednesday.

Climbing Overhanging Ice

This is a lot like what we did on Monday at the Arcola icicle. Only we didn’t have cheering crowds.

Want To Touch The Void?

The story is here of their original climb of Siula Grande in Peru when one of the two climbers almost died.

“Yates decided that the only logical step was to cut the rope. Unfortunately, below Simpson at the bottom of the cliff was a deep crevasse... When Yates cut the rope, Simpson plummeted down the cliff and into the crevasse.

Simpson was, however, still alive and on a ledge inside the crevasse. He had survived a 100 ft fall, with a broken leg. From there, he spent three days without food and only splashes of water from melting ice, crawling and hopping five miles back to the base camp. Almost completely delusional, he reached the base camp a few hours before Yates intended to leave the camp to return to civilization.”

Now, one of those climbers is taking a group with him to trek around the mountain. Details here.

Will Gadd writes back, we are pen pals now you know.

Hi Lisa,

Minnesota is great, haven't been back in years but always enjoyed it!

Ah yes, down climbing easy terrain, the crux of so many climbs! And lots of that on the Exum. Yes, that's what I'm talking about exactly.

I'll send out the syllabus once done, July 3-8 are likely dates, five days including lunch, couple of dinners at my house, three hired gun coaches for specific stuff, $500.

Thanks!

WG

PS--fun blog too!

Talus Running

This series of slides on how to run on talus is from the 1975 Chouinard Catalog (precursor to Patagonia.)

Talus Running PPT

See more presentations by rgsletten | Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

Mountain Movement

This is part of an article from Will Gadd's Blog:

I've taught some very diverse groups, ranging from the very unfit to the uber-fit. I also do some sports performance coaching, and enjoy the hell out of that. I really love seeing and helping people with both the mental and physical gymnastics of sports on a competitive or recreational level.

Out of all this I've come to realize that fast and safe non-technical movement in the mountains is not all that basic, nor instinctive for most people. Relatively few people can move well across a chossy hillside, over talus, across a rounded and slippery river bed, or feel secure on a short step of higher-angle loose terrain. But the acquisition of these skills can be sped up immensely with a little coaching. I'm now working (slowly) on a book about mountain movement that covers pretty much everything from running talus to staying warm in winter. I want to test some of my theories and ideas this spring, and this is where you may come in...

Want to spend five days in the Canadian Rockies in early July having a lot of fun, falling down, getting wet, suffering and generally being outside a lot? I'm going to run a five-day mountain movement course, open to anyone but aimed mostly at the relatively new outdoor sports enthusiast. No more than five people, five days.

So I sent Will the following Email:

Hi Will,
I am a follower of your blog and an intrigued by this idea. You are right, it is not instinctive. I am kind a late bloomer. I am 49. I like to climb rick and ice,
I live in Minnesota so nothing huge ( We do what we can!)
Last Summer I climbed the Exum Ridge on the Grand Teton, that climb was fabulous!!! Then I found out, I SUCK at down climbing. I wanted to back down everything. Jumping form boulder to boulder seemed like a bad idea. My knees were telling me that they could not be trusted, so my head told me best to use caution than to be carried off the mountain. My supportive spouse asked me if I was "having an issue" jeeeez. I was doing my best, so now I feel that if I am not roped up, I move like I am 70. I now down climb at the gym as well as going up. I would be interested in any helpful insights you might have on mountain movement. Going up is easy, must be the short legs!

I will let you know what I hear back for Will. Who wants to go to Calgary??

Climbing Capital Of The Rockies?

Lander Wyoming is the climbing capital of the Rockies according to this article.

“Lander is such a climber’s town that even the public swimming pool has two climbing walls so youngsters can race up and then fall back into the deep end.”

Here’s Something You Haven’t Done

At least, my hunch is you haven’t done this yet. (But if you have, please leave a comment here or post some photos.)

This couple walked the length of Japan on stilts. (You might ask “Why?” But I’d say “Why not?”)

Video below is in Japanese but walking on stilts is understandable in any language. Here’s their website The Pongo Hogo Hogo Challenge.

 

mick & miki 竹馬で日本縦断の旅　放送映像 from Studio FiLce on Vimeo.

Arcola Ice Climbing Part II

In this video, you will see Lisa do a Figure 4 with ice tools and crampons, Peter do his first ice climbs, John do mixed climbing and learn how a queen should wave to the crowd and me climb ice without crampons. Some posse I ride with, huh?

Photos here.

When You Can Only Boulder At Home

This looks like a tough route.

Ice Climbing Monday

Lisa, Pete, John & I went to Peter’s favorite climbing place by the river. The weather was perfect – sunny and 30s.  Warm enough for Peter to be in his T shirt. We did some mixed climbs here which we rated MM 3 –4  for Mixed Moss. Some photos.

There are several bolted sport climbs near this ice. Nice area. Could be developed more for bolted mixed climbing.

View Full Album

Fantasy Land?

What has plants that look this and unclimbed granite tower like this?

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Socotra Island off the coast of Yemen that is

“home to ancient granite towers and over 300 endemic species of plant, animal and insect life, with a culture that has not changed its ways for thousands of years, a fantasy land, that, for today's day of explorers is still (at least it was!) virgin, unseen, and holds the variable that adventure cannot exist without: Mystery. EvenSinbad the Sailor is rumored to have been here and battled huge dragon-like birds as they destroyed his ship.”

Story of the first two climbers who climbed there.

1000 Days At Sea

This sailor has now spent 1000 days at sea without touching land and without re-supply. The goal is to demonstrate

“the potential for making a journey to Mars one day. In the process, Reid has set a record for the longest solo sea expedition ever.”

Banff Film Festival 2010

Here’s the trailer for the 2009/10 Banff Film Festival.

Via Ferrata In British Columbia

This is a great photo from the Nimbus Tower in the Purcell Mountains of  British Columbia.

“Before we tackle the via ferrata, we spend a day heli-hiking -- it's basically heli-skiing sans skis … touches us down on a broad ridge above the timberline for a gentle stroll with jaw-dropping alpine views in all directions.
The group ranges from late teens to early 70s, with two things in common: Everyone is fit and fairly well-off. At about $800 a day, this sport doesn't attract the impecunious alpinists you find Dumpster-diving around Yosemite's Camp 4.”

Sounds like a cheap place to stay at only $800/day.

Good News From Brunei

They managed to save a rock climbing wall in Brunei. So when you go there, pack you climbing shoes. They have two others, this was the tallest one though.

Base Camp Of Tawoche

3rd video from the climbers now at base camp of Tawoche

TAWOCHE 2K10 dispatches_#3 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Golden Arches

Jen, Peter, Lisa and I were at VE today. Here’s a new climb on the arch.

Arch climb 1-15-10 from rgsletten on Vimeo.

Ice Anchors

This is testing done on ice screws vs V-threads by Petzl. The ice screws are stronger.

Ice anchor Workshop
by Petzl-crew

Thursday Sheesh

Six minutes on the wall. Doesn't really matter what you do, we climbed up, and over and around and up again and down. Six minutes is a long time! Repeat ohh... 4-5 times.
Results?

• A light pump
• a chance to experiment with non preferred holds and moves
  
• and a total slow down, mental and physical.

Yoga pose of the day, a hip opener, Happy Baby. Do IT!

VE Thursday

Noal did a ceiling climb today for a cheering group of kids.

VE 12-14-10 from rgsletten on Vimeo.

Best Ice Climbing In A Decade

That’s what they’re saying in the UK.

“It is not surprising that Launchy Gill, the cascade that we are climbing, is melting. What is surprising is that it froze. Just 200m above sea level, and five minutes from the road, it is currently one of the lowest and most accessible ice climbs in Britain. It hasn’t been climbable for this long in 15 years, and usually it does not freeze at all.”

Let Them Taste The Wrath

This could be the description of climbing at Homer’s:

"Extreme pain is what they need to feel for the entire route," Whitt told him. "Let them taste the wrath as the agony consumes them."

But it’s not. It’s the description of the Ouray Ice Festival’s 2010 route.

 “It began with a steep but short "sit-start" section of M7 that led to an icy slab. A nearly holdless squeeze chimney above brought competitors to a balancy rest and re-belay. Higher still was the headwall, a 50-foot section of blocky, overhanging rock speckled with ice globules and capped by an overhanging ice ledge that led to the top of the gorge and the finish point.”

More Homer

Here’s about 4 minutes of us ice climbing at Homer’s on Wednesday. Climbing ice can be fun, but the best part for me, is the dry tooling.

Ron, there is a special message for you near the end of this video.

Homer’s Ice

We climbed fat ice, thin ice, mixed ice and rock. It was warm   warmish and sunny. 

More photos here.

Jump Start Chirstmas Money

So I received a considerable amount of Christmas money from my Grandma Ender.

Here is the undeniable result.

Cirque Of The Unclimbables

Story here of two women who made the first ascent of a 12oo foot 13a rock climb in Canada last summer.

“In August Ines Papert from Germany and Lisi Steurer from Austria made the first ascent of "Power of Silence" 400m, 5.13a on the Middle Huey Spire in the Cirque of the Unclimbables, Canada.”

Avalanche On Mars

Here are two photos of sand dunes on Mars. In the lower one, you can see a landslide as it happens. (The article calls it an avalanche which might be the right word for it; it’s certainly cooler to have an avalanche.)

“It’s Mars, a dune field in the far north; at latitude 83.5° to be precise, less than 400 km (240 miles) from the north pole. The eternal Martian wind blows the heavy sand into dunes, and you can see the hummocks and ripples from this across the image. The sand on Mars is from basalt, which is a darkish gray color. The red comes from much smaller dust particles which settle everywhere.”

 

Magic Forest

“Freeze Light” magic forest. Their website is here.

Freezelight Magic Forest from FREEZELIGHT.RU on Vimeo.

Ice Climbing Wednesday

It’s supposed to be    and 30s on Wednesday, So we’re going ice climbing about 1sih. Secret location so if you want to meet us there, send us an email or call us. (Hint; it’s not too far from downtown St Paul.)

Tawoche Himal

Here is a video from Renan Ozturk. He is in Nepal about to do a winter ascent of the 6000M Tawoche Himal. Their videos are always creatively made and edited. Follow their progress here.

TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #2 from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Bag O’ Fun/ Bag O’ Fear

I bought my new lead bag at Ikea (Bought not stole. It was $.59;  $.63 with tax.)

Now I can flake out the lead rope once and then just carry it around the gym to the different areas proud as a peacock.  (I did have to get new, matching blue climbing shoes. But, hey, they also match my belt.)

As you can see, Buddy is pretty impressed with how I’ve prepared it.

On one side, for those casual leads, I have a “Bag O’ Fun.” On that side there is space for sunglasses, Ipod and booze.

For those hard leads or sketched-out climbs you kinda don’t wanna make, but just know you should, I have the “Bag O’ Fear.” That side has space for a 1st aid kit, diapers (for after, you know?) and booze.

 

So now, when you see the big blue bag, you’ll know it’s me. And you better just keep on walking and pretend you don’t know me.