At the end of July, we got sick of the heat and humidity of Padova and boarded Enrico’s old motorhome for a trip to France. First stop was the famed crag of Ceuse, home of Biographie and other famous test pieces. Patrick Edlinger (RIP) didn’t have any money when he developed the crag; the result, highly technical and pumpy climbing on bullet-proof limestone and really spaced out bolts. Nothing like cruxing out way out from the last bolt, racing the pump clock to no avail… we gradually got used to the whippers and simply enjoyed the air time. More »

One evening at the gym, Josh approached me excited about some crazy trip he wanted to go on.  Apparently, all his usual climbing partners were otherwise engaged, and he realized that I, being a grad student, was infinitely available to drop everything, and disappear into the backcountry for over a week. On top of that, he knew I had recently finished my first 50 mile running race, so he assumed I was up to suffer.  It didn’t hurt that I apparently have a reputation for smiling a lot: I smile constantly when I’m uncomfortable, and I’m always uncomfortable at the gym because there’s a crazy group of guys, running around in colorful spandex, groping each other. So, given my perceived ability to suffer with a smile, Josh was convinced I would be a good partner. I tentatively agreed to go, and Josh emailed me a writeup by Galen Rowell describing our climbing objective. “Netherworld”? Ok, I was in.

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BEYONDgear and the Centro de Escalada Urbana Climbing School in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeira

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Camping out in Alabama Hills, LeeAnne and I were planning on heading back to the Whitney region in the next day or two but had no idea what we wanted to do. I was going through guides and the mountain project app on my phone looking for inspiration, and eventually came across a comment by Ben on the Star Trekkin’ page. From there I re-read his TR on star trekkin’ and with new motivation, by the morning it was decided we’d give the Star Trekkin’ – Mithral link-up car to car a shot.  It had been a while since my last C2C day, I was overdue for another anyway. More »

The Cordillera Blanca is world renowned for its high altitude mountaineering. But almost as awesome as the mountains themselves is the motley crew of international climbers who come to try their hand at getting high, on big peaks, cheap and fast. Example #1, Marko, from the Czech Republic. Hands down, the zaniest Eastern European caricature imaginable, complete with “Borat” accent and a lust for liquor. He climbed in a cotton sweatshirt and used a bandana as sunglasses…aka a blindfold. Marko eloquently explained the great physical difficulties of climbing in the area in said Borat accent: “If my knees had hands, they would punch face!” More »

When I came down from a week in the Cordillera Blanca to learn that Michael had died while soloing in the high Sierra Nevada, my reaction was one of sadness tinged with the stoic quiver of knowing that a friend died doing the things he loved the most. In the brief time I got to know him, I discovered that Michael and I shared an ever-waning appreciation for the romantic intricacies of the human spirit upon which climbing has the ability to shed light; A deep respect for metaphor, the awareness of self which inevitably flowers from the absurd and often dangerous situations we put ourselves in, and the power of that awareness to let us sympathize with our fellow adventurers and those who have risked and thrived in so many other arenas. More »

For many people, the Mt. Whitney region is quintessential High Sierra, the end of the John Muir Trail and the highest point in the 48. For others, the Incredible Hulk, with Yosemite-quality climbing in the backcountry is the best the Sierra has to offer. Those more romantically inclined will name Tuolomne or maybe the Evolution range as the Sierra’s best for their incredible beauty. For many in Pullharder, Lone Pine Peak is the Sierra’s gem. But for some of us, the Palisades are synonymous with this great range. And the best way to take it all in is to climb ‘em all. More »

The one thing that was noticeably absent in 2011 was time spent on El Capitan. This, however, was all about to change. Stein was visiting the SF bay for business and Yosemite was on the menu. The days preceding the weekend were filled with rain so free-climbing was out. We tossed around a multitude of ideas including the Nose, trying to figure out what might be “dry”. It was the first time we had considered climbing route so I didn’t think too much of it. More »

Consider this, the hint of the century, consider this: “…” Then Michael Stipe stops. He does not tell us the hint of the 20^th century. Curses! Well how about I’ll tell you the hint of the 21^st century: More »