Klimcentrum Bjoeks, Groningen, the Netherlands

For a flatland nation with no natural outdoor climbing opportunities, the “Excalibur,” a 37-meter-high climbing wall (121 feet for my non-metric US friends—almost a rope-length, with an 11-meter overhang) makes an impressive vertical offer. I’ve designed (and built) several climbing walls and structures in my time… but very puny in comparison to this. (More, better pics taken from a kite, here).

Climb on…

Winnipeg, Canada

Since I quite like both cats and climbing, re-posting this image (original source unknown) was a natural… as is this buildering kitty. Note the fine technique—moving from a layback along the long vertical arête… to an under-cling… to delicate face moves. As with most climbing, however, the answer to the question “why” remains unclear…

Thanks to friend Gerald Brandt for the image.

The mountains of Piemonte, Italy

“The ibex of Northern Italy don’t need to worry about equipment malfunctions, difficult-to-obtain life insurance, or their peers calling them foolhardy. They just do what they do, without ropes or inhibitions…” (from a link in today’s Alpine Club of Canada e-letter).

I’ve long marveled at the genetically hard-wired abilities of sheep and goats when it comes to rock climbing (and I’ve posted on this before, e.g. here and here). Don’t underestimate the sure-footedness, balance, and sheer gumption of the mystical Ibex either (stambecco in Italian, Steinbock in German). These pictures speak for themselves (yes, the tiny specs in the lower photo are what you think)…

below the ice…

I’ve experienced the great privilege of spending time both on and underneath glaciers (in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, as well as in the Canadian Rockies)… but my own photos pale in comparison to the work of Portland-based photographer Eric Guth, who has seemingly made it his mission to track down the most spectacular glacial caves underneath massive, slow-moving bodies of (mostly) alpine ice. Eric has been known to spend days and nights in freezing temperatures in pursuit of spectacular images.

Read more about Eric Guth and his work here. (Thanks to climber friend Gerald Brandt for the link).

(from Climbing magazine)

Knots: they attach us to ropes, connect slings to trees, substitute for dropped gear, secure tents, create belay anchors. Like the Force, knots surround us, protect us, and bind our galaxy together. Even a sport climber whose shoes close with Velcro knows a few knots. But here are a few things you might not know.

1) The word “knot” is related to knob, knoll, and knuckle, but not to knowledge. It is knoten in German, knot in Dutch, knut in Swedish, nudo in Spanish, and noeud in French.

2) The Inca’s only “written” language was a system of knots tied into necklace-like “documents” called quipus, or “talking knots.” Some scholars think quipus recorded only numbers, but others believe that they also told stories and encoded historical events. A select class of Incas apparently interpreted the knots, and the code has never been definitively deciphered. Knots were also used for record keeping in ancient China, and the Chinese Book of Changes, almost 2,500 years old, associates knots with contract and agreement.

(I’ve long been a knot-enthusiast. Three years ago, I designed, illustrated, and published a booklet entitled Top Climbing Knots for the Alpine Club of Canada—copies are still available through the Manitoba Section of the ACC).

Gooseneck Rocks, NW Ontario (along the road to White Dog First Nation)

I was scheduled to go rock climbing with friends at my favorite crag (the Gooseneck Rocks) this past weekend, but the combination of multiple days of rain along with flagging energy levels dissuaded me in the end. My good friend Simon Statkewich (president of the Alpine Club of Canada, Manitoba Section) did make it out however, and today he sent me the above photo of himself standing on “a wee bit of rockfall” that recently peeled off the base of one of the newer bolted climbs on the Roadside Face (about 7 meters to climber’s left of the start of the classic route Frog-in-the-Crack put up by Peter Aitchison et al in the 1970s).

A quick calculation shows that the granite “flake” Simon is standing on weighs between 40 and 60 tonnes (at 2.691 tonnes per cubic meter). Here’s sincerely hoping there’s no hapless boulderer caught beneath it… Hester? has anyone seen Rob Hester?!?

Banff, Alberta

I’ve just returned from my annual holiday sortie to the Rockies, a first with my “new” 1988 VW Westfalia Camper Bettie Blue (which I bought a year ago from her original owner—who I met by chance at Lake Louise). For her part, Bettie Blue performed beautifully (aside from one blown coolant hose that I was able to fix en route) traversing the 3300 km return trip across the prairies in style and comfort.

The weather, unfortunately, crapped out a mere two days after I arrived in the mountains this year (always a risk in late August)—a whiteout on my first summit sortie, snowfall well below the treeline, freezing overnight temperatures in the valleys, and an extended forecast for cold precipitation conspired to push me back eastward earlier than planned—though this did allow me to make it back to Manitoba in time to assist Ev during the past days with The Wave Artists Studio Tour.

Photo: Bettie Blue posed in front of Cascade Mountain on Tunnel Mountain Drive above The Banff Centre (just before the weather turned nasty).

Humble, Texas

This gasoline advertisement for Humble/Enco petroleum company (later Esso/Exxon [remember the “Put a tiger in your tank”campaign?]) ran in Life magazine in 1962… pretty much the exact opposite image of that which petroleum companies are trying to show today. Here’s the text from the advert:

EACH DAY HUMBLE SUPPLIES ENOUGH ENERGY
TO MELT 7 MILLION TONS OF GLACIER!

This giant glacier has remained unmelted for centuries. Yet, the petroleum energy Humble supplies—if converted into heat—could melt it at the rate of 80 tons each second! To meet the nation’s growing needs for energy, Humble has applied science to nature’s resources to become America’s Leading Energy Company. Working wonders with oil through research, Humble provides energy in many forms—to help heat our homes, power our transportation, and to furnish industry with a great variety of versatile chemicals. Stop at a Humble station for new Enco Extra gasoline, and see why the “Happy Motoring” sign is the World’s First Choice!

Click on the image above for an enlarged view. The hubris of Humble is really quite remarkable (Humble is the town in Texas that Exxon U.S.A. traces its roots to). Thanks to Gregor Brandt (via Ms. Marx).

Davos, Switzerland

My brother Phil (together with his über-energetic wife Tammy) has just completed the highest high altitude marathon in Europe—the gruelingly beautiful 42.2 km Swiss Alpine Marathon. The pair ran side by side from start to finish along a demanding route, partially on rough mountain trails, with a total ascent of 1890 meters and a descent of 1710 meters. A record number of participants (5910 entrants) and stellar weather helped make the event an unforgettable experience. More information about the race here.

Congratulations, you two!