New York, New York
Some great photographs of legendary U.S. climbers in a flickr set, shot by Jim Herrington. Shown above: Doug Robinson on a first ascent on Temple Crag in the Sierra Nevada, California; Glenn Exum strums in Colorado.
(Thanks to Winnipeg photographer friend Ian McCausland for the link).
Kootenay National Park, British Columbia
Just three weeks ago I posted about the beautiful Fay Hut designed by my good friend Simon Statkewich (featured on the cover of last month’s Cottage magazine) and re-built with thousands of hours of volunteer effort after a forest fire took the original structure with it in 2003. Today I received the sad news that a group of alpine skiers discovered the hut burned to the ground on Saturday, two days after a previous group departed (they have “assured us that the fire was extinguished, as were all propane appliances before they left the hut” according to an ACC e-mail I received)—the pristinely located hut was “self-insured” by the Club… so it remains to be seen whether it will again arise from the ashes. My feelings go out to you Simon…
Moraine Lake, Alberta
This is the time of year where I really start dreaming about getting onto rock again… and the Grand Sentinel (at 2766m, the tallest of several large quartzite obelisks located on the northern slope of Pinnacle Mountain) looms large in those dreams. There’s just something about topping a rock needle that defies description…
I first climbed the Grand Sentinel at the end of the 1990s (in what seemed like a mini-epic at the time, replete with a wet summit blizzard, near-hits by rockfall, stuck double ropes on the abseil, and a subsequent benighting on the descent…). Due to summer grizzly bear closures in the Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass ever since (restricting access to contiguous parties of six or more) repeating this classic has proved elusive—but with access restrictions having been lifted in 2008, the Grand Sentinel holds promise as a key goal this summer…
Photos by Dow Williams and ‘Phil.’
Winnipeg, Canada
I met up with long-time climbing buddy (and talented [also very modest] architectural technologist) Simon Statkewich for brews and dinner last night. At Simon’s place I noticed a copy of Cottage magazine lying on his coffee table—replete with a cover feature on the new Fay Hut in Kootenay National Park that Simon designed (as a volunteer) for the Alpine Club of Canada—to replace the original built in 1927 after it burned down in 2003.
Top photo by Matt J. Simons; bottom photo by Marta.
Berlin, Germany
If you appreciate or collect classic or art photography (or new imagery, for that matter) you’ll likely love Lumas… enjoy.
Lecco, Italy
Great little article in The Independent about Ricardo Cassin, the amazing Italian mountaineer who turned 100 last month. Check it out here.
Image: Riccardo Cassin: “I always brought home everyone who came along and never lost a friend on a rope.”
Winnipeg, Canada
Some people have asked about the booklet Top Climbing Knots that I wrote and illustrated for the Alpine Club of Canada in 2007. Intended as a primer to aid skill development (and as a handy pocket-sized refresher for occasional climbers), the booklet covers the Figure-8, Water Knot, Double Fisherman’s, Clove Hitch, Münter Hitch, Prussik, and Klemheist. Copies can be purchased from the Manitoba Section of the ACC, or contact me directly.
