Bow Valley, Alberta
I’ve had the profound pleasure of climbing many mountains, but I’d have to say that my favorite (OK, one of my favorites to be sure) has to be Castle Mountain, a craggy massif of 540-million-year-old Middle-Cambrian limestone located half-way between Banff and Lake Louise at the eponymous Castle Junction. It’s the mountain that is most often in my thoughts as I drift into sleep late at night…
So, when I chanced across this 75-year-old photo today… I felt the urge to annotate: 1) The location of the “weakness” in the lower rockwall that leads to the ascent gully (low 5.?, but can be freed); 2) The climber’s bivouac hut (3 meters square in size, sleeps 6 in a pinch, cabled to a ledge on the Goat Plateau—set about 3 meters back from a 1000′ drop-off to the scree below); 3) The classic line of the 13-pitch Brewer Buttress leading to the mountain’s true summit (5.6—I first climbed it with Raphael Muñoz and [the late] Clive Ramage about 10 years ago); 4) The descent gully (multiple double-rope rappels down a water-course—look for fixed stations) leading back down to the plateau; 5) The Eisenhower Tower (I’ve been weathered off it three times over the past decade, with my high-point being the intersection of the Dragon’s Back and the headwall)—could this be the summer I finally make it to the top?
Lower photo: Yours truly short-roping German friend Silvie Engel in 2006, descending the top of the access gully (at #2).
Winnipeg, Canada
Good friend, phenomenal photographer, (and longtime client) Michel Grandmaison has been awarded second prize (what? not first? :-) in the Northern Lights 2007 Awards Canada competition for ‘Excellence in Travel Journalism.’ His photography was showcased in the May 2007 Travel issue of Canadian Geographic Magazine. The award is sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission—‘Jasper by Starlight’ can be read online as a PDF (2.4 MB) here. (See more of Mike’s phenomenal photographs here).
Keep up the great work, Mike!
Winnipeg, Canada
Well, the clocks got set forward an hour last night, the sun’s out in full force, snow is finally melting, and I’m getting antsy to head out to the crags again… it seems like an eternity since I’ve touched rock (the sporadic trips to the indoor climbing gym this winter just aren’t the same). Came across these photos of a Gooseneck trip last summer on Flickr today… now I’m pining for the crags and some trad.
Images by Adrian of MUHSASHUM: ‘Karate Kids’ Adrian Shum and James Gillespie; A is for abseiling; the old man topping out.
Jackson, Wyoming
The venerable Alpinist magazine suffered a significant setback last month when a warehouse in Oregon, Illinois that housed all of its inventory (back issues, hats, shirts, water bottles, stickers, coffee mugs) burned to the ground. Nothing was salvaged. Read more details here. Alpinist is an archival-quality, quarterly publication dedicated to the world of alpinism and adventure climbing. They believe in “sinker jams high off the deck, a bomber nut, the crescent moon, your partner’s whoop, sand-washing the fry pan, road trips, one-swing sticks, remembering to breathe, alpine starts (more for the alpenglow than the early hour), espresso in the desert, the plungestep, lenticular cloudcaps, rest days, the focus of a runout, and a cold beer at the end of it all.”
Visit the Alpinist magazine website here. Check out the incredible videos available via Alpinist TV here.
Alpinist wallpaper: Climbers on the Breithorn (4146m) in Switzerland shot by Menno Boermans
Auckland, New Zealand
Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who (together with Sherpa Tensing Norgay) was the first to successfully climb Mount Everest, passed on yesterday. Though he considered himself a simple man (“Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself,” he stated in a 1975 interview) he was known for his unbounded enthusiasm for life and adventure, his decades-long campaign to develop schools and health clinics in Nepal, and his role as an ardent conservationist. Revered by Kiwis, Prime Minister Helen Clark had this to say: “Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus… an heroic figure who not only ‘knocked off’ Everest, but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity… this legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived.”
Climb on, Sir Edmund…
Hillary and Tensing Norgay summited Mount Everest, the highest point on earth, on 29 May 1953. He remains the only non-political person outside of Britain to have ever been honoured as a member of Britain’s Order of the Garter (bestowed by the Queen on just 24 knights and ladies living worldwide at any time) and was the first foreign national to ever be conferred with honourary citizenship by Nepal. Hillary has also appeared on the New Zealand $5 banknote since 1992—the only living Kiwi to ever do so.
Winnipeg, Canada
My good friend Mike Grandmaison is one of this beautiful country’s top outdoor photographers. He’s been busy in the past while with two successful books on the market: Canada (a bestseller), and The Canadian Rockies, (both by Key Porter Books Ltd.) as well as a whole lot of land-based travel (Mike doesn’t fly, which contributes to his comprehensive understanding of Canada’s vast vistas). A third coffee-table book is expected out within the next two months: Georgian Bay: A Photographer’s Wonderland.
Banff, Alberta
Don’t miss the upcoming Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour’s visit to Winnipeg… brought to you by the the Alpine Club of Canada… at 19:00 on 19 January 2008 at the Burton Cummings Theatre (formerly the Walker). Watch the trailer on YouTube here.
The President Glacier, British Columbia
We all know that glaciers are melting rapidly (thanks to global warming). Winnipeg climber friend David Cormie took this revealing photo in August… brings back sphincter-tightening memories of punching through into “bottomless” crevasses while on glacier crossings—and a good reminder to travel roped even when the surface looks benign.
This past spring I wrote and illustrated a booklet for the Alpine Club of Canada entitled Top Climbing Knots—the piece includes two friction knots (the Prussik and the Klemheist) that are useful for climbing out of a crevasse… of course, only if you are roped to team members on the surface. :-| If you’re interested in a copy of the booklet, contact me…
Minaki, Ontario
Our friend Silvie Engel from Freiburg, Germany has been visiting for the past week. On Sunday, Ev, Silvie and I enjoyed a day of fine autumn weather and some rock climbing at the Gooseneck crags NW of Minaki. Silvie especially enjoyed the rappelling (“abseiling” in German), as you can see…
Banff National Park, Alberta
My annual August visit to the Canadian Rockies has been odd this year. After encountering some vehicular hiccups traversing the prairies (ran out of gas, then Bettie blew a tailpipe an hour out of Calgary) I arrived in Banff and promptly succumbed to a bad cold (replete with aches, fever, nasty cough)—uncanny how you can tough things out all year, then as soon as you start to relax, BAM… you get sick.
As physical exertion was a challenge (sucking wind), the highlight of my trip was intersecting visits with friends, rather than the hoped-for summits. First long-time climbing mate Simon Statkewich, then Gregor Brandt and Janice Liwanag (all with their VW Westys—Gregor & Janice had been living in, climbing from, and blogging about theirs for four months) shared camp-sites at Lake Louise and Tunnel Mountain (I happily discovered that the latter has a few sites with a wireless signal from an adjacent resort hotel, so I was at least able to get some online work done while moping).
Images: Yours truly on a day recce to the Fuhrmann Ledges (photo by Gregor); Bettie on Tunnel Mountain, Cascade in the background; Janice & Gregor simul-rappelling off a trad climb, Back-of-the-Lake.
