Archive for climbing
Ben Nevis (by Jim)
Posted in Mountains, pictures with tags Ben Nevis, climbing, Scotland, Tower Ridge, UK Climbers on May 6, 2012 by xi'an
Tower Ridge (sunny side)
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags Ben Nevis, climbing, Scotland, Tower Ridge on April 25, 2012 by xi'an
Tower Ridge
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags Abacus mountaineering, Ben Nevis, climbing, Eastern Traverse, Scotland, The Gap, Tower Ridge on April 24, 2012 by xi'an
On Sunday, I eventually managed to climb Tower Ridge, the classic climbing route on Ben Nevis, after several attempts in the past years that were foiled by either poor weather or a lost bag. It is a magnificent climb (graded Scottish IV,3), very alpine and constantly exposed (since it is indeed a ridge the whole way). Mountain guide Kenny Grant (from Abacus Mountaineering) was leading me and, by using minimal protection, he got us to the top in a fairly good time, since the climb per se took under five hours and the whole trip from the car park about seven and a half hours. We were the first team on the ridge and although a solo climber (Jim, who took the picture below) caught up with us at the Great Tower, he waited behind us till the top.
La partenza per Aosta
Posted in Mountains, Travel with tags Alps, Aosta, climbing on July 12, 2009 by xi'anAfter a one-day break, I am now getting ready for the Bayesian course in Aosta next week. And for the much expected mountain excursions! Last morning, I sorted my gear to put in the trunk later today.
I will presumably not use most of the climbing gear and almost certainly not the old-fashion ice pick from Glencoe, but just in case… Which then made me realise I had forgotten to take my crampons, once again! (Last time this happened, I was ab out to climb Gully #3 of Ben Nevis with Ivan Gentil and the guide Alan Kimber thankfully provided some for the best winter climb ever! This time, I am not so sure I could find crampons in Cogne…)
La plus belle escalade
Posted in Mountains with tags book review, climbing on January 23, 2009 by xi'anYesterday night, I finishe
d reading La plus belle escalade du monde by Frédéric Flamant, unfortunately not (yet) translated into English. This little book on the most beautiful climbing (hi)stories is very pleasant to read. Once settled the debate on whether or not such a classification of the “most beautiful climbs” is possible, the preliminary overview of “climbing for beginners”, like the types of climbing difficulty, as well as the evolution of the climbing gear and tools, is well run and the selected 15 climbing stories are crisp but intense (I almost missed my metro station yesterday during Cassin’s climb of Eperon Walker). Everyone will most likely find fault with the absence of a missing North face (including myself for the sorely missing Heckmair’s climb of the Eigerwand), but there is a well-deserved entry on Ben Nevis Point Zero Gully and the invention of modern ice climbing by Scots! The book ends up with a good bibliography and several appendices that are also quite nice, including a list of people who should have been quoted. No picture though, apart from the iconic Totem Pole, which unfortunately is no longer because the upper two-third fell into the Tasman sea. In short, both a good intro and a good entry to specific books like my bedside Heckmair’s My Life
