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Gifts for the Climber in your Life

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Dec 052011

Looking for that perfect gift for your climber? Here are some ideas based on my 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s: Memories are Everything this past year: Free!: Take walk with your climber and ask him/her why they love the mountains. Under $10 Black Diamond Nitron Carabiner: strong, solid and easy to clip on and off the life lines. I used these exclusively on Everest and Denali Under $20: The Ledge: A story of resilience and courage by my friend Jim Davidson. Trapped on Rainier in a crevasse, his partner continue reading

Q &A With Jim Davidson, co-author of The Ledge

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Aug 012011

Q &A With Jim Davidson, co-author of The Ledge

Last week I posted a review of the book The Ledge co-authored by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughn. It generated a lot of interest so I followed up with a short Q&A with Jim. Jim and Kevin are currently on a nationwide book tour including Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle. Also, I want to introduce Kevin a bit more. He is currently a staff writer at The Denver Post. Formerly with the Rocky Mountain News, he is an award-winning journalist and in 2008 was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. Kevin is not a climber but was captivated continue reading

The Ledge: A book Review

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Jul 262011

“Come on up and stand beside me.” He said confidently. I made a couple more moves and joined him a hundred feet up on a near vertical rock wall in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park many years ago. “OK, let’s make sure you are clipped in, with backup and another line just in case.” With this my friend, Jim Davidson, shared lifelong lessons with this novice rock climber. I felt safe standing beside him with clear air below. Jim Davidson is a unique person. He is a mentor, a confidant; he is a climber’s climber. Over the past decade, I continue reading

Gerry Roach Interview: Update to the Colorado 14er Guide Book

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Feb 152011

If you have ever climbed a Colorado 14,000 foot mountain the odds are you used a guide book or perhaps an internet site to research your climb. Well, it is also highly likely you used some of Gerry Roach’s famous research. His famous guide book simply called Colorado’s Fourteeners: from hikes to climbs is the premier guide book for all things 14ers describing 250 routes in sufficient detail for most people to make the summit. Now he just released the 3rd edition of his famous book and I wanted to ask him about it. In total, he has authored 15 continue reading

Helicopter Crash on Ama Dablam – Huge Loss

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Nov 072010

Helicopter Crash on Ama Dablam - Huge Loss

A helicopter owned by Fishtail Air has crashed on Ama Dablam while rescuing two Japanese climbers above 16,000′ according to multiple Asian news reports. It was on the north side of Ama Dablam, not the normal Southwest route taken by the vast majority of all teams. This is a huge loss on many levels. The pilot, Sabin Basnet, and engineer, Purna Awale were both killed. Basnet was the pilot who made the record setting Everest rescues this past spring with one evac from Camp 2 at 21,000′. Basnet was very experienced with over 4,500 hours of flying various types of continue reading

The American Alpine Club in MY Backyard

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Oct 282010

I was climbing my local favorite, Colorado’s Longs Peak earlier this year and noticed a new sign beside the trail. This was near the Diamond, famous for world class big wall climbs from Casual Route, 5.10a to Ariana at 5.12a and more. To be clear I was doing the passive Loft Route and felt happy to be there! As I admired (and dreamed) looking at The Diamond, I almost stumbled into the simple wooden post that offered some bags in addition to a request: NO Toilet facilities Ahead Climbers Only If needed, take a waste bag with you. Use as continue reading

Himalayan Successes of Different Types

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Oct 152010

Climbing Himalayan mountains in the Fall can be risky at best. Each day is shorter, it is progressively colder and winter looms. So every summit, especially Everest, is highly valued by the climbers. This year, Fall 2010, we saw two summit successes of very different types. First up is the only Fall Everest summit since the Fall of 2008. Eric Larsen and his small Sherpa team summited Everest at around 6:35 AM local time on October 15th. They broke trail and fixed their own ropes on the way to the top. Eric reported in an emotional audio post from the continue reading

Fall 2010 Himalayan Update

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Oct 092010

We are most of the way through the Fall 2010 climbing season in the Himalaya. So far, not so good with one exception. Arguably Cho Oyu at 26907′ is the most climbed Himalayan mountain in the Fall. It is the 6th highest mountain and climbed from Tibet. Poor weather and dangerous snow conditions thwarted almost every team this year. Multiple avalanches prevented the fixed lines from reaching much higher than Camp 3 and one slide hurt multiple Tibetans from the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association (CTMA), including two severely. As a result, the entire CTMA support team left the mountain early continue reading

Preventing AMS, HAPE and HACE: New Gudelines

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Sep 012010

Thanks to a posting from EverestER, I learned about a new set of guidelines on how to prevent and treat altitude related illnesses. High altitude is defined as above 2500m (8200 feet). I found it interesting reading and recommend it for anyone traveling to high altitude environments with the caveat that it is designed for health care professionals and should not be used as a substitute for a qualified physician. The free paper is published by the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS). In the abstract the goal and approach of the study was The Wilderness Medical Society convened an expert panel continue reading

Aerogel – Should Geese Start Celebrating? Updated

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Aug 152010

Aerogel - Should Geese Start Celebrating? Updated

Update: 8/23/2010 Hanesbrands did use their aerogel based SuperSuit on Everest in the spring of 2010. Now three months later they have released the results to the public. It is mixed as I read it. On the positives, climber Jamie Clark did use their product and did not suffer any ill effects which was no surprise. Of note he wore a traditionally ‘puffy’ down suit on his summit push. Jamie only wore the external Supersuit to camp 3 which is still in the limited protection of the Western Cwm and not subject to the harshest summit winds. I was under continue reading

The Climbing Youth Movement Continues: Matt Moniz

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Jul 132010

The Climbing Youth Movement Continues: Matt Moniz

What did you do on your summer vacation? Well 12 year old Matt Moniz is trying the extraordinary. He and his father, Mike are tagging the highest points in all U.S. 50 States in 50 days. They just completed number 49, Granite Peak in Montana. Next up they leaving for Hawaii to tackle Mauna Kea. If you are curious about your state’s highpoint, take a look at this link. As might be expected, the lowest is Florida’s Britton Hill at 345′ and the highest is Denali in Alaska at 20,320′. The organization, highpointers.org tracks those going for the high points and helps with information.

Climbing considered for 2020 Olympics

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Mar 042010

After watching all the spills in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, many climbers wondered about IOC’s 2007 decision to monitor climbing as the first step to full inclusion in the Olympics. In Vancouver, during a plenary session, it was announced that after provisional IOC recognition in 2007, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) has passed the two-year “observation period”. This according to the Italian website Planet Mountain and The Adventure Blog. The IOC had already announced at their final meeting before the Vancouver Olympics they had granted “full recognition” to the IFSC as the governing body for sport climbing and continue reading

Climbing Round Up

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Jan 082010

A brief update on the mid-winter climbing season. The Southern Hemisphere is in focus with Mts Kilimanjaro, Vinson and Aconcagua receiving the usual attention. Thus far it has been a safe season albeit with death. The commercial outfitters are in full swing with multiple expeditions to these three of the seven summits. Word has it they are sold out and doing well. The local outfitters are also doing well reporting good business. This is impressive given the world economy. Somehow climbers always find a way to climb. Aconcagua After a difficult start for many teams including an early season death, continue reading

Updated 8000m Climbing Statistics

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Jan 012010

Ever wonder who was first to summit K2 or how many women from India have made it to the top of Everest or some other nuance of climbing statistics? Well Eberhard Jurgalski has updated his website for 8000m climbs up to 2009. You can download a huge number of spreadsheets with summit, route, nationality, death and more records from all 14 8000m mountains including Everest. A great resource for research or just for interest. Thanks Eberhard, Alan

A Killer Ski Movie

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Dec 222009

A combination of Friday the 13th and Vertical Limit …

North Face – a new climbing movie

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Dec 222009

Climbers of all skills know of the Eiger. This 13,025′ peak in the Swiss Alps has been a topic of legend and tales for centuries. The North face has been lusted and sought out by climbers and was featured in the Clint Eastwood classic, the Eiger Sanction. It was first climbed in 1938 and 64 climbers have died attempting the steep and dangerous north face. With this drama background, the new movie, NORTH FACE is set to open on January 29 in New York and across the US in February. See the full list here. From the press kit:

1 Dead, 2 Missing on Mt. Hood

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Dec 132009

Multiple news agencies are reporting on 1 dead and 2 climbers missing on Mt. Hood as of Saturday, December 12. They left the Timberline Wy’east Day Lodge at 1:00 a.m. Friday morning for a 12 hour climb up the Reid Glacier but never returned. Friends alerted Search and Rescue (SAR) when they failed to return as scheduled. Yesterday 26 year-old climber Luke Gullberg was found dead near 9,000 feet. Climbing gear was found strewn randomly on the glacier. Angles in this area reach 60 degrees. 30 SAR personnel were involved in the efforts on Saturday and reported the area was continue reading

Early Season Death on Aconcagua

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Dec 082009

The climbing season on the highest mountain outside the Himalayas has just begun and the first death has already occurred. American climber, Michel Miniesll died during his descent. The 39 year-old climber had attempted the summit twice and on his third attempt was returning via the Polish Glacier, normally a technical route. He is reported to have become lost in a snowstorm. Already this season nine climbers have been evacuated for various physical reasons. Aconcagua is located in Argentina near the border with Chile. It is the highest mountain in South America at 22,841′ and one of the 7 Summits. continue reading

Lino Lacedelli-K2, Dead at 83

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Nov 292009

We lost another great climber in November, Lino Lacedelli at age 83. He and Achille Compagnoni were the first two men to summit K2 on July 31,1954 – a year after the first Everest summit. He died in his hometown of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Their summit brought great pride to Italy. However, as is usually the case in significant mountaineering events, this first was also immersed in controversy. Lacedelli and Compagnoni made their way up K2 establishing a high camp at 8,100 meters. Two additional climbers providing support by carrying additional oxygen bottles were supposed to rendezvous with them at continue reading

Tomaz Humar – Rescue Effort Video

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Nov 152009

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One of the world’s top alpinist, Tomaz Humar, died this past week on the remote Nepalese peak Langtang Lirung, 23,711′ 7227m. The Slovenian mountaineer was climbing solo on the south face and suffered some type of injury at 6300m. A massive rescue effort was quickly organized out of Switzerland dispatching an elite team of pilots, climbers and logistics experts to Nepal. Sadly, they found his lifeless body around 5600m on Saturday November 14th. Tomaz had called via his satellite phone on November 10th saying he was injured and needed an immediate rescue. The following video reports on the rescue attempt: continue reading

The "Other" Himalaya Climbs

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Oct 072009

When people think of climbing in the Himalaya, almost everyone thinks of Mt. Everest. But the post-monsoon period of Fall is difficult on Everest with higher winds, more snow plus ever-shorter and colder days so many commercial companies turn to the slightly lower and logistically easier Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Shishapangma as their primary Fall 8000m expeditions.

Tracking Expeditions

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Oct 042009

Keeping up with friends and family on a far-away mountain expedition has always been challenging. Some teams post dispatches every few days to their website, other climbers just use sat phones to call in. Now a new trend has emerged using a satellite transmitter to “beam” your location every few minutes enabling your location to be shown on a map. Also you can alert Search and Rescue with a touch of a button in an emergency. The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger has emerged as the leader in this category. There are some variations on this theme but SPOT has made continue reading

Andrew Lock Gets His 14th 8000m

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Oct 042009

Australian, Andrew Lock, along with his climbing partner Neil Ward, reported today they have topped out on the true summit of the world’s 14th highest mountain, Shishapangma in Tibet. This now puts Andrew in the exclusive club of only 15 climbers to have climbed the 14th highest mountains – all above 8,000 meters. He did all 14 without supplemental oxygen. He started in 1991 with Everest his first 8000m attempt.

Cho Oyu Summits

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Sep 252009

Looks like Cho Oyu is being nice this season with over 30 climbers already on the summit and down safely. IMG reports their team put 7 climbers and 5 Sherpa on top yesterday and Jagged Globe has 12 members on top with Sherpa support. Also a Maltese team had 3 summits. I am especially proud for my friend, Jim Davidson, with this being his first 8000m climb. You can read the details on Jim’s blog.

More summits are expected from Adventure Consultants, Alpine Ascents, Amical, Mountain Madness and Summit Climb over the next few days. The weather looks good through the 27th.

Another New Clothing Line for Climbers

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Sep 232009

In an already crowded market, Hanesbrand today introduced a new line of high performance clothing for climbers. It will be showcased on Everest next spring by Canadian climber, Jamie Clarke. Everest seems to have become a PR tool for so any causes. I am part of this in my Memories are Everything: The 7 Summits for Alzheimer’s effort. Eddie Bauer used the 2009 Everest season to showcase their First Ascent line and now Hanesbrand. The new clothing line is not for sale yet and the announcement is more targeted to showcase their R&D but I expect the line to be continue reading

Older Entries

The Blog on alanarnette.com

The Blog on alanarnette.com

Gifts for the Climber in your Life

Q &A With Jim Davidson, co-author of The Ledge

The Ledge: A book Review

Gerry Roach Interview: Update to the Colorado 14er Guide Book

Helicopter Crash on Ama Dablam – Huge Loss

The American Alpine Club in MY Backyard

Himalayan Successes of Different Types

Fall 2010 Himalayan Update

Preventing AMS, HAPE and HACE: New Gudelines

Aerogel – Should Geese Start Celebrating? Updated

The Climbing Youth Movement Continues: Matt Moniz

Climbing considered for 2020 Olympics

Climbing Round Up

Updated 8000m Climbing Statistics

A Killer Ski Movie

North Face – a new climbing movie

1 Dead, 2 Missing on Mt. Hood

Early Season Death on Aconcagua

Lino Lacedelli-K2, Dead at 83

Tomaz Humar – Rescue Effort Video

The "Other" Himalaya Climbs

Tracking Expeditions

Andrew Lock Gets His 14th 8000m

Cho Oyu Summits

Another New Clothing Line for Climbers

Climbing the World to End Alzheimer’s

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