ClimbWire

Climbing stories and adventures on rock. Unofficial automated fan feed. Content belongs to its respective owners; not affiliated with source publishers.

Public Key

npub1cdqjjgftydurjrlf0zvjvl44dvg57g5ccuva99whh3ds2js2n3xsrcg0w6

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvxsffyy4jx7pepl5h3xfx066kky20y2vvwxwjjhtmckc9fg9fcngpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsu2tpfc

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1cdqjjgftydurjrlf0zvjvl44dvg57g5ccuva99whh3ds2js2n3xsrcg0w6

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-10-23 16:00:34 GMT

The Dolomites’ Emerging Frontier of Alpine Sport Climbing
High above the Val Travenanzes, in the Fanes group of the Italian Dolomites. The south face of Furcia Rossa III rises towards its 2,791-metre summit. Across the valley, the immense walls of the Tofane dominate the skyline. Old military tracks and wartime positions cross a landscape that remains wild and demanding.
Approached from the Alta Badia area near San Cassiano, with Cortina d’Ampezzo the best known major town in the wider region, the Furcia Rossa requires a substantial alpine approach through the Fanes landscape. Old tracks and faint chamois trails lead beneath the cliffs. You feel like you’re following the footsteps of prehistoric people, of ancient Romans, of solders from other eras. This is not a roadside crag where climbers can begin pulling on holds minutes after leaving the car. The approach is part of the undertaking and it gives you time to ponder all who have approached the cliffs in the past.
For all the climbing history of the Dolomites, the south face of Furcia Rossa III had remained unclimbed. Steep slabs, smooth rock and overhangs made the prospect of finding continuous, protectable lines uncertain. Yet for Simon Kehrer and Hubert Eisendle, the face offered something increasingly rare in a heavily explored mountain range. For these two Dolomite dynamites it was the the opportunity to discover an entirely new line through untouched terrain.
The story began with a photograph and a question: could there really be a worthwhile unclimbed wall left in the Dolomites?
View this post on Instagram
The First Route
Kehrer first noticed the wall from the Travenanzes Valley while hanging at an ice-climbing belay in bitterly cold conditions. The face caught his attention, although its appearance offered little reassurance.
“When I first saw the wall, it was very cold because I was hanging around on an icy stance in the Travenanzes Valley,” he recalls. “I saw her from afar and thought she was very difficult to climb.”
He kept watching the face over the following years. Eventually, the possibility of establishing a route became an objective in its own right, although the practical challenge became apparent when he and Eisendle finally stood beneath it.
View this post on Instagram
“When Hubert and I stood under the imposing wall for the first time, we looked frighteningly at the wall and then did not dare to enter our imaginary line,” Kehrer says. “She was too heavy for our lack-lustre fitness, so we thought we’d tackle a simpler line.”
That decision produced Princess Soreghina, established by Kehrer and Eisendle in 2018.
The afternoon sun illuminated a face of extraordinary colour and texture. Grey slabs rose towards bright white overhangs, while reddish, yellow and brown cracks cut through the steep face. The formations seemed to offer lines in every direction, although the apparent possibilities concealed a more complicated reality. The wall was steeper and more slabby than they had imagined, and the rock was not uniformly sound.
Their decision to start on the right-hand side was not a retreat from the challenge so much as a chance to understand the wall.
The Route: Princess Soreghina
First ascent: Simon Kehrer and Hubert Eisendle, 2018
Length: 280 metres
Pitches: 9
Grade: VIII (VII/A0)
The route was a beautiful but demanding introduction, culminating in an exceptionally difficult slab pitch. Kehrer remembers the deceptive nature of the climbing, particularly a section that initially appeared straightforward.
“We found the most difficult places on the first tour in an inconspicuous slab,” he says. “I thought I would climb through it quickly, instead I spent an eternity on it.”
The experience revealed both the quality of the rock and the precision required to climb it. It also left the central crack system, leading towards the summit, unfinished business.
Beyond The Horizon
On 27 October 2021, Kehrer and Eisendle returned to tackle the line they had originally considered too difficult.
Eisendle began up a corner in the middle of the face. After 40 metres of somewhat brittle rock, he traversed beneath a roof to a ledge and established a belay. Kehrer followed, climbing over a small overhang before traversing left across a series of bands.
Above them, an immense expanse of grey slabs blocked the way, the crack system was visible, but reaching it required a difficult passage across the face.
Eisendle traversed right through the technical terrain, eventually reaching the larger crack and chimney system that promised a way towards the summit. The climbing remained steep and occasionally brittle. After two more pitches, they reached an overhanging step. Kehrer tried to force a way left across a steep wall, but the difficulties proved way gnarly. With daylight running out and winter approaching, they retreated.
Almost exactly a year later, on 26 October 2022, they returned. This time, they regained the crack system on the right by climbing over a small pillar. Difficult bouldery steps led them higher until the final pitch traversed left onto a ridge and up to the summit. By good fortune they arrived shortly before sunset.
Sitting on the summit, eating the last of their provisions, they could appreciate what they had achieved; a demanding new route through a wall that had resisted their first attempt. During the descent, they settled on the name Hinterm Horizont, or Beyond the Horizon.
The Route: Hinterm Horizont
First ascent: Simon Kehrer and Hubert Eisendle, completed 26 October 2022 following an unsuccessful attempt on 27 October 2021
Length: 340 metres
Pitches: 10
Grade: VIII−, with VII+ obligatory climbing
Topo
The second attempt benefited from experience rather than any reduction in ambition. They knew the rock better and understood where the line might lead. They were psyched.
“The first time we were not ready, but the second time we were familiar with the rock and climbed resolutely into the wall and followed the logical line,” Kehrer says. “Overjoyed and amazed, we saw that the rock was also on our side.”
The name reflected more than the wall’s features. The route had become possible when they looked beyond the limits of what they thought they knew about the Dolomites. For Kehrer and Eisendle, the achievement was about more than reaching the summit. It was the satisfaction of identifying a logical line, solving its difficulties and climbing it free.
“For me, the Furcia Rossa was an indescribable feeling,” Kehrer says. “On such a wall, the first line, and to be able to pull through in free climbing is a dream.”
A philosophy of protection
Kehrer’s approach to route development is deliberate. Difficulty alone is not the point. The quality of the rock, the natural logic of the line and the experience of climbing it is want counts. He shared with Gripped,
“The difficulties are not so important to me, but all the more the line of a route and also the rock quality,”
The philosophy is reflected in how he equips his routes. Trad is preferred wherever possible, with bolts reserved for sections where natural gear is impractical or inadequate.
“The rock was super beautiful from the beginning,” he says of Furcia Rossa. “The protection was in the bounds of adequate and, where not possible, with bolts.”
Kehrer acknowledges that they could have placed fewer bolts on Hinterm Horizont, but his aim is not to make routes needlessly intimidating. He wants other climbers to repeat them, enjoy the experience and still face a meaningful challenge. Gripped questioned Kehrer about this.
“Of course we could have used even less bolts, but we like it when other climbers repeat our routes and find it fun but some challenge,” he says. “The rock belongs to all of us, and I am of the opinion that the belays and also the protection points for the successors should be safe.”
That balance between challenge and responsibility is central to understanding Furcia Rossa. These are long alpine routes, not conventional sport climbs with closely spaced bolts and an uncomplicated approach. Route-finding, gear selection and judgement remain essential. Having brass cliffhanger balls helps too.
Kehrer says he has stayed true to this approach over the years, seeking out beautiful rock and following the most logical line. He has also established routes on much more brittle rock, where extensive work was needed to make the climbing clean. Those projects, often closer to home around Cal Bochei, demanded patience and considerable effort. At Furcia Rossa, the quality of the rock made the process particularly rewarding.
The Next Generation Brings Sport
For several years, Princess Soreghina and Hinterm Horizont were the established lines on the face. Then Luca Ducoli and Leo Gheza began exploring the wall. Kehrer knew they had ventured onto the face, but wondered how many viable lines they would find. Some sections were exceptionally smooth, offering little encouragement to anyone searching for a natural passage upwards.
“I already knew that Luca and Leo got into the great wall and thought that it would not be easy for them to find climbable lines here, because the rock can sometimes be very smooth,” he says.
When Ducoli and Gheza established their second route, Kehrer recognised that they too had discovered the wall’s potential.
“I knew that they too had discovered the magic of the fans,” he says (referring to the distinctive formations in the rock). Their 300 metre Il Tempo Sospeso, established in August 2025, runs between the two earlier routes. Graded IX−, R3, it is a serious line that reflects the pair’s commitment to natural protection.
The Route: Il Tempo Sospeso
First ascent: Luca Ducoli and Leo Gheza, August 2025
Length: 300 metres
Grade: IX−, R3
During the first ascent, they used cams and six pegs for protection, with bolted belays. They subsequently added further pegs and threads to help climbers following the route understand its line.
The route extends the face’s potential beyond the original pair’s lines. It also reflects a continuing debate in modern alpine climbing: how to preserve the character of a difficult route while making it possible for future parties to repeat it.
In August 2026, Ducoli and Gheza returned with a different objective, establishing Déjà vu, a harder, more sport-oriented line through overhangs and vertical slabs.
The Route: Déjà vu
First ascent: Luca Ducoli and Leo Gheza, August 2026
Length: 320 metres
Grade: 8a, with 7a obligatory climbing
Protection: S3
The S3 protection rating indicates relatively spaced protection, where falls can be long and climbers must carefully manage the consequences. Unlike the 8a technical grade, which measures climbing difficulty, S3 describes the seriousness of the protection and the judgement required between bolts.
The climbing is often bouldery, relying on small holds and tiny water-drop features that punish the fingertips. A particularly memorable third pitch traverses right across roughly ten metres of technical slab climbing, where the sequence is not immediately obvious.
View this post on Instagram
Gheza described the rock as among the best they had encountered in the Dolomites. You need to have a little gruff in your attitude, dolomite limestone ain’t the Verdon. In this case the route’s south-easterly exposure can also help it remain dry in favourable conditions, making it attractive in the shoulder seasons. Good conditions help shoulder the gruff.
Together, the four routes chart Furcia Rossa III’s emergence as a serious destination for modern alpine sport climbing. The face does not impose a single style. Its terrain rewards both climbers who seek out natural protection and those who establish harder, more sport-oriented lines, provided the demands of the mountain remain part of the equation.
The Future
Finding unclimbed walls in the Dolomites is increasingly difficult. The region has a long history of exploration, and its most obvious lines have often been climbed repeatedly. Yet Furcia Rossa III demonstrates that opportunities remain for climbers prepared to investigate an overlooked face and accept that the first attempt may not succeed.
Kehrer’s connection with the wall developed over years of observation. Finding the approach, identifying a possible line and eventually climbing it free, were all part of the same experience. What began as a distant image became a sustained project, requiring patience, judgement and a willingness to retreat before returning better prepared.
“Finding still unclimbed walls in 2026 is not easy,” he says. “But for me, the Furcia Rossa was an indescribable feeling.”
The newer routes by Ducoli and Gheza show what can follow. Once a wall’s potential is recognised, different climbers can return with different ideas, revealing possibilities that were not apparent from below. Furcia Rossa is more than a collection of hard routes. It is a continuing conversation between climbers and a mountain, shaped by observation, technical skill, restraint and a willingness to explore.
Kehrer had watched the face for years before it became a goal. His experience at Furcia Rossa is a reminder that first ascents do not always begin with an obvious line or a clear plan. Sometimes they begin with a distant view, an uncertain approach and the realisation that the wall might offer more than first appeared. The horizon, after all, is not always the limit. Sometimes it is where the next route begins.
Furcia Rossa III, Dolomites. Photo by Leo Gheza
The post The Dolomites’ Emerging Frontier of Alpine Sport Climbing appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/the-dolomites-emerging-frontier-of-alpine-sport-climbing/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Hinterm-Horizont.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-23-9.17.08-AM.jpg
#furciarossa #rossaiii #kehrer #travenanzesvalley #italiandolomites #valtravenanzes #eisendle #first #fanes
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-22 15:34:35 GMT

Two Climbers Missing on Remote Mountain in Nepal
Two Japanese mountaineers, Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto, have been missing for several days while attempting to climb Gangapurna West, an unclimbed peak in Nepal’s Annapurna region. A helicopter search-and-rescue operation is under way, but difficult terrain and deteriorating weather conditions are hampering the search.
Four Russians, Valerii Shamalo, Natalia Janina, Maksim Trufanov and Ruslan Kirichenko, who attempted to climb Gangapurna West earlier this month reportedly found no sign of the missing climbers. The Russians had bailed at around 6,800 metres because of bad weather.
According to an earlier account, contact with the Japanese climbers was lost at an altitude of around 7,050 metres, but a pack and trekking pole believed to belong to them were found during the search. As of today, their whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
Gangapurna West was officially opened to mountaineering in 2014, and was attempted in 2016 by Choi Seok-mun, Kim Chang-ho, and Park Joung-yong; and in 2017 by Simon Messner and Phillip Pruenster. The nearby Gangapurna, which rises to 7,455 metres was first climbed on May 6, 1965, by Erich Reismueller, Ang Temba Sherpa and Phu Dorjee Sherpa via the south face and east ridge.
Hidesuke Taneishi and Tetsu Hashimoto in Kathmandu. Photo by Cosmo Adventure
The nearby Gangapurna (featured photo above) was first climbed on May 6, 1965, by Erich Reismueller, Ang Temba Sherpa, and Phu Dorjee Sherpa via the south face and east ridge. A Japanese team made the second ascent in 1971, but avalanches killed eight members over two days, marking the deadliest climbing disaster in the Annapurna Himal to date. A third ascent followed in 1974 without major incident.
Then in 1981, Canadian alpinists James Blench and John Lauchlan made the first ascent of the south face, a climb still considered to be one of the hardest first ascents ever by Canadians in the Himalaya. Read the full story here.
View this post on Instagram
The post Two Climbers Missing on Remote Mountain in Nepal appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/two-climbers-missing-on-remote-mountain-in-nepal/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Gangapurna2-e1792671257572.jpg
#remotemountain #gangapurnawest #climbersmissing #nepal #twoclimbers #tetsuhashimoto #dorjeesherpa #tembasherpa #angtemba #erichreismueller
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-22 14:40:26 GMT

Troy Forsyth: New Zealand alpinist killed in Mount Dixon avalanche
Troy Forsyth, a respected New Zealand mountain guide, ski patroller and alpinist, has died in an avalanche on Mount Dixon in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Forsyth was skiing with three experienced companions near the summit on Sunday, October 18, when an avalanche swept him away as the party descended the mountain’s east face. Emergency services were called shortly after 10am. He was found unresponsive and later confirmed deceased. Troy was 28 years of age.
His death has shaken New Zealand’s close-knit climbing and mountaineering community. Forsyth was known for his technical ability, adventurous approach to the mountains and professional work in avalanche safety. “Troy was a deeply talented and respected practitioner within his field,” said Will Rowntree, a friend, fellow ski patroller at The Remarkables and spokesperson for the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA). “Troy was a talented skier, climber and mountain enthusiast. Well known for a dry sense of humour and quick wit, he was a pleasure to work and recreate with.”
At approximately 3,004 metres, Mount Dixon is a well trod Southern Alps objective. Any one who plays on this peak is a skilled Mountaineer. The area the avalanche occurred was not recognised as overtly dangerous. Saying this, while only relatively low, 3000 metres in the New Zealand Alps have all the challenges of Himalaya and the Andes without the altitude.
The accident happened during the descent of the east face. The circumstances have not been fully established publicly.
Will Rowntree and Troy Forsyth
A life defined by ambitious climbing
Forsyth was based in Queenstown, where he worked as an avalanche snow-safety officer and ski patroller at The Remarkables. He was also an assistant ski guide with the NZMGA and an avalanche educator endorsed by the Mountain Safety Council.
In recent years, Forsyth had also demonstrated his ability as a leader, stepping into one of just three Snow Safety Officer positions at The Remarkables Ski Area in Queenstown. Rowntree said Forsyth was well loved and respected by his teammates, and that his skill was recognised throughout the industry.
Outside work, he pursued demanding objectives throughout the Southern Alps. His climbing focused on the kind of long, complex journeys that require stamina, technical competence and consistent judgement over extended periods.
One recorded achievement was the Arthur’s Pass Round, which he completed in 17.5 hours. The circuit covers about 48 kilometres, takes in nine peaks and involves roughly 5,500 metres of vertical gain. That speed in New Zealand ranges is formidable.
Forsyth also made a four-day west-to-east crossing of the Banks Range with Ruari Macfarlane. Their journey, recorded in the American Alpine Journal, included new routes on the west faces of Sibyl Peak and Mount Unicorn.
His achievements also included the first ski traverse of the Hooker Range and the first monoski descent of the Somnus Couloir, according to Rowntree.
The traverse reflected Forsyth’s appetite for exploratory climbing. He loved travelling into less familiar country, working out a route as he went and adding new lines to the record of the range. He had an insatiable appetite for the mountains.
Troy Forsyth. Photo by Will Rowntree
The value of a mountain partner
Forsyth gave this in full as both an accomplished alpinist and someone others valued in the mountains. Rowntree described Forsyth as someone comfortable in his own skin, equally happy being out alone or sharing the mountains with others. He also recalled a distinctive personal style. “He was often seen wearing a bright pink helmet and dragging his hand through the snow with a surf-inspired skiing technique.” Forsyth was, in Rowntree’s words, “Truly a unique fellow”.
Forsyth’s climbing record shows a preference for demanding journeys, remote ranges and exploratory routes. His professional life reflected the same connection to the alpine environment, through guiding, ski patrol and avalanche education.
Troy’s death on Mount Dixon is a reminder that experience cannot eliminate every risk in alpine travel. His legacy reaches beyond the circumstances of his final descent, living on in the routes he helped establish, the journeys he shared and the mountain community in which he played a valued role.
Gripped extends our condolences to Troy’s family and the Alpine Community of New Zealand.
Vale, Troy Forsyth.
Troy Forsyth. Photo by Will Rowntree
The post Troy Forsyth: New Zealand alpinist killed in Mount Dixon avalanche appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/troy-forsyth-new-zealand-alpinist-killed-in-mount-dixon-avalanche/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0852.jpeg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0853.jpeg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0854.jpeg
#mountdixon #newzealand #troyforsyth #zealandmountain #mountcook #avalanche #nationalpark #southernalps #ski #remarkables
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 20:07:29 GMT

Justin Salas Becomes the First Visually Impaired Athlete to Climb 5.13c
Justin Salas is on fire. On Friday, October 9, the 33-year-old sport climber and boulderer made the hardest known ascent by a visually impaired athlete, ticking America’s Most Wanted (5.13c) at Mount Charleston near Las Vegas, Nevada. The 35-foot cave climb starts with a tough V7, proceeds up through a series of power endurance moves to a second V7 crux, then continues onward to the chains at the top of the Robbery Cave roof.
“In really light or bright-colored limestone cliffs, where everything’s gray or tan, I can’t see any of the holds,” Salas told Climbing after his ascent. “So I feel completely blind.”
Ever since he started climbing at 21, Salas has been pushing the limits for visually impaired climbers. He ticked his first V11, Worm Turns in Joe’s Valley, in 2018 after just three years of climbing. Since then, he’s knocked down more than 20 double-digit boulders, accrued six national titles, and won a paraclimbing world championship.
But America’s Most Wanted represented more than simply another personal challenge. It was also his answer to being excluded from participation in the 2028 Paralympics. Just four months prior, Salas found out, along with the rest of the world, that when it comes to visually impaired climbers, the Olympic debut of paraclimbing will only include the men’s B1 (most blind) category and the women’s B2 (second-most blind) category.
Justin Salas sets a foothold on ‘America’s Most Wanted’ (5.13c) (Photo: April Davidson)
Salas, who developed bilateral optic atrophy at age 14, can only compete in the B2 category. He retains his peripheral vision, but has no central vision in either eye. Like other paraclimbers have said, Salas says he would have preferred if the International Paralympic Committee combined all categories into one category, rather than exclude whole groups of athletes.
“I got pushed out of the Olympics,” he said, “and it hit me really, really hard. I’m not going to lie. It’s still hard to think about.”
America’s Most Wanted came about as a new project when Salas and his spouse, April Davidson, moved back to Vegas. Salas started to shift his focus from bouldering to sport climbing. “The movement’s crazy rad,” said Salas, adding that climbing in the cave felt particularly disorienting.
When I called Salas to get the play by play, I wasn’t surprised to hear that his movement relied on extensive beta memorization. What did surprise me, however, was all of the additional expertise he had to command in order to climb at the 5.13c level. Not only did Salas have to hang onto each hold for longer than a sighted climber, but he also had to anticipate which direction every single quickdraw was facing. On America’s Most Wanted, in fact, he had to stop relying on his innate sense of body positioning that had served him so well in bouldering and on other routes. “My biggest strength became my greatest weakness,” he said.
Read on to learn about Salas’s journey on America’s Most Wanted, why the redpoint crux still feels like a blackout in his mental map, and what it’s like to navigate a professional athlete career with a disability that’s not immediately obvious to others.
A conversation with Justin Salas
The following interview has been lightly edited for concision and clarity.
Sam MacIlwaine: Back in 2018, you became known as the first paraclimber to send V11. Now, you’ve just sent a 5.13c cave route. How did you go from V11 bouldering to 5.13+ sport climbing?
Justin Salas: When I was really hitting the ground running with professional rock climbing, I was primarily bouldering and I was only training sport for competition. I’ve always been relatively gifted with being strong—not necessarily in finger strength, but just physically gifted. I grew up lifting weights and doing powerlifting with my younger brother. I think because of losing my sight at the age that I did, 14, I was still struggling with the idea of being blind—and I still do right now. I have a really hard time coming to grips with it. It’s been almost 20 years now, and I can’t flow with it. I haven’t accepted it still.
I want quick rewards. I want to be strong. I want to feel like I did. I want success, and I want to win. That’s what bouldering was giving me for a long time. Then [V11] happened in three years. That was a pretty quick journey into being a double-digit climber. And it didn’t stop. As soon as I found out I could climb at that level, I continued. I’ve climbed more than 20 double-digit boulders now. Last year, I flashed my first V8, which was crazy for me because as a blind guy, I’m not very good at flashing.
MacIlwaine: If you were having so much success in bouldering, what compelled you to shift your focus toward sport climbing?
Salas: Over the last two and a half years, I’ve started working full-time. I’m helping the founder of a company I work for, Perspective Tester, build a digital accessibility technology company. It’s been a ton of work because it’s a startup. In the beginning, it was anywhere between 40 to 80 hours per week. When I would go climb, bouldering wasn’t satisfying. Not that it’s not fun. When I did get that chance to go climb, I wanted to go get on a rope, whether that was doing easy trad or sport climbing or following people up multi-pitches. Not only was it the physical side, it was the mental, the physiological, the overcoming fear. There was a spiritual component to being back out in nature and being connected with creation again.
MacIlwaine: What’s it like doing a sport climb with your particular type of vision loss?
Salas: I have to memorize everything. It has to be really simple for me to do well with onsighting, especially longer sport climbs or trad routes, because I can’t see any of the holds. I have no idea where the feet are. Yes, I have peripheral vision still, but if you could imagine staring up at the wall and using your peripheral vision to be able to see your feet, that’s what I’m working with. It’s really challenging to try to onsight things. I might as well be completely blind, especially on limestone. Where everything’s gray or tan, I can’t see any of the holds, so I feel completely blind. I can orientate myself in space, but I don’t know where the holds are at all.
MacIlwaine: Why did you select America’s Most Wanted as your project?
Salas: [In February 2024, April and I] ended up back in Vegas. That’s when I was like, “I just want to go climb the things that are exciting to me that look rad, regardless of how hard they are.” [America’s Most Wanted] was the first one. I just thought it looked the sickest. I don’t remember when it was bolted, but it’s one of the easiest things in the cave because everything else in the cave is freaking nails. The next easiest thing is 5.14b, so it’s an entry-level hard climb for that cave—for the elite climbers that come to Vegas and live here in the climbing community. It’s like a rite of passage for hard sport climbing.
MacIlwaine: What were your initial impressions when you started trying it?
Salas: Last October 2025, I tried it for two sessions. I don’t know why; it just did not go well. I’ll be perfectly honest: It felt too hard. And I was out of shape. I was still climbing V10 at Red Rock, but being able to execute short sprints of hard climbing, versus having the fitness to climb America’s Most Wanted. It’s not the longest thing in the world, but I didn’t even have the fitness, so I decided not to try it again until this year. I finally sunk my teeth into it sometime between late June and mid-July.
Justin Salas (center) and friends relax in Robbery Cave at Mount Charleston near Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo: April Davidson)
MacIlwaine: What does America’s Most Wanted feel like to climb?
Salas: The movement’s crazy rad. The position’s outrageous. Climbing in that cave is really sick. The cave is not just a flat piece of ground with a big dome over you. It’s like a diagonal slot in the mountain, and the cave rises up with the landing. So you’re not really climbing linearly. It’s like you’re traversing at the same time. It’s disorienting. It feels weird when you first get in there to figure out where you are in space.
Being in a cave was way more exciting for me because I use heel hooks, toe hooks, bikes, and a lot of cave technique to stay on the wall longer, as someone with blindness. I can use some trickery and increase my time on the wall before I pump out and fall. I’m naturally more geared toward going to those types of climbs.
America’s Most Wanted has a really sick hold set. All the grips are not really bad. They’re mostly full-pad edges and jugs, but they’re not traditional jugs. They’re really unique shapes and cool pods. There is a lot of trickery with doing the toe hooks and biking and body tension, and a lot of core tension involved.
MacIlwaine: How does your vision loss impact clipping the bolts?
Salas: Clipping the bolts are moves by themselves, because you have to figure out, “How the hell am I going to clip this bolt in this position?” There is one clip in particular where you have a left toe jam and a right toe hook, and you’re biking off this toe jam and right hook. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to work until you get into the position. It’s really unique, pretty novel.
MacIlwaine: When you’re climbing at Mount Charleston, do you have a sight guide calling out the holds, like in indoor competition?
Salas: In the very beginning of trying anything, it definitely looks like that—working pretty closely with a sight guide to find the holds. In the [send] video, it won’t look like I’m super blind because it’s so dialed by now. This is like 20 sessions deep by this time.
You’ll notice I do this hilarious little tapping thing with my feet. It looks like I have Elvis leg, but each tap, if you can imagine, is like a drop in a puddle. There are ripples that come out from that drop. The ripple is the understanding of what I’m trying to put my foot on. So I’m looking at the hold with my foot while you watch my foot tap quickly on things. But if you were to have watched me at the beginning of trying this route, someone is belaying me and someone else is shouting to me where the holds are, where feet are.
MacIlwaine: What’s the process of choreographing your beta while someone else is helping you find the holds?
Salas: I’m like, “If this hold is here, I want a foot here. Is there anything over here?” Because I know how to climb; I just don’t know where the feet are. It’s like, if I were a routesetter, I would put a foot here. But I don’t know if there’s a foot over there. [Someone will say] “Put your hand out,” and they’ll guide my hand to where they think something’s going to be. Then I’ll feel it, and I’ll be like, “That’s too small. I need something else. Is there another option you can see?” We do that process from the first bolt to the last.
Then there’s a full three or four sessions of layering. So the first session is memory, the second session is better memory, the third session is even better memory. The fifth session I’m starting to do links and connecting areas together. At some point, I don’t need a sight guide because it’s so dialed. Or maybe my belayer just needs to cue me here and there: “Yeah, that’s the foot, you’re on it, good. Get your hips up.”
MacIlwaine: After you had all of the moves memorized, what was the crux (or cruxes) of the route for you?
Salas: This is the best part of the whole shit. The first move off the ground of America’s Most Wanted is objectively the hardest. It’s a single V7 move just to start the climb. There’s a really uncomfortable, left-hand side pull that’s slightly undercut, a right-hand undercling, and good feet, but you’re diving backward over your head into this really stupid crimp that’s got a hood on it—protected, so to say. It took me a long time to even figure that move out. But because it’s the first move, you do it fresh, so you have the best chance of executing the hardest single move on the climb right away.
Then there are probably eight more moves to get to the redpoint crux: another single V7 move. You get this big double undercling. It’s a fat jug, mad incut and super positive. You build your feet up really high and launch super far—full wingspan for me—to a three-finger drag. It’s slightly incut, full pad, really good hold. I fell there many, many, many dozens of times.
MacIlwaine: So you’re going full wingspan into a three-finger drag, without being able to see it?
Salas: Yeah. It’s a super accuracy-dependent move. I’m not a stranger to doing accuracy-dependent moves. I’ve done quite a few really hard dynos to small grips. That’s just a part of bouldering. You have to be accurate because you’re thrashing to small grips and in hard positions. This was no exception to that. If anything, it suited my style well, being already really accustomed to climbing quite a few double-digit boulders in limestone roofs.
But once I got the first half dialed, I would climb to this redpoint crux and fall, pull back on, do the move, and go to the chains. This was probably for 15 sessions, maybe more. I was living in this hilarious purgatory of, “I know what’s going to happen this session.” And what was happening was I would fall, sit in the dog, pull back on, and do the move immediately.
That’s the crux for everybody because by the time you get there, you’re tired, but I had one of the biggest realizations of my climbing on this route because of that move.
MacIlwaine: What realization did you have?
Salas: I couldn’t feel how my body needed to be in the space to execute the move. Even now, I couldn’t tell you what that grip looked like. But what was happening was that by the time I would get there from the bottom, I didn’t have the sensitivity in my body to understand where my body needed to be in space to do that move.
So my biggest strength became my greatest weakness for this route. I wasn’t pumped, but I was tired enough. All of my proprioception and the sensitivity I had was gone.
MacIlwaine: What do you mean by ‘My biggest strength became my biggest weakness?’
Salas: I had to go away from intuitive climbing to like, logic-brain climbing: “This knee has to do this thing.” My right knee has to tag the wall when I’m at the top of the swing, but I still need to execute the swing in full. There was so much about what my body was doing that I needed to break down to the nth degree because it wasn’t going to work with just intuitive climbing.
I had to understand the move logically to be able to do it. Otherwise, I had no sensitivity to how the move was going to work.
MacIlwaine: At what point in the process were you able to break out of the pattern of one-hanging?
Salas: I was talking with my best friend, Matt Frederick. He’s been my sight guide in competition for the last 11 years. He was like, “Break that context window up. Show up to the crag with someone else.” Just throwing out random ideas, right? “Wear different clothes, eat something different, start the day off differently. Break the cycle, because you’re in a bad loop right now.”
I have a tendency, as someone that relies so heavily on the way that I feel while I climb in muscle memory. If I get in a bad loop, I’ll continue to fail habitually because I’m stuck. So I was trying everything I could to change everything about it.
MacIlwaine: What sort of routine deviations did you try?
Salas: I started going up there with Joe Kinder and Cam Hörst more. I was being mentored by these dudes that are so much better at climbing than I am. I’ve looked up to Joe basically for my entire life of climbing, and Cam and I have a long history of going out to Red Rock together in 2020 with our friends Drew Ruana and Brooke Raboutou. So reconnecting with him, going back to the Roost, sessioning with him again, and going out there with Joe were more ways for me to change the context. It wasn’t just going with friends; it was going with mentors.
MacIlwaine: How did leaning into logical knowledge, instead of relying on your intuition, change how you were able to visualize the redpoint
https://www.climbing.com/news/justin-salas-first-known-blind-climber-to-send-513c/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5B8A8652-scaled.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5B8A8703-scaled.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/5B8A8467-scaled.jpg?width=730
#visuallyimpaired #salasbecomes #justinsalas #impairedathlete #firstvisually #america #climb #wanted #aprildavidson #mountcharleston
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 17:08:51 GMT

Noah Wheeler Climbs Burden of Dreams V17
Earlier this year, Noah Wheeler climbed Burden of Dreams V17, one of the world’s hardest boulders. It took him seven sessions across two trips to unlock the problem. He had previously climbed Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker, and Sean Bailey’s Shaolin, both V17. Wheeler just dropped a new film featuring his send, watch below.
“Burden demanded something different than optimization for me to unlock it, it demanded reorientation,” Wheeler said on 8a.nu. After seven sessions across two trips, he finally locked in the final move. “I had a lot of difficulty sleeping the night before I sent, and I spent most of this time navigating my mental game, attempting to find a mental space in which I would be comfortable doing the last move. I found it, envisioned it, and when the session came, acted on it.”
Burden of Dreams was first climbed by Nalle Hukkataival in 2016 after nearly four years of projecting. Hukkataival’s beta is what most people think of when they think about the beta for Burden of Dreams. He used a five-move sequence to move up the short, 45-degree overhanging face. Many different betas have been innovated since then.
Burden of Dreams sat for over six years without a repeat. Many of the world’s best tried their hand at the problem, including Daniel Woods and Shawn Raboutou.. In April 2023, Will Bosi made the coveted second ascent of the problem, using nearly identical beta as Hukkataival. Simon Lorenzi then made the third ascent in December 2023, Elias Iagnemma the fourth in March 2024, and Lee the fifth in May 2025. Makoto Yamauchi topped the problem just before Wheeler. Wheeler’s ascent was the seventh.
View this post on Instagram
Burden of Dreams V17
The post Noah Wheeler Climbs Burden of Dreams V17 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/noah-wheeler-climbs-burden-of-dreams-v17/
#noahwheeler #burden #dreams #instagramburden #hukkataival #seanbailey #nallehukkataival #eliasiagnemma
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 16:18:20 GMT

The Story of Peru’s First 5.14d: Canción del Cuy
Twenty One year old German climber, Malik Schirawski has spent much of his climbing thus far racing to the crag and working kick ass projects. At eighteen, he began thinking about changing things up. The result was a recent seven week expedition to Peru, where he and two friends established a 5.14d (9a) sport route at approximately 4,500 metres in the Andes, and rethought what it means to claim a first ascent. He shared with Gripped.
“I think I’ve been using this analogy within my friend group,” Malik says. “If you compare it to a sprinter, I’ve been sprinting my whole life in sport climbing terms. I’ve been climbing in local areas, which are in my comfort zone. I get in with my car, I can warm up in a gym, get in my car go climb routes in the ninth grade in Spain, where conditions are pretty good.”
Peru was something other. Like training with five mile runs for a marathon. A totally different beast. Malik felt it.
“It felt a bit like hurdles in comparison to climbing at my home crag, because you’re not used to the nutrition, you’re not used to the altitude, and you’re sleeping at about 4,000 metres elevation. It’s cold at night. Our sinks in the refuge were freezing every evening. It was a really cool combination of expedition and sport climbing.”
View this post on Instagram
The idea began with a photograph. Malik and his close friend Arlo Rogers (UK), were sitting beside their vans in Switzerland, talking about adventurous sport climbing beyond chasing the next grade. Malik opened a gallery on his phone and found a picture of a striking arete in Peru, at a place called, Pitumarca, bolted by Charlotte Dusseailles of Coldhouse Media.
“If I ever can climb one banger, I would really love to climb this route,” he told Arlo. Arlo needed little convincing. “Mate, we just need to get out asses down there.”
The idea faded for a while, then resurfaced six months later when the pair met Josh Ibbetson (UK) at Sant Linyà in Spain. They spent two weeks laughing their way through miserable weather, unable to climb their projects, until the conversation turned back to Peru. The three began researching the possibilities online, sitting in a café in Balaguer with WiFi and a global map of climbing opportunities.
View this post on Instagram
“We were looking at the map, and I have a big Google Map where there’s different emojis for crags that have been developed, crags where I know there are projects, and then they’re differentiated by season. You can turn on filters and see the whole globe with loads of pins of where I want to be, where I want to go.”
Malik laughed at the my idea of his map as a pin cushion. Behind the spontaneity, though, was a serious undertaking. The team needed funding, equipment and time. Petzl and Scarpa supported the trip, Petzl supplied bolts and hardware, and the climbers shared sponsorship and photography income. They travelled cheaply, with help from Bergfreunde covering their flights, and Rab providing the needed gear.
Malik was on the edge of nineteen, when the plan took shape. He was studying online while living in France and coaching climbers through training plans covering physical, mental and nutritional preparation. The trip was also an early step towards a professional climbing future.
“We’ve been talking a lot about getting something that’s truly our vision,” he says. “I do love adventure and that sense of uncertainty. I can find that within sport climbing or pushing hard projects, within training. Though really, I also want to see different sides of the planet, and climbing really is my tool for doing that.”
The journey took them from Europe to Lima to Cusco (elevation approximately 3,500m) then by bus and taxi towards Pichamarca and the Chacuyahuasca Valley. There they hooked up with local legend, Jorge Sirvas Milla (everyone calls him Coco). Malik was emphatic about the welcome they received.
“Without him there would be no story to tell. Coco basically is the place. He’s been bolting there for the last twelve years. It’s incredible to go to a sector like this and have a local who’s willing to show you around. There are no closed projects. It’s all open, and he’s showing you around and telling you, ‘Maybe go and look at that wall. Maybe go and look at that project.’ I’ve not seen that at many places, where someone’s so willing and openly welcoming foreigners and giving them all the information.”
View this post on Instagram
The stoke was high. The team arrived with enough equipment to establish one or two exceptional routes, not to bolt an entire sector. On their third day exploring, they found a prominent shield of rock with an obvious arete running up its left side. Emphatically Malic told me, “We were just like, ‘Sweet, this arete needs to be sent. There needs to be some metal on this wall.’” They rappelled in to begin work and then the weather turned nasty. It was the first time they experienced a snowstorm there, and all three were hanging, shivering like Elvis, bolting three lines down this pillar and that shield. “It was an epic day.” Said Malik.
Malik bolted the middle line, which became Cancion de la Cuy. Arlo took the arete later called Cafe y Coco, while Josh worked on the approach pitch and installed the hanging belay. The team initially focused on the arete, which looked like the most obvious line. Malik completed it, then began exploring his own route while his friends continued trying theirs.
The lines shared an opening sequence around 7c. Above it, Malik found a technical, crimpy wall, initially estimating the difficulty at around 8b or 8b+. But just before the headwall, for about two metres, the holds disappeared.
“Below, they have pretty good holds, and then you have a shallow tufa coming down.”
The solution involved a double gaston. It took another session before Malik could complete the short boulder problem.
“Eventually I came up with the double gaston, and it felt super strenuous and ridiculously hard. It took me another session to actually do the whole problem, the two metres. And from then on I was kind of like, Oh shit, it definitely goes.”
The route is around twenty metres long, but reaching it is a substantial part of the undertaking. From the refuge, the team hiked for an hour and a half to two hours up the steep valley. The line starts with an approach pitch around 6a or 6b, leading to a sloping ledge and hanging belay. A day on the route could mean nine or ten hours in a harness, with the uphill approach and descent bookending the climbing.
View this post on Instagram
At 4,500 metres, the percentage of oxygen in the air remains the same as at sea level, but atmospheric pressure is much lower, meaning each breath delivers considerably less oxygen to the body. The effects on hard physical exertion were immediate.
“I remember the first route I climbed. It feels like a snake was compressing on my forearms and the burn strikes quick. It feels like the strangest pump ever, where your forearms are about to explode, and you’re kind of gasping for air in equal measure.”
The team discovered that sustained power endurance was particularly punishing, while short, maximal efforts felt much more manageable.
“What we found is that the thing that works the worst at altitude is those power endurance efforts where it’s twenty moves, no rest. You just use all your stored aerobic capacity to do those twenty moves. The downside is that it really messes with your body.”
He compares the feeling after such an effort to a deep sea diver surfacing and struggling to breathe. “You feel like this when you’re clipping the chains.” By contrast, the three or four move boulder problem at the heart of Cancion de la Cuy suited the conditions.
“Bouldering efforts, maximum power for three to four moves, actually feel relatively similar to baseline level, because it’s less of an oxygen system that is used. That was perfect for the 5.14d, basically. You do a boulder, then do a rest, and that scheme works really well at altitude. But as soon as it gets power endurance, you’re battling with lack of oxygen.”
Acclimatisation required discipline. Malik had increased his training prior to leaving Europe up to volume to forty hours, hoping to build the capacity to sustain long, demanding days. Instead, he pushed himself into a hole and became sick during the final two weeks.
“As often in life, the slower way is often the faster. The slower you take it in the first couple of days, until your body has enough red blood cells that it can support the altitude, the better it is.”
On his second day at the crag, he climbed an 8b+ that felt harder than any of the six or seven 9a routes he had climbed in the preceding months back home. “I was so incredibly pumped. I was like, this is a big ass fight.”
The team gradually increased their workload, generally climbing two days on and taking one off, before moving towards alternate days as they focused on the main route. The weather remained remarkably consistent for six weeks, so they could plan around fatigue rather than wait for conditions. Daylight limited them to about four or five attempts on the project. For recovery, Malik had a straightforward prescription.
“I think the best recovery, and it’s completely underrated, is a couch and nothing to do, and a good nap every now and then is Zen.”
The grade itself was judged against other hard routes in the area. Malik is wary of treating grades as precise measurements.
“The closer I get to my limits, the more confusing grades are. I flashed 8c+, and sometimes it feels like it takes me five or six days to do an 8c+ if it’s not my style. Then I did 9a in a day. But sometimes 9a can take me three to four days, or sometimes there are 9as where I’m like, Fuck, how do I even do that?”
Malik and his companions came up with a plan. They agreed to claim team first ascents rather than individual ones. That’s like an ace that most climbing packs don’t pick up. Malik explained it.
“We decided prior to this trip that we will not claim first ascent. We will claim team first ascent. Whoever does the line on this trip will get a share of the glory of the first ascent. We climb as one.”
View this post on Instagram
The reasoning was admirable; friends travelling to the other side of the world to climb hard should work together, not against one another. If Malik found a knee bar, he shared it. There was no point withholding information to protect a personal claim. Sharing sends on Instagram was team focused. He really saw value in this approach.
“There was never this moment where I was thinking, ‘Oh, I found this cool beta while working a line, but I’m not going to tell anyone because I want the first ascent. Instead it was always like, ‘I found the beta and I was immediately telling them.”
“Being an athlete, and especially wanting to get into a professional space, it’s definitely not a low pressure environment. Agreeing on this team kudos of a first ascent really took out a lot of the pressure for me.” More than that, he found himself remembering his friends’ struggles on the routes even more vividly than his own. It was the vibe they lived on in Peru.
“I really do appreciate it. I remember the fights of my friends on those lines even more than I remember my own, because I was so full heartedly wishing them to do the route.”
Then he adds: “Which I think is the best gift ever.”
For a young climber contemplating a professional future, it is a revealing sentiment. Grades and first ascents provide an easy record of achievement. Generosity, shared knowledge and the pleasure of seeing a friend succeed are harder to measure, but they shaped this expedition as much as the altitude and the climbing. I found that fresh.
The trip began with a photograph and an impulsive declaration beside a van. It demanded months of planning, difficult travel, long approaches, careful acclimatisation and repeated attempts on a hard routes at altitude. The team left Peru with new lines on the wall and a shared understanding of what they had achieved; 9a and at altitude. That’s elevated stuff and not your usual pic and flick.
I spoke with Coco about the visit by the boys from Europe. This was what he told me: “It’s important to leave routes that inspire the next generations of climbers in Peru to dream, which is why I think Malik’s visit with his friends, which resulted in many first ascents and Peru’s first 9a, is significant; it’s something that contributes greatly to the local climbing scene. I also appreciated seeing that they were young climbers with a deep sense of respect for the place, its rules, and its customs, and a passion for the rock that’s becoming increasingly rare these days.”
Coco’s view is supported by Alex Megos, a countryman of Malik. Alex told Gripped: “Their whole trip is extraordinary I think! Absolutely amazing to see them not only travelling to a lesser known country in the climbing world, but also combining expedition style travelling with hard climbing.”
Doing hard stuff in unlikely places, sharing sends amongst friends, respecting the scene you visit, being motivated by adventure over status quo, these are kinda neat. In a game that so often asks who sent it first, sometimes the better question is who made it possible? Having international climbers visiting Peru and seeing locals increase their standing, for Malik and his friends, that will complete the story.
Malik and Arlo catching a ride in Peru. Photo by Josh Ibbetson
The post The Story of Peru’s First 5.14d: Canción del Cuy appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/profiles/the-story-of-perus-first-5-14d-cancion-del-cuy/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0846.jpeg
#peru #cuy #story #first #malik #malikschirawski #map #arlo #spain #instagram
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 15:28:19 GMT

Jana Švecová Climbs V14 in Italy
Jana Švecová has announced her recent ascent of L’Oppio Dei Climbers V14 (8B+) in Val Daone, Italy. It came not long after Katie Lamb’s ascent of the problem – in fact, Švecová came incredibly close to sending on the same day as Lamb, but fell on the very last hold. She said she was “feeling super pumped and couldn’t really fight it anymore.” She continued, “I just wanted to join the send train, but despite all of my effort, I was just too tired that day. ”
But she very soon achieved her top of the Valdo Chilese’s problem. Sharing the news of her ascent on Instagram, Švecová said, “Fought my way through another gem boulder, L’oppio dei climbers [V14]. This one was a rollercoaster of emotions”. A new video of her send has just been released on her YouTube channel, which you can view below.
The V14 takes a sequence of 20+ moves on steep terrain. It has seen repeats by top climbers like Stefano Ghisolfi and Adam Ondra, among others. In the fall of 2025, Janja Garnbret made the first female ascent. “It is a very finicky boulder problem where physical and technical difficulties meet,” according to Ondra. “You need a lot of core power, as well as being incredibly precise and gentle with heel-toe cams. The top-out is icing on the cake that I haven’t really tried much before, and I definitely underestimated it.”
Švecová has a stacked bouldering resume. According to her 8a.nu, she has climbed three V15s, two of which are first ascents, five V14s (including L’Oppio Dei Climbers0, and seven V13s. Earlier this year, she established Tokyo Drift V15 at the Holstejn crag in Czechia. She has been on a journey to become the first climber to repeat Ondra’s Terranova V16. Just before leaving for her trip to Val Daone, she made huge progress on the boulder she climbed Terranova in two overlapping parts in one session.
In June 2023, she made the first ascent of Nova, a variation of Terranova. Švecová originally graded the problem V14, but Will Bosi suggested an upgrade to V15 after his second ascent. Later that year, in December, she made the first ascent of Dune and proposed V13. Bosi also suggested an upgrade for this, calling it V14.
View this post on Instagram
Jane Švecová Climbing L’Oppio Dei Climbers V14
The post Jana Švecová Climbs V14 in Italy appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/jana-svecova-climbs-v14-in-italy/
#janasvecova #italy #deiclimbers #valdaone #katielamb #ondra #terranova #valdochilese #instagram #adamondra
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 14:34:54 GMT

“Like Combining Climbing With UFC,” Says Winner of New Competition
Max Milne came into the Pro Climbing League (PCL) London 2026 competition as the wildcard, and left having beaten seven of the world’s best boulderers to take the win. With his bouncy, dynamic style and knack for finding unexpected beta, Milne brings a fresh energy to bouldering. From explosive moves to creative hand and foot jams, he climbed with an energy that kept the crowd and his competitors guessing.
“I was very much in it for the show, getting the crowd hyped up, and trying to create a storyline on the stage, as well as trying to win,” Milne said about the PCL. He admits that performing in front of an audience brings out something different in him: “Sometimes that’s harder for me, because I prefer to show off when everyone’s watching, not when it’s just me.” For Milne, the spectacle is part of the sport. “But it’s more fun when your friends or families are in the crowd and there’s big energy, isn’t it?”
About the style of the PCL, Milne said: “It’s the first-ever PCL, so I didn’t know what to expect. The head-to-head format is like combining climbing with UFC fighting. It’s not like we’re going to scrap, but you’re going against your opponent. In traditional competitions, it’s just you and the boulder. Here, you’re on the exact same boulder, on the same wall, going head-to-head. You fall off, then see the other person get higher than you, and you’re thinking, ‘I’ve only got two more minutes to get past their high point.'”
Looking ahead, Milne has his sights set on the biggest stage in climbing. Having come close to qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games, he knows the road to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will be difficult, particularly with the depth of talent in the British team. Still, his ambition is clear: “But yeah, the main focus is winning a World Cup this year, then being in good standing for LA. That’s the big dream.”
View this post on Instagram
Watch as he takes on some of the sport’s elite climbers in the film below, proving he belongs at the sharp end of competitive climbing. As the PCL noted in a press release: “This is the Pro Climbing League at its best: fresh talent, big moves and no guarantees.”
In 2027 Pro Climbing League heads to three major cities for our first full season. Berlin in January, Paris in February and London in March. “The biggest names in climbing return to compete in an improved format to provide more climbing, more action, and more drama.”
How Max Milne Won
The post “Like Combining Climbing With UFC,” Says Winner of New Competition appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/champion-says-new-competition-is-like-combining-climbing-with-ufc/
#combiningclimbing #likecombining #milne #proclimbing #climbingleague #ufc #pcl #maxmilne #london
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-21 13:44:13 GMT

Hazel Findlay on Childbirth and Returning to Climbing
Hazel Findlay started climbing at the age of six on the sea cliffs of Pembrokeshire, Wales, with her father, climber Steve Findlay. She became a six-time national climbing champion before leaving comp climbing to focus on trad. She graduated from the University of Bristol, where she studied philosophy, and settled in North Wales.
In June 2011, Findlay became the first British woman to climb an E9 when she sent Once Upon a Time in the South West at Dyer’s Lookout in Devon. She went on to achieve first female ascents of several hard lines in Britain and abroad, including San Simeon E8 in Pembrokeshire, Chicama (E9 6c) on Anglesey and Air Sweden 5.13b R in Utah.
In Yosemite, she became the first British woman to free El Capitán, completing Golden Gate in 2011, Pre-Muir Wall in 2012, Freerider in 2013 and the Salathé Wall in 2017. In November 2019, she made the third ascent of Magic Line 5.14c at Vernal Fall. Her ascent was also the first female ascent of the route. In 2012, she opened Adder Crack 5.13a and Tainted Love 5.13d in Squamish, and in 2022, she partnered with Alex Honnold to make the first free ascent of Ingmikortilaq, a 3,750-foot wall in Greenland.
In 2014, she climbed Fish Eye 5.14b in Oliana, Spain, achieving the highest grade reached by a British female climber at the time. She later climbed Mind Control 5.14b in 2017, and Esclatamasters 5.14d in Catalonia in 2022. For more sends by Findlay visit here.
View this post on Instagram
Findlay is featured in a new short film called The New Normal, which is described as: “A story about returning to climbing after childbirth, adapting to a changing body and figuring out how motherhood fits alongside a passion for pushing oneself in climbing. It’s not about ‘getting back’ to where you were, but discovering what climbing and life look like now that everything has changed.”
The New Normal
The post Hazel Findlay on Childbirth and Returning to Climbing appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/hazel-findlay-on-childbirth-and-returning-to-climbing/
#hazelfindlay #climbing #stevefindlay #returning #newnormal #instagramfindlay #northwales #wall #pembrokeshire #southwest
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 21:33:58 GMT

Three Climbers Establish Giant Himalayan Route in Enviable On-the-Clock “Training”
Dream jobs come in all shapes and sizes. Some might consider my job at Climbing dreamy. Others might hope to hangboard their way into professional climbing one day. My former colleague Duane Raleigh once made a very serious list of climber “dream jobs” that included roofers, fast food cooks, and snow shovelers.
I am here to tell you that none of these jobs are the best climber jobs. The actual best job for a climber, without any shadow of a doubt, is to be a member of the French military’s 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade. Why?
Allow me to describe the group’s latest work trip.
The line of Bon Matin on Peak 41 (6,654m/21,830ft), Nepal. (Photo: Courtesy GMHM)
Last Wednesday, October 14, Sergeant Konrad Piontek and Corporals Amaury Fouillade and Clovis Paulin stood on the 6,654-meter summit of Peak 41 in Nepal. On the 1,400-meter North Face, they had just opened a stunning new route linking long sections of vertical ice with burly rock roofs and pitches of deep snow. They called the line Bon Matin (ED+ WI5+ M6 A1 90° snow), which translates to “Good Morning.” (Not sure what “ED+” means? Check out this article about international alpine grades.)
The three first ascensionists were part of a team of six from the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, better known as the Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne, or GMHM. They had arrived in Nepal in mid-September along with a military doctor. After a period of acclimatization, the group split into two rope teams according to their skill level and how well each had adjusted to the altitude.
The Piontek-Fouillade-Paulin team eyed an attractive, unclimbed smear running plumb down Peak 41’s north side, to the left of a Korean team’s route from 2016. They began climbing on October 11 and summited after “four days of particularly committed climbing,” according to a statement shared with Climbing.
Striking—and poorly protected—ice climbing on Bon Matin. (Photo: Courtesy GMHM)
Over the 1,400 meters of the face, the team had to deal with numerous steep and poorly protected pitches, including sections of vertical snow. “We weren’t expecting pitches as steep as that, especially in snow,” said Corporal Paulin in the statement. But they also climbed what can only be described as truly classic mixed terrain: solid rock and squeaky ice, hanging above tons of exposure.
After summiting, the team descended the peak’s southeastern aspect via 15 rappels and significant downclimbing, turning their outing into one massive loop back to basecamp. “Reaching the summit was a real physical relief,” said Corporal Fouillade. “The mental release came later.”
Steep! But at least the gear is good. (Photo: Courtesy GMHM)
What does the GMHM do?
Officially, France’s 10-person GMHM is tasked with “mastering extreme terrestrial environments, particularly vertical terrain and high altitude,” said a spokesperson to Climbing. This fluency in alpine terrain aims to contribute to the development of the entire French army’s mountain capabilities.
“The whole point of the GMHM is to practice high level alpinism,” said the group’s spokesperson. “What is learned regarding mountaineering or cold weather environments is passed on to the French mountain units, but the GMHM has otherwise no militaristic purposes.”
(Photo: Courtesy GMHM)
Similar mountain-military units exist across the globe, but—tragically—nothing so geared toward climbing excellence exists in North America. (If you happen to have a French passport and the pre-requisites, I’d be refreshing this recruitment page regularly.)
As far as we know, there is no fixed contract length for GMHM members; some alpinists have been part of the dream team for years and years.
The École Militaire de Haute Montagne, in Chamonix, France, where the GMHM trains. (Photo: Anthony Walsh)
In addition to one high-altitude expedition each year, the group travels to Greenland to teach the Groupement de Commandos de Montagne (literally: “mountain commandos”) about how to thrive in cold weather. They also take minor trips to develop rock and ice climbing skills, whether that’s locally in the French Alps or abroad to Yosemite. In plain terms, that means that 10 climbers get to occasionally don camo and earn a decent government salary to climb full time, around the world.
Did I mention the GMHM is the ultimate dream job?
The post Three Climbers Establish Giant Himalayan Route in Enviable On-the-Clock “Training” appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/three-french-soldiers-summit-unclimbed-himalayan-route/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/peak-41-lead.png?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/peak-41-topo.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/peak-41_1-scaled.jpeg?width=730
#courtesygmhm #bonmatin #climbing #infantrybrigade #mountaininfantry #route #peak #nepal #duaneraleigh #corporal
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 20:43:11 GMT

Adam Ondra Just Downgraded the World’s First Proposed V18. We Should Have Seen This Coming.
About our reporting: Associate editor Sam MacIlwaine pulls from a prior interview with Elias Iagnemma, a Testpiece Climbing podcast episode, Adam Ondra’s public posts, several YouTube videos, and records from Climbing’s digital archives to explain the history of Ondra’s downgrades and why the world’s first V18 was no exception.
On Sunday, October 18, Czech climber Adam Ondra announced that he made the second ascent of Exodia, the world’s first proposed V18, in Piemonte, Italy. The 33-year-old Olympian, who is arguably the most accomplished rock climber of all time, downgraded the boulder from V18 to V17. His downgrade ended nearly a year of speculation over whether the first-ever proposed V18 would hold up in future repeats.
“It’s very much my style,” Ondra wrote in an Instagram post caption, adding that the climbing was “extremely cool and very fun to project.” He took four days in total to send it, noting that he was in “possibly my best ever” shape for climbing it.
Exodia marks Ondra’s second V17, after Soudain Seul in Fontainebleau, France. However, he remarked that it “felt harder than Soudain Seul,” making Exodia his most difficult bouldering send to date. Read on for a history of Ondra’s biggest downgrades.
Adam Ondra climbing Exodia (Photo: Courtesy of Petr Chodura via Adam Ondra)
A brief history of Exodia
Last November, Italian climber Elias Iagnemma shocked the climbing world when he finally sent his 211-session, four-year project, Exodia. He then proposed it as the world’s first V18. Prior to Exodia, Iagnemma had sent Burden of Dreams, the world’s first V17 and a benchmark for the grade, in 25 sessions. He also put up his own first ascent, The Big Slamm, in 35 sessions, proposing V17; however, it has not been repeated. Exodia took him six times as long as either boulder. After his send, he told Climbing that it was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
In broad terms, Iagnemma described Exodia in two parts, a V14 and a V16, with an inverted kneebar rest between them. It contains approximately 25 hand moves across a blocky overhang traverse. Iagnemma compares the boulder visually to “the face” of the Exodia Yu-Gi-Oh card, which inspired the problem’s name.
Since November, several elite boulderers, including Soudain Seul third ascensionist Camille Coudert, have traveled to Piemonte to try Exodia, according to a Testpiece Climbing podcast episode interviewing Iagnemma. But it wasn’t until Ondra showed up, fresh from a spree of V14 and V15 first ascents in Italy, France, and the Czech Republic, that Exodia saw a second ascent.
Ondra’s assessment of Exodia
When Ondra visited the boulder in September, Iagnemma showed up and offered all his beta. “Adam thinks the first part is 8B+/V14 hard,” the Italian said on the September 28 podcast episode. “For me it’s just 8B+. But for the second part, Adam doesn’t think it’s 8C+/V16.”
In Iagnemma’s send video, he jumps to a pinch and cuts feet shortly after exiting the kneebar. But for this move, he claimed, Ondra did not need to cut feet. “When I jump to the pinch, Adam’s still with the toe hook to the pinch, and maybe this way, it’s a bit easier than 8C+,” Iagnemma said. “I’m a little bit smaller and I lose my feet.”
Ondra confirmed this advantage in his send announcement. “The second part is even more my style,” he wrote. “I can reach one hold from one toe hook without cut[ting] loose.”
Iagnemma responded to the announcement with congratulations. “You’re not only the strongest climber in the world, but an amazing person as well,” he wrote publicly in Ondra’s comments. “I hope we get to climb together someday.”
Adam Ondra in the kneebar rest of Exodia (Photo: Courtesy of Petr Chodura via Adam Ondra)
Inside the downgrading machine
With Exodia, Iagnemma joins a long list of elite climbers to have experienced an Ondra downgrade of their first ascent, including Stefano Ghisolfi, Jonathan Siegrist, Magnus Midtbø, Will Bosi, Dave Graham, and Aidan Roberts.
In 2003, Spanish climber Barnabé Fernández claimed the first ascent of the 270-foot Chilam Balam in Málaga, Spain, calling it the world’s first 5.15c. However, he did not provide proof of his ascent, and the 5.15c grade was called into question by Alexander Huber and many others. Eight years later, Ondra swept in, made the first confirmed ascent, and downgraded it to 5.15b, a grade that had been already established by then.
One of Ondra’s most memorable downgrading sprees occurred back in 2012, during his first visit to the U.S., when he quickly disposed of three of the hardest routes in the Red River Gorge. He onsighted both Jonathan Siegrist’s Pure Imagination and Adam Taylor’s The Golden Ticket on the same day, then downgraded both from 5.14d to 5.14c. A few days later, he flashed Taylor’s harder route, Southern Smoke Direct, and downgraded it from 5.15a to 5.14d. “Adam Ondra pretty much wrecked the Red,” wrote routesetter Aubrey Wingo in a blog post about the sending spree.
One of the reasons that Ondra is known for downgrades is his geo-agnostic philosophy on grading, which adheres to a universal scale instead of bending to the subjectivity of local standards. “What is a grading system worth if we are not even trying to make it objective?” he told this magazine after his Red River Gorge massacre. “We’re just lying to ourselves to get the highest number possible. I am always trying to compare my ascents with other benchmarks of that grade, so climbing said grade feels the same in the Red, the Alps, Norway, or Spain. It seems to me that grades were really stiff in the 1980s and `90s, but then, strangely enough, inflation occurred.” He also noted, “I wouldn’t call it downgrading—I would call it a personal suggestion or opinion.”
But while Ondra considers his downgrades “opinions,” nearly all of his suggestions tend to stick. Others have acknowledged that Ondra’s ascent of their route is what defines the grade. In 2025, Magnus Midtbø jokingly pointed out that Ondra’s 2012 downgrade of his boulder Blood Redemption from V15 to V14 came one day after day after Midtbø beat Ondra in a competition in Norway. “I almost had a V15 under my belt until Adam Ondra ruined it,” Midtbø mock-complains in a YouTube video. However, later in the video, he admits that V14 is “probably a more accurate grade.”
Adam Ondra on Exodia (Photo: Courtesy of Petr Chodura via Adam Ondra)
Ondra has acknowledged his power over the community, too. In recent years, he’s become more careful to stress that his downgrades are not personally motivated. In 2021, he downgraded Stefano Ghisolfi’s Erebor, then considered the hardest route in Italy, from 5.15b/c to 5.15b, right after Laura Rogora redpointed it and became the first woman to climb 5.15b/c. “The fact that Laura did Erebor is one of the most impressive achievements in climbing ever,” Ondra wrote in an Instagram post caption, “but my suggestion is just my honest opinion and not a way to put down her achievement.”
At this point, when Ondra comes to town, it’s normal for any first ascensionist to prepare for the re-evaluation of their life’s biggest accomplishment. In 2017, when Ondra tried Steve McClure’s Rainman (5.15b), the hardest sport climb in the U.K., McClure himself showed up to watch. A video published by the British Mountaineering Council shows him visibly nervous. Rainman was McClure’s seven-year obsession; it took him 127 sessions to finally get it done. But Ondra didn’t send that day. “You can be relaxed,” Ondra told McClure, laughing, after he fell from high up on McClure’s route. The 47-year-old grinned in obvious relief. Today, Rainman remains 5.15b.
Given Ondra’s unique reputation as possibly the best climber in the world, British climbers Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker have jokingly invented a new grading scale based on Ondra’s ability level. “The O-grading system starts at 0, so if Adam flashes anything, it’s just O-zero,” said Randall in a 2023 YouTube video of Ondra visiting his famous Cellar in Sheffield. “O1 will be, it will take him one session. That could be the second go, or it could be the 25th go of the session. It’s always O1. O2 is two sessions; O3 is three sessions, and so on.”
Ondra joined in the joke in 2024. On April Fool’s Day, he posted the O-grades for a few of his biggest accomplishments, adding the plus and minus effects to note effort and to narrow the scale. Silence (5.15d) and La Dura Dura (5.15c), two of his most groundbreaking redpoints, were labeled O60 and O42+ respectively.
But at this point, the O-grade system is probably worth taking seriously, if only to get inside Ondra’s head and anticipate a future downgrade. Like any other climber, Ondra relies on his past experiences on various routes and boulders to determine the grade for his current one. Yet unlike most other climbers, his opinion carries significant implications for us all. One may wonder whether Rainman survived a downgrade simply because in 2017, Ondra hadn’t yet flashed 5.15a, the benchmark for O-zero; therefore it had to be at least O1, which was (and is still) 5.15b.
By contrast, Exodia took Ondra four sessions, which means it’s O4—slightly lower on the O-grade scale than Ondra’s only other V17, Soudain Seul (O5). In that line of logic, the downgrade suddenly makes perfect sense.
The post Adam Ondra Just Downgraded the World’s First Proposed V18. We Should Have Seen This Coming. appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/adam-ondra-downgrades-exodia-v18-to-v17/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Petr-Chodura_Adam-Ondra_Exodia_9A_Italy_261016123228_res-scaled.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Petr-Chodura_Adam-Ondra_Exodia_9A_Italy_261016140532_res-scaled.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Petr-Chodura_Adam-Ondra_Exodia_9A_Italy_261016120505_res-scaled.jpg?width=730
#adamondra #exodia #world #first #climbing #soudainseul #firstproposed #iagnemma #eliasiagnemma #testpiececlimbing
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 16:50:05 GMT

Lara Neumeier Makes Historic First Female Ascent of Rhapsody E11
German climber Lara Neumeier has made the historic first female ascent of Rhapsody 5.14c R trad (E11 7a) at Dumbarton Rock in Scotland. First climbed by Scottish climber Dave MacLeod in 2006, Rhapsody was the world’s first E11 and remains one of the most iconic and demanding trad climbing routes in the world.
Neumeier completed the ascent on Oct. 7, exactly 20 years after MacLeod established the route. Her achievement marks another significant milestone in the progression of women’s trad climbing.
The ascent followed 16 days of working the route across two trips to Scotland. Combining highly technical climbing, small and often insecure holds, and the psychological demands of climbing above trad protection, Rhapsody has attracted some of the world’s leading trad climbers over the past two decades. Previous ascensionists include Sonnie Trotter, Steve McClure, James Pearson and Jacopo Larcher.
For Neumeier, the achievement represents the culmination of a journey that began with her ascent of Psychogramm 5.14a, a demanding trad route at Bürser Platte in Austria, in spring 2025 – read about her send here.
Courtesy of Red Bull
Neumeier’s experience on Psychogramm sparked an interest in pursuing more challenging trad routes that demand both technical precision and confidence in gear placements.
“After climbing Psychogramm at Bürser Platte in spring 2025, a route protected by micro-gear, I became really psyched to explore more climbs in this style,” said Neumeier. “I loved the mental challenge and the process of figuring out the moves and gear placements on toprope, building confidence and finally preparing for a lead attempt despite the consequences of a fall.
“I wanted to find a harder route that would challenge me in a similar way. Rhapsody had been on my mind since Jacopo Larcher climbed it in 2016, and I felt like this could potentially be a cool project.”
View this post on Instagram
A First Encounter with Rhapsody
Neumeier first travelled to Dumbarton Rock with fellow climber Nemuel Fuerle in April 2026. With just seven days available, the trip was primarily an opportunity to assess whether Rhapsody was a realistic objective.
The route’s reputation for intimidating climbing and long reaches presented particular challenges. Scotland’s notoriously unpredictable weather added another layer of difficulty, limiting the time available to work through the route’s sequences and protection.
“I first visited Dumbarton Rock with Nemuel Fuerle in spring 2026,” said Neumeier. “It was a short trip, and I mainly wanted to find out whether the route was possible for me, especially given its reputation for being scary and having some very reachy moves.
“The weather wasn’t on our side when we arrived. The first days were extremely rainy and most of the route was wet. Eventually we figured out how to dry it with towels, which allowed us to work the whole line.
“After five toprope days, I had figured out all the moves and gear placements, which gave me confidence and the feeling that I could climb it one day. It was a question of time, preparation and the right conditions.
“Towards the end of the trip, we gave it very few lead attempts, which felt surprisingly good, and after that I was completely hooked.”
Returning Stronger
After spending the summer completing the Alpine Trilogy and climbing multipitch and trad routes in Norway, Neumeier returned to Scotland at the end of September. Despite her progress on other demanding climbs, Rhapsody remained firmly in her thoughts.
Following four to five weeks of focused preparation, she began her second trip with renewed determination. Over nine days, she refined her sequences, improved her efficiency and developed the confidence needed to commit to the route on lead.
“During the summer, I finished the Alpine Trilogy and spent time in Norway doing multipitch and trad climbing, but I kept thinking about Rhapsody,” said Neumeier. “After four to five weeks of getting back into shape, I returned to Scotland at the end of September.
“This time things started really well. I spent the first two days on toprope working on links, then focused on lead attempts, one to four a day, with occasional toprope laps to become more efficient on all sections.
“I made progress almost every day, even if it sometimes felt like baby steps. I realised that this was the hardest route I had ever tried. Technical climbing and some very reachy moves, but I found a beta that worked for me even though the crux felt very insecure because of tiny footholds.”
As her attempts accumulated, the physical demands of hard climbing, combined with long days in cold, windy conditions, began to take their toll. Recognizing the importance of recovery, Neumeier and her climbing partner took two rest days before returning to the route.
“After a few days of lead attempts, we realised our bodies were tired from trying hard on Rhapsody and having long days in Scottish cold and windy conditions, so we decided to take two rest days to fully recover.
“On the first day back, I linked the entire headwall from the rest to the top on lead, which gave me a huge confidence boost.”
The Historic Ascent
On Oct. 7, with favourable conditions and renewed confidence, Neumeier returned to the foot of Rhapsody. After warming up on toprope, she committed to another lead attempt.
An unexpectedly wet section of the lower crack nearly caused a slip, but she held on and continued upwards. With months of preparation and days of focused attempts behind her, she climbed through the difficult upper wall to complete the historic first female ascent.
“The next day, conditions were great,” said Neumeier. “After warming up on toprope, I went for it. I almost slipped off the lower crack, which was unexpectedly wet, but managed to hold on. From there everything clicked and it felt quite smooth.
“Grabbing the top hold and mantling over the lip was a crazy feeling. Standing on top of Rhapsody I felt incredibly happy and proud.
“I had put more energy, work and determination into Rhapsody than into any route before. I had been so nervous and excited because I wanted to climb it so badly, and finally doing it felt amazing.
“Rhapsody reminded me how important it is to trust yourself, and that trying hard things shows you how far you can go and where there is still room for more.”
A Shared Experience at Dumbarton Rock
Neumeier’s ascent formed part of a remarkable period of climbing at Dumbarton Rock. British climber Buster Martin completed Rhapsody just days before her, while Fuerle followed with his own successful ascent only hours after Neumeier reached the top.
For Neumeier, the camaraderie and support surrounding the project were as memorable as the achievement itself. “I had an incredible time at Dumbarton Rock,” Neumeier said. “Working on the route together with Buster and Nemo was so much fun. Seeing Buster send it a few days before and Nemo climb it just a few hours after my ascent was incredible! All the locals were so welcoming and supportive, and I’m incredibly grateful for the whole experience.”
Read about other Rhapsody sends here.
Lara Neumeier sending Rhapsody. Photo courtesy of Red Bull
The post Lara Neumeier Makes Historic First Female Ascent of Rhapsody E11 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/lara-neumeier-makes-historic-first-female-ascent-of-rhapsody-e11/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/LaraRhapsody.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-19-12.28.40-PM.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/LaraRhapsody1.jpg
#femaleascent #firstfemale #historicfirst #laraneumeier #rhapsody #dumbartonrock #burserplatte #jacopolarcher #nemuelfuerle #psychogramm
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 15:55:53 GMT

Jessica Pilz Climbs Hades 5.14d
On October 15, Jessica Pilz sent Hades 5.14d (9a) in Götterwandl, Austria. While the Austrian is a decorated comp climber and has even climbed 5.15a, this was her first time climbing a 5.14d on rock. She climbed it quickly, only taking four sessions to send. In fact, she ended up sending Hades twice – the second send was executed to get footage of her climbing the route. You can see Pilz perfectly execute the moves for the incredibly steep climb in a new video that has just been released on YouTube – you can view the send footage below.
“First rock days of 2026 couldn’t have started any better,” said Pilz on Instagram. “Two days ago, I ticked my first [5.14d]. This route had been on my mind for years, but I’d always been too intimidated by the grade to give it a go. With such a short rock season after comps, I’m super stoked I got this power-endurance test piece done before it gets too cold.”
Hades was established back in 2008 by Andreas Bindhammer. It has been climbed by many of the world’s best. Adam Ondra sent the route back in 2009 after nine goes, calling it “hard for me” on his 8a.nu page. Other climbers put it away very quickly, including Patxi Usobiaga, who did it on his second go, Jakob Schubert, who climbed it in a day, and Laura Rogora, who climbed it on her third go. Eva Hammelmüller, Pepa Šindel, and Filip Schenk, among others, have also sent the route.
Pilz is best known for her comp climbing. She has podiumed many times at World Cup and World Championship events, including winning golds at the Lead World Championship in 2018 and Combined World Championship in 2021. She won the overall Lead World Cup seasons in 2023 and 2024. At the Paris Olympic Games, she earned bronze.
In 2024, she sent her hardest outdoor sport route to date, Papichulo 5.15a in Oliana, Spain. “Working on this route pushed me out of my comfort zone – from wanting to give up on Day 1 because it felt too hard to gradually understanding the process of projecting,” she said back in 2024 after her send. “Thinking about the route on rest days made me nervous, constantly running through sequences and moves in my head. Waiting all day for that one possible attempt in good conditions before it got dark made me nervous too. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions but absolutely worth it!”
View this post on Instagram
Jessica Pilz Climbing Hades 5.14d
The post Jessica Pilz Climbs Hades 5.14d appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/jessica-pilz-climbs-hades-5-14d/
#jessicapilz #hades #worldchampionship #leadworld #instagramjessica #climbing #first #combinedworld #cup #andreasbindhammer
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 15:03:04 GMT

Canadian Will Gadd Goes Ice Climbing in Australia
Canadian Will Gadd recently joined Australian Hugh Newall on a trip to Australia’s famed Snowy Mountains, where they eventually found some fragile ice lines and marginal winter conditions.
For Gadd, the prospect of climbing ice in Australia presented a question: could a country known for its arid landscapes and extreme heat offer opportunities for winter climbing? Initial conditions offered little encouragement, and with insufficient ice to climb the expedition’s main objective, Gadd and Newall turned to rock climbing in the Blue Mountains.
Newall has been visiting the mountains since childhood. In the film below, he describes how family trips and cross-country skiing have shaped his personal history. He also reflects on changes in the local winter environment, including declining snow depths and a shortening winter season. After a snowy approach, Gadd and Newall finally found some ice to climb.
With low expectations and high stoke, this lighthearted film follows a journey to prove that Australia does indeed have a snowy region and better yet, real ice routes waiting to be climbed.
View this post on Instagram
Australia Ice Climbing
The post Canadian Will Gadd Goes Ice Climbing in Australia appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/canadian-will-gadd-goes-ice-climbing-in-australia/
#australia #iceclimbing #newall #hughnewall #mountains #instagramaustralia #snowy #blue
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 14:12:46 GMT

Three Dead, Four Injured in Chile Avalanche
Three people were killed and four injured after a slab avalanche swept a group of mountaineers into Laguna del Inca near Ski Portillo in Chile’s Valparaíso region on Oct. 17.
The group was traveling toward the summit of Cerro Los Tres Hermanos when the avalanche occurred, according to resort management. Rescue teams, Chilean Carabineros police, firefighters, medical personnel and other emergency responders arrived within 10 minutes and rescued four survivors, who were transported by helicopter to Los Andes Hospital.
Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service initially reported four deaths and four injuries before revising the death toll to three. Recovery efforts continued as authorities investigated whether anyone else remained beneath the snow.
Local official Manuel Millones confirmed that those involved were Chilean citizens. Two victims were identified in media reports as Magdalena Acuña Jiménez, 56, and Rodrigo Peña Troncoso, 36.
View this post on Instagram
Ski Portillo closed for the season on Oct. 11. Management said the avalanche occurred outside the designated ski area, in a restricted zone marked with avalanche warnings. Resort personnel had reportedly warned the group against entering the backcountry earlier that morning.
“The ski resort closed for the winter season on Sunday, October 11, and the area where the accident occurred is outside the designated ski area,” writes Ski Portillo. “Entering closed areas, or continuing an activity despite warnings, means exposing oneself to serious hazards that can endanger the lives of both those who enter and the teams who must come to their aid.”
General Manager Miguel Purcell expressed condolences to the victims’ families and urged mountaineers to follow safety restrictions: “We once again extend our condolences to the victims’ families and reaffirm our support for the work being carried out by the authorities.”
View this post on Instagram
“Mountaineering activities must be undertaken responsibly and in compliance with all safety instructions and restrictions,” said Purcell. “Ski Portillo has clearly visible signage, both at the hotel and in various areas of the slopes, warning of the danger of death and prohibiting entry into restricted areas. These warnings are also posted on our website. Mountaineering and any activity in high-mountain environments requires preparation, constant assessment of conditions, and above all, personal responsibility and strict adherence to safety guidance. We would like to remind the public to be cautious when engaging in these activities and that no experience should ever take precedence over the protection of life.”
The avalanche occurred after an exceptionally snowy season in Chile’s central Andes. Ski Portillo reported nearly 40 feet of snowfall, more than double its historical average of approximately 17 feet. Heavy late-season snowfall also prompted nearby Valle Nevado to extend operations into November, an unprecedented move in the resort’s 38-year history.
Rising spring temperatures can destabilize snowpacks as melting and water infiltration increase avalanche risks. However, investigators have not established the precise factors that triggered Saturday’s avalanche. The incident highlights the dangers of backcountry travel during changing spring conditions, particularly in areas where access is restricted and snowpack stability remains uncertain.
The post Three Dead, Four Injured in Chile Avalanche appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/three-dead-four-injured-in-chile-avalanche/
#fourinjured #skiportillo #avalanche #chile #cerrolos #lostres #treshermanos #chileancarabineros #instagramski #andeshospital
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 13:17:10 GMT

Sonnie Trotter Climbs Midnight Way 5.15a
Sonnie Trotter has climbed one of Canada’s hardest sport climbs with the fifth ascent of Midnight Way, a 35-metre 5.15a on the Paradise Wall in Squamish. This is Trotter’s first of the grade.
Midnight Way was first climbed by Connor Herson in summer 2024. Squamish local Ben Harnden made the second ascent in 2025, followed by Jonathan Siegrist and, earlier this year, Mike Foley. After his third ascent, Siegrist remarked: “Didn’t think it could get any better than Spirit Quest, but this is it. Amazing crimping, technical testpiece.”
Trotter noted that he had spent more than 60 days at Paradise Wall over the past four seasons. “It was a serious battle (over 40 min on the face) and required a mini miracle, but I’m so glad I kept showing up,” he said. “I think my 16-year-old self would be proud too.”
Trotter is one of Canada’s most accomplished climbers, with landmark ascents dating to the late 1990s. He was the first climber ever covered in Gripped magazine – read the story here. Notable sends include Forever Expired 5.14d (FA, unrepeated), Estado Crítico 5.14d, Spirit Quest 5.14d, The Path 5.14R trad (FA), Cobra Crack 5.14 trad (FA), Rhapsody 5.14c R (second ascent), The Prophet 5.13d R (second ascent), El Niño — Pineapple Express variation (5.13c, 26 pitches, FA), The Prow Wall 5.14 (FA), Family Man 5.14b trad (FA), The Ewbank Route 5.13b R (FFA), and the Rockies Trilogy, among others.
View this post on Instagram
The post Sonnie Trotter Climbs Midnight Way 5.15a appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/sonnie-trotter-climbs-midnight-way-5-15a/
#midnightway #sonnietrotter #climbs #paradisewall #spiritquest #connorherson #mikefoley #jonathansiegrist #canada #benharnden
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 03:15:53 GMT

In Historic First, Connor Baty and Max Krieger Link 6 Zion Big Walls in Just 19 Hours
On October 12, 2026, Connor Baty (23) of Colorado and Max Krieger (27) of Utah became the first team to link six Zion big walls in under 24 hours. They completed the enchainment in just 18 hours and 52 minutes—well under target, on their first attempt, and on the only day they had set aside to do it this season.
The linkup included Monkeyfinger (5.11 A0; 9 pitches), Lunar Ecstacy (5.10 C2+; 9 pitches), Sheer Lunacy (5.10 C2-; 8 pitches), Moonlight Buttress (5.8 C1; 10 pitches), Touchstone Wall (5.10- C2; 9 pitches), and Prodigal Sun (5.8 C2; 9 pitches). That’s 54 pitches, 5,920 feet of climbing, and 6,520 total feet of rappelling.
Prior to their attempt, the record was four walls, first completed in 1992 by Conrad Anker and Doug Heinrich, who used speed and aid tactics to link Touchstone, Moonlight Buttress, Monkey Finger, and Spaceshot (5.7 C2; 8 pitches). The last recorded attempt of five walls in a single day was in 2003, by longtime Zion climbers Ammon McNeely and Ryan McCray. Ten years later, Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell set a new speed record on the four-in-a-day, freeing Sheer Lunacy, Moonlight Buttress, Touchstone, and Spaceshot in just 16 hours. But no one, to Krieger and Baty’s knowledge, had ever attempted six.
(Photo: Courtesy Connor Baty and Max Krieger)
Connor Baty first got the idea after linking Touchstone, Moonlight, and Prodigal Sun solo in October 2024. The enchainment took him 12 hours.
“Right after that, someone made a joke—‘Hey, if you can do three in 12, that means you can do six in 24,’” Baty recalls. But though he’d mentioned the idea to Krieger, one of his main wall partners at the time, the two didn’t start to make plans in earnest until late September, 2026. That’s when Baty announced he’d be in town for a two-week stopover in the midst of his year-long quest to paddle from Colorado to Mexico along the Colorado River. (He’s already back on the water; he took the call for this interview from the middle of Lake Mead.)
“Do you want to do the six?” Baty texted Krieger. Krieger’s answer was an enthusiastic yes. The only problems were that the two had just a few weeks to prepare, and their only good weather window would be on October 12—the very last day Baty would be in town before he’d need to hop back on the river.
Krieger, who works full-time as a hot air balloon pilot in St. George, asked for two days off work to practice. During that time, he and Baty did dress-rehearsal laps on Monkey Finger, Sheer Lunacy, Prodigal Sun, and about three-quarters of Touchstone. They skipped Moonlight, which Baty had already climbed 13 times. Baty then did an additional solo burn on Lunar Ecstasy to ensure that he had the gear memorized. He says he can still name just about every piece and move on the six-wall linkup in order.
(Photo: Courtesy Connor Baty and Max Krieger)
Practice went well, but rain threatened their single weather window. Krieger asked for the day off anyway. Their plan was to climb as much as they could before the first drops fell.
“The logistics were pretty simple,” Krieger says. “Monkey Finger is at the end of the canyon, so we did that first and got it out of the way.” Then, they moved downcanyon, employing speed-climbing tactics for each wall, and re-upping on food and water at every base. Friend Gus Barnett crewed them through the whole attempt, providing rides and switching out racks. A fixed line on Moonlight streamlined the rappels for Sheer Lunacy, Lunar Ecstacy, and Moonlight Buttress. They saved Prodigal Sun for last.
The two split up the load by skillset: Baty, the faster aid climber, took Lunar Ecstacy, Moonlight Buttress, and Prodigal Sun, while Krieger, the stronger free climber, took Monkeyfinger, Sheer Lunacy, and Touchstone. Krieger started strong, giving the team an hour lead on their goal time for Monkeyfinger. The momentum carried, each wall going hours faster than expected.
(Photo: Courtesy Connor Baty and Max Krieger)
Unfortunately, that meant they got to Sheer Lunacy well ahead of schedule, right when the wall was in full sun. Krieger, who had been dealing with dehydration cramps on and off all day, took the lead in 90-degree temperatures. By the top, he was dizzy and nauseated.
“I thought I was going to throw up—maybe a bit of heat stroke,” he says.
“He had to trooper it out,” says Baty. “He had a hard time in the heat.” Some water and a short rest got Krieger feeling well enough to follow Baty up the next wall, Moonlight. The next low didn’t come until a few walls later.
“The worst part for me was Touchstone at Sunset,” Baty says. “Max and I both hit a low when we got to the top and realized we had two more pitches left. We did not want to be up there.”
Things turned around when they found Barnett waiting at the base with slices of pepperoni pizza from Domino’s—and a handful of other friends who’d arrived to cheer them on.
(Photo: Courtesy Connor Baty and Max Krieger)
“The moral support was huge,” Krieger says. “If it was just me and Connor out there, it would have been a whole lot trickier for us. Having some people to egg you on and keep you talking about things other than the climbing—that was pretty key.”
The last challenge struck about halfway up the sixth and final wall. Spiders crawled in and out of all of the placements. That was eerie enough, Baty said. Then he scared something much larger out of the crack.
“It looked like a giant chicken. It came at me, and I ended up having to fistfight this bird right around midnight on Prodigal Sun,” he says. “It kept dive-bombing me, and I [was massively runout] at that point so I was not happy.” (If you see a large splatter on his helmet in the photos, that’s why.)
The team topped out Prodigal Sun and stopped the clock at 11:52 p.m., having set a new standalone FKT for Lunar Ecstasy at 2 hours 10 minutes, as well as FKTs for the five- and six-wall enchainments. Right as Baty’s feet touched the ground after the final rappel, it started to rain.
Their time on each route, including its respective descent, is as follows:
Monkeyfinger: 1hr 56 min
Lunar Ecstasy: 2hr 10min (FKT)
Sheer Lunacy: 2hr 40min
Moonlight: 2hr 5min
Touchstone: 2hr 47min
Prodigal Sun: 2hr 56min
“The reason we picked the six we picked is that those are the classics of Zion. People come to Zion, and those are the walls they go and climb. It’s like doing a season in a day,” says Krieger. In the future, he’d like to tack on the other two classics—Space Shot and Desert Shield (5.11- C3; 9 pitches)—for an eight-wall single-day linkup. “That’s something for down the road,” he says. If he hopes to do it with Baty, though, it’ll have to wait; the very next day, Baty left town for the river. He’ll be paddling for the next 30 days.
In the meantime, Krieger and Baty say they’re just proud to have added another chapter to Zion speed-climbing history.
“We wanted to set the five- and six-wall benchmark so people can see what’s possible and to bring a little more credit to Zion,” Krieger says. “It’s a pretty cool feeling to be a part of it, and it would be cool if we saw more people coming out here and trying new linkups—a new era of speed-climbing for Zion.”
The post In Historic First, Connor Baty and Max Krieger Link 6 Zion Big Walls in Just 19 Hours appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/climbers-make-history-in-zion-utah/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/zion-link-up-lead.png?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/zion-link-up-1.png?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/zion-link-up-3.jpg?width=730
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-20 01:56:49 GMT

20 Years Ago, Reel Rock Set Out to Make Climbing Films More Interesting Than “Watching a Car Rust”
When this year’s Reel Rock premieres at the Boulder Theater on Thursday, October 22, it will officially mark the twentieth lap across the screens of mountain town theaters and climbing gym walls.
The three founders—Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, and Josh Lowell—met at Colorado College in Colorado Springs in the early aughts. Originally, they wanted to create an annual film tour for climbers like Warren Miller or the annual Teton Gravity Research set does for skiers.
Their first official film, First Ascent: The Movie, explored various pioneering exploits on rock. They followed Didier Berthod on Cobra Crack (5.14) and Dean Potter on Epitaph (5.13b). Their cameras rolled as David Lama put up deep water solo FAs in Thailand and locals sent untouched lines in the Black Canyon. And they captured Timmy O’Neill “doing urban, ape-style climbs,” as Rosen puts it.
Two decades later, Rosen sees the Reel Rock filmmaking ethos as one that defies an old analogy that watching climbing is about as entertaining as observing a car rust. “What Pete and Josh started, and what we developed from there, was the idea of character- and story-driven films about climbers,” Rosen told Climbing. “Climbing really benefited from that because watching raw climbing can be slow. Josh brought cutting, shooting, and editing climbs to a new level to make them as exciting as possible.”
Nick Rosen (left) and Peter Mortimer (right) in the field back in the day. (Photo: Courtesy Nick Rosen / Sender Films)
Alongside Reel Rock, Sender Films, the production company behind the tour, has also put out a number of award-winning documentaries, from The Alpinist to Valley Uprising. Most recently, the team brought The Dark Wizard to life on HBO this year. The four-part docuseries about the complicated and troubled life of free soloist and BASE jumper Dean Potter stirred controversy and won acclaim. Rosen says more unflinching documentaries like Potter’s are in the works.
Two decades in, we caught up with two of the three Reel Rock guys. We asked Rosen and Mortimer about their favorite films, how their approach to filmmaking has evolved over time, and what the future of Reel Rock looks like.
A Reel Rock film in the making (Photo: Courtesy Nick Rosen / Sender Films)
On how climbing films have evolved
Peter Mortimer: We’ve made maybe 100 short films for Reel Rock over the years. The biggest challenge is keeping the films fresh, finding unexpected stories, unlikely characters, unreal climbs, surprising relationships. We’re always looking for that special something. Over the years, we’ve worked with more filmmakers and cinematographers to document the climbing journey, but in the end the spirit of the films is the same: Go deep, capture the magic, and bring the story to life.
Nick Rosen: In recent years, our films have gone beyond climbing into broader social ideas. For instance, in 2019, we started filming a group of African American climbers from Memphis Rocks expanding beyond the gym into ice climbing. That film came out during the Black Lives Matter movement and felt very resonant. The following year, we told a story about climbers in the West Bank of Palestine, which made a huge impact on our audience. We also filmed Ukrainian climbers holding a competition in Kyiv during bombings.
Peter Mortimer shooting from a fixed line. (Photo: Courtesy Nick Rosen / Sender Films)
Favorites from 20 years of filmmaking
Rosen: Resistance Climbing is high on the list. Another standout is Point of No Return. Over 20 years, we’ve faced real tragedies during production. In 2008 in China, an avalanche killed our close friends: Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and our 21-year-old crew member Wade Johnson.
It was devastating. Three years into filmmaking, I considered quitting entirely. But making Point of No Return helped us and the community process grief, offering context and closure through art.
Mortimer: I’m gonna go with an obscure one: United States of Joe’s, which tells the story of bouldering’s development in Joe’s Valley, Utah and how climbing came head-to-head with the local Mormon mining community. It’s a feel-good film about people from different walks of life building bridges to make the place better for everyone.
The stories that never got made
Rosen: That happened often because we committed to uncertain stories dependent on weather and injuries. A million things that can go wrong.
Mortimer: Oh man, there are so many. We’ve supported various expeditions over the years, where climbers were shut down by weather, conditions, or other outside factors. It’s tricky supporting expeditions because they’re so high-consequence, the motivation has to be pure, and you don’t want the climbers weighing the importance of a film crew waiting on them when making decisions.
The abundant gear behind the mantra: “Go deep, capture the magic, and bring the story to life.” (Photo: Courtesy Nick Rosen / Sender Films)
How often the Reel Rock guys disagree
Mortimer: Josh and Nick and the crew are basically my closest friends and we’ve worked together for 20-plus years now. We’re all opinionated and disagree on things, but we also respect each other creatively and appreciate what the others bring to the table whenever we don’t see eye to eye. I, in particular, tend to have a pretty overbearing intense personality (I’ve been told) and these guys are good at rolling their eyes when I drink too much coffee.
Rosen: It’s like a marriage, so we’ve had heated creative arguments over the years. As we get older, our egos get less in the way.
What Reel Rock will look like in 2046
Mortimer: Definitely not with us running it. It’s so hard to make these films good every year, we put so much of ourselves into it and we’re totally gutted for weeks or months afterwards. We fantasize about young filmmakers taking over and carrying the torch, taking it in new directions, keeping it relevant for future generations, but so far that’s not happening. We all have kids—maybe some of them will catch the bug.
Rosen: I’ll be like 78 years old. We’d love for Reel Rock to continue, but someone has to make the films. Every year, we ask if there’s more to say, but new generations push limits and diversify the sport. The evolving culture keeps compelling us to document it. Twenty years later, we are still drawn to telling these stories.
Nick Rosen says Josh Lowell (pictured here) “brought cutting, shooting, and editing climbs to a new level” that made climbing films more exciting. (Photo: Courtesy Nick Rosen / Sender Films)
Where to catch Reel Rock 20 and this year’s stories
The global Reel Rock tour kicks off in October and runs through the fall. You can watch the trailer above and check out some stories behind the films of Reel Rock 20 this year below.
Janja Garnbret Becomes Second Woman to Send 5.15c
In June, the Slovenian legend became the second woman to climb the penultimate grade on the scale: 5.15c/9b+. After sending Bibliographie in Céüse, France, Janja Garnbret struck filmmaker Jon Glassberg—who was shooting for Reel Rock—as still having “way more in the tank.”
Read about Garnbret’s ascent
Colin Haley Makes the First Winter Solo of Cerro Torre
“I was genuinely scared of getting stuck there,” Colin Haley told Climbing last September. He was referring to a vertical crevasse of sorts that he had to squeeze through to reach the summit. He said it was the “craziest tunneling experience” he’d ever had. See the mind-boggling photos and get the soloist’s story.
Read about Haley’s solo
Ben Mayforth Climbs 5.13
Born with spina bifida, Ben Mayforth spent 42 days working Slim Shady (5.13)—and finally got it. While we didn’t cover the ascent that’s the subject of this Reel Rock film, you can read a story we wrote about him a few years ago before you watch the film.
See how Mayforth conquers demons
Michaela Kiersch Sends On
While the subject of the Reel Rock 20 film is Michaela Kiersch’s “global sending spree,” we will point you toward a particularly notable moment in the pro climber’s stacked 2025 resume: making the hardest first ascent by a woman in North America since Beth Rodden’s Meltdown. Kiersch FA’d Mad Lib (5.14d) on a trip to Vermont last September.
Get Kiersch’s FA story
The post 20 Years Ago, Reel Rock Set Out to Make Climbing Films More Interesting Than “Watching a Car Rust” appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/reel-rock-20/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/josh-lowell-sharma.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Portrait2.jpeg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ueli-sport-bts.jpg?width=730
#reelrock #carrust #nickrosen #films #climbing #senderfilms #petermortimer #make #courtesynick #deanpotter
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 20:54:07 GMT

Lara Neumeier Makes First Female Ascent of ‘Rhapsody’ (E11)
On October 7, Lara Neumeier topped out one of the hardest trad lines in the world amid approaching rain, standing high above the nearby castle walls as a blue-and-white Scottish flag flew in the bracing wind. The 28-year-old German climber just made the first female ascent of Rhapsody (E11 7a/5.14c) at Dumbarton Rock near Glasgow, Scotland, 20 years after it was established by Dave MacLeod as the world’s first E11. With her send, Neumeier became the fifth woman to climb a 5.14c trad route, joining Beth Rodden, Barbara Zangerl, Hazel Findlay, and Emma Twyford. Neumeier is the first woman to succeed on the British E11 grade.
Over two visits to Scotland this spring and fall, Neumeier worked the route alongside Austrian climber Nemuel “Nemo” Feurle, who sent shortly after her on the same day. The pair made the tenth and eleventh ascensionists respectively. British climber Buster Martin also sent the line the previous week.
Rhapsody’s 35-meter (115-foot) line involves an easy slab up to a 7c+/5.13a hand crack ahead of a poor rest and a final cluster of small gear: two brass nuts and a micronut. After that, it continues to a V11/8A crux headwall sequence on crimps, with a 10-meter (32-foot) runout. The climbing difficulty is estimated to be around 8c+/5.14c, similar to Meltdown in Yosemite.
Lara Neumeier takes a fall on Rhapsody (Photo: Sam Pratt via Red Bull)
On the first ascent in 2006, MacLeod’s belayer was secured to the rock to minimize fall distance. Since then, the preferred method has shifted to dynamic belaying for a longer fall but a softer catch above the belay ledge. Today, the route still carries the potential for huge, 60 to 70-foot whippers.
Dumbarton Rock is a 240-foot volcanic basalt plug with a 1,500-year-old castle on top. The riverside cliff is the epicentre of hard Scottish trad climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering, made famous by Dave MacLeod. When MacLeod established Rhapsody after two years of effort and proposed a world-first grade of E11 7a, he described projecting the route as “an exceptionally arduous experience in every way.” His violent falls resulted in several lower leg injuries.
“It was lovely to hear Rhapsody got a first female ascent from Lara and that people have been keen for that route in general,” MacLeod told Climbing after Neumeier’s ascent. “I always found that wall an inspiring sheet of rock, but wasn’t sure if that was just because it was my home crag as a kid. So I’m really pleased to see that Rhapsody has encouraged lots of folk from around the world to come over, and they seem to have enjoyed the route.”
Lara Neumeier on Rhapsody (Photo: Nathan Betts via Red Bull Content Pool)
Neumeier was born to climbing parents in Füssen in Germany’s Allgäu Alps and started climbing at the age of two. She adds Rhapsody to a list of achievements in trad and big wall climbing, including two notable free climbs on Yosemite’s El Capitan: a first female ascent of El Corazón via the Muir Blast (5.13b; 3,000ft) with Zangerl in 2023 and a free ascent of El Niño via the Pineapple Express variation (5.13c; 2,500ft) with Feurle in 2024. This summer, Neumeier became the second woman to complete the original Alpine Trilogy, which consists of three 8b+/5.14a multi-pitch sport routes across the Alps: Silbergeier, Des Kaisers neue Kleider and End of Silence. She was also the first woman to complete it within a year.
I met Neumeier the day after her climb to learn about why she chose to project Rhapsody, how it compared to other 5.14c trad climbs that she has tried, what her training involved, and how the big whipper felt.
How Lara Neumeier Sent ‘Rhapsody’
Lara Neumeier (Photo: Nathan Betts via Red Bull Content Pool)
Natalie Berry: Lara, we’re here at Dumbarton Rock, the day after you climbed Rhapsody. How did it feel to top out?
Lara Neumeier: I was extremely happy and also really proud of myself. I have never put more energy and hard work into a route, so it felt really special.
Berry: What inspired you to try Rhapsody?
Neumeier: I first thought of trying Rhapsody at the beginning of 2025, when I did Psychogramm (5.14a R/8b+) at Bürser Platte in Austria, because I really like trying hard trad routes. I enjoy the process: You work the line on top rope first, and only go on lead when you really feel ready.
I first heard about Rhapsody when Jacopo [Larcher] did it. I researched it and thought it would be cool to try.
We came this spring for 10 days to see if I could do all the moves, because I knew it was around 8c+/5.14c. We climbed for five days on top rope, then we had two days of lead attempts.
What makes Rhapsody really special is that it’s a super long trad climb with super compact rock. The rock type is volcanic basalt, and it feels a bit like sandstone. The moves are super nice and technical.
Berry: Can you describe the sections?
Neumeier: It’s hard for me because I’m really bad at grading. The first 15 meters is easy, maybe 6a/5.10a. Then you have a big ledge where you can get a no-hands rest, and I put on my crack gloves there. Then you have the hand crack, which is graded around 7c+/5.13a on trad gear.
The upper part starts from the last placement. It’s 25 moves to the top with no gear. I’d break it down into three sections: the first crux, the traverse and the second crux. People have said the upper boulder problem is the hardest part, and the top crux is an 8A/V11 boulder problem.
Lara Neumeier leading Rhapsody (Photo: Sam Pratt via Red Bull)
Berry: How did you train between trips?
Neumeier: After the summer Alpine Trilogy, my training wasn’t super specific. In August, I climbed cracks in Lofoten, [Norway,] which probably helped with the Rhapsody crack. Back home, I focused on spray wall sessions and improving my finger strength. I tried to practice long, reachy moves and also did a lot of core training.
The Alpine Trilogy also showed me that I’m really strong mentally. When you take on a big project, you don’t know beforehand whether you can do it. I realised that you just have to commit and invest a lot of time, and then it becomes possible. You just have to dream big!
Berry: How was the whipper on Rhapsody?
Neumeier: In spring, I took the fall three or four times. This trip, I took the fall maybe 20 or 30 times.
I was really scared before I went on lead. On my first lead attempt, I passed the first crux and then fell. I felt completely fine afterwards. It wasn’t a problem or dangerous.
But I always fell either on the traverse or two or three moves above it, so I wasn’t very high above the last placement. If you fall at the very top, on the top move or the two moves below, it’s definitely scary.
Berry: Some prior ascensionists of Rhapsody have suggested a French/YDS grade of 8c+/5.14c, and Buster Martin recently called the climbing “8c+ or 9a trad.” What are your thoughts on the grade?
Neumeier: I think 8c+/5.14c works quite well. It’s always hard to say, because it can feel different for different people, but for me, it didn’t feel like 8c/5.14b. I don’t think it’s 9a/5.14d either, so I think 8c+/5.14c works well. Compared with other hard trad climbs I did or tried in Yosemite, it felt like a good grade.
Berry: How did the route compare with Magic Line and Meltdown, both 5.14c, which you’ve tried in Yosemite?
Neumeier: It’s hard to say because I tried Magic Line and Meltdown but haven’t done them, so it’s always difficult to comment on the grade if you haven’t climbed a route.
I think Meltdown felt harder than Magic Line. Rhapsody might be similar to Meltdown, but it’s hard to compare because the styles are completely different. On Meltdown, the crux is in the lower third of the climb, whereas on Rhapsody the crux is at the very top. Rhapsody is also much longer. They’re just different.
Berry: What was the hardest part of doing this route?
Neumeier: For me, it was definitely physically very hard. In sport climbing, 8c+/5.14c is my personal best. I’ve never invested a lot of time in sport climbing, but this felt quite hard.
In the top section, I used super small footholds, and it felt really insecure. Every time I got up there, I could do the traverse, but I would fall on the upper part because the footholds felt so bad. It always felt like I was going to slip, and sometimes I did.
It’s also mentally challenging when the crux is right at the top and you have to climb the whole 30 meters to get there, try the moves, fall, and then do everything again.
Berry: What was it like to project it alongside Nemo?
Neumeier: It was really cool to do it with Nemo because on a route which is close to your limit, it’s really hard. You have bad weather, and you really have to keep your motivation up.
If you’re with someone who’s also trying the same route, it’s just easier. Buster was trying it, too, so we had a really good crew. We got really psyched when someone did well on a lead attempt, and then the next person was psyched and tried to get a new high point.
We had 15 climbing days in total across both trips, and eight days of lead attempts overall.
Lara Neumeier on her send of Rhapsody. (Photo: Chris Prescott via Red Bull Content Pool)
Berry: Tell us how you celebrated.
Neumeier: We had a proper Scottish celebration! First, we got pizza just around the corner. After that, we went to a pub, drank some whisky and played darts.
Berry: How do you feel about being the first woman to climb the British E11 grade?
Neumeier: It’s really cool to be the first woman to climb this route because it has such a big history and is such an iconic line. It’s crazy that, in 20 years, no other women have done it.
I think Meltdown would be E11 if it had an E grade, and it has been climbed by other women, Beth [Rodden, 2008 FA] and Babsi [Zangerl, 2023]. But there’s only a small circle of women who have climbed at that grade, and being able to add my name to that list makes me really proud.
Berry: Why do you think so few women have attempted Rhapsody?
Neumeier: It’s maybe because of its reputation. It’s known to be really scary, but I think the core climbing community knows it’s safe. There are lots of videos online where you see those big whippers, with Dave crashing into the wall and getting injured. But I think you can make it safe nowadays. Maybe people still have it in their heads that it’s scary and a little bit dangerous.
It’s also known for having really reachy moves. Babsi Zangerl, who tried it before, said she struggled with some of the moves. Maybe now that I’ve done it, some other women will get psyched to try it. There’s beta for shorter people, too.
Berry: What did you think of Dumbarton Rock?
Neumeier: It’s a very special place because you have world-class hard bouldering, sport climbing, and trad climbing, but there’s graffiti on all the boulders and on some days local kids come along to drink or just enjoy life. It’s interesting how lots of different people come together here.
We were quite lucky on this trip because we had really good weather, and there were always lots of people at the crag. We just had really good vibes, and everyone was so supportive.
Berry: Has projecting Rhapsody inspired you to do more hard single-pitch headpointing?
(Editor’s note: ‘Headpointing’ refers to the practice of rehearsing a route on top rope before leading it.)
Neumeier: Yeah, definitely. I really enjoy working a route and trying hard. For me, it’s a mix of doing multi-pitch routes and really hard, single-pitch routes. I’m really psyched to find another hard trad line for next year.
The post Lara Neumeier Makes First Female Ascent of ‘Rhapsody’ (E11) appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/lara-neumeier-first-female-ascent-rhapsody/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/SI202610180087-scaled.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/LARA_RHAPSODY_LASPORTIVA_HIGHRES-scaled.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/SI202610180056-scaled.jpg?width=730
#laraneumeier #femaleascent #firstfemale #rhapsody #climbing #redbull #rock #macleod #dumbartonrock #davemacleod
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 12:03:09 GMT

French Climber Oriane Bertone Wins Gold in USA
France’s Oriane Bertone won the third gold medal of her career, carrying her standout semi-final performance through to the final boulder. As the only climber to top all four boulders in the women’s semi-final, Bertone entered the 2026 season’s Boulder finale in confident form. She carried that momentum into the final, becoming the only climber of the night to top the first boulder.
Bertone led from the outset, with seven other strong finalists chasing her, including all three women vying for the series title. One of them was Great Britain’s Erin McNeice, whose performance across the final three boulders — two flashes and a flash to zone — set the benchmark at 69.7 points.
Bertone was unfazed, and she matched McNeice’s tally of two flashes and a flash to zone, added her top on the first boulder and finished with 84.6 points to claim her third gold medal at World Climbing Series level.
Bertone has come close to winning before, only to see victory slip away. Reflecting on her win, she said: “I’m speaking for all the gold medallists, all the medallists, all the finalists, and everyone that has been there this year, no one knows how much of ourselves we put in this. I’m super happy and there’s no words to describe this.”
View this post on Instagram
Asked whether she knew she could top the fourth boulder to secure the win despite the pressure, Bertone said: “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. You don’t know if you will top it or not, you just know that you could top it. I read it and I knew it was my style if I climb well. I wanted to do it, and I gave it my all and I’m super proud of myself.”
Bertone took gold and McNeice silver, while Japan’s Mao Nakamura joined them on the podium with 69.6 points from two tops and two zones. Nakamura has now won two World Climbing Series medals, both in Salt Lake City — a place the Japanese climber will undoubtedly remember for a long time.
One of the women fighting for the series title was Australia’s Oce Mackenzie, who finished fourth with 54.8 points, just ahead of Japan’s Melody Sekikawa, fifth with 54.7.
View this post on Instagram
Israel’s Ayala Kerem finished sixth with 54.5 points, followed by USA’s Annie Sanders — the third woman in contention for the overall title — in seventh with 54.3. Japan’s Anon Matsufuji rounded out the finalists in eighth with 39.9 points.
Erin McNeice opened the 2026 series with an 11th-place finish in Keqiao, China. A run of one gold and four silver medals followed, earning the British climber 4,545 points and the overall Boulder title for the season. Oce Mackenzie reached the podium three times, including one victory — the first of her career — to finish with 4,080 points and second place overall.
She finished ahead of third-placed Annie Sanders, who also made three podium appearances, including two gold-medal finishes. Sanders ended the season with 3,755 points.
Women’s Finals
The post French Climber Oriane Bertone Wins Gold in USA appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/french-climber-oriane-bertone-wins-gold-in-usa/
#orianebertone #gold #usa #boulder #series #worldclimbing #anniesanders #japan #women #mcneice
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 10:24:08 GMT

Israeli Climber Yonatan Katz Wins Gold in USA
Israel’s Yonatan Katz took gold in Salt Lake City, USA, topping the men’s final on the last boulder in only his second appearance at the World Climbing Series level.
After flashing two zones and topping boulder three on his first attempt, Katz trailed Great Britain’s Max Milne heading into the tricky coordination problem. None of the finalists before him had managed to reach the zone.
The challenge was steep for the second-time finalist, but Katz didn’t let it faze him. On his fourth attempt, he wowed the crowd by reaching the zone and topping the boulder for 69.7 points. All he could do now was wait for Milne.
Katz had already secured a medal, sitting atop the standings with only Milne and Japan’s Rei Kawamata left to climb. Even a flash from Kawamata wouldn’t be enough to overtake him, leaving gold or silver as the only possibilities.
View this post on Instagram
Kawamata was next, reaching the zone in three attempts to secure bronze with 54.2 points. With only Milne left to climb, the fight for gold was on.
Milne, sitting on 59.7 points, needed to flash the zone to draw level on points and take the lead on countback, thanks to his semi-final performance. However, the Brit failed to reach the zone, leaving his score unchanged and settling for silver as Katz claimed the win.
Speaking immediately after his gold was confirmed, Katz said: “I don’t know how it feels, it’s probably going to take a while to sink in. Two days ago I made my childhood dream come true when I made a World Climbing Series semis.
View this post on Instagram
“Today, I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity in semis, and I found my way into the final. My goal was never to just participate in a final it was to compete in one so I was going to give it my all as it could be my last ever one so I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could.”
Reflecting on the final boulder that secured his victory, Katz said: “The last move is something I’ve been working on, I mean I’m good at coordination, but that swing move specifically I’ve been working on for like one or two years so when i saw it i knew exactly what I needed to do.
“In iso I was walking around talking to myself saying ‘I need to get to the last move. I need to get to the last move’, but I didn’t think I’d only have one chance. I just turned off my brain, went for it, and managed to grab the jug and heard the crowd, then I screamed as loud as I could.”
Katz’s victory makes him only the second Israeli climber in any discipline to win a medal at the World Climbing Series, following Alex Khazanov in 2018. Behind Katz, Milne and Kawamata on the podium was Japan’s Sohta Amagasa, who scored 44.4 points.
France’s Max Bertone finished fifth with 35 points, followed by Israel’s Or Mark, who scored 34.8 points in his first-ever final. Great Britain’s Dayan Akhtar placed seventh with 34.5 points, while Germany’s Elias Krüger Arriagada finished eighth with 19.2 points.
View this post on Instagram
Finals Round
The post Israeli Climber Yonatan Katz Wins Gold in USA appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/israeli-climber-yonatan-katz-wins-gold-in-usa/
#yonatankatz #israeliclimber #usa #worldclimbing #climbingseries #milne #gold #kawamata #lakecity #saltlake
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 09:35:32 GMT

Nemuel Feurle Climbs 5.14cR Trad with Rhapsody
Nemuel Feurle, 25, has repeated Rhapsody 5.14cR at Dumbarton Rock, Scotland. First climbed by Dave MacLeod in 2006, Rhapsody was the world’s first route graded E11 and remains one of trad climbing’s true test-piece lines. Sonnie Trotter made the second ascent in 2008, followed by the third ascent a few weeks later by Steve McClure.
After a paragliding incident in Kyrgyzstan at the end of July forced a change of plans, Feurle found himself trading his original summer adventure for a climbing project at Dumbarton, joined by Lara Neumeier. Feurle started strongly, linking moves with confidence before fatigue began to take its toll. Despite finding more efficient resting positions, he repeatedly fell at the traverse, a demanding cross-move to the right.
Last Tuesday, he finally stuck the traverse, only to fall from the final hold, just one move from the top. The fall was estimated at 20–25 metres, but the attempt gave him the confidence he needed. “I can do it,” he told himself. Returning the following day, Feurle knew what remained: execute the climb. Months of preparation, physical suffering, poor weather and everything else invested in the project had led to this moment.
Believing the climb was at the very limit of his ability, reaching the top carried even greater significance. He completed the final mantle approximately eight metres above the last piece of pro, a big send for any trad climber. At the top, the feeling was unmistakable. As Feurle put it: “Yes, you did it!” 5.15 climber Buster Martin climbed Rhapsody at the start of this month, read about it here.
View this post on Instagram
Dave MacLeod Talks Rhapsody
In 2006, MacLeod shared insight into his Rhapsody send: “I am well psyched and very relieved. I’ve hardly done anything else except try this route for nearly 2 years.
“Rhapsody is the true finish to Requiem at Dumbarton Rock. It follows the crack of Requiem before continuing up the seam on the headwall all the way to the top. There is no more protection after the crack and this section is about French 8c-ish climbing. I fell from the last few moves 8 times last autumn before pulling off a crucial hold and having to start from scratch with a new crux sequence.
“This year, with stronger fingers I still took one bad fall from the last move, spraining my ankles, cutting up my feet and generally making a mess of myself. The swing in was really bad, I was worried that if I could sprain my ankles going feet first, what would happen if I flipped and went head first, even with a helmet on? I nearly tested it once in October when the rope wrapped around my leg as I fell, crushing my calf. I just managed to pull my head out of the way and messed up my back instead. The other major thing on my mind was that the top RP snapped on one fall and I glanced the belay ledge as I went passed (70 footer). If it had snapped a split second later there is potential to die on the belay ledge? Well, it doesn’t matter now I did it on Sunday.
“Because of the very high technical difficulty and the danger, I thought a tentative E11 7a was warranted.”
Sonnie Trotter’s Second Ascent
Trotter sent Rhapsody on June 9, 2008, saying post-send: “After four-and-a-half hot and sunny weeks, 14 enduring days, 24 fifty foot falls, 47 snickers bars, and 113 emails to Lydia, I finally made the second ascent of Rhapsody, yes the original Rhapsody.”
A week earlier, Trotter made the first ascent of Direquiem (5.14aR), a more direct finish above Requiem, on his first try. He extended his stay to focus on Rhapsody: “I wasn’t here for Direquiem. I wanted a challenge above and beyond, something to make me try harder and climb better, something beyond or at the edge of my current level of fitness.”
The easier “escape line[s]” have fueled debate over Rhapsody’s eliminate nature. Trotter defended the route, saying: “You see, Rhapsody may be an eliminate, but it is still Rhapsody. There is a tremendous amount of logic behind what Dave [MacLeod] did and that deserves a pile of respect I think. He saw the line, and climbed it to the top. The only rule is don’t bail left to the arete (a cop out), stay on the face and the line is very much obvious. And yes, very hard… It deserves three stars in my books.”
The post Nemuel Feurle Climbs 5.14cR Trad with Rhapsody appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/nemuel-feurle-climbs-5-14cr-trad-with-rhapsody/
#rhapsody #nemuelfeurle #dumbartonrock #trad #talksrhapsody #davemacleod #first #laraneumeier #climbs #requiem
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 08:45:56 GMT

Adam Ondra Climbs Exodia, the World’s First Proposed V18
Adam Ondra has just repeated Elias Iagnemma’s Exodia, the world’s first proposed V18 (9A+) boulder problem. Iagnemma established the boulder in November 2025 after 211 sessions of work. Incredibly, Ondra got it done in four days. He had help from Iagnemma, as you can read below, which undoubtedly accelerated the process. But for Ondra, he thinks the world’s first V18 boulder ascent is still to come.
“I definitely felt it was sort of expected that I would go to check out [Elias Iagnemma’s] masterpiece,” said Ondra on Instagram. “Nevertheless, I was very psyched. Elias came there to show me the boulder in September, explained all the beta to me, and I was even more psyched to get it done. Elias was incredibly nice and helpful; we made a really cool interview with him for the upcoming video about Exodia. But I got a very nasty cold, then I got more duties to do on my agenda, and as soon as I felt fit to return, it seemed that I had only two days left and the season might be over because of upcoming rain. But I kept it together and executed very well in some of the most memorable moments of my career.”
Ondra went on to say that he used the same sequence as Iagnemma, but changed the way he used some of the holds by generally crimping more and pinching less. He called the problem his style, saying, “It’s not too much about kneebars (they are relatively simple); it is much more about heelhooking, tension and delicate body positioning. The second part is even more my style, and I can reach one hold from one toe hook without cutloose. My shape for this kind of boulder is pretty good, possibly my best ever?”
And of course, he divulged his thoughts on the grade: “I totally respect Elias for proposing [V18], having his track record, having tried some other [V17] boulders and being close, and still trying Exodia for 212 days. I would have done the same…”
For some context, Iagnemma has climbed some of the hardest boulders in the world, including Burden of Dreams V17, The Big Slamm V17 (FA), Gioia V15/16, Ganesh V16 (FA), and Ephyra V16.
Ondra continued, “I think the boulder is [V17]. I don’t comment on which part of the [V17] range it is. To me, personally, it felt harder than Soudain Seul, and similar compared to Alphane or Mount Doom. But Exodia is possibly much more my style, and I will not be surprised if people find this harder than Alphane or Mount Doom
“Climbing on Exodia is extremely cool and very fun to project, even long-term; it is skin-friendly and offers conditions when other places with [V17] boulders become too hot. I don’t believe it will be a forgotten boulder problem in the future.”
Exodia is located in Rifugio di Barbara, Italy. The boulder was first envisioned by Christian Core and sat unfinished for years after his attempts. According to Brazz, Exodia features a 60-degree overhang, 25 hand moves, and is approximately eight meters of climbing. Iagnaemma described the problem, saying it starts with a ~V14 section into a no-hands, inverted double knee bar rest, followed by a final V16 section with a very powerful crux move.
Ondra is one of the greatest climbers in history. His bouldering resume is stacked. He flashed four V15 boulders over the course of five months from November 2025 to March 2026: Foundation’s Edge, The Lion’s Share, Celestite, and Emotional Landscapes. He also has four V16s to his name. In February 2025, he climbed Soudain Seul V17 in Fontainebleau, France – he climbed the boulder in five sessions.
View this post on Instagram
Elias Iagnemma Climbing Exodia V18
The post Adam Ondra Climbs Exodia, the World’s First Proposed V18 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/adam-ondra-climbs-exodia-the-worlds-first-proposed-v18/
#firstproposed #adamondra #exodia #world #iagnemma #eliasiagnemma #mountdoom #alphane
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 15:28:57 GMT

Tom Hiddleston, Genden Phuntsok, and Willem Dafoe Reveal Which Climbing Scenes Were Real on ‘Tenzing’
Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe have both seen their fair share of action and drama throughout their careers. They’ve travelled to different worlds in sci-fi thrillers and performed death-defying stunts in action blockbusters. And Genden Phuntsok, the actor who plays Tenzing Norgay, is at home at high-altitude. He grew up on the Tibetan Plateau raising yaks and horses. But perhaps nothing has compared to the challenges the actors faced on the set of Tenzing. This new movie directed by Jennifer Peedom tells the story of Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay, from his early life as an illiterate yak herder to the first ascent of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953.
With no previous climbing experience, Tom Hiddleston, who plays New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, was thrown into the deep end. He trekked to Everest Basecamp. The 45-year-old London-born actor actually learned to navigate crevasses, and climb ice walls and boulders.
Similarly, Willem Dafoe overcame his fear of heights to take on the role of Colonel John Hunt, the 1953 expedition leader. The 71-year-old Oscar-nominated American actor also learned mountaineering skills to bring a level of authenticity to his performance and build camaraderie with the cast.
And while Genden Phuntsok, who stars in the film as Tenzing Norgay, may have had the most high-altitude experience of the three cast members, he had never climbed before making the film. And the rumor that the 40-year-old actor actually practiced his lines for Tenzing with his family’s yaks is true. For the role, he also spent time living with Sherpa mountain guide Phurba Tashi, who has reached Everest’s summit 21 times. Tashi took Phuntsok hiking for four hours a day, every day, according to Outside.
We caught up with Phuntsok, Hiddleston, and Dafoe to hear about their wildest experiences and exposures on set, from witnessing avalanches to actually climbing out of crevasses.
From left to right: Willem Dafoe, Genden Phuntsok, and Tom Hiddleston while shooting ‘Tenzing’ (Photo: Courtesy Apple TV+)
Our interview with Tom Hiddleston on his Everest Basecamp trek and climbing out of a crevasse (for real)
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Climbing: What was the experience of trekking to Everest Basecamp like?
Tom Hiddleston: Genden and I had the privilege of literally following in Tenzing and Hillary’s footsteps, as anyone who has trekked to Everest Basecamp has also done.
It was an inspired idea from our director, Jennifer Peedom, who wanted us, as Genden and Tom, to experience the landscape for ourselves. She wanted us to feel the beauty and the wonder of the Khumbu Valley from the pine forests to the rushing rivers over which you cross over metal bridges until that moment when out of the blue sky, these goddesses emerge—the 8,000-meter-plus peaks of the High Himalaya. Ama Dablam, Manaslu, and then eventually Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori, and, finally, Everest. As you know, if you’ve done the trek to basecamp, you have to take your time because you need to adjust to the altitude.
Climbing: What did you learn about Sherpa culture and work through this trek?
Hiddleston: Along the way, we met so many Sherpas. Two brilliant Sherpas escorted us: Phurba Tashi, who is the star of Jennifer Peedom’s documentary Sherpa and has summited Everest 21 times. And also Dr. Nima, a high-altitude doctor who was educated at the Hillary School, a school Edmund Hillary built in Khumjung. We got to understand the Sherpa attitude towards these mountains and Everest and also how much both Tenzing and Hillary had given back to those people.
Climbing: What was it like to behold Everest for the first time?
Hiddleston: We saw Everest together for the first time, at the same time. To look up at the magnificence and power of that mountain is to be inspired by such awe and humility. Knowing that we were going to play the first two men ever to stand on its summit felt incredibly resonant and special. We were bonded forever by that experience.
Then we went back to Kathmandu and began filming. But we were also training all the time.
Tom Hiddleston learning to wield an antiquated ice axe for his role as Edmund Hillary in ‘Tenzing.’ (Photo: Apple TV+)
Climbing: What did that training look like?
Hiddleston: We did some bouldering in Kathmandu for a couple of days. Then, once we got to New Zealand, where we filmed all the high-altitude scenes, we had the most extraordinary team. You’ll be well aware of Guy Cotter, Hugh Barnard, Barry Blanchard, and Mike Roberts.
Guy Cotter himself has summited Everest six times. The New Zealand mountaineering community is among the most experienced, highly skilled, and capable in the world. We also had a great stunt coordinator in Augie Davis, who had worked a lot with Peter Jackson and knows those mountains.
Climbing: What climbing and mountain skills did you acquire for the role?
Hiddleston: Genden and I were taught to ice climb. We were taught about cutting steps and the shared responsibility for the rope, taking turns leading. We learned all about the equipment: the ice axes, crampons, and oxygen tanks. It was amazing.
There’s a scene in the film that really happened. Tenzing and Hillary were cutting steps on the Lhotse Face and they had a great day. They were quite confidently and quickly returning to camp for dinner. As Hillary described it, they were almost running. He leapt across a gap in the ice, but his right foot fell on the other side, the ice gave way and he was falling fast into a crevasse. There was nothing he could do about it, just a free fall into blackness.
Then he felt his rope go tight. Tenzing had made a self-arrest, tied the rope around his ice axe, and Hillary then had what he called the routine mountaineering issue of climbing out of the crevasse.
We did it for real. It really happened to Hillary and it really happened to me. I got dropped into the crevasse in New Zealand. Genden was at the top with the rope coiled around his waist. I had to climb up. I had to generate enough momentum while suspended in mid-air to jam the ice axe into the ice wall and then cut my own ladder of footholds and handholds out of the ice.
The camera was on a remotely controlled jib, but things happened. A sheet of ice that was the size of a single bed dislodged from the lip of the crevasse and fell on my head. You see it in the film and it wasn’t planned.
There was something about the extraordinary experience of being in the real environment that allowed Genden and I to live the experience as Tenzing and Hillary would have done. It was really remarkable, unforgettable, and unrepeatable.
Our interview with Genden Phuntsok on forming bonds over crevasses
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Climbing: Tom described the experience of climbing out of the crevasse and you helping him. What was that experience like for you? And how does a moment like that bond the two of you?
Genden Phuntsok: That really happened and when we were shooting it was all real. We used our bodies to do that and it wasn’t a performance. Of course, we were exhausted. But when I pulled Tom up at the edge of the crevasse, the relationship became like real brothers.
Genden Phuntsok roped up for his role as Tenzing Norgay. (Photo: Apple TV+)
Climbing: What is the most valuable lesson on climbing you learned from the experts on set like Guy Cotter or Hugh Barnard?
Phuntsok: They are all real professionals and always say to do everything slowly. [They] taught [us] so many important techniques of climbing. They were all always very patient.
Climbing: How did you feel when you saw Everest for the first time on the Basecamp trek? And how did your understanding of Tenzing grow during this experience?
Phuntsok: I just tried to find out every detail of what he had experienced and what he suffered all his life.
Our interview with Willem Dafoe on witnessing avalanches and facing his fear of heights
This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
Climbing: Through the movie, the characters go on an incredible journey, but you’re also going on a personal journey, as you were afraid of heights. How did you overcome that while filming Tenzing?
Willem Dafoe: It’s true. I’ve got a little thing about heights, but the trick is not to look down. One of the most challenging moments was the Lhotse Face sequence, when I was on a very sharp incline. We put a line down, I backed down into it and then I had to come up that wall of ice. I couldn’t look down. By the end of the day, I could, but initially, I couldn’t. So that’s how I deal with it: Just concentrate on what’s in front of you and never look at the depth of things, because that’s when it engages your vertigo or calls to you. That’s how you get over it.
Genden Phuntsok (left) and Tom Hiddleston (right) roped up for the final summit push scene in ‘Tenzing.’ Willem Dafoe wanted to acquire mountaineering skills to build camaraderie with his fellow cast members. (Photo: Apple TV+)
Climbing: You acquired some technical and mountaineering skills for this role. What did you learn about the craft that you might not have thought about before?
Dafoe: You just learn about what your body can and can’t take, where your abilities lie and where your weaknesses lie. I think that’s one of the reasons people like to challenge themselves: not only to find that little piece of themselves they think is missing, but also to learn about their body and their relationship with their thinking through very difficult physical tasks. You learn a lot about yourself, physically and mentally, and what you can take and what you can’t.
Climbing: Did you figure out what pieces were missing or what you were capable of doing?
Dafoe: I mean that in a philosophical way. The desire to do something extreme usually comes from trying to find some sort of meaning or trying to come up against something. I think we all have that. It manifests in different ways, but I see it in pretty much everybody.
Climbing: With the mountaineering skills, you also learned to navigate crevasses. What was that experience like?
Dafoe: We had some of the top people in the world because Jennifer Peedom, the director, is from that world. She had wonderful connections through her documentary work and her climbing. She got some of the best people in the world, so we were very safe. They would usually get to the location before us and test for avalanche possibilities and identify where the crevasses were, but sometimes we’d get very close to them. It was usually charted out, so technically, we were very safe. Safety was a big deal, so I never worried about that.
It was more about the physical task of doing things, like cutting ice steps. It was the physical exertion of those things, which you may not see. You see some of it in the movie, but you have to remember that we’re getting dropped off by helicopter for the high-altitude stuff. The helicopters go away, but we still need to get wherever we’re filming. Getting there is part of it, even if we’re not filming along the way. That’s where you enter the story.
Climbing: Was this one of your most physically demanding roles in recent years?
Dafoe: I’m an actor who always works from the physical, and I always have since I was young, so I usually try to be ready for a physical challenge. You don’t really know until you get there. As much as there’s climbing, sometimes you lose feeling in your hands and it gets difficult to grip, or you get tired cutting ice steps. A lot of the physical challenge is just enduring difficult circumstances. Being there all day in that kind of weather is challenging sometimes. With a strong wind, it can drive you mad.
You’re climbing, but a lot of the time you’re also sitting around on this very imposing mountain. Where your mind goes and how you help each other are all part of the mix. There’s no trailer to go to, no toilet, nothing to eat. You bring a sandwich, but it freezes in an hour, so it’s useless. You bring it anyway, though. I don’t know why, but we did. It was a great adventure.
Climbing: During Platoon, you went through a three-week military camp. And with Tenzing, you trained by learning mountaineering skills. How do these experiences help inform the character you’re exploring?
Dafoe: The idea is that you get these actions into your body so they become part of you. It doesn’t become the other. You try to create a parallel experience that gives you a key to the real experience you’re trying to inhabit.
For me, the formal training for the climbing was pretty minimal because most of that training happened when we got on location. It’s hard to approximate those things, and the actual weather, conditions, and snow that we didn’t have in the Himalayan foothills, we had in New Zealand when we were shooting the high-altitude stuff.
You could only train so much, but it was mostly about creating camaraderie and a dynamic within the group. That was mostly about trekking in the foothills. That was our training. They would give us rope to work with and teach us some of the things to do with it. But in the end, we had a lot of help with that stuff. You went as deep as you wanted to, and I went as deep as I needed to do the things I do in the movie.
Climbing: Are you at all tempted to climb again after this experience? Is it something you want to do in the future?
Dafoe: Not so much. I don’t have that kind of ambition to go somewhere really dramatic where the lack of oxygen makes it difficult to move. That’s not my thing. Maybe I’ll come to it, but I loved the experience. As I say, it was a communal experience. To do it solitarily, I don’t think it necessarily turned me into a climber.
Climbing: You saw avalanches while shooting. What was it like seeing nature unfold in such a desolate place?
Dafoe: Well, it was amazing. There was one scene where we had a basecamp in an area where I’d been shooting the other day. I heard this huge roar, looked over, and saw it come down with such incredible force. Needless to say, you’ve got to see one to believe it. Thank God we were far enough away that we didn’t even feel it, but the roar and the force of it were quite incredible.
I don’t pretend to be a mountain guy because of this experience. I learned a lot, but I’m not that knowledgeable. However, after a while, you could look at some of the snow formations, and I would ask, “Does that look like it’s ready to avalanche?”
The post Tom Hiddleston, Genden Phuntsok, and Willem Dafoe Reveal Which Climbing Scenes Were Real on ‘Tenzing’ appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/tenzing-cast-interview/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/tom-hiddleston-crevasse.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/willem-genden-tom.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/tom-hiddelston-ice-climbing.jpg?width=730
#willemdafoe #tomhiddleston #gendenphuntsok #everestbasecamp #tenzingnorgay #real #which #edmundhillary #jenniferpeedom #mounteverest
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 10:07:57 GMT

Climber Who Skipped 5.14d for 5.15a, Climbs Her First 5.14d
French climber Nolwen Berthier, 33, has climbed her first 5.14d on record with Hématome Crochu. In 2022, she skipped 5.14d and went straight to 5.15a with a send of Supercrackinette at Saint Léger, first climbed by Alex Megos and famously onsighted by Adam Ondra.
Also in 2022, Berthier onsighed the famous Omaha Beach at Red River Gorge (RRG) in Kentucky. The monster 39-metre pitch climbs to the top of the Madness Cave. The classic 5.14a was first sent in 1999 by Bill Ramsey and graded at 5.13d, but upgraded after holds broke. It’s long, steep and has a few in-your-face cruxes with some good rests. Berthier was third woman to onsight Omaha Beach, after Katie Brown and Sasha DiGiulian. “With feet everywhere and thousands of crimps, I have to admit that the climbing in RRG suits me well,” said Berthier.
Berthier has also climbed 5.14c with La Flûte en chantier at La Ramirole; and has ticked several V12s. In the comp world, she finished in the top 15 in the Lead World Cup in 2018; was on the Lead and Boulder national teams; and podiumed at the Lead European Youth Cup in 2012.
“I love crags with demanding climbing styles, such as Le Rocher Crespin, La Ramirole, La Carrière du Maupas, and Van d’en Haut,” Berthier once said, noting to not ask her for beta “unless you’re very short and you like very small crimps.”
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Supercrackinette 5.15a
The post Climber Who Skipped 5.14d for 5.15a, Climbs Her First 5.14d appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/climber-who-skipped-5-14d-for-5-15a-climbs-her-first-5-14d/
#first #berthier #climbs #omahabeach #hematomecrochu #adamondra #saintleger #lead #alexmegos #nolwenberthier
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 09:19:03 GMT

Ritsu Kayotani Climbs Defying Gravity V15 in Colorado
Ritsu Kayotani has just sent Daniel Woods’ Defying Gravity V15 (8C) in Thunder Ridge, Colorado. The Japanese climber has now sent at least a dozen boulders V15 or harder, according to his 8a.nu page. He was simply pleased about his ascent, saying on Instagram, “I’m happy.”
Established by Daniels Wood in 2013, Defying Gravity is a wildly dynamic problem featuring one of the single hardest starting moves in the world. Clocking in at around V14, the problem’s first move is a coordinated jump sequence between two glassy rails. A few different betas have been discovered for sticking the rail, but each one is as difficult as the next. After moving to a higher set of rails, a huge, shouldery V10ish deadpoint follows – with climbers cutting feet as they try to hold the violent swing.
A few days after Woods climbed Defying Gravity back in 2013, Jimmy Webb made the second ascent. “Felt so nice to connect with that first move,” said Webb on his 8a.nu after his send. “Such a heinous jump from one glassy rail to the next. What a strange problem…and putting it all together may be one of the lowest percentage things I’ve ever done.”
The problem then went unrepeated for nearly 10 years until Noah Wheeler made the third ascent in late 2023. Shortly after, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nathaniel Coleman picked up the fourth.
Kayotani has had a wildly successful climbing year in 2026. In February, he climbed Jimmy Webb’s Sleepwalker V15/16 in Red Rock, Nevada. The next month, he established Tanpopo V16 in Shiobara, Japan. It was his first FA of the grade. Tanpopo is crazy steep – Yuta Imaizumi is the only other climber to repeat the problem so far. Shortly after in the spring, Kayotani sent three V15s (all located in Japan): Mandoragora, Nehanna, and Flux.
View this post on Instagram
Nathaniel Coleman Climbing Defying Gravity V15
The post Ritsu Kayotani Climbs Defying Gravity V15 in Colorado appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/ritsu-kayotani-climbs-defying-gravity-v15-in-colorado/
#defyinggravity #ritsukayotani #colorado #jimmywebb #thunderridge #nathanielcoleman #instagram #tokyoolympics #tanpopo #noahwheeler
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 08:33:32 GMT

Comp Climbing Star Jessica Pilz Climbs Her First 5.14d
On October 15, Austrian Jessica Pilz sent Hades 5.14d (9a) in Götterwandl, Austria. While the Austrian is a decorated comp climber and has even climbed 5.15a, she shared that this was her first of the grade.
“First rock days of 2026 couldn’t have started any better,” said Pilz on Instagram. “Two days ago, I ticked my first [5.14d]. This route had been on my mind for years, but I’d always been too intimidated by the grade to give it a go. With such a short rock season after comps, I’m super stoked I got this power-endurance test piece done before it gets too cold.”
Hades was established back in 2008 by Andreas Bindhammer. It has been climbed by many of the world’s best. Adam Ondra sent the route back in 2009 after nine goes, calling it “hard for me” on his 8a.nu page. Other climbers put it away very quickly, including Patxi Usobiaga, who did it on his second go, Jakob Schubert, who climbed it in a day, and Laura Rogora, who climbed it on her third go. Eva Hammelmüller, Pepa Šindel, and Filip Schenk, among others, have also sent the route.
Pilz is best known for her comp climbing. She has podiumed many times at World Cup and World Championship events, including winning golds at the Lead World Championship in 2018 and Combined World Championship in 2021. She won the overall Lead World Cup seasons in 2023 and 2024. At the Paris Olympic Games, she earned bronze.
In 2024, she sent her hardest outdoor sport route to date, Papichulo 5.15a in Oliana, Spain. “Working on this route pushed me out of my comfort zone – from wanting to give up on Day 1 because it felt too hard to gradually understanding the process of projecting,” she said back in 2024 after her send. “Thinking about the route on rest days made me nervous, constantly running through sequences and moves in my head. Waiting all day for that one possible attempt in good conditions before it got dark made me nervous too. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions but absolutely worth it!”
View this post on Instagram
The post Comp Climbing Star Jessica Pilz Climbs Her First 5.14d appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/comp-climbing-star-jessica-pilz-climbs-her-first-5-14d/
#jessicapilz #compclimbing #austrianjessica #worldchampionship #first #leadworld #combinedworld #cup #andreasbindhammer #hades
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 07:43:37 GMT

Mei Kotake Sends a V14 in a Session
Japanese climber Mei Kotake is currently on a bouldering trip to Gottardo, Switzerland. She just announced that she sent Tigris Sit V14 (8B+) in a single session. This send adds to an already successful trip. On her second day of the visit, she sent Quiet Storm V14 and Hazel Grace V14 in a single afternoon. The next day, she topped Stefano Ghisolfi’s P.I.G. V15, her first of the grade.
“Happy to send it in one session and so quickly,” said Kotake on Instagram. “Over 20 moves, lots of crimps, just the kind of problem I like.”
Kotake’s send of Tigiris Sit came the day after her P.I.G. V15 ascent. Earlier today, she topped Left Hand of Darkness V12.
Tigris Sit was established by Christof Rauch in 2016. The endurance line has been repeated by many top climbers including Alex Puccio, Pietro Vidi, Jules Marchaland, Michaela Kiersch, and Stefano Carnati, among others. Several ascensionists consider it soft for the grade.
Kotake has been an active comp climber for a number of years. In 2024, she made her first-ever World Cup podium at the Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 14, earning bronze. Less than a week later, she won gold at the Lead World Cup in Briançon. After wrapping up the comps, Kotake visited Magic Wood, Switzerland, for some bouldering and sent New Base Line V14, her first-ever of the grade.
In November 2025, she sent Caricature and proposed V14. In her post about Caricature on Instagram, she said previous repeaters of Caricature dubbed it V12 or V13, but she felt it was V14 when she compared it to other problems she has tried around the world, including in Japan.
View this post on Instagram
The post Mei Kotake Sends a V14 in a Session appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/mei-kotake-sends-a-v14-in-a-session/
#meikotake #worldcup #session #leadworld #instagram #tigrissit #caricature #switzerland #quietstorm #stefano
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-18 06:52:53 GMT

Men’s Last Boulder World Cup Finale of 2026 Set in USA
Great Britain’s Max Milne topped the men’s Boulder semi-final standings with 84.9 points, edging Japan’s Rei Kawamata and Israel’s Yonatan Katz in a tightly contested round. Just 0.6 points separated the top three, while 14 climbers scored in the 69-point range as fine margins decided the final standings.
Milne opened with two flashes to build momentum and secure first place, ahead of Kawamata on 84.4 points and Katz on 84.3. “I think I executed really well,” Milne said. “You have to battle your mind to stay focused and stay calm, not think about the future and the results.” Known for his energy and crowd engagement, Milne added that enjoying the sport remains a priority: “I don’t want to win and medal at comps not smiling. I want to enjoy everything, the success and the failures.” For Katz, the result marked a final appearance in just his second World Climbing Series competition.
France’s Max Bertone finished fourth on 69.9 points, tied on score with Germany’s Elias Krüger Arriagada, who placed fifth on countback. “I felt really good today,” Krüger Arriagada said. “I was locked in, focused and tried to climb smart and I think it worked out pretty well.”
Japan’s Sohta Amagasa placed sixth on 69.8 points, while Great Britain’s Dayan Akhtar and Israel’s Or Mark shared seventh on the same score to claim the final spots. The narrow margins left several notable climbers outside the top eight, including France’s Mejdi Schalck and the USA’s Colin Duffy. With the podium spots up for grabs, the finalists will need precision and consistency to finish the season on a high.
View this post on Instagram
Men’s Semis
The post Men’s Last Boulder World Cup Finale of 2026 Set in USA appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/mens-last-boulder-world-cup-finale-of-2026-set-in-usa/
#cupfinale #worldcup #boulderworld #usa #set #men #worldclimbing #milne #krugerarriagada #yonatankatz
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-17 06:14:45 GMT

Owen Whaley Climbs American Test-Piece Problem
Owen Whaley has repeated Creature From the Black Lagoon V16 in Upper Chaos, Colorado. The send of Daniel Woods’s 2016 testpiece adds to Whaley’s list of hard sends, which already includes two V16s: Sosa and Grand Illusion.
Whaley first visited Colorado in July for some alpine bouldering, and discovered that Creature From the Black Lagoon “was great to climb on in the summer,” as Whaley said on 8a.nu, “because the holds aren’t that sharp.”
After dialing in the sequences, he returned in cooler weather, when conditions were better for serious attempts. Upper Chaos is renowned for its scenic setting, but access requires a lengthy hike, while conditions can be inconsistent. The physically demanding nature of the problem also limited Whaley to four or five quality attempts each session.
“My finger has still been bugging me, so this was a great way to stay motivated,” Whaley said. “Climbed through the bottom a few more times than necessary, but definitely made it that much more satisfying.”
View this post on Instagram
On the day of the send, Whaley came close on his first attempt, raising concerns that he might have expended too much energy early in the session. However, after several further attempts, he returned to the problem in the evening, already fatigued but encouraged by a favourable breeze blowing into the cave.
Drawing a comparison with his earlier success on Trieste Sit, he recalled having celebrated prematurely before making an unexpectedly successful attempt. He adopted a similarly relaxed approach on Creature From the Black Lagoon, hoping that reduced expectations might once again work in his favour. “On the fourth go of the day yesterday, I felt tired but thought maybe the trick could work again – magic,” he said.
His send culminated in a complete top-out, something Whaley highlighted as an important part of the experience. “Don’t know why people don’t top this one all the way out,” he said, “victory romp!” Whaley described the satisfaction of finishing the problem in relative solitude: “Super good feeling being up in the park all alone and topping out the project.”
View this post on Instagram
Shawn Raboutou’s Repeat
The post Owen Whaley Climbs American Test-Piece Problem appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/owen-whaley-climbs-american-test-piece-problem/
#blacklagoon #owenwhaley #problem #upperchaos #grandillusion #danielwoods #colorado #instagram
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-17 05:21:57 GMT

How Reinhold Messner Made Mountaineering History 40 Years Ago Today
Forty years ago today, on Oct. 16, 1986, Reinhold Messner reached the summit of Lhotse, Nepal, alongside Hans Kammerlander, becoming the first mountaineer to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks without supplementary oxygen.
The achievement capped a sixteen-year pursuit that redefined high-altitude mountaineering. Messner had already made history in 1978, summiting Everest with Peter Habeler without bottled oxygen, and again in 1980, climbing Everest solo under the same conditions.
His approach emphasized lightweight expeditions, minimal equipment and individual autonomy over the heavily supported ascents common at the time. Shaped by both extraordinary achievement and personal tragedy, including the death of his brother Günther on Nanga Parbat in 1970, Messner developed a philosophy grounded in the acceptance of risk rather than the illusion of control.
His completion of the 14 peaks in 1986 established a historic benchmark in mountaineering. More than a record of endurance, it demonstrated the possibilities of human performance at extreme altitude and cemented Messner’s legacy as one of the defining figures in the history of alpinism.
View this post on Instagram
Excerpt from Against the Wind
Below is an excerpt from his 2026 memoir, Against the Wind, in which Messner looks back on a life of accomplishments and recounts some of the most important episodes after turning 80. Of note: In German, Lebensfreude translates to the desire to live life to the fullest. This is the spirit Messner has channeled throughout his life and climbing.
Free Spirit: A Climber’s Life is the title of my first autobiography. Was the price I paid for living the life I have as a free spirit perhaps too high? I’m now eighty years old. I know what it means to experience complete isolation. I’ve stumbled from one death zone to the next. Up there, it’s the oxygen that is lacking; down here it’s meaningfulness. I survived at the top of the world’s highest mountains without reaching for a bottle, so hitting the bottle here at the bottom would just be avoiding matters. And how long could I keep that up? I’ve withstood the downward spiral of despair, and seen the absurdity of life dissolve to turn into possibilities, into visions to be nourished. Was this not how I have led a successful life for so many years?
Each time I asked: Should I risk it? Turning a cable car mountain station into a cultural meeting space. Incorporating a house into a mountain, invisible from the outside and harmonious with the rock. Upcycling unusable structures and useless land. Now that’s sustainability. Reusing stone, concrete, and steel, not throwing them away.
Sense grows out of sensuality. Understanding grows out of feeling and experience. It’s only in death that we lose all of our senses. Which is why we do not need to fear it. Everyone should have the freedom to seek happiness. This search underpins all the values that shape how we live together. And this freedom to seek happiness is something that we should be able to renegotiate.
The pursuit of happiness will not carry us to the summit. Nor will honor, fame, wealth, or power. The only thing that makes our dreams come true is enthusiasm.
And by being in touch with yourself, you can share your electric enthusiasm and your Lebensfreude, your spirit, with others.
I don’t want to modify the world just so that it fits with my Weltanschauung [worldview]. Yes, I have benefited from the economic booms that my generation has lived through and from the hard work and commitment of previous generations. I was able to travel the world to pursue my passion for experiencing adventures. I’ve been privileged. In my lifetime, I’ve only really experienced economic upturns.
And now as things are going downhill in Europe, I’m signing off. I’ve reached my destination.
The many times people have tried to put me down, their techniques were always the same, twisting my own words and then turning them against me. Or putting words into my mouth.
I was made a target, and various organizations turned against me many times during the different phases of my life.
I have no desire to criticize the youth of today. The Sherpas have my total respect. Today, they understand the role that they have played in Himalayan mountaineering. I helped to set up the Sherpa Himal museum in Namche to underline this. Their achievements are remarkable.
I plan to continue to contribute to the discussion.
Where I come from, people have written that I’ve always “had lots to say and an extremely critical mind.” Michael Fink on the news website Südtirol Online (stol.it), on February 19, 2022, went on to say:
“[Messner] still has lots of plans and ideas for a good future for South Tyrol and its inhabitants—especially for the narrow-minded ones. Sometimes his suggestions are green, the next day they stink of petrol. It’s all one and the same. The ‘other’ South Tyrol is also flexible—the good, open-minded, cosmopolitan, intelligent, far-sighted, even visionary South Tyrol. The opposite, as it were, from the clumsy, backward, stupid, and small-minded South Tyrol. The mob seems to live in the latter, somehow. Those who look after their front gardens, water their geraniums, plant their potatoes, but apart from that have no other interests or hobbies.”
People who would like to be involved in public debates, but who are not formally invited to contribute or participate, often express themselves in letters to the editor, at regulars’ tables in inns and cafés, and on the internet. Social media exchanges have become increasingly problematic, because people are less accountable: nobody knows who’s behind them or which interests they represent.
I’m glad to have led an active life, to have grown up in an age without the internet, and to remain off the grid to this day. Genuine discussion and debate are important; they encourage the cultivation of language and taking responsibility.
Ten years earlier, Dr. Michl Ebner deservedly received the same award that I received, the Medal of Honor of the province of Tyrol. Nevertheless, for over fifty years the Athesia publishing house, which Dr. Ebner heads up, has never missed an opportunity to oppose my actions. He finally praised me, after all this time, in his position as president of the Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano: “The award of this high honor is an expression of recognition and thanks for your commitment as a mountaineer, museum founder, and museum operator. I am very grateful for everything that you have done over all these years.”
Even in gale-force winds, I learned to keep moving forward and not to look back when the mob—incited by the media—was coming up close behind me.
I would look to the wide, open world and wait until the rabble-rousing and mockery subsided. Just as a mountaineer does on Mount Everest, when the monsoon meets the jet stream.
Only then would it be time to set off again—to find peace as an air walker. I learned to take off against the wind—and to soar when the wind dies down.
View this post on Instagram
The post How Reinhold Messner Made Mountaineering History 40 Years Ago Today appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/how-reinhold-messner-made-mountaineering-history-40-years-ago-today/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Reinhold-Messner.jpeg
#agotoday #reinholdmessner #yearsago #made #life #hanskammerlander #peterhabeler #everest #wind #nangaparbat
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-17 04:28:45 GMT

New Women’s Highline World Record Set in Karakoram
German climbers Lukas Irmler and Antonia Rüede-Passul recently sent the first-ever highline from the summit of Trango Tower (6,251 m) in Pakistan. The 21-metre-long line is now the highest highline ever walked in the Karakoram.
They first climbed Great Trango Tower (6,280 m) to acclimate before going up the famous Eternal Flame on Nameless Tower. In walking the 6,251-metre highline, Rüede-Passul set a world record for the highest line ever walked by a woman, beating her existing record of 5,860 metres set in Chile on Ojos de Salado. Rüede-Passul and Irmler made headlines earlier this year when they walked a highline on Aguja de la S in the Fitz Roy range of Patagonia.
The first recorded walk on a nylon webbing highline is credited to Scott Balcom, 20, and Chris Carpenter, 17. Their line, now known as The Arches, stretched approximately 10 metres long and hung 35 metres above the ground in Pasadena, California. On July 13, 1985, Balcom successfully crossed the Lost Arrow Spire highline in Yosemite National Park, a milestone in the sport’s early history.
A decade later, in 1995, Darrin Carter completed unprotected crossings of both the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite and The Fins on Mount Lemmon Highway near Tucson, Arizona. On July 16, 2007, Libby Sauter became the first woman to cross the Lost Arrow Spire successfully. The following year, Dean Potter became the first person to BASE jump from a highline at Hell Roaring Canyon, Utah.
View this post on Instagram
On Aug. 3, 2006, Christian Schou walked a highline at 1,000 metres above the ground at Kjerag, Norway. Aleksander Mork repeated the project in September 2007. Rafael Zugno Bridi later set a world record by walking a slackline between two hot-air balloons. In 2015, Stephan Siegrist walked a slackline near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at an altitude exceeding 5,500 metres above sea level.
In July 2021, German athletes Friedi Kühne, Lukas Irmler, Quirin Herterich and Ruben Langer set a record for the longest highline crossing, traversing a 2.1-kilometre line suspended more than 500 metres above the ground between the Lapporten mountains near Abisko, Sweden. Between July 4 and 6, each athlete walked the entire line without falling, taking between approximately 70 and 180 minutes to complete the crossing.
Free solo highlining, performed without a safety tether, demands an even greater level of skill. German slackliner Friedi Kühne walked a 110-metre-long line suspended 200 metres above the Verdon Gorge in southern France, setting the record for the longest free solo highline. On July 7, 2022, Lucia Bryn set the women’s record with a 33-metre crossing in Yosemite on a line suspended 80 metres up.
View this post on Instagram
The post New Women’s Highline World Record Set in Karakoram appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/new-womens-highline-world-record-set-in-karakoram/
#worldrecord #highline #trangotower #lostarrow #arrowspire #karakoram #set #july #women #lukasirmler
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-17 03:29:27 GMT

Adam Ondra Tries Exodia V18 and Other Boulder News
In November 2025, Elias Iagnemma made the first ascent of Exodia in Italy, and proposed a grade of V18 (9A+). The boulder was first envisioned by Christian Core and features a 60-degree overhang, around 25 hand moves, and is approximately eight meters long.
Describing Exodia, Iagnaemma said it starts with a hard V14 into a no-hands inverted double knee-bar rest, followed by a V16 section with a very powerful crux move. It took him 211 sessions over the course of four and a half years to send. “I’m not saying it’s the hardest boulder in the world,” said Iagnemma, “I’m saying it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
While Iagnaemma considers the second half V16, it’s rumoured that Adam Ondra, who’s climbed Soudain Seul V17, considers the second half hard V15 – according to V17 climber Aidan Roberts on the Testpiece Podcast. That slightly lower grade might slightly lower the overall grade of Exodia. Thanks to his height, Ondra has reportedly found slightly different beta through the crux.
Iagnemma has climbed some of the hardest boulders in the world. In March 2024, he became the fourth ascensionist of Burden of Dreams V17. In January 2025, he made the first ascent of The Big Slamm V17 in Italy. Earlier this year, Iagnemma tried Soudain Seul V17, but didn’t get the send.
View this post on Instagram
Other Boulder News
Ryuichi Murai, who’s climbed Burden of Dreams V17 and Return of the Sleepwalker V17, is working on a new hard project in Japan dubbed the Daihang Project, with around six sessions invested so far. It’s estimated to be V16 or harder.
View this post on Instagram
Mei Kotake has climbed Sent Hazel Grace V14, Quiet Storm V14 and Pi V15, becoming the 12th woman to climb a V15 boulder. Read more about her sends here. Sam Weir has climbed Permanent Midnight V15 after around four weeks of work, noting there might be an even lower start.
Pablo Zamora has climbed two new V15s in Spain with La Ley del Más Fuerte and Kora, and Owen Whaley has climbed Creature from the Black Lagoon V16 in Colorado – read about it here.
And Yannick Flohé downgraded Solar Plexus from V15 to V14 after making the fourth ascent. He said, “One move boulders are hard to grade. Comparing it to Defying Gravity, I’d say 8b+ [V14] makes more sense, as it feels a grade easier and I did it on my third try.”
View this post on Instagram
The post Adam Ondra Tries Exodia V18 and Other Boulder News appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/adam-ondra-tries-exodia-v18-and-other-boulder-news/
#otherboulder #adamondra #exodia #instagramother #soudainseul #iagnemma #eliasiagnemma #christiancore #describingexodia #italy
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-17 02:29:19 GMT

“We’ll Miss Everything About Him”: Jared Empey Channeled His Grief Into Link-Ups in Idaho’s Sawtooths
Jared Empey, 37, July 24
Jared Empey an Idaho climber and contributor to Idaho: A Climbing Guide, passed away on July 24, 2026, after a fall on Mount Jefferson (10,495ft) in Oregon’s Cascade Range. He climbed the peak solo and had just reached the summit before the accident. His final message to his wife, Steffanie, was simple: “Top of Jefferson.”
Born in Ammon, Idaho, the second of 11 children, Empey’s life was rooted in family and service. He worked as Kuna’s city treasurer, opened his home to 52 foster children, and was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The City of Kuna shared a memorial post on Facebook, writing, “Jared has been such an intricate part of our city family that this news is hard to process.” In the same post, Kuna Mayor Joe Stear added, “We are certainly going to miss everything about him. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they now have to move forward. Until we meet again, my friend.”
In 2017, Empey lost his son, Joshua. Within the grief that followed, he found healing and a connection with God in the mountains, according to a memorial shared by Steffanie. Hiking became a passion, and he often brought his children along, carrying Joshua’s beloved stuffed animal, Pete the Cat, with him.
Empey contributed photographs, trip reports and route information to Idaho: A Climbing Guide, helping document some of the state’s lesser-known peaks for the climbers who came after him. In 2022, he ventured into a remote corner of the Sawtooth Wilderness to link Big Buck Mountain, Peak 8662, and Smoky Peak in an epic, 15-mile day with more that 5,300 vertical feet of climbing. He navigated six towers, a narrowed Class 3 ridge on Smoky’s summit, and became the first on record to make the linkup.
Empey is survived by his wife, Steffanie; his eight children; his parents, John and Susan Empey; and another baby on the way.
The post “We’ll Miss Everything About Him”: Jared Empey Channeled His Grief Into Link-Ups in Idaho’s Sawtooths appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/community/jared-empey/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jared-Empey.jpg?width=1200
#jaredempey #misseverything #idaho #climbingguide #sawtoothwilderness #mountjefferson #cascaderange #steffanie #kuna #july
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-15 18:48:54 GMT

Interview with Climbing Legend Jerry Moffatt: “What the Hell Was I Doing?”
Jerry Moffatt has lived an elevated life at the sharp end of climbing, from frightening new trad routes to the birth of sport climbing, competition and modern training, he helped shape the climbing through one of its most transformative periods.
He was one of the first climbers ever to onsight 5.12c, 5.12d, and 5.13a, and to climb 5.14+. In competitions, he won several events and retired ranked first in the world. He was also one of the first climbers to send V12 and V13. In 1991, he opened The Foundry, Britain’s first climbing gym.
Now, looking back, he is less interested in the grades and trophies than in what climbing taught him about ambition, fear, risk and the people who shared it with him. In my recent chat with him, Moffatt reflects on the friends he lost, the changes he has witnessed and what still draws him to climbing today.
You have spent virtually your entire adult life climbing. What has climbing taught you about yourself? I think the main thing is that, at the time, everything feels like the most important thing in the world. Later in life you realise that some of those things weren’t that important. But then again, some of them you look back on and think, actually, they were pretty special. With competitions especially, they seemed a lot more important than they are to me when I reflect on them now. But doing routes, especially new routes, was a big part of it for me at the time and, reflecting on it now, they still hold my greatest memories.
View this post on Instagram
Why do the new routes stay with you? If you’re pushing history and doing the first of a grade, that stays with you. It’s a stamp in history that somebody can go to in a hundred years’ time and say, “What was the hardest climb in 1983? It was that one.” Climbers can go do it, and they can touch the holds that I touched or other people touched and think, “Wow, that’s a part of history and I can still do that route. I can know exactly what that hardest climb was.”
It’s like doing a lap record around Silverstone. You get in that car and do that same lap record. You look back on the cars from the eighties and a top racing driver would think, “Bloody hell, that was slow.” The brakes were terrible, the tyres were terrible and it was all over the place. But [with climbing] you can go back and do that exact climb. That’s the nicest thing, I think.
When you were 15 or 16 and reading climbing magazines, what did you think climbing was going to give you? And what did it actually provide? When I was younger and I was at school, I read climbing magazines. I was 15 or 16, thinking about what I was going to do with my life. I read those magazines and thought, “I want to be a climber and I want to go and travel the world.”
View this post on Instagram
I wanted to be a climber because it was exciting. I did travel the world. I went to some really exotic places. It was very anti-establishment. It’s not now, but I liked all those things. It was rebellious, anti-establishment, adrenaline pumping, and proper fun.
That’s what it gave me and that’s what I enjoyed. That’s what it was like when I started in 1978. It’s changed over the years, but when I look back on my career, those are the parts of it that I like.
You travelled and climbed with people who were already heroes to you. What did you learn from those climbers? I read the magazines when I was little and then you’d go there and meet these people. You were starstruck. You were with all these people you’d heard of. Often I was climbing better than them, or at least as good as them, but it still doesn’t stop you having total respect for those climbers.
One of the things that helped me in my climbing career was that, when I met all those top climbers, I milked every single ounce of wisdom, information, and gained tips on anything they had on climbing. I interviewed them. I chatted with them. I’d say, “What do you think about this? What about that? How about footwork?” You sponge off each other, talking about training and footwork and your approach to things and mental things. I felt I learned a lot climbing with those good climbers. You don’t have to do that but being inquiring has helped me a lot. I was always wanting to be with the best and try to get as much information out of them as possible to help my climbing.
Climbing has become very specialised. Do you think something has been lost in that separation between communities? It’s very different. Today you have the indoor climbing community, the bouldering community and the outdoor climbing community, it goes on.
When I started climbing, there was no separation between bouldering and routes because nobody went bouldering. There was no separation between climbing indoors or outdoors. There was no climbing indoors. There were no competitions. In England, there was only climbing outside and it was only climbing trad routes because we didn’t have any sport routes. The whole thing has become very specialised. When I started, there was nothing. There was only one thing.
I remember recently one climber saying to me down at the climbing wall when I was probably top-roping something, “When you were younger, did you do trad routes?” I thought to myself, “There was no other. There was nothing else.”
We climbed every single day for the whole year and we only did trad routes. I didn’t clip a bolt or a peg for the first two years that I went climbing. It was all nuts and runners.
You must have learned from some wise old climbers in those early years.
I don’t know. Early on we were just making it up as we went along. I didn’t climb with many old timers. I climbed with my mate Andy Pollitt, who I think was 16 when I first met up with him. We were both 16. I used to cycle to the cliff, meet him there on my bike and we just went for it and learned for ourselves.
We didn’t have any older people. It was only when I was about 17 or 18, when I came down to the Peak District from Wales, that there were some older climbers and I learned a bit more from them. They put me in my place a bit more.
You’ve lived through an extraordinary transformation in climbing. What were the big changes? For me, when I started, it was trad climbing with wires and nuts. Then the next significant thing was sport routes and clipping bolts. That became acceptable in England, to place bolts next to a wire placement. Before that, you would never put a bolt next to a wire placement. If you could get natural gear, you’d never put a bolt in.
That changed in the middle to late eighties. Then people started bolting routes and not bothering putting any gear in at all. So that was the first big change: trad climbing to clipping bolts and sport routes.
Then it was redpointing. We never used to redpoint. We used to yo-yo everything.
Finally, around the time we started putting bolts in, people started abseiling down and practicing all the moves before they attempted to redpoint it. When I started, that was a serious no-no. It would be considered cheating.
So you’ve gone from trad climbing to redpointing, to clipping bolts, to working routes. That was the change. Then the next change was climbing competitions, and the next big change after that was indoor climbing.
What about the positive side of professionalization, particularly training? That revolutionized climbing. I think it was 1988 or 1989 when I put my woody in the cellar, and that really kicked off everything. Within two years, loads of people had wooden cellar boards. Mine was the first one in the UK. I think it was 1988 or 1989.
You must look at modern climbing and think about how much professional help is now available. Nutritionists, coaches, strength programmes, sports psychologists. Do you see that as progress?
You enjoy things when you improve. You’ve got to improve. You want to improve. At the end of the day to think, “God, I climbed bloody brilliantly there. I’m really, really pleased with myself.” You want to get better. If somebody like a nutritionist or a sports trainer is going to get you there quicker, you’d be crazy not to do it if you’re that kind of person.
Also, Some people are quite happy just to go climbing and say, “That was a great day climbing. Had a great chat with my mate.” They’re not really that bothered about the performance at the end of the day. Both are fantastic.
Sometimes I wish I was more mellow. I’m very much the kind of person whose pleasure comes from improving and feeling like I’ve really done well in whatever sport I do.
But if it’s going to get you to that position better, then I would definitely get a trainer.
They weren’t available to us, so for me personally I had to educate myself. I had to become a personal trainer. I read loads of books on training.
There was no internet, so you had to get books and read about stuff. I read books on diet and got information from different climbers about what they were doing. I had to educate myself and I made a decision that I had to be the best trainer in the world and I had to train myself because nobody was going to do it for me.
But it’s much better if you can find somebody who’s a good trainer. It’s just easier, isn’t it?
Jerry Moffatt making the first ascent of Liquid Ambar in Wales in 1990, a climb dedicated to the memory of his younger brother, Toby. Photo by Kurt Albert
Do you look at modern climbers and think, if I’d had all those tools, I could have climbed harder? Obviously I’d have climbed harder, but I’m not really that bothered. I’m very happy in hindsight with my era. I don’t look back and think, “God, I wish I’d started climbing when I was eight years old and my dad was taking me to loads of competitions.”
When I started I just got into it with my mates, and we had a laugh. For me personally, I liked that. It was a laugh. It was being outside in nature and going to beautiful places. It wasn’t really results-driven that much. Not like a lot of the young climbers now.
Today, the famous ones you hear about, go to the competitions and they’ve been going to climbing walls indoors and doing competitions since they started climbing. Obviously none of them started trad climbing and then later thought, “Oh, let’s have a go at a competition. What’s this indoor climbing? Well, I’ve never done that before.”
It’s not going to happen. They all start indoors today.
What did success actually feel like? Did you achieve what you wanted? It far exceeded by miles what I thought. I never thought I could do anything when I started. I just went climbing with my mates. Then I wanted to be the best climber in the school. Then I wanted to be the best climber for my age in Wales. Then I’m thinking, “I want to be the best climber for my age in Britain.” At about 16, Andy and I probably were. So you have these little goals and they build up and build up. But never did I think I’d achieve the worldwide success that I did when I started.
I feel like I reached all my goals.
When you reached the absolute global peak, was there a sense of pressure or disbelief? And do you think today’s climbers experience the same thing? There’s pressure, really, but it’s just what you want to do. It’s not really a pressure. I think pressure is a weird thing. For example, people People often say, “Pressure. He’s got pressure on this golf shot.” You want bloody pressure. People always talk about pressure as being a negative thing. Pressure is one of the most positive things.
Jerry presented an example.
How many gold medals or world records are broken at the Olympics? When there’s maximum pressure, there’s no more pressure than that. That’s when you’re going to achieve something really good because that pressure is going to make you pull like a bastard. It’s going to make you rip that thing to pieces. You want that drive and you want that pressure. It can work against you, but it can also work really, really well. It can be a very positive thing.
Your relationship with fear has obviously changed. What does fear mean to you now? Massively. It’s huge. Fear is a young man’s thing. I’ve been in quite a few situations in my life when I’ve been fighting for my life, just completely fighting for my life, knowing that if I fell, I would die.
I did a lot of routes without ropes and I was very lucky to survive it. When you’re in that situation, when you’re fighting for your life and it’s all gone wrong, obviously that doesn’t happen very often because you wouldn’t survive it. It might only happen once or twice a year maximum.
I had those terrifying moments and then maybe I didn’t climb again without a rope for a year. I’d say, “I’ll never do it again. This is too much.”
Most of the time when people say, “What are your most dangerous things?” I’d say the most dangerous climbs I’ve done, nothing happens. If something had happened, I wouldn’t be there.
I’ve had some big, 60-foot ground falls. I’ve been very lucky. A lot of my friends died, and I realise that now. I look back on it and think, “What the hell was I doing?”
I would never want to push it and say, “This is the ultimate. You’ve got to go soloing.”
If you look back on it like I do now, I think, “What was I doing to my parents and my brothers, risking my life for these things?”
It’s irresponsible and probably not very clever but at the time, it becomes so important. When I was 19 or 20, my ambition was not to do the hardest route. It was to do the most dangerous climb in the world. I wanted to do the most dangerous climbs. That was my ambition. I wanted to do the most dangerous climbs more than the hardest form of the hardest routes. That lasted for a short time, and then I felt like I did them with Master’s Wall (E7 6b) and different routes. Then I realised how dangerous it was.
My best mate died just three days after.
Who was that? A guy called Neil Molnar (1962-1983).
A lot of them went. You don’t look back and, you know, it’s just life, isn’t it? That’s what you do. That’s the game, and you’ve just got to take it on the chin.
Has losing those people changed how you think about climbing now? A lot of it is luck as well, isn’t it?
If I think about the house I lived in in Germany, Wolfgang Güllich (1960–1992) and Kurt Albert (1954–2010), you know, Wolfgang died in a car crash. Kurt died in a stupid thing [a laps of judgement on a Via Ferrata in the Frankenjura]. There was another girl in the house, Ingrid Reitenspieß, she died as well.
All sorts of bad-luck things.
And how has all that changed your relationship with fear as you’ve got older? I’ve had so many accidents just recently. I broke my neck. I broke my ribs last year.
I’m like, now I don’t dare ride a pushbike.
I’m just like a right wimp now. I don’t want to feel pain and I don’t want to go back to the hospital.
But that’s the reality of doing dangerous things. I’ve broken so many bones and spent so much time in hospital and have felt so much pain, I just don’t want it in my life anymore. I want to grow old gracefully.
Ben Moon, Gerhard Hörhager, Jerry Moffatt, and Stefan Glowacz in the 1990s. Photo by Gerd Heidorn
When you watch the best climbers today, what still makes you stop and think, “Wow”? The climbers of today just blow me away. I love watching them climb, the top climbers. I love everything about it, even if it’s artificial.
The strength, the movement, the flexibility, the precision with their feet, the way they read holds, the finger power, the endurance, the way they hang in. I love watching it.
I go to Innsbruck probably four times a year to the indoor climbing wall there. You always get a lot of the best climbers there and you get to watch them. I could sit and watch it all day.
I love it when they’re on really hard stuff and you’re thinking, “He’s off there,” and they’ll just climb another bloody eight or ten metres, pumped out of their brains, and they just keep going. The way they recuperate. I find it really exciting how strong they are and how everything’s evolved.
The memory of the moves, the reading of the moves, the way they climb. There’s no wastage of energy. They’re just straight into the moves. You’ll see somebody on-sight somethi
https://gripped.com/profiles/interview-with-climbing-legend-jerry-moffatt-what-the-hell-was-i-doing/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/JerryMoffatt.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BenMoon.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Lynn.jpg

2026-10-15 14:36:22 GMT

The Best Climbing Harnesses of 2026
What to know: After another season of testing, our expert tested added two new picks to our list of best climbing harnesses, naming the Ocun WeBee as most innovative and the Wild County Movement Light as best projecting harness. We also updated info and pricing on previously tested harnesses that we still highly recommend.
If there is one piece of gear that will make or break your mood during a long day on the wall, it’s your harness. Sitting in a hanging belay in an uncomfortable harness is a surefire way to squash stoke. In an effort to find the best climbing harness available, we put a range of them—from fast-and-light alpine options to feature-heavy big wall offerings—to the test this year, taking them on trips from the cold Canadian alpine to the steep walls of Devil’s Tower to overhung sport routes at The Red. After plenty of whips and hours spent projecting, these six emerged as the most comfortable, functional, and breathable climbing harnesses currently available.
The post The Best Climbing Harnesses of 2026 appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/gear/best-climbing-harnesses/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/best-climbing-harnesses-2025_featured_Christopher-Alcocer.png?width=1200

2026-10-15 13:14:20 GMT

Canadian Crew Rescues Climber Who’s Now Called for Help Three Times in 2026
About our reporting: Associate editor Sam MacIlwaine spoke with the president of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, Brent Boulet, about how he and his fellow volunteers rescued two climbers on Edge Peak on September 22 and how that operation fits into mountain rescue trends.
The most time-consuming rescues are often some of the most preventable. In fact, the more I report on rescues, the more I realize that the same themes tend to show up, over and over again. Climbing’s spectacular growth as a sport has attracted tons of motivated individuals, but it’s also opened a mentorship gap that leaves many new climbers facing high-stakes situations alone. Mountain rescuers see this more clearly than anyone.
Two weeks ago, a climber in British Columbia called for their third rescue in 2026 after they and their partner got stuck on a 1,600-foot alpine climb on Edge Peak, east of Vancouver. The route they were climbing, White Dyke, is an alpine scramble up approximately 500 meters (~1,640 feet) of low fifth-class and fourth-class terrain en route to the summit of Edge Peak (5,512ft), in the Golden Ears Provincial Park.
To understand what went wrong and how it could have been avoided, I spoke with Brent Boulent, a 15-year veteran of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue and one of the first responders on scene.
How two climbers got trapped on the White Dyke
‘White Dyke,’ as viewed from the approach (Photo: Courtesy of Brent Boulet)
Although it doesn’t see as much traffic as Half Dome via Snake Dike (5.7 R; 2,000ft) in Yosemite, Edge Peak via White Dyke is an increasingly popular day mission for Pacific Northwest climbers looking to escape Squamish’s summer crowds.
From the approach, the White Dyke appears as a visible bleached streak through dark gray granite. According to Boulet, the first five pitches—all ungraded fourth-to-fifth class scrambling, about half of the route—each have bolted anchor stations for rappelling. The more common descent, however, is via a longer but less technical trail that climbers scramble and hike down. “You can probably get away with a half rack and a climbing rope [for protection],” says Boulet, who says he dabbles in mountaineering but doesn’t climb often outside of search and rescue.
On September 22, two climbers (whom we’ll reference henceforth as “Climber A” and “Climber B”) left the trailhead at about 8:30 a.m. and began hiking the eight-kilometer (~4.9 mile) approach to the base of the White Dyke. They both tied in with two 60-meter half ropes. As the more experienced climber—and the one who had been rescued twice already in 2026—Climber A led pitches while Climber B followed. However, they were running late for their goal of summiting; by the time Climber A had reached the top of pitch two and started to belay Climber B on toprope, it was already 4:30 p.m., just three hours before sunset.
“The second climber was, at that point, now struggling,” said Boulet. “My understanding was that at that point, that person was already very fatigued from hiking in.” Boulet believes that Climber B also tried to ascend the rope instead of climbing, but was not successful. “At that point, they told the lead climber above them, ‘I’m too tired. I can’t go up, I can’t go down. I’m stuck here,’” said Boulet.
For two hours, the climbers attempted to self-rescue. Then, at 6:30 p.m., Climber A pulled out their Garmin InReach and pressed SOS.
Volunteers respond to the overnight rescue
Al Abbot, a member of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, assists a climber during the September 22 rescue (Photo: Courtesy of Brent Boulet)
Boulet’s all-volunteer team at Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue responded to the call, along with British Columbia-based Talon Helicopters. A backup team from Coquitlam Search and Rescue also mobilized in case the rescue required a mid-face hoist operation, which Coquitlam could perform.
“At first, when the call came in, it didn’t seem urgent,” said Boulet. He explained that the climbers told SAR, “We’re on the White Dyke, we’re stuck, we’re not injured, we have supplies, we’re okay.” As a result, the volunteers decided not to risk a night operation and wait until morning. However, as more information came in, the rescuers realized that the climbers were still tied into the rope. “With them still mid-climb, there was the risk of overnight exposure, weather was coming in, and we’re assuming that they’re dangling from a harness, so there’s the thought of suspension trauma,” Boulet explained. “So we felt it was justified to do a night rescue.” He also noted that his SAR management recognized the name of the caller as someone that his team had rescued recently.
After nightfall, a helicopter dropped off Boulet and his partner on White Dyke above the climbers. The rescuers scrambled down, then started rappelling at the third pitch anchor. When they reached the second pitch anchor, they encountered Climber A attached to the anchor with a personal tether, with both ropes coiled beneath them. Boulet’s partner then lowered Boulet down to the first anchor to reach Climber B, who was attached to the anchor and also tied into both ropes.
The plan was to lower both climbers to a safe ledge, then evacuate via helicopter. Using a munter hitch, Boulet lowered Climber B to a flat ledge at the base of the route. Climber A then rappelled down two pitches, with Boulet’s partner overseeing their rappel setup.
“The one climber who was fatigued was in really rough shape, just super tired,” Boulet said, referring to Climber B. “They were a little sketchy even on their feet, so we didn’t want to risk moving them any further.”
However, by the time all four people were on the ground, it was around 3 a.m. and weather was coming in, which Boulet said made it too difficult for the helicopter team to use their night vision. For the next two hours and 30 minutes, the rescuers hunkered down with the climbers under a nearby overhanging wall, out of the rain, with some additional layers. Finally, at 5:30 a.m., the helicopter arrived and successfully hoisted all four people from the ground. It was 11 hours after the call went out and 21 hours from when the climbers began their hike. No injuries were reported.
What a 15-year rescue veteran says we can learn from this
The start of the ‘White Dyke’ scramble (Photo: Courtesy of Brent Boulet)
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Search and Rescue has 31 active, volunteer members and usually gets about 40 calls per year, from searches for missing hikers to boating emergencies on Pitt Lake. In the past few years, the total number of rescues has remained steady, but Boulet has noticed a recent increase in the proportion of technical rescues like the one on White Dyke on September 22.
“Instead of going to the busy area—the North Shore [of Vancouver], Squamish—people are now starting to work their way out [east] and try different routes in Golden Ears Park that are less common,” he said. “I think with social media, and seeing all those different objectives, it’s bringing in less experienced people.” In the last 40 years, Boulet’s team has almost never done a rescue off Edge Peak because the only climbers who go there are typically very experienced. In the last five years, however, they’ve done at least six—including two for the same person.
Boulet’s team had rescued Climber A once more about three months prior to the White Dyke rescue. At that time, Climber A was attempting to summit Edge Peak via the 15-mile round-trip Golden Ears Summit Trail. “I believe they had tripped and fallen and hit their leg,” said Boulet, “and felt that they needed rescue because they hurt their leg.” Although he wasn’t mobilized on that rescue, Boulet confirmed that his co-volunteers performed a helicopter hoist rescue during daylight hours. He added that Climber A had been also rescued in a different region, by a different SAR team, earlier in 2026; it is unknown whether that was a climbing or hiking incident.
Regarding the September 22 rescue, Boulet says that paying more attention to the big-picture timing of the day could have helped prevent the rescue. Due to the late start at 8:30 a.m. and the pace of the climbers’ hiking, by the time they got to the base of the route, it likely was already too late to successfully summit and return before dark. “They should have been like, ‘Hey, I’m not feeling it,’” said Boulet. “You’re looking up at a 500-meter vertical wall. Can you do that before dark?”
Boulet stressed that being willing to “turn around and go home” is one of the biggest skills to have in the backcountry, and recommends that all climbers plot out their day missions with a back-up plan to soften the blow of retreat. But he also emphasized the importance of properly assessing a partner’s capabilities before going out to the mountains. To help with this, he recommends joining an outdoor group, such as the British Columbia Mountain Club, to learn how to plan trips from more experienced people.
“[For] anyone that you’re going climbing with…start small,” he said. “Go on just a hike. Assess how the two of you are: Are you actually friends? First build a relationship with that person so you have mutual friends, then go on a hike and be like, ‘What’s their stamina like?’” Any bigger objective with someone should come after several smaller ones. “I want to be able to trust my life to that person belaying me,” he said. “You should have that base relationship first.”
The post Canadian Crew Rescues Climber Who’s Now Called for Help Three Times in 2026 appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/rescue-edge-peak-white-dyke-british-columbia/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/D6BFD7C7-BE24-4916-9D67-69A6B515521E_1_201_a.jpeg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Approach-scaled.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Al_Abbot_AssistingClimber-scaled.jpg?width=730

2026-10-15 11:38:29 GMT

The Best Climbing Helmets of 2026
What to know: After another season of testing, our expert testers recommended two new helmets for this list, including our new “Best Big Wall” pick, the Mammut Wall Rider 2.0, and new “Best Ultralight” pick, the Blue Ice Blast. We also updated pricing and info on helmets that we previously tested and still highly recommend.
Whether you’re a climber who always wears a helmet or one who tends to skip it, there’s no debating that helmets are your best defense against rockfall and other unexpected hazards while climbing outside. And while choosing a climbing helmet might seem straightforward, it’s worth taking the time to find one that’s comfortable, lightweight, breathable, and fits properly—because actually liking your helmet makes you far more likely to wear it consistently.
To help you narrow the field, our team of 21 testers put 19 climbing helmets through real-world use at crags across the country. After months of comparing comfort, protection, and performance, these are our seven favorite climbing helmets of 2026.
The post The Best Climbing Helmets of 2026 appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/gear/best-climbing-helmets/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Climbing-Hardware_Anthony-Walsh.jpg?width=1200

2026-10-15 10:39:42 GMT

How Climbing Gym Setters Turn Beginners Into Climbers
When you talk to most climbers and ask them how they got their start, most will say it was in a climbing gym. They’ll tell you about the time they, on a whim, took advantage of a one-month first-time climber promo, or that they went to a friend’s birthday party at the gym, and the rest is history. A non-climber might hear this and think climbing gyms are inherently fun and captivating, but any climber who has visited a variety of climbing facilities can tell you that not every gym is equal. Holds on a wall do not automatically lead to good times.
Beginners turned climbers will tell you about the deep feeling of satisfaction they enjoy after solving the puzzle of a good boulder problem. Or the feeling of relief after trying a route over and over again, refining beta, building fitness, and sending. These experiences that make climbing so attractive don’t just happen – they’re curated by a team of skilled setters who work tirelessly to bring you joy on the wall.
We chatted with two head setters at Canadian gyms, Max Summerlee and Karlo King to learn about how they view their roles as setters for people who have little to no experience on the wall. Summerlee is the Director of Routesetting at two gyms in Ontario –The Guelph Grotto in Guelph and The Core in Cambridge. King is the head setter of Climb Base5 in North Vancouver as well as a setter at Ground Up in Squamish.
King began by telling us, “I think the hardest thing to do in setting is to set easy grades while introducing technical movement and making the climbing interesting. I think every gym needs jug ladders, but it’s also important to have routes that offer more to teach new climbers new techniques and encourage them to come back and improve.”
We wanted to know if climbing gym setters are striving to create an environment that pumps everyone’s tires or if they are instead trying to teach the tough lessons required to become a better climber.
Summerlee reminded us that Climbing Business Journal released a statistic that roughly 66% of climbing gym customers do not return a second time. “So, yes, we want to pump them up and make them feel good,” he said. “I think there is a responsibility for setters to make a product that teaches people things, gets them interested in what they’re doing, and makes them want to come back for more.”
Summerlee continued, “For most people, climbing at a playground or up a ladder is what climbing is to them. Getting people to understand that climbing can be more is so important.”
King explained his team’s approach for teaching new movement: “I like to keep it very simple and focus solely on one movement. For example, if you’re trying to teach climbers to become fluid with heel hook traverses, you could pick really good holds and set on an easier angle. And if you want to teach this movement specifically, you don’t want to make it too complex by having it transition into another sequence. The aim is to teach movement in a basic way, and as climbers move up the grades, reintroduce them to the skills and combine them with other things they’ve learned along the way.”
Summerlee touched on more complexities and aspects that setters must be aware of: “Everybody comes with their own innate ability levels. We want to be able to cater to them where we can.” He continued, “So my job is interesting: I teach people things, I need to spark their interest, and I need to challenge them. I do think that challenge is part of the interest. If everything were super easy, nobody would come back.
“There’s also that age-old debate about grading and climbing and how that works. Some gyms are known for grading really hard, and some gyms are known for grading really soft. I think that there are merits to both of those systems. There’s the responsibility aspect of grading hard. I’m teaching somebody skills inside, respecting that they may go outside. I want to make sure that they aren’t throwing themselves in over their heads. There’s also the flip side of that, which is we’re not pretending like indoor climbing is rock climbing outside. At the end of the day, I want people to enjoy themselves.”
The post How Climbing Gym Setters Turn Beginners Into Climbers appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/profiles/how-climbing-gym-setters-turn-beginners-into-climbers/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/20250123_170137-1-scaled.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_3957-scaled.jpg

2026-10-15 09:58:34 GMT

“Everyone Around Him Was His Best Friend”: St. George’s Climbing Community Fondly Remembers Dan Smith
Daniel Smith, 24, June 1
Daniel “Dan” Smith, a climber and arborist from St. George, Utah, is remembered by his friends for his warmth, openness and creativity. A lifelong resident of Southern Utah, Smith spent much of his time exploring the desert through his art and climbing.
Smith died by suicide on June 1, 2026. He had lived with the effects of a traumatic brain injury since he was 12, when a skateboarding accident left him with seizures and disrupted sleep. In 2025, he opened his own tree-trimming business, aptly named Tree Smith.
Carson Olmsted grew up with Smith and remembers less about any particular climb than the way his friend made the people around him feel. “Everyone around Dan was his best friend, even if he had just met you,” Olmsted said. “There was something about the way he interacted with people that made you feel immediately comfortable and accepted.” Olmsted said that Smith also loved photography and spending time with his wife, Lexi Jensen.
Friend and fellow climber Michael Eardley recalled one particularly cold winter climb in Pine Valley, when Smith gathered his friends around a fire in below-zero temperatures to talk about what they were grateful for. “He genuinely cared about people, and I think that was one of the things that made him so special,” Olmsted said.
After his death, friends and family gathered at Contact Climbing Gym in St. George to celebrate his life.
“He was an amazing climber, but climbing was only one part of who Dan was,” Olmsted said. “He loved being outside, pushing himself, experiencing new things, and sharing those experiences with the people around him.”
The post “Everyone Around Him Was His Best Friend”: St. George’s Climbing Community Fondly Remembers Dan Smith appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/community/daniel-smith/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Carson-Olmstead.jpeg?width=1200

2026-10-15 09:17:26 GMT

Don’t Miss the Final Boulder World Cup of 2026 in Salt Lake City
The final Boulder World Cup of the 2026 season is happening this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. The qualification rounds will be held on Friday, the men’s semi-final and final events will take place on Saturday, and the women’s semi-final and final on Sunday.
Many big names will be competing in Salt Lake City, including Sorato Anraku, Dohyun Lee, Colin Duffy, Mejdi Schalck, Sam Avezou, Nicolai Uznik, and Max Bertone. As for the women, we can expect to see Oriane Bertone, Annie Sanders, Oceania Mackenzie, Erin McNeice, Zélia Avezou, Madison Richardson, Babette Roy, and Melina Costanza, among others.
Heading into the event, McNeice is the favourite to win the Women’s Overall title. After the last event in Innsbruck, she is in the lead with 3,740 points. Mackenzie is second with 3,470 points, and Sanders is close behind with 3,300 points.
While McNeice is ahead, it’s still possible for Mackenzie and Sanders to claim the title. For Mackenzie to win the overall title, she would need to place first, and McNeice would need to finish in fourth place or lower. Sanders is still in the running for the Women’s Overall title, too – she would need to win the event, and McNeice would need to finish in fifth place or lower.
The Men’s Overall title has already been secured by Anraku. He has 5000 points heading into the final event. Lee is second in the rankings with 3,095 points, and Schalck third with 2, 587 points. Incredibly, this is Anraku’s fourth consecutive Men’s Overall Boulder win. He won his first title when he was only 16 years old and took the world of comp climbing by storm.
We can expect to see many top athletes from Canada and the United States competing in Salt Lake City. See below for the full list of registered Canadian and American athletes. As always, the final list may vary as athletes confirm their attendance.
To watch the final Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City beginning October 16, visit World Climbing’s YouTube channel here.
Salt Lake City Schedule of Events (local time)
Friday, October 16
9:00 a.m. – Men’s Boulder Qualification
4:00 p.m. – Women’s Boulder Qualification
Saturday, October 17
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Boulder Semi-final
7:00 p.m. – Men’s Boulder Final
Sunday, October 18
10:00 a.m. – Women’s Boulder Semi-final
7:00 p.m. – Women’s Boulder Final
View this post on Instagram
Canadian and American Men
Oscar Baudrand (CAN)
Matthew Rodriguez (CAN)
Hugo Dorval (CAN)
Joe Goodacre (USA)
Colin Duffy (USA)
Landers Gaydosh (USA)
Cozmo Rothfork (USA)
Sergey Lakhno (USA)
Auggie Chi (USA)
Hugo Hoyer (USA)
Benjamin Hanna (USA)
Canadian and American Women
Anna Kelley (CAN)
Madison Richardson (CAN)
Babette Roy (CAN)
Alexandra Inghilterra (USA)
Helen Gillett (USA)
Analise Van Hoang (USA)
Adriene Akiko Clark (USA)
Melina Costanza (USA)
Annie Sanders (USA)
Nekaia Sanders (USA)
Cloe Coscoy (USA)
Sovarae Sanders (USA)
Norah Chi (USA)
The post Don’t Miss the Final Boulder World Cup of 2026 in Salt Lake City appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/indoor-climbing/dont-miss-the-final-boulder-world-cup-of-2026-in-salt-lake-city/

2026-10-15 08:37:30 GMT

“Even When She Was Scared, She’d Always Try It”: Angela Ha Constantly Introduced Others to the Mountains
Angela Ha, 24, April 27
Angela Ha, a Sydney-based climber and highliner, passed away on April 27, 2026, after a fall while climbing at Mount Arapiles in western Victoria, Australia. She was several days into a multi-day climbing trip when she fell from the popular Organ Pipes crag. Ha was airlifted to a hospital in Melbourne, and succumbed to her injuries later that evening.
To her friends, Ha was memorable for her fearlessness. Jenny Chen, who met Ha through the Blue Mountains highlining community, remembers her as goofy, warm, and relentlessly willing to try new things. “She really lived her life,” Chen said, “She did what she wanted to do rather than just saying she would. Even when she was scared, she’d always try it.”
Ha devoured outdoor adventures filled every available weekend or afternoon with climbing. In the Blue Mountains, she topped trad and multi-pitch routes at Mellow Bath and Sublime Point. Summer afternoons were spent at highline meetups or slacklining at Victoria Park. “She was always really welcoming and warm,” Chen said. “She was just very easy to be around.”
To share her joy with others, Ha led canyoning and climbing trips through the University of New South Wales Outdoor Club. In 2022 and 2023, she led and co-led climbing trips for beginner and intermediate climbers to Mount York, a popular sandstone climbing area. In March 2023, Ha wrote about spending five days in Kanagra-Boyd National Park with six friends, attempting four canyons as a part of what she called her, “summer of canyoning.” [Editor’s note: ‘Canyoning’ is the more popular term in Europe and Australia for ‘canyoneering.’ Both words refer to the same activity.] In 2025, she co-led a women’s canyoneering trip through Box Creek, teaching rigging and empowering her peers.
Climbing was not only recreational for Ha; it also became a catalyst for big changes in her professional life. After earning a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of New South Wales in 2023, she shifted gears and began studying physiotherapy at the University of Sydney in the hopes of rehabilitating injured climbers.
Chen remembers that her appetite for experience sometimes came with nerves that were easily brushed aside. For Ange, fear wasn’t ever a reason not to go. Ha is survived by her parents, Daniel and Ruby, and her younger siblings, Michelle, Stephanie, and Marcus.
(Photo: Courtesy of Jenny Chen)
The post “Even When She Was Scared, She’d Always Try It”: Angela Ha Constantly Introduced Others to the Mountains appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/community/angela-ha/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jenny-Chen.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jenny-Chen_2.jpg?width=730

2026-10-15 07:48:41 GMT

Kyrgyzstan Team Climbs Nameless Tower’s Eternal Flame
At the end of September, a Kyrgyzstan alpine team made the country’s first ascent on record of Nameless Tower (6,239 m) in Pakistan’s Karakoram, climbing the iconic Eternal Flame on the tower’s south face.
The expedition, which included Mikhail Danichkin, Timur Akbashev, Aidar Akbashev, Zarina Kutanova, and Aleksei Pototsky, was led by Mikhail Mikhailov, who was part of the 2004 north face ascent of Jannu, If you’re a lover of hard alpine climbs, then that Jannu route is worth reading about. It climbed 72 vertical pitches over 3,250 metres of terrain and was graded ABO+ VIA3+.
Eternal Flame was first climbed in September 1989 by Kurt Albert, Wolfgang Güllich, Christoph Stiegler, and Milan Sýkora, Alexander and Thomas Huber made the first free ascent, followed by Edu Marin and, later, Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher. Eternal Flame is among the Karakoram’s most celebrated big-wall routes.
Nameless Tower was first climbed in 1976 by British climbers Joe Brown, Mo Anthoine, Martin Boysen, and Malcolm Howells, via a 1,100-metre VI, 5.10 A2. A Yugoslav team made the second ascent in 1987. The second and third ascents were made in 1987, with the opening of two new routes: The Slovenian Route, better known as the Yugoslav Route, a pure, clean, logical crack route on the south-southeast face; and the Great Overhanging Dihedral Route, a wild line up the western pillar.
View this post on Instagram
Burning the Flame
The post Kyrgyzstan Team Climbs Nameless Tower’s Eternal Flame appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/kyrgyzstan-team-climbs-nameless-towers-eternal-flame/

2026-10-15 07:35:13 GMT

Climber Awarded Carnegie Medal After Free Soloing a Cliff to Rescue a Crashed Hang Glider Pilot
Free soloing has been called many things: foolhardy, deadly, a life wish, a misnomer, an art form, a dangerous game. But for all its history of taking lives, it’s rarely been the cause of saving one. In a thoughtful essay about free soloing published in January, longtime Colorado climber Jim Erickson urged free soloists to channel their courage toward search and rescue operations. “Every single free solo climber possesses the freedom to choose their danger,” he wrote. “The true heroes in life selflessly risk, and sometimes relinquish, their own lives to help other human beings.”
Earlier this year, one climber did exactly that. On February 6, a 75-year-old hang glider pilot named Steve Parson crashed into a cliff near Mount Prevost, a popular take-off spot on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Minutes later, Matthew Robert Clark, a 24-year-old climber and electrician based on the Island, landed his paraglider nearby. When Clark heard about the crash on his radio, he drove up to the cliff, onsight free soloed a 50-foot chimney to reach Parson, and cut the trapped hang glider pilot out of his harness. He remained with Parson, treating his injuries, until rescuers arrived three hours later to hoist Parson into a helicopter. His climbing abilities and quick thinking likely saved Parson from three hours of additional suspension trauma.
Two weeks ago, Clark was announced as one of the 16 recipients of the Carnegie Medal, the highest honor in the U.S. and Canada for civilian heroism. Represented in a bronze medallion, the Carnegie Medal is awarded “to civilians who risk death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others,” according to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s website.
I spoke with Clark to revisit the events of February 6, learn more about his climbing and paragliding background, and get his thoughts on receiving the Carnegie Medal.
How a free soloist became a rescuer
Matthew Clark poses on the Stawamus Chief in Squamish, British Columbia, in 2024 (Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Clark)
Clark, who just turned 25 in early September, has been a climber for five years, but is on “a bit of a hiatus” from climbing ever since he discovered paragliding, which has now become his main sport. He’s also dabbled in free soloing; in 2024, he spent a summer in Squamish and did some soloing around the Smoke Bluffs, one of Squamish’s most accessible crags. But he was never trying to push his free soloing grade to the limit.
“[It was] always really easy stuff, maybe 5.9 at the most,” said Clark. “Just stuff I feel really comfortable and secure on.”
On the morning of February 6, Clark drove his car out to a large farmer’s field below Mount Prevost (2,585ft), which sits just 10 miles west of the U.S.-Canada border. Instead of driving up to the landing spot, he hiked up the mountain alone for an hour and a half, carrying his 30-pound paragliding kit—something he does frequently when he feels like he needs some exercise. At the launch spot, just below the summit, about eight other people were preparing to take off on their paragliders, plus Steve Parson on his hang glider. Parson launched a few minutes before Clark.
Just after Clark landed, he heard on his radio that Parson had crashed in the cliffs nearby. “I actually didn’t know how to get there,” Clark said, “but the people I was with did. They drove up to the general area.”
Clark and his companions hiked 10 minutes up to the cliffs and spotted Parson, who was suspended in his harness about 50 feet above them, on a sloped summit above the cliff.
“There wasn’t anything simple that I could just hike up,” said Clark. He spotted a chimney that he said “looked pretty decent,” and after considering his options, opted to free solo up to get to Parson.
“There were some good hand jams here and there,” he said. “It was mossy from one side, and it was really nice conglomerate rock on the other side with some good pockets. I put my back on the mossy side and worked my way up there. It was maybe two to three feet wide, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.” He described exiting the chimney as the sketchiest part. “There weren’t really a lot of holds, just some bushes, so I grabbed onto those and carefully pulled myself up.”
After about five minutes of climbing, Clark reached a semi-conscious Parson, who was complaining about pain in his legs. Clark couldn’t find the buckles on Parson’s harness, nor a knife. Luckily, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer had followed Clark to the base of the cliff. The officer threw a knife up so Clark could cut Parson free. Then he moved Parson to a flat spot. A few years ago, Clark had completed a Wilderness First Aid course, and he used this knowledge to bandage a gash on Parson’s knee. “I was just trying to get him comfortable and warm and was checking his vitals,” Clark said.
It took another hour for search and rescue to show up on foot, but they were not able to reach Parson and Clark. “They tried to get to me,” said Clark. “They didn’t want to climb up to me, and they tried to rappel down from the top, but their ropes weren’t long enough, I guess.” Two hours later—three hours after the crash—a helicopter team finally reached the duo. They extracted Parson using a long line, left one search and rescue member with Clark, and returned later with the helicopter to collect Clark, too.
What happened next
Matthew Clark flying his paraglider (Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Clark)
Since the February accident, Clark has stayed in contact with Parson. Last week, in fact, Parson drove Clark out to Mount Prevost and watched the younger climber as he launched his paraglider. “He’s doing really well,” said Clark.
Receiving the Carnegie Medal was a surprise for Clark and his family. “I’m definitely really honored and grateful for the recognition,” he said. “I don’t think I needed it. It’s definitely very nice.”
Although he witnessed the aftermath of Parson’s accident, Clark says it hasn’t made him more nervous to fly. “I know that every time I fly, something can go wrong, so I just have to make sure I’m always safe and doing my best and be ready for things to go wrong,” he said. “I love it so much that it doesn’t deter me from it.”
The climber did, however, walk away with the realization that he needed to update his first aid training. Despite this, he says that he was “really happy I could help [Parson].”
Today, Clark still works as an electrician in Vancouver Island and paraglides in his free time. His fellow Carnegie Medal recipients include Selwyn M. Taylor and Daniel A. Lyle, who charged into a toxic coal mine to rescue trapped workers after an explosion, Lenny Skutnik, who saved a drowning passenger from a plane crash in 1982, and DeWayne “Tiny” Lund, who pulled a driver from a burning race car in 1963.
The full list of 2026 Carnegie Medal recipients can be found here.
The post Climber Awarded Carnegie Medal After Free Soloing a Cliff to Rescue a Crashed Hang Glider Pilot appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/matthew-clark-receives-carnegie-medal-after-free-soloing-to-rescue-hang-glider-pilot/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/B5A795A7-E0EC-4C74-B21F-63DD274CB794_1_201_a.jpeg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/78DBC3F9-6E07-4BAC-931B-E9FB2FB2DDD6_1_201_a.jpeg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/B958CA44-B0C8-442D-A1C4-6EE0D9909CEF_1_201_a.jpeg?width=730

2026-10-15 07:07:31 GMT

Climbers Find Huge Crystals on New 16-Pitch Alpine Route
French climbers Pablo Etienne and Sophie Jacob have established a new route on the Capucin du Requin face in the Mont Blanc massif named L’Écho des Cristalliers.
From the Mer de Glace glacier, the pair identified several possible lines but repeatedly returned to one: the central line. “The essence of adventure, as we like to experience it, is setting out with an idea while remaining open to the surprises the terrain may hold,” Etienne said.
The first pitch and belay station had three old pitons. “Uh… It doesn’t matter. We’re here for the adventure,” Etienne recalled. As they climbed higher, old slings began appearing to the left and right. Later, back in the valley, they discovered that these were remnants of rappel stations established by cristalliers, crystal collectors who had climbed the wall to mid-hieght in 1981. The team spent the night a cave called Ali Baba’s Cave, surrounded by huge crystals left behind by the 1981 team. Scroll through the photos on Instagram below to see the crystals.
L’Écho des Cristalliers is 500 metres long and goes at ED- 5.11. The anchors are all bolted and there are eight bolts and six pitons for protection, but it’s mostly trad. It can be accessed late in the season, with the dry glacier approach taking approximately 40 minutes from the nearby hut. Etienne and Jacob said that their goal was to create a route that can be repeated safely, which is why it’s equipped to rappel.
View this post on Instagram
The post Climbers Find Huge Crystals on New 16-Pitch Alpine Route appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/climbers-find-huge-crystals-on-new-16-pitch-alpine-route/

2026-10-15 06:56:33 GMT

Wondering Where to Climb This Winter? The Super El Niño Changes Everything.
How we reported this story: Climber and Climbing Magazine contributor Ryleigh Norgrove interviewed a meteorologist and mountaineer, the founder of ClimbingWeather.com, and a guidebook author and expert on Patagonia climbing conditions. These experts explain what climbers should know about where the rock will be dry, the ice will be in, and the alpine conditions will be favorable from now through February 2027.
This year, NOAA forecasters say there’s a greater than 90 percent chance that El Niño becomes “very strong,” which explains why it’s been nicknamed a Super El Niño. From October through December, NOAA says there’s a75% chance that the “intensity exceeds any previous event in the record dating back to the 1950s.” So what does this mean for climbers?
From now through December, climbers are pursuing many different goals. Some of us are seeking send temps and dry rock for winter cragging or bouldering. Others are hoping the ice comes in as they sharpen up their tools. And still others are heading south to destinations like Patagonia for alpine climbing. So how will the so-called Godzilla El Niño impact these various climbing goals and migrations this winter?
This winter, some of the crags you count on for dry winter days could be wetter than normal. In other parts of North America, warmer temps could keep marginal ice from coming in. And alpine climbers may find themselves dealing with more snow, rain, wind, or warmth than they bargained for. In the Southern Hemisphere, El Niño could also shift conditions across mountaineering objectives in the Andes and New Zealand Alps.
If your winter plans hinge on dry rock, fat ice, or a decent alpine weather window, here’s what you need to know about this year’s El Niño. We also tracked down the forecasting apps and tools worth downloading before you commit to that climbing trip or renewing your passport.
Where will you be able to rock climb in North America this winter?
A map showing areas expected to receive above-average precipitation this winter (in green), versus areas that will receive below-average precipitation (yellow). (Photo: Chris Tomer)
Chris Tomer, chief meteorologist at WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio, says the strength of this year’s El Niño is supercharging the southern jet stream, pushing the odds toward a wetter-than-normal winter across the southern band of the U.S.
Tomer, who was formerly based in Denver, has climbed every Colorado 14er, and specializes in forecasts for climbers and skiers, has a unique perspective on how that pattern could impact the mountains. As the storm track shifts south, Tomer expects precipitation to become more consistent across Southern Utah, Southern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico beginning in November. He says this wetter-than-usual pattern will continue across much of the southern U.S. from December through March.
“This is like a locomotive with global weather impacts,” Tomer told Climbing. “It doesn’t mean rain or snow every single day at popular climbing areas, but overall the odds are shifted to favor more consistent precipitation.”
That’s not great news for the usual winter climbing circuit. Popular winter rock destinations like Joshua Tree, southern Arizona, and Hueco Tanks all fall within areas that tend to see more precipitation during El Niño winters. Heading east may not help much: the Southeast has historically been wetter during strong El Niños, too. None of that guarantees a washout, but you may want a Plan B if you’re settling in somewhere for a few weeks.
Jon St. John, founder of ClimbingWeather.com, which synthesizes data from the National Forecast Digital Database, agrees that the same pattern will likely complicate the classic climber winter migration. Red Rock, Joshua Tree, and El Potrero Chico could all see more wet and cloudy days than usual, St. John explained to Climbing. That could be particularly consequential at sandstone areas like Red Rock and Moab, where precipitation can keep climbers off the rock well after the storm has passed.
But St. John cautions against treating the seasonal outlook like a trip forecast. “It shifts the odds for the season,” he said. St. John’s advice? Stay flexible with your plans and keep an eye on shorter-term forecasts.
There are a few outliers to the anticipated wet winter. Tomer expects the Pacific Northwest, central and northern Idaho, western Montana, and northwest Wyoming to be warmer and drier than normal from November through March. That means winter climbing weather windows could potentially open up in places climbers might not normally consider for a winter trip. So this winter, chasing good rock may require a little more chasing than usual.
How will the Godzilla El Niño impact alpine climbing in the Southern Hemisphere?
Rolando “Rolo” Garibotti, a longtime Patagonia climber and author of the guidebook Patagonia Vertical, is a citizen scientist of sorts. Every year, he puts together a forecast for the Patagonia climbing season. And he’s been watching the forecasts for the Southern Hemisphere for this upcoming season very closely. He cautions against assuming that a very strong El Niño directly translates into a particular kind of summer in southern Patagonia.
El Niño’s influence varies considerably with latitude. Towards the southern tip of the Americas, the atmospheric phenomenon interacts with other large-scale climate patterns, particularly the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which refers to the north-south wind belt in this part of the Southern Hemisphere.
A forecast projection generated using the Copernicus Climate Change Service modeling app for December 2026 in South America. (Photo: Rolando Garibotti)
“El Niño has a much clearer influence in northern Patagonia, around Bariloche and farther north,” Garibotti told Climbing. “By the time you get to Chaltén and Paine, around 50°S, its influence is much weaker, and other modes of variability, particularly the SAM, become more important.”
Garibotti points out that current Copernicus seasonal forecasts show a notable and persistent trend toward higher-than-normal mean sea-level pressure around Chaltén and Torres del Paine later in the year. “In that region, that kind of pattern would generally mean less stormy weather, potentially less wind and precipitation. But these are broad, probabilistic seasonal forecasts, not predictions of individual weather windows,” Garibotti said.
A forecast projection generated using the Copernicus Climate Change Service modeling app for January 2027 in South America. (Photo: Rolando Garibotti)
Cochamó in Chile, however, is a different story. The valley sits roughly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) north of Chaltén and Paine. This granite big wall paradise is situated within an area that Garibotti describes as one where El Niño has historically had a clearer influence than it does in the southern reaches of Patagonia. This means the climbing will likely be wetter, warmer, and considerably more humid.
El Niños have also historically brought wetter winters and bigger snowpacks to the central Andes around Chile and Argentina, including the Aconcagua region. In tropical Andes across Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, weather patterns are more erratic and harder to pin down. But past El Niños have pushed snow lines higher and sped up melting on high-elevation ice in Peru, for example, leading to a greater risk of avalanches and unstable ice conditions.
In New Zealand, El Niño summers typically bring stronger winds, dumping more rain on the western side of the Southern Alps, while the eastern side stays relatively dry. But staying warm and dry isn’t necessarily a win in the alpine. Long stretches of heat can destabilize already chossy terrain, increase rockfall, and make glacier travel considerably more complicated.
Will the U.S. ice season be a bust due to El Niño?
Climbing in the bridges area of Ouray Ice Park (Photo: Maya Silver)
As dedicated ice climbers know well, more moisture doesn’t necessarily mean better ice conditions.
“Because we’re pulling moisture from the Pacific, the air mass tends to be warmer than normal,” Tomer explained. “This can also push the freezing level or rain/snow line up to higher elevations, and affect ice quality and avalanche potential.”
Lower down, ice could come and go all winter, built during brief cold snaps, then stripped back when the rain returns. This means ice conditions could become unpredictable, fleeting, and more dangerous. Ice climbers may need to head up to higher elevations to find stable ice. Meanwhile, ice parks—as we saw last winter—may struggle to maintain climbable ice with warmer temperatures.
NOAA is calling for warmer-than-normal conditions across much of the northern U.S. through the heart of winter, including the Great Lakes and Northeast. Parts of the Great Lakes could also be drier than normal. Your favorite ice climb isn’t off the table. However, colder, higher-elevation areas could be the better bet this winter with El Niño stirring the pot.
So, how should climbers plan for El Niño this winter?
For trips that are still months away, Garibotti looks to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which allows him to compare several seasonal models at once. But he’s picky about which data points he uses to predict climbing conditions.
“Looking at seasonal time spans, I pay more attention to the large-scale circulation patterns, particularly mean sea-level pressure, rather than variables such as precipitation, that tend to be less reliable,” Garibotti said. When it comes to planning specific weather windows and rest days, closer to the trip, the big seasonal picture matters less and you can rely on upcoming forecasts.
In the U.S., NOAA and National Weather Service point forecasts can give you a better idea of what’s happening locally, while Mountain-Forecast is useful for checking temperature, wind, and precipitation at different elevations.
Elsewhere in the world, apps such as Windy and Meteoblue, in addition to NOAA’s Global Forecast System, provide access to forecasts from other major models. For example, these apps leverage data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, a global numerical weather prediction system that’s widely regarded as one of the most accurate and reliable of its kind in the world.
Windy allows users to compare different models side by side, while Meteoblue offers a MultiModel meteogram that shows how forecasts from several models agree or diverge. For climbing-specific forecasts, St. John’s ClimbingWeather.com aggregates weather data for climbing areas across the U.S about a month out.
It’s worth checking not just different forecast apps, but the various underlying models, too. Two apps may simply be presenting the same model output. If you’re headed into the alpine, see what local avalanche forecasters or rangers are reporting, too. Plenty could still change between now and February. But in southern Patagonia, at least, the consistency of the trend across recent seasonal forecasts has caught Garibotti’s attention.
“Although these are rough, broad, and probabilistic forecasts,” Garibotti said, “the consistency of the high-pressure trend across successive forecasts makes it worth paying attention to.”
About the author: Ryleigh Norgrove is a roaming freelance journalist. This winter, she plans to spend more time in Oregon with her little brother, who lives conveniently close to Smith Rock, which with any luck, will stay drier this season.
The post Wondering Where to Climb This Winter? The Super El Niño Changes Everything. appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/travel/el-nino-winter-climbing-conditions/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/michael-herren-rain.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/TOMER-WINTER-WEST.png?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/patagonia-model-2.jpg?width=685

2026-10-15 06:43:53 GMT

Why Jakob Schubert’s Latest 5.15d Ascent Is a Historic Moment in Climbing
On October 10, Jakob Schubert made the second ascent of Seb Bouin’s DNA 5.15d (9c). He did it live on YouTube, streaming to thousands of rapt viewers. It was his ninth attempt over the course of approximately one week.
Located in La Ramirole, France, Bouin made the first ascent of DNA in April 2022 after nearly 200 days of projecting and roughly 250 attempts. He described the route as the most challenging project of his career, writing: “It’s the most challenging project I’ve ever done. It’s the hardest route I’ve ever tried and climbed in my climbing career. This route marks a milestone in my climbing life.”
It’s 2026, at a time when climbing news is full of hard sends from the world’s best, it can be hard to appreciate the significance of Schubert’s latest achievement. But the Austrian climber’s repeat of DNA is incredibly significant. Here are some reasons why the second ascent of DNA is worth paying attention to.
It is the first time a 5.15d has been repeated
In 2017, Adam Ondra proposed the first-ever 5.15d in the world with his ascent of Silence in the Hanshelleren Cave in Flatanger, Norway. Nearly ten years have passed, and the route has yet to be repeated.
Since then, four more routes of the grade have been proposed: Bouin’s DNA in Verdon Gorge, France in 2022, Schubert’s B.I.G. in Flatanger in 2023, Duality of Man in Arizona, USA in 2025, and Jorge Díaz-Rullo’s Café Colombia in Margalef, Spain in March this year.
In 2024, Ondra and Schubert spent time on DNA, but neither was able to send it at the time. Meanwhile, in August 2022, Ghisolfi began his journey to repeat Ondra’s Silence and he is continuing with his efforts to send the line. Will Bosi has also been putting a great amount of effort into repeating Silence since he first tried the climb in 2025. Despite the efforts of the world’s absolute best climbers, it has taken over nine years for anyone to repeat any of these climbs and confirm the grade.
Schubert is the first climber ever to tick two 5.15d’s
With the ascent of DNA, Schubert became the first climber to complete two routes with a grade proposal of 5.15d. He made the first ascent of B.I.G. in 2023 before returning to the grade with a repeat of Bouin’s route.
Schubert is a rare breed who has excelled in competition climbing, winning multiple World Championship titles, while also establishing himself on some of the world’s hardest outdoor routes. He was also the first climber to send two boulders proposed at V17, before going on to climb a third.
Interestingly, while Schubert has the most climbs at 5.15d, he’s only climbed one 5.15c – Alex Mego’s Perfecto Mundo in Margalef.
He has possibly forever changed the way hard ascents are shared with the world
Schubert’s ascent of DNA was not his first time bringing a high-level, high-stakes project to a live audience. In September 2023, he also livestreamed his redpoint attempts on B.I.G.
Livestreaming rock climbing outdoors, to some, may sound modern and gimmicky, and perhaps create a real disruption at the crag. However, most who were following the stream would likely agree that watching Schubert live and hearing his analysis after his attempts was one of the most engaging interactions with a sport climber ever. Most people would rightfully be terrified at the thought of having to send under so much pressure, but it is conceivable that a seasoned comp climber like Schubert thrives under pressure.
Since Schubert’s stream of B.I.G., other climbers have since followed suit, livestreaming their own projects. Will Bosi streamed attempts on Silence during his final day of the 2025 season, while Japanese climbers Makoto Yamauchi and Ritsu Kayotani livestreamed attempts on Nalle Hukkataival’s Burden of Dreams V17 in October 2025. Time will tell whether livestreaming will become a regular part of how elite climbers share their progress on the world’s hardest climbs.
Jakob Schubert’s livestream ascent of DNA 5.15d
The post Why Jakob Schubert’s Latest 5.15d Ascent Is a Historic Moment in Climbing appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/profiles/why-jakob-schuberts-latest-5-15d-ascent-is-a-historic-moment-in-climbing/

2026-10-15 06:32:37 GMT

How Climbing Mag’s Gear-Testing Process Works
Ever wonder how Climbing‘s contributors so confidently recommend gear? Allow our very caffeinated senior editor to explain.
The post How Climbing Mag’s Gear-Testing Process Works appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/gear/climbing-magazine-gear-testing/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ChalkBag-13-2-scaled.jpg?width=1200

2026-10-15 06:01:32 GMT

How Do You Know When a Bolt Is Too Rusty to Trust?
Reporting notes and key takeaways: To evaluate this climber-submitted anchor, expert and regular Climbing Magazine contributor Evan Wisheropp drew upon anchor best practices and his own personal experience. Wisheropp has been climbing for well over two decades and is a full-time photographer and videographer. He is also the president of the Northwest California Climbers’ Coalition and the author of two climbing guidebooks. In this anchor analysis, he helps climbers determine whether the bolt or fixed anchor you encounter is too rusty to trust with your life.
Here at Caving Magazine—shoot… Climbing Magazine, we love seeing creative ways to add redundancy to an anchor. Why redundancy? Because no person can know the true strength of an anchor until it breaks. We often deal in “Schrodinger Anchors”: they’ll either hold or they won’t—and you won’t know until you open that door and try them.
In this week’s anchor analysis, submitted by Andrew Erickson, we are focussing on the bolts and quick links themselves: are they bomber? A death trap? Somewhere in the middle?
Since we all have a different comfort level, and different experiences with fixed hardware, we’ll all have a different interpretation of this anchor. But as someone who has done lots of rebolting of rusty hardware, I know enough to say this bolted anchor is, at best, “good enough for now.” (It might actually be very, very bad.)
The biggest lesson I’ve learned from replacing bolts is that, even when you factor in all the variables, the outward appearance of bolts tells you very little about their actual strength.
I’ve snapped many old rusty bolts that looked like death traps. But I’ve also had numerous solid-looking, barely discolored bolts snap under body weight. And to ensure I will never have a scientific understanding of an old bolt’s black magic, I’ve tried and utterly failed to break plenty of 35-year-old bolts hidden under a mushroom of rust. There are reasons why hardware corrodes, but nature doesn’t like to follow its own rules.
So where does that leave us with this anchor? Let’s break down the different parts.
(Photo: Andrew Erickson)
How to assess rusty climbing anchors
Chain
The chain appears to be 5/16” chain, which comes in a variety of strengths, based on how much money you want to spend. The typical hardware store chain is rated to 1,900 lbs (~8.6kN) when new, while higher quality chain will surpass 30kN. Corrosion on chain is common, yet I am unaware of any accidents related to chain breaking. (But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.)
Lower quick link
It appears the original anchor had a single quick link for descending. It appears to be a ⅜” quick link, of a typical hardware store variety (due to the level of corrosion). These are rated to 2,200 lbs new (~10 kN).
I’m not a fan of the corrosion, but I bet the lower quick link would still test surprisingly high. Still, I’d rather not have to bet, and know for certain. It appears some others agreed with the sentiment and used two carabiners (a locker, and some giant clip of an unknown origin) to add redundancy to a short section of chain, and the quick link… assuming the rope is going through the large carabiner.
Upper quick links
The same analysis applies here, although there is another consideration with these. Generally, it’s the lower-offs that need replacing before the bolts, due to a rope’s rubbing, so it’s imperative to be able to wrench open the quick links for the replacement process. Old, rusty quick links like this generally put up quite the fight, or refuse to open. A higher quality metal would have surely fought off corrosion for longer.
The bolts
This is where I’m most uncomfortable. Caves are very corrosive environments with constant mineral deposits that will quickly eat away at most metals. This is similar to how the salty air near coastal crags will chew up and spit out any naive attempt to use stainless steel.
Bolts, hangers, and washers tend to corrode a bit faster than hangers, due to their contact with the rock. The difference in the corrosion between these bolts and hangers is so notable that there is a very good chance the bolts are plated steel, while the hanger is stainless steel. (Mixing metal like that is a terribly unsafe practice.)
How would I fix this anchor?
If I was re-bolting this anchor, I’d first confirm if the existing bolts are plated steel or stainless steel. If they are plated steel, then I would likely replace the anchor with high quality 316L stainless steel expansion bolts, which would give me a reasonably long lasting anchor.
However, if the existing bolts were in fact stainless steel, I would use titanium bolts in such a caustic environment. We usually consider titanium glue-in bolts as a last resort because of the expense and nuisance of placing them. 316L glue-ins will last longer than 316L expansion bolts, but if you’re going through the hassle to place glue-ins because of corrosion concerns, you might as well just pay 50% more for titanium and never worry about replacement again in your lifetime.
What about the removable, textile climbing anchor?
I always appreciate a quick in-line anchor, as Erickson did with two clove hitches. This construction is simple, fast, and uses minimal material. Climbers can rig this anchor to reasonably distribute the force.
Sometimes I prefer clipping my own gear straight into the bolt hangers, merely to minimize how many weak links could be in the chain (literally), but, in this case, I bet the quick links are stronger than those bolts!
The post How Do You Know When a Bolt Is Too Rusty to Trust? appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/skills/belaying/how-to-evaluate-rusty-climbing-anchors/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Anchor-Analysis-3.png?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Anchor-Analysis-3-inline.png?width=730

2026-10-15 05:03:52 GMT

Famed Climbing Film Tour Reel Rock Turns 20
Climbing’s biggest stories are coming to the big screen this fall as Reel Rock 20 celebrates the grit, passion, and progression of the climbing world. The annual climbing film tour returns with four films showcasing athletes pushing the limits of what’s possible, from towering alpine walls to world-class sport routes.
This year’s lineup features Olympic gold medalist Janja Garnbret taking on Bibliographie 5.15c in pursuit of the route’s first female ascent, while alpinist Colin Haley attempts a solo winter ascent of Patagonia’s iconic Cerro Torre. Adaptive climber Ben Mayforth, who has spina bifida, redefines what’s possible in his pursuit of 5.13, and Michaela Kiersch embarks on a global sending spree.
From bold alpine missions to powerful stories of perseverance, Reel Rock 20 promises a celebration of the people, places, and possibilities that make climbing so compelling. Catch it on the big screen this fall and experience the next chapter of climbing cinema. Here’s a look back at every film from every tour: the Reel Rock collection.
To find a screening near you visit here.
View this post on Instagram
Reel Rock 20 Trailer
The post Famed Climbing Film Tour Reel Rock Turns 20 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/famed-climbing-film-tour-reel-rock-turns-20/

2026-10-15 04:35:18 GMT

The Native Lore Behind Iconic North American Climbing Areas
For millennia, Indigenous tribes have lived on the lands where North American climbers gather. The tribes have their own names for these sacred places. Each name holds a unique story that guides their relationship to the land. In Indigenous communities, it is not the people who name places, but the lands themselves who give the people their names.
Today, however, many of the original names for iconic climbing areas have been replaced. European settlers and explorers, who came to North America beginning in the 1600s, rewrote these sites’ histories. Not only did they violently displace the original inhabitants, but they renamed the lands. Take the Virginia-born rancher Samuel Bishop. He only stayed in Payahuunadü for 18 months in the 1860s before lending his name to the Eastern Sierra region. Even the continent’s highest peak, Denali—from the Koyukon Deenaalee, meaning “high one”—was, for nearly a century, named after President William McKinley. And recently, the Trump administration has demanded a return to that colonialist name.
“When you come here to recreate and let the lands bring out the best in you, you should know the history of this land, and that [this] history predates colonialism,” says Jolie Varela, of the Nüümü and Yokut Nations, and the founder of Indigenous Women Hike. Understanding the full history of the places we climb can help us become more respectful stewards, just as it is helpful to understand the type of rock we’re climbing on.
“Educating ourselves as climbers about the lands we climb on allows us to reflect upon local governance systems preceding colonial arrival and dominance,” says Erynne Gilpin, a Saulteaux-Cree Métis climber, Indigenous scholar, and the founder of Indigenous Womxn Climb. “It re-centers local land-based knowledge systems in the ways we think about place, and allows for us to correct relationships to Indigenous communities and the lands they come from.”
Fortunately, Indigenous peoples have oral histories and records to help correct the record. Cultural centers like the Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center in Bishop, California, apps like Native Lands, and organizations like the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission can provide more info about the heritage of the land you climb on. For this article, the names and stories were shared through personal relationships and gathered from tribal and governmental websites.
Clockwise from upper left: Payahuunadü (Bishop) showing the Buttermilk Boulders; Ahwahnee (Yosemite) showing Half Dome; Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) showing Stawamus Chief; a view into Mukuntoweap (Zion); the quartzite ridge of the Shawangunks; Indian Creek; Mato Tipila (Devils Tower) (Photo: Andrew Burr)
Payahuunadü (Bishop)
For thousands of years, the Paiute people, who call themselves Nüümü, have lived in Payahuunadü: “land where water flows.” Payahuunadü sits next to the Pamidu Toiyabe, the West Mountains, which Spanish explorers formally renamed the Sierra Nevadas in the 1700s. The Paiute use the large boulders Ja’a Tubi, which climbers know as the Grandma and Grandpa Peabody boulders, as a place for wedding ceremonies, though none have occurred there in recent times.
“There’s a reason for that,” says Varela. The boulders have been taken over by climbers. “We go to these places as Indigenous people and sometimes don’t even feel welcome because there are so many climbers there, and a lot of the time we don’t look the part. Coming into a space like that can be pretty intimidating even though that is our homeland.”
In the Volcanic Tablelands northwest of Bishop, home to the Happy and Sad boulders, the Paiute created mata. They used these shallow dishes carved into the rock for grinding up plants—such as pine nuts—for food and medicine. The Paiute also carved petroglyphs into the volcanic tuff. They created lines, concentric circles, and ornate scenes at Sky Rock and other sites. One rock depicts the 13 moons of a lunar calendar. Petroglyphs like these provide a connection to Indigenous peoples’ ancestral roots, particularly in areas from which they’ve been violently evicted.
Ahwahnee (Yosemite)
Long before Warren Harding’s ascent of El Capitan (Tu-Tok-A-Nu’-La), an inchworm, climbed Yosemite’s centerpiece 3,000-foot cliff. According to a Miwok legend, the worm scaled the sheer cliff in an attempt to rescue two boys—or a family of bears by some accounts—stuck at the top. The Miwok, who have lived in Yosemite Valley for over 4,000 years, named the granite formation in honor of the worm.
The inhabitants of Yosemite Valley originally called it Ahwahnee. The name means a “gaping, mouth-like place,” according to Scott Beeler, in the 1995 Journal of the American Name Society. The Miwok and Paiute people who lived here called themselves the Ahwahnechee. When Lafayette Burnell, a physician and explorer, renamed the valley in 1851, he christened it after the tribe living there at the time, which he believed to be the Yosemite. However, outside Miwok bands called those who lived in the Valley Yohhe’meti or Yos.s.e‘meti, which the Miwok translated as “those who kill.” By Burnell’s account, he later realized his translator may have confused Yos.s.e‘meti with the Miwok üzümati, meaning “grizzly bear.” At the same time, El Capitan gained its new name as a Spanish translation of what was thought to be the rock’s Miwok name: the chief.
In the 1800s, Gold Rush miners increased pressure on Indigenous lands and resources in the area. The Miwok, who numbered 10,000, were killed and evicted from Yosemite Valley during the Mariposa War. After the war, less than 1,000 Sierra Miwok remained, according to a 1910 census.
Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish)
Siyám Smánit (renamed Stawamus Chief), the mountain overlooking the Squamish Valley in British Columbia, contains some of the Pacific Northwest’s best climbing. The area’s original inhabitants, the Skwxwú7mesh, who continue to live in the area today, recount stories of Xwechtáal, a young warrior. Xwechtáal received an assignment to kill a massive two-headed serpent named Sínulhka. He pursued the serpent up Siyám Smánit, leaving a striking black streak. Climbers here know that streak as the Black Dike, which rises from the waters of the Howe Sound. Ultimately, it took four years for the warrior to kill the snake. Today, climbers following in Xwechtáal’s footsteps can climb the Black Dike, a 5.13b sport route that ascends Siyám Smánit.
A mile from Siyám Smánit sits a smaller, 600-foot formation that at one point was derogatorily named the Squaw. However, in 2009, the Skwxwú7mesh First Nation reinstated its traditional name, Slhanay. From Siyám Smánit, the view of Nch’Kay dominates the horizon approximately 11 miles to the northeast. The 8,786-foot peak was renamed Mount Garibaldi after a man who had never visited the area. This is where the Skwxwú7mesh Nation anchored their canoes to survive a great flood.
Mato Tipila (Devils Tower)
A group of Lakota girls were once out picking flowers. Suddenly, a great bear started chasing them. They fled to a nearby pile of rocks. Taking notice, the Great Spirit raised up the rocks under the girls’ feet. The bear tried to climb the vertical rock, scraping his claws up and down the formation. But he only left scars in the stone.
So goes the Lakota story of Mato Tipila, or Bear’s Lodge, as the Lakota originally called Devils Tower. The five Northern Plains tribes—Lakota, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Arapahoe, and Crow—and Kiowa have lived in the region for 10,000 years. They consider Bear’s Lodge to be one of their most sacred sites. According to the Lakota, wisdom was born at Mato Tipila, which local Indigenous tribes have long visited to pray. The Kiowa say the Great Spirit later immortalized the girls in the stars, creating the constellation commonly known as the Pleiades.
The 867-foot phonolite formation provides the venue for the Sun Dance. Tribes practice this ceremony to celebrate renewal and harmony with the earth. The dancer suffers through fasting and self-inflicted pain, in part to take penance for the suffering of nature. The formation remains a sacred place. Modern Sun Dances have taken place at Mato Tipila since 1983. Many believe that climbers desecrate the formation when they scale it. Since 1995, the National Park Service has asked climbers to refrain from scaling Mato Tipila in June, when local tribes hold many of its ceremonies.
“Although the Tower is a spiritual site year-round for many native people, June is especially important, as it’s the month of the summer solstice and ceremonies surrounding that date,” says Annie Gilliland, acting chief of interpretation at Devils Tower National Monument. “The local tribes, park officials, and climbing organizations who helped plan for this felt that by making the closure voluntary, they were offering people the chance to show respect for native beliefs and cultures.”
Mukuntoweap (Zion National Park)
The lands now known as Zion National Park originally served as the home of the Southern Paiute, before Mormon pioneers displaced them. The Paiute people have their own names for different canyons in the area, notes Dorena Martineau, cultural resources director for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Zion Canyon, cut by Pawdoos’, the Virgin River, was originally called Ai Oogoon or Oo Koon’uv, meaning “quiver.” The name probably comes from the narrowness of the canyon. The Southern Paiute also call it Mukuntoweap, which means “straight canyon.”
Mukuntoweap was the first name chosen for the national monument. A few years prior to it becoming a national park in 1919, Horace Albright, an interim park director, renamed it Zion. “‘Mukuntuweap’ was too difficult to pronounce and really tough to spell,” he wrote in Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years.
Most of the park’s major walls and features similarly took the names of Mormon-inspired terms. One exception? The Temple of Sinawava, which railroad businessman Douglas White named after the Paiute’s coyote god, Soonungwuv. In the northwest corner of the park, Kolob Canyon, home to the striking Namaste Wall, takes its name from the Paiute word for neck: koduv’.
Indian Creek
Now part of the larger monument of Bears Ears, Utah’s Indian Creek and the surrounding areas have long been an important place in Indigenous cultures. “The monument is important to us as Indigenous peoples because it’s where all of our cultural values, our ceremonies, our foods, our knowledge, our science of the world are connected to,” says Alastair Bitsóí, communications director with the Utah Diné Bikéyah. “The knowledge is part of who we are.”
Over the past thousand years, the Hopi, Dine, Ute, Zuni, and Puebloan peoples have all called this land home. The Anasazi and Fremont peoples resided there a millennium before them. The first signs of human presence date back 10,000 years. Today, you can still see structures and petroglyphs in Indian Creek. One notable spot is Newspaper Rock (aka Tse’ Hone: “a rock that tells a story”). Spread across 200 square feet, clustered drawings depict humans, animals, and abstract forms.
Modern climbers were not the first to access the cliffs. Throughout the region, archaeologists have found remnants of yucca plants processed into cordage. These ropes provided Indigenous peoples access to cliff-side nooks to store foods during raids. In 2004, researchers replicating the ropes found they could hold a static load of over 450 pounds.
“Climbers and people who recreate in different ways—I think that is a beautiful way to connect with the land. If [climbers] start with a land acknowledgment, it will help them to connect in a way that they never have or never thought of—that this land is native land,” says Bitsóí. “There is something beyond just the chalk and the walls.”
Shawangunks
Along the ridge of foothills bordering the Catskill Mountains in New York, most climbers know of the famed quartz conglomerate cliffs known as the Shawangunks. This area originally belonged to the northern Lenape and Munsee. But in the 1800s, European colonists displaced them to Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario where many remain today. In the Lenape language, schawangunk translates to “in the smoky air.” Lenape linguist Raymond Whritenour believes the word could have been an original name for a Munsee village. It could also stem from the burning of a Munsee fort in 1663. The Lenape originally named the nearby Catskills the “Hidden Mountains” because of the heavy humidity and weather conditions created by the ridgeline. Unfortunately, due to the eviction of the Lenape,little info about their original connection to the land remains.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2019. We updated it with new information in October 2026.
The post The Native Lore Behind Iconic North American Climbing Areas appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/origin-stories-native-lore-behind-americas-iconic-climbing-areas/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/012_cl_nov19-e1791746201683.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/012_cl_nov19.jpg?width=730

2026-10-15 04:21:44 GMT

Native American John Duran On Free Soloing 5.13 and Using Climbing for Communal Good
Editor’s note (Oct. 12. 2026): This story was first published on January 16, 2022. John Duran passed away on April 19, 2025. We are republishing his reflections posthumously. You can read Duran’s obituary here.
Duran made the first ascent of thousands of boulders up to V10. He free-soloed Fainting Imam (trad 5.13a; later 5.12c/d), Dreamscape (5.12a), and La Espina (5.12a) in Cochiti Mesa, New Mexico. He was also a gifted skier and cyclist, and later became a teacher, moving to Beijing.
In John Duran’s words
I’ve developed a climbing area in Beijing. My wife and I found it, driving up a tiny little dirt road. All of a sudden there was this gargantuan granite wall. In China, unless the local community supports it, you’re not allowed to climb. So I got the backing of the [village]. We were up there last weekend, and there must have been 50 people. Climbing is a real picnic time here, a family time—it’s a total hoot.
I was born in Alamosa, Colorado. My folks were teachers. My family is from Ignacio, from the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. My dad grew up in Telluride. His father was a hard-rock miner. My father is Taos Pueblo Native and Latino. My mom is Southern Ute and Navajo and Latina. She has a legal land allotment in the reservation from her mom.
My dad died 10 years ago .… I’d been teaching in Sedona. I moved up to Ignacio to help my mother, and when I went back there were no jobs. I started Montessori education online, and got a job in Warsaw for a year. I ended up in China to teach, and that’s where I met my wife, Liu Zheng. Her English name is Rita.
I started teaching in 1994 in Shiprock: K, 1, and 2 on the Navajo Reservation. The government was offering grants. No one was doing anything about it. I encouraged the teachers I worked with, and we got that grant, and then we had so many materials and programs, and got other schools to apply. I learned to really take people and help them work together as a team. I was the salesman. I had to convince [other teachers] they were capable. They didn’t have the confidence. In climbing, you have to have the confidence to do it. Climbing goes into your community and life, and you can use it—not just for yourself.
My grandparents were educated, my mom’s mother was a nurse, the first southern Ute Indian to become a nurse and have a higher education degree at that level. My father was a teacher, the first Navajo graduate out of University of New Mexico to get a university degree and a teaching certificate. My parents were staunch about the value of education. My father’s parents were hard-rock miners living day by day. My dad met my mom in high school. She pushed him to become who he was: a coach, teacher, and guidance counselor. They got their master’s degrees.
My parents taught me about education. You have to do this. Or you’ll be nothing. Or you’ll suffer … Meaning poverty and lack of opportunity.
My dad was athletic. We were always out skiing, hiking, camping, and fishing. I grew up doing football, wrestling, and track, and was a freak for weightlifting. I ran track and was a pole vaulter.
We had family discussions about politics and our upbringing. OK, you’re this person, you’re not the dominant culture, so you have to make your way as a minority to achieve what you want … Now I’m in China. I’m still the minority, but [laughs] I kind of fit in.
I learned to accept who I was … to use it and see the good points. I learned to be humble enough to say, OK, these are my talents; these are my weaknesses. We all struggle. I’ve had three DUIs; I’ve been married three times. You have these different identity crises. You’ve gotta accept yourself when you’re down, and keep going. I think [acceptance] came from my upbringing.
At Cochiti Mesa, we’d heard rumors of a Todd Skinner 5.13, the Fainting Imam [shown]. Todd was the only one who had done it. I led it and was solid, and thought, Oh, this is not so high; I could actually solo this. I toproped it a couple times and then got on it. I fell off halfway up and luckily I hit sod and dirt—15 feet, soft landing.
I cleaned my shoes and got back up and did it.
I was just in the place mentally to be able to get it done.
I had a real purist’s attitude. That mentality of if you’re going to be out here soloing, you have to be on your business. I learned to block out the fear: OK, you have to perform and get in that place, be in the zone, not worried, confident. You know where the crux is. You kind of break it down mentally. I was Catholic, and I would pray an hour with a rosary before my hardest climbs. I was calm. I needed to calm myself. The religious [aspect] was my foundation. Later, I transferred those skills from prayer into Buddhism. I could be so singularly focused: I have this goal. I need to get a job. I want to do this climb. I need to be a better person.
When I look back at my hardest climbs, there was a point of deep meditation for an hour or so before the climb. [Now] my daily meditation only takes me 10 minutes. Same thing as normal Catholic prayers or any other religion. We are all spiritual beings on a deep level. It’s a profound feeling with the environment. We’re part of it.
The post Native American John Duran On Free Soloing 5.13 and Using Climbing for Communal Good appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/native-american-john-duran-on-free-soloing-5-13-and-using-climbing-for-communal-good/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/John_Duran-soloing.jpg?width=1200

2026-10-15 03:44:17 GMT

Yang Xiaohua Makes Mountain Guiding History
Yang Xiaohua was the first Chinese woman accepted into the rigorous International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) certification program. Her journey to becoming a mountain guide has been shaped by perseverance and a commitment to learning.
“I have always been able to easily forget pain,” Xiaohua says. When she immerses herself in something she loves, she explains, the hardships begin to fade. But the mountains demand more than endurance. “When you’re in the mountains, you have to be absolutely honest. You can’t pretend to be strong.”
Studying in French, she faced an unfamiliar language and demanding subjects, from geology and glaciology to ecology and mountain safety. A lesson that might take a local student an hour could take her five or six. She spent long hours studying, training, falling, and getting back up, determined to improve.
Far from home, Xiaohua sometimes struggled with homesickness, unable to call her family because of the time difference. She admits that she tends to share only the beautiful moments with them, keeping the more difficult experiences to herself. Even when she suffered a serious injury and underwent surgery, she handled it alone, signing the paperwork without telling her parents.
Yang Xiaohua
Yet she does not see hardship as a reason to abandon her dreams. “If you love what you have chosen,” she says, “then of course you’ll endure the hardship and fatigue, and find these things easier to accept.”
For years, she worried about whether she could meet the demands of the program. Then a teacher offered her a simple lesson that stayed with her: “There are no problems, only solutions.” She learned to approach each obstacle as something to work through rather than something to fear.
Over time, her understanding of what it means to be a woman in the mountains also changed. At first, she wanted more people to recognize women climbers. After seeing women in Chamonix confidently take part in demanding, high-risk mountain sports, she began to question whether gender itself should define anyone’s limits.
Today, Xiaohua focuses on what lies immediately ahead, rather than becoming overwhelmed by the distant finish line, she finds satisfaction in being fully present in each moment. For her, the mountains are a place to keep learning and to deepen her connection with the natural world. “Wherever I am, every sunrise and sunset I witness moves me deeply,” she said.
Yang Xiaohua
“Some of my climbing friends think I’m lucky. It seems that every time I am focusing on one stage, the next one is already waiting for me. But to me, I’ve never really stepped away. I’ve stayed on my path. I’m not forcing anything. Yet with everything I do, I’m moving toward gaining more knowledge and deeper connection. And in the end, it unfolds naturally.
Watch a new short film by Arc’teryx on Xiaohua below.
View this post on Instagram
Yang Xiaohua
The post Yang Xiaohua Makes Mountain Guiding History appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/yang-xiaohua-makes-mountain-guiding-history/
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-14-7.14.36-AM.jpg
https://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Yang-Xiaohua-climb.jpg

2026-10-15 03:20:33 GMT

New Ice Route Climbed in Canadian Rockies
The ice climbing season has begun, sort of, in the Canadian Rockies, as some ice has started to form on famous routes and a new line was climbed on Vulture Peak near Bow Hut.
Sebastian Taborszky reported that he and Juan Alberto Henriquez have made the first ascent of The Early Worm Gets the Bird, a 75-metre two-pitch WI4 (first post below). He noted the first anchor was on “trad gear to keep the belayer away from the climbing line, rest on screws.” Taborszky, who runs Arise Mountain Guiding, noted “in general, the high elevation ice has deteriorated, and new smears have formed at lower elevations.”
Taborszky and Henriquez also made the first ascent of Tierra Mapuche, a 28-metre M8 trad route in Storm Creek, about 50 metres right of Rectal Squirrels (second post below). It takes an overhanging crack and requires a double rack to #3 (Totems and Camalots). As Taborszky noted about the conditions, “Sadly there is no ice anywhere in Storm or Stanley, much too warm.”
Daytime highs remain well above freezing throughout the valleys of the Rockies for the foreseeable future. Last year, several ice routes were fat enough to climb by the third week in October, including Difficile Monster WI3 in Storm Creek – read about it here. If you’re looking for a Rockies ice guide, be sure to reach out to Taborszky here.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
The post New Ice Route Climbed in Canadian Rockies appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/new-ice-route-climbed-in-canadian-rockies/

2026-10-15 02:28:26 GMT

Less Than 24 Hours After Becoming First to Repeat 5.15d, Jakob Schubert Tells Us What It Took
In the near-decade since Adam Ondra established Silence (9c/5.15d) in 2017, the world’s hardest sport grade has remained only theoretical. Since then, four more climbers have proposed routes at the grade, but none had been repeated. That just changed.
On the afternoon of October 10, Austrian climber Jakob Schubert made the second ascent of DNA (9c/5.15d), a 55-meter route in France’s Verdon Gorge. French climber Seb Bouin made the first ascent of DNA in 2022. “I’m really happy,” Schubert told me over the phone the next day. “I would never trade this story for anything.”
With DNA, the 35-year-old Schubert has become both the first climber in history to repeat a proposed 5.15d route, as well as the first to climb two. His line B.I.G., in Flatanger, Norway, was the world’s third 5.15d proposal in 2023. Since Schubert has aligned with Bouin on his proposed grade, this also makes DNA the world’s first confirmed 5.15d route.
Is DNA the world’s hardest route?
Jakob Schubert had to adjust some of the beta for DNA from first ascensionist Seb Bouin since he is shorter than the French climber. (Photo: Michael Piccolruaz)
Schubert has tried every 5.15d except the newest line at the grade, Jorge Díaz-Rullo’s Café Colombia. He told me that DNA feels harder than his route B.I.G., and could be the hardest route at the grade. Partly, however, this is because of how height and reach-dependent DNA is.
“It’s a very morphological route,” explained Schubert, who stands 5’9”. “The shorter you are, the harder the route gets. At some point, it would probably be impossible. I’m only borderline tall enough.” Both DNA and B.I.G. rely on power endurance, but Schubert thought that the climbing on DNA felt more technical. “I’ve never done these crazy kneebars before,” he explained. “You really have to learn them on DNA, otherwise, certain moves are just impossible.”
Schubert said DNA felt similar to B.I.G., and he felt it’s certainly a 5.15d climb, but the projecting process was more daunting, due to the complex beta. “There’s so many more small, hard sections you need to learn,” he explained.
So although the route took Schubert fewer overall redpoint attempts than B.I.G., he invested far more time in preparation. In the end though, he said difficulty at the sport’s highest grade is largely subjective. At least at this early stage in the grade’s evolution, it’s almost impossible to say that any one proposed 5.15d line is harder than the other. All the 5.15ds are hard, they’re just hard in different ways.
“I think every [5.15d] climber would name a different route as the hardest for them,” Schubert observed. “Adam would maybe say B.I.G. I would feel like, ‘Whoa, Adam, you’re crazy. B.I.G. is the easiest for me.’ Adam would say for him, Silence is the easiest, for sure. Seb [Bouin] would say DNA is the easiest.”
“You get to a point where you feel perfect on the wall”
As Schubert made the first 5.15d repeat in history, some 180,000 people were watching. He livestreamed his DNA ascent on YouTube, just as he did with B.I.G. back in 2023. In fact, you can find all of his redpoint attempts on the route over the past several days on YouTube.
But Schubert said that although livestreaming offers an intimate look at what a 5.15d ascent looks like, he noted that by the time he’s doing redpoints, he’s already put in the hardest work.
“Some people read ‘ninth live attempt’ on YouTube, and think this is basically my ninth try on the route, which is obviously far from the truth,” Schubert said. Since first trying DNA in 2024, he has put in at least 30 days on the route spread across multiple trips. But underlying these 30 sessions is also a deep bedrock of training and planning.
“You don’t see all the work that I’ve put in before I even did any redpoint tries, all the mental preparation I’m doing every day between tries, even on rest days,” he said. “I’m thinking over and over about the route, climbing it in my head, thinking about very small details that I could change … It’s a lot of work to get to this point.”
How Schubert approached projecting DNA
Schubert first started trying DNA (5.15d) in 2024. (Photo: Michael Piccolruaz)
The DNA projecting experience, he said, was also made far easier by Bouin’s transparency and the footage of his first ascent. “We had the video from Seb, and he did a crazy job checking out the perfect beta for the route,” Schubert said. “I had to change a few [pieces of beta] because I’m way shorter than him, but I could copy a lot of beta, which saved a lot of time.”
Schubert, who has won more IFSC gold medals than any male climber in history, and podiumed at both Olympic Games, is likely the world’s most accomplished male competition climber. He said that the pursuit of perfection is precisely what makes projecting a route like DNA, compared to competition climbing, so meaningful to him.
“I could never climb this perfectly on a competition route, because it’s an onsight attempt,” he said. “That’s the cool thing about projecting. You can get to a point where you feel perfect on the wall, and that’s so amazing to achieve.”
Not just an athlete, but an entertainer
In addition to being first to repeat a 5.15d outdoors, Schubert is also the most winning male competition climber. (Photo: Moritz Klee)
The top comment on Schubert’s YouTube send video came from Adam Ondra, who congratulated him on his success, but also on his ability to handle the pressure of the livestreamed attempts. But Schubert told me that although livestreaming added some pressure, overall it actually made the send more enjoyable. He also clarified that he was the one who wanted to livestream his attempts—not sponsors or anyone else.
“It filled me with so much happiness, reading all the comments of people enjoying being part of the process,” he said. “It made [the climb] even more of a special experience.”
Schubert’s YouTube followers certainly seemed to agree. “I stopped everything to see the attempt, and I´m so grateful [for] the emotions you made all of us feel!” wrote one commenter. “Thanks for reminding me what a human being is capable of,” said another.
“I VERY rarely shout at the screen when I’m watching sports … but I did on this occasion when you stuck the crux move,” typed a third.
The two diametrically opposed trends in sharing send news
Uncut footage and livestreamed ascents are becoming more commonplace in hard sport climbing and bouldering. Scottish climber Will Bosi, for example, was also livestreaming his attempts on Silence this week. (Schubert is the only climber so far to livestream a successful 5.15d ascent.)
However, there is an equally well-established trend of the world’s best climbers intentionally working hard projects away from the spotlight. Some even keep their sends close to their chest for months afterward. Sean Bailey didn’t publicize his ascent of Duality of Man, another proposed 5.15d, until nearly a year after he clipped the chains. Shawn Raboutou took months to announce his V17 proposals Megatron and Alphane.
But Schubert said that as a professional climber, he sees himself as not just an athlete, but an entertainer. He wants to reduce the barriers between himself and his fans, climbing as transparently as possible.
“It filled me with so much joy,” he said of the response to his DNA livestream. “It felt like I got a lot of people even more psyched on climbing, inspired people, and that makes me really happy [because] I feel that’s also part of my job as a pro climber. We are, after all, like singers or actors or artists. We are trying to inspire people and get them psyched, and make their life better.”
No more 5.15ds from Schubert?
October 10 was Schubert’s ninth livestreamed redpoint attempt of DNA. (Photo: Michael Piccolruaz)
I was somewhat reluctant to ask the guy who just climbed what is perhaps the world’s hardest route, “What’s next?” but when I did, Schubert admitted that he certainly has ideas. He tentatively plans to travel with Ondra to project Exodia, the world’s hardest proposed boulder problem (V18), first sent by Elias Iagnemma in Italy last November. He also hopes to work the Stefano Ghisolfi route Excalibur (5.15c).
Schubert did seem reluctant, however, to set his sights on another 5.15d, even in the distant future. “I don’t know how many more times I’m going to try [5.15d],” he said. “There’s a lot of effort and time you have to put in. It’s also a tough mental process.”
After all, only a few other routes proposed at the 5.15d benchmark exist in the world. Projecting them would entail multiple trips, each likely weeks long, which Schubert admitted is a time commitment he’s not sure he wants to make again. He’s also gunning for a third showing at the Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028. “That’s something I obviously have to work hard for, which means a little bit less time for huge projects like this,” he said.
Then he paused. I was reminded that I was talking to him less than 24 hours after he clipped DNA’s chains. “Like I said, I have a feeling like maybe DNA is actually the hardest [5.15d] for me and the process could get a bit easier,” he said. “So we’ll see.”
The post Less Than 24 Hours After Becoming First to Repeat 5.15d, Jakob Schubert Tells Us What It Took appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/dna-repeat/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jakob-DNA-send-6.jpg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jakob-DNA-send-9.jpg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Jakob-DNA-send-11-1024x644.jpg?width=730

2026-10-15 02:15:35 GMT

Why I Quit Climbing
I. A dangerous woman
I was 27 when I broke my back.
There are certain moments in your life that divide everything into “before” and “after.” That was one of mine.
I remember the impact. It was October 1, 2020, and I was attempting an all-gear ascent of Crank It (5.13+ R/X), a slippery, 40-foot granite testpiece in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. I had gotten past the crux and was trying to keep it together for the pumpy finish. Next thing I knew, I was hitting the ground from 30 feet up, directly onto my butt. I remember knowing immediately that something was wrong. Not just physically, and believe me, I wish that pain upon no one—but perhaps something more. Maybe this was the sign that something wasn’t right with my identity as a whole. It’s tough to say. I remember the strange stillness afterward—the kind that comes when the adrenaline wears off and you are left alone with the reality of what just happened. I woke up in the middle of the night in so much pain and had to remember it was all real.
I had spent most of my life learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I climbed things that scared me. I climbed things that scared other people. I sought out the routes that seemed too dangerous, too difficult, too ridiculous to be worth it.
And then one day, my body reminded me that there was a price for that.
But I survived the 27 Club. Woohoo.
Eventually, I went back to the route. Going back was more than returning to climbing. It gave me a reason to keep moving. After breaking my back, climbing became a kind of proof that I hadn’t lost myself. That I was still me. That my body could heal. That fear hadn’t won. You can see that in my film.
“I clipped two, bitches!” I screamed at the camera after finally clipping the chains on May 16, 2022. The route description in the guidebook was correct: it really ain’t over until you clip the chains. And by doing so, it meant I was done with my (literal) backbreaking, two-year project. One where I had to learn how to keep direct eye contact with my biggest fears and still keep climbing. It was more than a send to me: it was freedom.
My old friend Nina Williams had been one of the first people to visit me after breaking my back. She had brought a big bag of assorted comfort gifts while I lay there in a back brace. One of them that stood out was a container of vitamin gummies. She put a sticky note over the label that said, “Very glad you are…” I pulled back the note to uncover the brand of gummies: “Alive!”
After I sent, I remember scream-singing “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande on the drive home. I remember the celebratory drinks (barely) and flood of messages congratulating me. One was from Nina; it hit hard remembering how far I had come.
The author climbing ‘Crank It’ (5.13+ R/X) in Boulder Canyon, Colorado (Photo: Cedar Wright)
II. “What’s next?”
Now, with Crank It finally put to rest, I could get back to hunting down the next big project. At the time, I thought I was finding my way back to the thing I loved. Looking back, I think I was finding my way back to the person I knew how to be. Because eventually I had to admit something to myself that was uncomfortable in an entirely different way: I didn’t just love climbing. I loved the danger.
I loved the parts that made people’s eyes get wide. I loved doing the things that seemed impossible or irresponsible or just plain crazy to everyone watching from the ground. I loved approaching the unapproachable. I loved feeling so in the moment because anything less than that would mean consequences. It was the only time I’ve felt truly present.
I had made a name for myself climbing things that no one else wanted to climb. And there was something intoxicating about being the girl who would. And I’m not going to lie: the applause was part of it. The recognition was part of it. Being told that you were brave, that you were fearless, that you had done something extraordinary—it gets into your bloodstream.
When your identity is built around doing what other people won’t, it becomes very difficult to imagine who you are when you stop. So what do you do with the girl who loves scaring herself? At some point, you tell her that she probably won’t be happy climbing unless it’s that way.
And you watch her choose something else.
I had reached a point in my early thirties where the life I had built around climbing no longer felt like the life I wanted forever. My parents wanted something different for me. A family. Stability. A life that wasn’t constantly balanced against the possibility of injury or death.
And, quietly, I wanted those things too. But to be honest, I hadn’t felt attracted to anyone for a couple years. A family felt like a far-away dream.
In June 2022, the summer after I sent Crank It, I started rehearsing a route called Dangerous Acquaintances (5.12a X) in Eldorado Canyon. I went out to it all the time, sending it on toprope seamlessly. Old Molly would’ve been chomping at the bit to line up a real lead attempt. But that’s the thing: It couldn’t just be an “attempt.” In the past that hadn’t always stopped me. But as I lowered down in the dark after sending it on toprope with a weight vest on, I wasn’t already thinking of who could belay and who might want to film and what the weather might be like in the next week.
I guess I didn’t realize it at the time. But this happened with multiple prospective projects. I couldn’t find “the one” again.
Then, coincidentally, I met somebody. At first, it was slow. Then, fast forward six months later, I was getting my mom’s engagement ring resized. I have always been an all-or-nothing person. When I believe in something, I don’t know how to give it half of myself. So I gave that relationship everything.
I thought I had found the next chapter. I thought maybe this was what came after climbing. Maybe this was the life I had been working toward all along. A person to come home to. A future to build. Something bigger than myself. I thought this was my happily ever after.
The author in Denver (Photo: Courtesy of Molly Mitchell)
One night in Vegas, my friend Bill Ramsey sat me down over drinks and warned me of the potential that I was headed to not being a climber anymore. He could tell my focus was elsewhere. He even mentioned that we probably wouldn’t be as close if I stop climbing. We both are obsessive people, and climbing was what our friendship had been based on. He just wanted me to be careful in investing so much in this new relationship, and to not give up on something that was part of me. I thought he was being ridiculous and didn’t understand that my life was changing for the best.
Meanwhile I was still doing climbing events and promoting my film. One of these events towards the end of 2024 was the American Alpine Club’s Bishop Craggin’ Classic. There was an afterparty rave at a bar in Bishop. I walked in rocking a bright blue puffy jacket and shiny silver pants. As the music blared, I made my way through the crowd, then saw a familiar face in the distance. I ran and yelled, “Nina!”
She turned toward me and we hugged. I hadn’t seen her in years. Looking at my old friend, I felt a strange combination of nostalgia mixed with guilt for losing touch with the person I used to be. And then I swallowed those tears back in pride for continuing down the path I was going, farther and farther away from her and climbing. My relationship and new proposed life had taken hold of my focus. I felt like I needed to focus all my energy on making sure it didn’t fail. There was no room for climbing. Even if what I thought was the right path was gradually tearing me apart.
The author’s film screens to a packed crowd in Munich, Germany (Photo: Courtesy of Molly Mitchell)
IV. The spiral
In place of climbing came late nights, parties, and a culture I hadn’t really been part of since college. And, honestly, I loved it.
There were small things cracking that I didn’t think much of at the time. I liked to sleep in. Maybe my mind needed it. Even when we had nowhere to be, my boyfriend would get frustrated when I stayed in bed past 10. I kept sleeping in anyway. It seems insignificant now, but I remember the arguments about it—the guilty feeling that something as harmless as how I spent a Saturday morning could become a problem.
I remember girls filming us dancing at concerts because we were the “cutest couple ever.” I was in my happily-ever-after era. I was having fun. I was falling in love. I thought I had finally found the person I was going to experience all of it with.
At Thanksgiving in 2024, my boyfriend shook my dad’s hand and charmed the hell out of my parents. He told my friends he wanted to marry me. He introduced me to his mom and later told me she thought I was “the one.”
He loved non-climber Molly. That mattered to me more than I realized.
For so long, climbing had been the easiest way for people to understand me. My achievements came first. My identity as a climber came first. And here was someone who, I thought, was choosing me without any of that. Just Molly.
Or at least, that’s what I thought. By the time I started seeing what was really happening, climbing was the last thing on my mind.
Infidelity is such an obvious reason to leave someone. A clean line in the sand. A thing you can point to and say: this is where it ends.
Except I didn’t. At first, I ignored it.
I think part of me believed that walking away would be too easy. This was my person. I had already imagined the future. I wanted to fight for my love, not admit that I had been wrong about it.
So I pretended to believe the lies. I swallowed the things that didn’t make sense. I pushed down the questions. I told everyone I was fine. Women warned me about him. I blocked them.
We were long-distance, and distance made it easy to explain away the things I didn’t want to see. A missed call. A strange story. Another red flag I could fold neatly into the growing pile of things I told myself didn’t matter.
In March 2025, I moved to Denver to live with him. Shortly after, I got a text I couldn’t ignore. A woman reached out and told me she thought she had been dating him for the previous six months. While he was shaking my dad’s hand in Florida, she told me she had been watching his dog. She had no idea at the time he was visiting my family.
I broke down at dinner with him and his cousin. I had just moved across the country to build a life with him. And even then, as devastated as I was, some part of me still thought I had to try to make it work.
But something had changed in me. I started searching. Not because I wanted to find something, but because I needed to know whether I was crazy for wanting to leave. I searched for clues. Then I found them. Photobooth pictures of him kissing other girls. Underwear in the laundry hamper. Things I could no longer explain away.
And still, I stayed.
It became a vicious cycle: find something, break down, promise myself I was done, then find a reason to stay. My hair became part of that cycle, too.
I have had trichotillomania since I was 12, and stress makes it worse. During this period, I started pulling more and more. One night, in front of our friends, he looked at me and said, “I think you’d be such a bad mother because you pull out your own hair.” I called my parents crying.
At the same time, my film was traveling around the world with the Banff Mountain Film Festival. It was an honest film about my mental health, something I had spent years learning to speak about openly.
The author speaks onstage in Munich, Germany for the European premiere of the 2025 BAMFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour (Photo: Courtesy of Molly Mitchell)
At the European premiere, the announcer asked me onstage, “What’s next for you?” I told her I wanted to settle down and have a family. The crowd cheered. I remember running offstage and straight into my boyfriend’s arms as everyone celebrated the idea of the life I was supposedly moving toward. I still miss that feeling, like everything was falling into place.
Maybe I wasn’t risking my life on the rocks anymore. But I was still risking it. And I definitely wasn’t climbing.
Then, after another fight over something I had found, he said, “I just don’t think I can be with someone who has a mental disorder.”
After everything I had been through—everything I had put into my film, everything I had publicly opened myself up about—this broke something in me.
In April 2025, I had accepted an award from a nonprofit for my work helping break the stigma around mental health. He had been there beside me, my date, watching me be recognized for turning something I had once been ashamed of into something I could speak about openly.
He had seen me at my most vulnerable. And now he was telling me that vulnerability made me unworthy of being loved.
I had spent years in climbing learning how to endure pain, fear, and exhaustion. I knew how to look at something terrifying and convince myself to move toward it. But I didn’t know how to recognize what was happening to me when the danger wasn’t on a wall.
In July 2025, I opened a box from my storage unit and found a mismatched pair of climbing shoes. The left one was from Crank It. The right one was from China Doll. Two of my most proud achievements.
I had saved them without knowing why. I hadn’t climbed in a year. I remember looking at those shoes and feeling something I couldn’t quite name. Shame, mostly. They belonged to a version of me that felt impossibly far away. I threw them into a box of stuff I didn’t know where to put, and moved on.
V. Rock bottom
“It’s hard to see the label when you’re inside the jar,” my friend said to me while I was on the phone crying to her again. She said it in a way that made me understand how deep I was in all of it. Because the main question on everyone’s minds was, “Why don’t you just leave?” But climbing out of the jar still felt impossible.
There are parts of this story that are harder to admit than others—not because they hurt the most, but because they force me to confront who I was when I was barely surviving. Over the course of six months or so, I lied to my parents, slept through entire days, and almost missed my grandmother’s funeral because I couldn’t get myself out of bed to make my flight. I stayed up all night pulling out my hair, one strand at a time, until I could barely recognize myself in the mirror. I wore a wig to hide the bald spots. I stopped eating. I partied more than I should have. I stopped caring whether I ate that day or drank too much; I had no sense of purpose left. I was looking for anything that could quiet the feeling that my life was coming apart. I was in survival mode, and I was barely holding myself together.
That September, I sold and gave away all my climbing gear. Crash pads, ropes, quickdraws, cams, all of it. I couldn’t even look at it anymore without a feeling of shame. I still wonder if my friends who I gave my ropes to knew how bad I was spiraling at the time. Or if they were just excited to get nearly brand new gear.
But I kept the Crank It shoe and China Doll shoe, as well as the few gear pieces I ripped when I broke my back. Tucked them away in a small green drawstring bag and saved them for a time when I could maybe look at them with compassion for myself and my journey.
The author’s shoes from ‘China Doll’ and ‘Crank It’ (Photo: Courtesy of Molly Mitchell)
The final straw wasn’t a big fight. It was much quieter than that. It was a chilly September night and we had just gotten back from dinner. I realized that what was happening between us was no longer something I could fix by trying harder. I had become so consumed with proving that I was worth staying for that I had stopped asking whether this was a life I wanted to stay in. I was exhausted. I didn’t stop caring immediately either, but this was the moment I said goodbye–and actually meant it. And I left the state of Colorado altogether.
But leaving him didn’t magically fix my problems. In an attempt to regain my independence, I moved on my own to an area of Tampa, Florida that I thought would give me a fresh start. Instead, partying—which had been my lov
https://www.climbing.com/community/molly-mitchell-why-i-quit-climbing/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/0352292B-529C-440F-8FCB-4E2C4657D73B.jpeg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Molly-Crankit-23-scaled.jpeg?width=730
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0782.jpeg?width=730

2026-10-15 02:00:41 GMT

Why a Kazakh Dentist Is Bringing Dental Care to Everest’s Mountain Workers This Spring
This spring, a Kazakh dentist plans to establish the first-ever dental clinic at Everest Basecamp (5,364 meters/17,598 feet). While medical clinics are relatively commonplace in bustling basecamp during climbing season, dental clinics at high altitude are a novel concept. Spearheading this idea is a 29-year-old dentist and mountaineering enthusiast: Dr. Aijan Jumabayeva.
While Jumabayeva has dabbled in trekking—for example, hiking up Kazakhstan’s Big Almaty Peak (3,680m/12,073ft.)—most of Jumabayeva’s alpine enthusiasm comes from mountain lore. Her favorite book? The Climb (1997) by the late Kazakh legend Anatoli Boukreev. “Our expedition is dedicated to him,” Jumabayeva told Climbing.
Aijan Jumabayeva descending from Oktyabrenok Peak (3,650m), Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Aijan Jumabayeva)
But the more documentaries about high-altitude alpinism Jumabayeva watched, the more she wondered why most stories sidelined “the people behind the beautiful summit picture and the happy faces”—namely, the Sherpa and other high-altitude mountain workers that make every Everest summit possible.
“One day, I started thinking, ‘How can I give back to this community?’” said Jumabayeva, who is currently licensed as a dentist in Kazakhstan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
At first, she considered volunteering her dental services in Nepali villages, but ultimately decided that wouldn’t be enough. Rather than limit her reach by going village to village, she concluded that if she stationed her volunteer efforts at Everest Basecamp, she could help the 900-some high-altitude workers that show up there for about six weeks every spring.
“Dentistry is one of the most expensive fields in medicine, and climbing is one of the most expensive sports. So we’re bringing them together,” Jumabayeva said.
What specific dental issues do alpinists face?
Before you dismiss this dentist as the orchestrator of a publicity stunt, you should know something about teeth at high altitudes. On the highest mountains, a condition known as barodontalgia can wreak havoc on climbers’ teeth. A 2018 study even dubbed barodontalgia a “more common” problem for anyone partaking in alpine sports than dental traumas caused by hazards (e.g., rockfall).
Also known as “tooth squeeze,” barodontalgia is caused by dramatic increases or decreases in altitude. Changes in air pressure make existing cavities, abscesses, and cracks extremely uncomfortable. In 2019, for example, the late Nims Purja posted about severe toothache while on Shishapangma, calling his wisdom tooth “so painful.” The solution is to treat the underlying cause of the problem, not simply to prescribe pain medication. Without access to dental care, a bad case of barodontalgia could force a climber to abandon their summit plans.
From Everest Basecamp, the nearest dental clinic can only be reached through an approximately 21-mile trek across rugged terrain to Namche Bazaar. In other words, unless you have the means to order a helicopter evacuation, it’s far away enough to mean the loss of an elusive weather window for climbers, or a week or more without work for sherpas.
This is a problem if you’re a climber on a time crunch, hoping to summit, or a high-altitude worker whose livelihood depends on staying on the mountain during the full climbing season. “A severe toothache can cost someone their entire expedition,” Jumabayeva says.
Dental issues on his own past expeditions may have been in part what motivated Italian mountaineer Simone Moro to help Jumabayeva in finding a partnership with a local outfitter. According to Jumabayeva, Moro met with her shortly after his time on Manaslu this fall. He introduced her to his contacts with Seven Summit Treks, which has since signed on as the Everest Dental Clinic’s partner in helicopter transport, infrastructure, permitting, and other logistics.
Aijan Jumabayeva with Simone Moro (center) and her mother (right), who is serving as the operations director of Everest Dental Expedition. (Photo: Courtesy Aijan Jumabayeva)
“It is our great honor to support humanitarian aid like this,” Seven Summit Treks director Chhang Dawa Sherpa told The Himalayan Times on September 29. He called dental hygiene “one of the least prioritized things” for high-altitude workers.
In a reel Dr. Jumabayeva shared on her Instagram on September 29, Moro shared why he decided to become involved with the Everest Dental Expedition. He cited the fact that the project was dedicated to Anatoli Boukreev, his former climbing partner. On Christmas Day in 1997, Moro, Boukreev, and Russian cinematographer Dimitri Sobolev were attempting a new route on Annapurna in Nepal when an avalanche struck, killing both Boukreev and Sobolev.
“[Boukreev] was a Kazakhstan hero,” Moro said, adding that he considered the Everest Dental Clinic unique, unprecedented, and “the most authentic way to pay back the local community for the long and silent work that they did for all the mountaineers of the planet.”
This self-styled humanitarian’s mission? Healthy Sherpa teeth.
Aijan Jumabayeva with Chhang Dawa Sherpa, co-founder and Director of Seven Summit Treks. Chhang Dawa Sherpa is a Nepali mountaineer and expedition leader, as well sa one of the youngest climbers in history to have climbed all 14 8,000-meter peaks. This photo was taken after the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between Seven Summit Treks and Everest Dental Expedition. (Photo: Courtesy Aijan Jumabayeva)
High-altitude dental emergencies aside, Jumabayeva’s overarching goal is to provide Sherpas with high-quality dental care. “We are doing this for high-altitude workers,” Jumabayeva told Climbing, emphasizing that this is a humanitarian project.
Jumabayeva insists that the most efficient way to reach as many high-altitude workers as possible is to station a clinic at Everest Base Camp. She is aiming to meet the highest concentration of workers where they are, versus traveling across a number of villages where these workers live outside of climbing season. That said, she plans to do just that this summer after her inaugural Everest season, visiting a couple villages as well as one monastery to provide dental care not only to Sherpas, but to their “mothers, fathers, wives, sisters, and children.”
While she won’t turn away a climber looking for dental care at her basecamp clinic, the workers remain her priority. This spring, her goal is to serve 1,000 patients, mostly workers. “The clinic is first of all for Sherpas, guides, porters, and high-altitude workers,” she said, but added that it would be “unethical” to refuse service to a guided climber who needs care.
As far as the specific services the Everest Dental Clinic will provide, Jumabayeva plans to focus on dental emergencies, including addressing barodontalgia, filling cavities, and performing root canals. More complex or cosmetic procedures like implants, as well as routine cleanings, will not be on the menu. The patient cost? Totally free, no matter the client or procedure.
The logistics of a high-altitude dental practice
A group photo during a meeting between Everest Dental Expedition and the Himalayan Rescue Association. (Photo: Courtesy Aijan Jumabayeva)
For two years, Jumabayeva, who operates dental practices in three countries, has been saving up to fund her high-altitude dental dream. She has also put her dental practice in her homeland of Kazakhstan up for sale, as well as the practice she established in Istanbul, Turkey, where she completed her dental studies. Going forward, she plans to split her time between Dubai, where her last remaining dental practice is based, and Kathmandu, where she intends to stage her Everest Basecamp and village clinics annually.
As far as this coming spring, Jumabayeva will arrive at Everest Basecamp seven to 10 days prior to commercial climbers so she can serve the workers that arrive prior to clients. While Jumabayeva will be stationed at Everest for the entirety of the spring climbing season, she will staff the clinic with a team of 15 dentists and dental assistants. Her project will pay for each volunteer dentist’s stay in Kathmandu, their trekking fee, and their living costs during their time at basecamp. The teams will rotate out every two to three weeks.
“Dentistry is a super physically demanding job itself—even more demanding at 5,365 meters,” Jumabayeva explains in answer to why she’ll rotate through teams of volunteers. Jumabayeva’s family will also join her at Everest Basecamp, including her parents, her younger brother (a dental technician), and one of her two younger sisters (a dental assistant).
So far, the position of volunteer dentist at Everest Basecamp has proven to be awfully coveted, with Jumabayeva reporting 700 emails of interest from dentists from New Zealand to Europe. “I was predicting people would be interested, but the amount of responses is really overwhelming,” Jumabayeva says. “The whole dental society is uniting for this project.”
Between the costs of bringing dentists to basecamp and equipment expenses, Jumabayeva expects to spend at least $500,000 on the expedition. She plans to fill the tent Seven Summit Treks provides with three dental units, plus one back-up, each of which cost $30,000. Jumabayeva is still seeking more sponsors and partners to help cover the remaining costs.
Possible unintended consequences of an Everest dental clinic
Maybe it’s the slick Instagram content. Or the AI-generated imagery of dentists prodding Sherpa teeth in a tent with Himalayan scenery beyond. Perhaps it’s the sidequest pursuit of three Guinness World Records. Or it could be Jumabayeva herself, a young woman unaffiliated with any established nonprofit, whose own Instagram grid includes a bizarre blend of glamorous selfies and graphic close-ups of the teeth of her clients.
Whatever the reason for the skepticism, in various Instagram comments, some have suggested that the Everest Dental Clinic might harbor ulterior motives of personal gain and grandeur.
Aijan Jumabayeva poses on Oktyabrenok Peak, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Courtesy Aijan Jumabayeva)
“Love the idea, not as keen on seeing this beautiful ai blonde girl fixing this old Sherpa’s tooth,” one climber commented. Jumabayeva snapped back: “I’m the ‘blonde girl’ aKa [sic] doctor leading this world-first expedition.”
“Can I open up a specialty coffee shop at base camp?” another alpinist joked.
That last comment implies a particular superfluity to opening a dental clinic at the basecamp of the world’s highest mountain. Every year, the concerns and critiques of the extent to which Everest has become more crowded and commercialized grow. Adding a dental clinic tent to the mix, plus a team of 15 to 20 non-climbers, may contribute to the chaos, albeit under the banner of a good cause.
Another possible negative impact of the Everest Dental Clinic is that it may step on local toes. For all of Jumbayeva’s self-professed good intentions, could this take business away from existing Nepali dental practices? Currently, the nearest dentist to Everest is the Namche Dental Clinic, supported by the American Himalayan Foundation (AHF). Opened in 1991, the clinic is currently the highest dental clinic in the world at 11,300 feet, according to AHF. Based in Namche Bazaar, this dental clinic is at least a two-day trek from Everest Base Camp.
“There is already a long-established dental clinic in Namche Bazaar, which AHF supported for over 35 years,” Norbu Tenzing, the president of AHF, told Climbing. Recently, the organization turned the dental clinic over to a local committee. Tenzing added that a small dental clinic exists at Khunde Hospital, about a mile north of Namche Bazaar as well. “Both clinics serve the needs of the entire Khumbu region,” Tenzing said. Though neither explicitly aim to serve high-altitude workers or climbers.
A 2017 study counted 1,800 dentists as of June 2015 in Nepal, but added that the dentist-to-population ratio was “decreasing exponentially” in urban areas. However, the ratio was “very high” in rural areas. But Jumabayeva doesn’t see herself as competing with Nepali dentists. Rather, she envisions providing better access to an underserved population, in an environment where dental emergencies often arise.
However the first Everest Dental Clinic pans out, Jumabayeva is locking in to humanitarian dental work in Nepal. After spending the summer volunteering in remote Nepali villages, Jumabayeva plans to set up shop at Manaslu Basecamp come fall. The following spring, she says she’ll be back at Everest Basecamp. “This land is going to test us, protect us, and become our home,” Jumabayeva reflected from Nepal.
Climbing reached out to the Nepal Dentist Association for comment and has not yet received a response.
The post Why a Kazakh Dentist Is Bringing Dental Care to Everest’s Mountain Workers This Spring appeared first on Climbing.
https://www.climbing.com/news/why-a-kazakh-dentist-is-bringing-dental-care-to-everests-mountain-workers-this-spring/
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_5193_helieeverest.jpeg?width=1200
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_5198-628x1024.jpg?width=628
https://cdn.climbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_4855_simonemoro.jpg?width=730

2026-10-15 01:37:57 GMT

Mei Kotake Climbs Her First V15
Japanese climber Mei Kotake has been on a sending spree in Gottardo, Switzerland. On her second day of climbing, she sent Quiet Storm V14 and Hazel Grace V14 in a single afternoon. The next day, she sent P.I.G. V15, her first of the grade.
“Everything went better than expected,” said Kotake on Instagram. “I tried Hazel Grace last year before the area closed for the season, so I already knew the beta. It was my first time trying Quite Storm, and it just suited me so well (154cm)! After so many setbacks with my finger injury, training, the Asian Games, and these sends, I finally feel like I’m becoming the climber I want to be at 29.”
Hazel Grace is a popular problem in Gottardo. The bloc was established by Giuliano Cameroni in 2017 at a grade of V15, which settled at V14 with subsequent ascents. The aesthetic, five-star boulder trends leftward across a seam to an arete topout in a beautiful alpine setting. It has been repeated by many of the world’s best, including Will Bosi, Aidan Roberts, Shauna Coxsey, Nicolai Užnik, Michaela Kiersch, and Nina Arthaud. In 2021, Cameroni added a sit start – Hazel Grace Low V15/16.
Quiet Storm was recently established this year by Francesco Berardino. It has already seen repeats from top climbers, including Stefano Ghisolfi and Jorge Díaz-Rullo. Coxsey made the first female ascent in the summer, a couple of months ago. Coxsey also called it a quick send, but didn’t explicitly share how quickly she topped it. A few climbers have called the boulder soft, including Jorge Díaz-Rullo, who made the second ascent, and Giovanni Giachino. A couple of others have called it soft for V14.
Referring to her send of P.I.G., she said, “I can’t believe everything that’s happened this past week. This is my first time sending this grade, and I think it’s the hardest boulder I’ve ever done. I’m climbing better than ever, so I’m really happy I got to send it now!”
Ghisolfi established P.I.G. V15 in July this year. It has not seen many repeats yet, aside from Díaz-Rullo, who made the second ascent, and now Kotake. According to Díaz-Rullo’s 8a.nu page, the problem takes some V11 moves, connecting Quiet Storm and Rosa Maialino V11.
Kotake has been an active comp climber for a number of years. In 2024, she made her first-ever World Cup podium at the Lead World Cup in Chamonix on July 14, earning bronze. Less than a week later, she won gold at the Lead World Cup in Briançon. After wrapping up the comps, Kotake visited Magic Wood, Switzerland, for some bouldering and sent New Base Line V14, her first-ever of the grade.
In November 2025, she sent Caricature and proposed V14. In her post about Caricature on Instagram, she said previous repeaters of Caricature dubbed it V12 or V13, but she felt it was V14 when she compared it to other problems she has tried around the world, including in Japan.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
The post Mei Kotake Climbs Her First V15 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.
https://gripped.com/news/mei-kotake-climbs-her-first-v15/