For Some Climbers, It’s Not Just About Going Up!

by Kraig Becker on

The spring climbing season is in full swing in the Himalaya, and the climbers on Everest, and the other major peaks in the region, are focused on acclimatizing and preparing for their summit bids, which are most likely to come around mid-May. For most of them, their focus is squarely on getting up the mountain, standing on top, and then getting back down in one piece.

But there are some climbers who feel that reaching the summit is only half of the adventure. Guys like Ben Clark, Josh Butson, and Jonathan Miller, who are currently in base camp on a 23,390 foot mountain in Nepal called Baruntse. For this team, the expedition isn’t just about reaching the summit, but also making an impressive descent as well. That’s why, when they reach the top, sometime in the next few weeks, they’ll congratulate one another, brieflyadmire the view, and then step into a set of skis, and proceed to make the first descent of the mountain.

This adventuresome trio will be climbing Baruntse along a new route, one that no one else has ever used to reach the summit before. They’ll also be climbing in “Alpine style” which means that they’ll go up the mountain in one push, carrying all the gear they need with them, including their skis. They’ll make the climb without the aid of Sherpas or porters of any kind. It is mountain climbing in it’s purest form, and then of course they’ll ski down a massive Himalayan wall that no one has ever skied before.

You can follow the expedtion at SkiTheHimalayas.com, where you’ll learn more about the climbers, view photos from the climb, and read regular dispatches, directly from the team, on their progress. Follow along as the adventure unfolds.

Visit Yellowstone Offseason

by Kraig Becker on

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S., welcoming nearly 3 million visitors per year. Most of those come during the summer months, when the weather is consistently beautiful, and the travel season is in full swing. But this article suggests that we should go now, to beat the crowds, and enjoy springtime in the Northern Rockies, where no matter what time of the year it is, Old Faithful erupts, whether anyone is watching or not.

The Park covers more than 2.2 million acres, spreading out across Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. It was first established back in 1872, and is home to hundreds of species of birds and animals, including sixty distinct species of mammals, such as elk, moose, bison, wolves, and bear. Yellowstone also contains diverse terrain, with rivers, lakes, canyons, and mountains dominating the landcsape.

Of course, all of these natural wonders are also what attracts the large summer crowds, which makes visiting the park in the offseason such a popular idea for outdoor enthusiasts. For instance, even though it is spring, and temperatures are on the rise, there is still plenty of snow in the high country, allowing for some late season skiing or snow shoeing. At lower altitudes, the trails are now open, granting access to much of the park, and since the crowds haven’t arrived yet, there is plenty of solitude as well.

The article offers some excellent links to websites that cover Yellowstone from top to bottom and have plenty of great tips on how to maximize your visit, including the best places to stay, both inside and out of the park. Beat the rush in Yellowstone. Go before Memorial Day weekend, to have the park mostly to yourself.

Canyoneering in Southern Utah

by Kraig Becker on

Canyoneering is a common word used to describe an outdoor activity that is rising in popularity. It generally involves exploring remote slot canyons, found in a variety of locations around the world. These narrow, twisting, rock corridors are often mazes, requiring navigational skills to successfully negotiate. Along the way, hikers may be requiried to scramble, rock climb, swim, or even abseil their way over and around any number of obstacles.

One of the premiere places to explore the activity in the U.S. is in the deserts of southern Utah, as writer Tony Perrottet recently discovered while writing this story for the New York Times. He traveled to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument where he discovered three very remote slot canyons where the trails were unmarked, water was scarce, and there wasn’t another person in sight.

Perrottet was following in the footsteps of adventuer Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, who would eventually found the Explorers Club, but as a teenager, Dellenbaugh and a few friends, mapped the first route through the iconic canyons of southern Utah, making all kinds of discoveries along the way.

Some of the other top spots in the U.S. to go cayoneering include Zion National Park and the San Rafael Swell, both are also in Utah. Arizona, New Mexico, and California aslo have a number of great places as well. On an international level, cayoneering is popular on nearly every continent, with great routes in Australia, New Zealand, eastern Europe, and any number of other places. For more information, checkout the American Cayoneering Assocation.

Taking Rock Climbing Lessons in Thailand

by Kraig Becker on

Thailand has certainly become a hot tourist destination in recent years. It offers an exotic locale with a little something for everyone. The beautiful beaches along its southern coast are amongst the most popular in the world and Bangkok has many colorful and interesting distractions for those looking to explore Thai culture, while the backpacker crowd can head north to Chang Mai and go trekking in the hills for a completely different experience altogether. And if all of that wasn’t enough, Thailand is also home to some excellent rock climbing, as Steve Backshall discovered in this article for the Times Online.

It seems that Thailand’s west coast, near Krabi, has earned itself a reputation for being one of the best spots in the world to learn to rock climb. The crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches are littered with dozens of limestone karsts, rock towers formed over time by the process of erosion, and these towers offer plenty of great climbing opportunities. The best rock climbers in the world frequent the area, as much for the rock as the sun and sand.

But Backshall, an accomplished climber himself, says that begining climbers will find a lot to love in Thailand as well. There are a plethora of climbing schools in the Railray region of Thailand. In just a few days they can teach anyone the skills needed to take up the sport, and a fraction of what it would cost you elsewhere.

And when you’re done with your daily workouts, you can pamper yourself in the nearby resorts, hanging out on the beach, sipping a fruity drink, and soaking up the sun. Learning to climb has never been so fun, relaxing, or affordable.

Everest Ice Doctors Operate on the Khumbu Icefalls

by Kraig Becker on

Many people operate under the assumption that the most dangerous part of climbing Everest is the so called “Death Zone”, above 26,000 feet, or the summit itself. But on the South Side of the mountain, at least statistically speaking, that just isn’t true. There have been more deaths in the Khumbu Icefall than any other area on Everest, and the Icefall is located just above base camp at about 18,000 feet.

The Khumbu Icefall is found at the southern most end of the Khumbu Glacier, and due to the shifting nature of the ice, large crevasses and giant ice towers are formed in the region. These large cracks make it extremely difficult to cross through this portion of the mountain, and since it changes so rapidly, a new path must be created each year. Enter the Khumbu Ice Doctors.

The Ice Doctors are a team of highly skilled Sherpas who are integral to the success of climbing on Everest on the Nepali side of the mountain. Each year they lay down a series of ladders across the crevasses, and use a thin nylon line, held in place by ice screws and anchors, as a guide rope across the open spaces. Climbers than walk across these openings, usually in their mountaineering boots and with crampons on, stepping on the rungs of the ladder for support, and using the thin ropes to help stabalize themselves. For many, it can be a very terrifying and intimidating proposition.

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It can take dozens of ladders to complete the course through the Icefall, and the climbers will pass through the area several times in the course of establishing their higher camps on the mountain and going through the acclimatization process.

Because the ice can move as much as three to four feet per day, the Ice Doctors stay on the mountain through the end of May maintaining the route and making sure that the ladders and ropes remain in place. Once they pack up their gear and head home, the climbing season is considered over on the South Side for another year, and access to the upper reaches of the mountain is closed once again.

Reports from Everest this year say that the ice docs have used more than 20 ladders in completing the route, and it was expected to open today, giving the teams their first real access to the mountain itself. Many of the teams have already been making practice runs through the Icefall, but now the real work begins, and they’ll soon move through it for the first time, and set-up Camp 1 just on the otherside of this dangerous landmark.