Punta Arenas is the Jumping off Point for Antarctica

My latest adventure is to try and climb Mt Vinson in Antarctica.  Two days ago I flew from Seattle to Punta Arenas at the southern end of Chile.  Punta Arenas is a port city on the Straights of Magellan and is arguably the southernmost city in the world.

Straights of Magellan and Punta Arenas



 Tomorrow morning I fly on a Russian Ilyushiin 76 cargo jet across the Drake Passage to where we land on the Union Glacier in Antarctica.  I get back to Punta Arenas in about two weeks and then I will report on this adventure when I get back

Ilyushin 76 Cargo Jet

The Really Big Drip and Early Ice in the Canadian Rockies

There was a lot of good early season ice this November in the Canadian Rockies.  This was especially true up on Mt Wilson near the Saskatchewan River Crossing on the Icefields Parkway.  Two seldom formed routes, Shooting Star and Dancing with Chaos, were in.  There was minimal avalanche danger with the low snow pack on a mountain that is famous for big slides later in the season.



Dancing with Chaos

 Mark Cosslett and I did both these routes on a couple of trips up there.  We stayed in the Rampart Creek Hostel that was open but empty this time of year.

Mark Cosslett Following the Second Pitch of DWC 


  I had climbed Shooting Star several years ago the last time it formed.  Like my earlier experience, the first pitch was thin and technically getting over some ice blobs at the bottom. 

First Two Pitches of Shooting Star

On my previous ascent I got to lead the free standing pillar on the third pitch which comprised the best climbing on the route.

Third Pitch of Shooting Star

This time Mark had the privilege of going first and putting the rope up for me.  Ice climbs like this are such a special treat!

Mark Cosslett Starting up the Pillar

In the Ghost River area, there is a magical place called the recital hall.  It is a natural amphitheatre that is 200 feet in diameter surrounded by 200 foot high limestone walls.  You can only access it by trekking up a gorge with some short easy ice steps and a final rope length of Grade 4 ice.  Inside there are two seldom formed ice climbs that spill into the Recital Hall to create some of the most beautiful ice formations that I have ever seen.  This year, Rainbow Serpent, a climb on the south side of the Recital Hall had formed, but the other route, Fearful Symmetry, on the north side was only partially formed.   I was with two new German friends, Matthias Scherer and Tanja Schmitt who I met at the International Mountain Summit in the Dolomites in October.  I had climbed both these routes before, so the visitors got to lead and Matthias made quick work of it for a wonderful day out.

Matthias Scherer on Rainbow Serpent

I've always wanted to do the Really Big Drip.  Driving into the Ghost River it stares at you from the wall on the other side.  This year I heard that the lower icicle was hanging lower than usual and that the climb was in good condition.

The Really Big Drip

In mid December I headed in there with Raphael Slawinski and Juan Henríquez.  My thought was if Raphael wanted to lead that was fine and if I felt good on it I could come back later with someone else and lead some of the pitches myself.


Raphael Slawinski on the 1st Pitch of TRBD

 I felt good following the first pitch even though it was chossy rock.  Stepping onto the dagger was spectacular!  Juan pulled of a huge piece of the loose flake on the first pitch when he followed it.

Raph on TRBD

Above the dagger was a nice bolted belay on a ledge in a protected cave behind the ice.  The second pitch was ice that looked to be overhanging in one section, but were able to sneak past where the overhanging ice was offset making it much easier than it looked.

Squeezing through the Ice to the Outside of the Dagger

The third pitch kicked my ass.  It was rated M7+, but I felt that you needed to be a solid M9 climber (which I'm not) to red point it.  I ended up pulling on some of the bolts to get up and I realized I needed to be much stronger if I was going to lead it.

Raph on the Crux 3rd Pitch

Up on the Thompson Highway there is a great mixed climb called Unicorn next to the classic waterfall called Kittyhawk.

The Unicorn is the Mixed Climb left of Kittyhawk on the Right

Gery Untrasinger and I climbed The Unicorn a few days after I was on TRBD.  I led the first pitch up a technical slab then over the overhang. 

Leading the First Pitch of The Unicorn

The first crux was getting onto the ice above the overhang. 



Climbing the Second Crux

 The next crux was climbing a pillar onto a comfortable belay ledge. 

Gery Unterasinger Squeezes through on the 2nd Pitch

The final pitch benefited from the abundant ice that allowed Gery to stem his way out and through a hole in the far side of the curtain.  It was a great day on the mountains.





Squamish



I apologize for not updating my blog for some time.  I will try to bring you quickly up to date on summer activities first.

I spent July through September for the most part in Squamish British Columbia.  I consider this area to be the premier destination for North American summer rock climbing.  I'm lucky to have it three and a half hours from my summertime home in Seattle.  It has everything from world class boulder bouldering to amazing multi-pitch trad climbing - all on high quality granite.



Climber on Cruel Shoes on the Grand Wall

   Most of my life I have been an alpine climber and did most of my training for that.  I have taken time to rock climb for only brief periods, and I've never trained specifically for it.  As a result I've struggled to make progress on anything much harder than 5.11+ on a good day.  Before going to Squamish to rock climb

for the summer,  I wanted to learn how to train for it.  I consulted with Tyson Schoene, the coach for the Vertical World team in Seattle.  He gave me week by week training routines during the months of May and June.  In general the workouts consisted of progressively harder endurance and power sessions that took about two and a half hours per day.  At 58 years old I wasn't able to do everything in these regimens without getting injured, nor would I be able to climb as well as I could have if I did this when I was younger.  But I did get stronger.



Grand Wall with The Split Pillar and Sword of Damocles Flake on Left

  By July 5th the wet spring was over and when the sun came out, it did so until October.  During this almost unprecedented spell of dry weather, I journeyed north to try out my body on the cliffs.  Things started slowly as I got accustomed to the movement and placing gear.  By early August I was red pointing 5.11- on long multi-pitch routes like Freeway.  But I ignored one of Tyson's suggestions to keep up my training routines in Squamish by bouldering or going to the rock gym.  It was fun to just go climbing most days with local partners like Geoff Hill and whoever was available mid-week.  By the end of August I red-pointed the 5.12a corner on the Daily Planet, something I hadn't been able to do before. 

Freeway Route on the Tantalus Wall

I set my expectations higher now for a long route like Norther Lights, a 5.11+ to 5.12- route on the North Wall.  To prepare, I went out in early September with Paul Cordy to climb The Alaska Highway, which is the name for the lower half of Northern Lights.  But it was a discouraging outing.  I was weak and incapable of leading anything hard without hanging from my gear.  For the rest of that month I continued to slip to where I now struggled with easy 5.11s. My Squamish time was wonderful, but didn't end like I had hoped.  What went wrong?  I was confused as to why I got so much weaker the last few weeks. 

Northern Walls - Northern Lights Climbs Wall on the Left

I consulted with Tyson once I got back to Seattle and after I explained my regimen he was not surprised by what had happened.  I made several rookie mistakes. 

• I hadn't structured my climbing time to make sure I was getting a consistent combination of endurance and power training similar to what I was doing beforehand in the gym. 
• I didn't combine this training with enough rest so that I was ready to send on the days I worked on my hard climbs. 
• The combination of the above things that led me to get weaker then caused me to lose my motivation. 

I learned that it is possible to work harder but be able to do less.  This is a lesson I knew a lot about for the cardio training I had done for nearly 45 years, but I didn't understand these rules applied to upper body training.  I still have a lot to learn, but maybe I can benefit from this experience and get to a place where I can red point some of my projects before I get too old. 


The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach

Ann and I visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach and it was certainly the most poignant part of our trip.  The cemetery covers 172 acres, and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, and the names of 1,557 missing in action.  Most were killed during the Normandy invasion on June 6th, 1944 and subsequent military operations in World War II.  Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France.  The average age of those buried here is 24.  

At the center of the Memorial is a bronze statue entitled Spirit of American Youth. Facing west at the memorial in the foreground is the reflecting pool, the mall with burial areas to either side and the circular chapel in the distance.  There are more headstones beyond the chapel.

Spirit of American Youth

The names of 1,557 Americans who lost their lives in the Normandy campaign but could not be located and/or identified are inscribed on the walls of the semicircular garden at the east side of the memorial. 

I will relate several stories about service men and women who are buried here as told by our tour guide . 

Garden of the Missing

The first story is about a soldier whose name is on the wall in the Garden of the Missing - Raymond S. Hoback.  Raymond's bible was found by Cpl. H.W. Crayton wrapped in plastic on the beach where he landed on D-Day.  Raymond's address was written inside - so the Corporal, not knowing what had happened to Raymond, sent the bible back to Raymond's parents with a note cautiously stating they should know their son was safe by the time they received this package.  About a week after D-Day, the county sheriff delivered the dreaded telegram to Raymond's parents that one of their other sons, Bedford, had been killed in action.  The next day on July 16th, the doorbell rang again with a second telegram—this time informing the family that Raymond was missing in action.  Raymond's sister Lucille recalled that “My mother was overwhelmed, and my father went out to the barn to cry, just to hide his tears from us.”  At the end of the month his parents received Corporal Crayton's letter and package “from somewhere in France”, with its hopeful message.

Raymond and Bedford Hoback were from the town of Bedford, Virginia with a population of only 3,200.  Out of the thirty soldiers from the town that participated in D-Day, the Hoback brothers plus seventeen more were lost.

Raymond S. Hoback



 Not all of the casualties were men.  Elizabeth A. Richardson is one of the four women buried here.  Elizabeth volunteered to serve in the Red Cross and was assigned to a Clubmobile that provided coffee, freshly made doughnuts, chewing gum, cigarettes, magazines, newspapers, and records to GIs while they were in the field. But their real responsibility was to boost the spirits of the soldiers by chatting with them. Elizabeth wrote to her parents, "If you only knew what combat does to these boys--not in the physical sense, although that's bad enough--but mentally." The job required the women to be single, college graduates, and at least 25 years of age. They were expected to be skilled at interpersonal relations and only one in six of the applicants was selected for the Red Cross Clubmobiles.

Elizabeth Richardson

Elizabeth died on the morning of July 25, 1945 while en route from Le Havre to Paris. Both the pilot of the two seat military plane, Sgt. William R. Miller of the Ninth Air Force, and Elizabeth were killed instantly. She was only 27 yeas old.





   When Billie D. Harris and Peggy Seale married on Sept. 22, 1943, he was 21 and she was 18.  Although the couple would usually have two weeks leave for their honeymoon, it was cut short when a troop ship of pilots was torpedoed in the Atlantic and Lt. Harris's group was sent their place.  By mid 1944, Lt. Harris had completed over 60 to 100 missions flying bomber support missions in his P-51 Mustang or pursuing ground targets after the invasion of Normandy.  In July 1944 Peggy received a telegram that her husband was missing in action.  Later, she was notified that Lt. Harris had returned to the United States on leave but no one had heard from him.  The Red Cross told her he was probably being processed in a military hospital. She received a long series of conflicting reports, including notification that Lt. Harris was missing in action, then killed in action, then again missing in action. It appeared no one knew what had happened to the young pilot. 

Peggie and Billie Harris



Peggy did not believe that her husband was dead, and until his parents died in the 1980’s, they also continued to hope that their son was alive.  After he retired, a cousin of Billie's did extensive research including travelling to France where he found the townspeople who witnessed Billie's plane crash.  By October 2005 he discovered what had happened to Billie.  His plane had gone down in the forest outside the small village of Les Ventes, where French resistance members discovered the pilot was dead. They removed his handgun and codebook and left when the Germans approached the crash site.  The townspeople were allowed to retrieve the pilot’s body from the plane wreckage which they buried in a local cemetery along with other local war heroes.  The body was moved by the US Army in 1946 to a temporary cemetery where he was listed as an “unknown”.  In September 1948, without notifying the family, the US government interred him in the Normandy American Cemetery as Billie D. Harris.  It took 62 years for Peggy to learn this.

In the spring of 2006, Peggy Seale Harris flew to Paris and travelled to the Normandy American Cemetery where she was reunited with Billie.  She had never remarried, and since that original visit she often comes to the cemetery on June 6 and sits on a bench next to Billie's white cross.

Billie D. Harris

 On June 6th, 1944 by the end of the day, 34,000 American troops had been landed on Omaha Beach suffering 2,400 casualties in the process. 







Mount Saint-Michel and the Bayeux Tapestry

From Chamonix Ann and I drove toward the Normandy coast stopping briefly in the Loire Valley on the way.  Not too far southwest of Paris, the valley is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France. It is rich in agricultural abundance and as a result has a long history and an accompanying architectural heritage.  In addition to the orchards and vineyards that line the river, there are hundreds of chateaux.  The early chateaux from the 10 century have the typical castle fortifications and many were constructed over the next 500 years.

 

 Next we spent a day at Mount Saint-Michel (Michael), located on a rocky outcrop off the Normandy coast.  A monastery was built on the site in the 8th century and gained strategic significance with subsequent struggles between England and France. 

Mont Saint-Michel

Replica of Michael the Archangel that sits atop the steeple

In 1067, the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its support to duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror)  in his claim and subsequent ascension to the throne of England.  During the Hundred Years War the English  made numerous attacks on the monastery, but were unable to seize it due to the abbey's  fortifications. 

Fortifications around the monastery

 The wealth and influence of the abbey began to fall around the time of the Reformation.  By the late 18th century at the time of the French Revolution only a few monks were left and it was converted into a prison.  Early in the nineteenth century, a campaign was launched to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. The prison was closed in 1863, and the mount was declared a historic monument in 1874. 

Inside the Abbey



We enjoyed seeing the old abbey, but the restoration of the walled village attached to the monastery looks more like a Disney creation.  The narrow stone walkways are lined with tacky souvenir shops, ice cream parlors and restaurants.  I guess they need the revenue to help pay for the ongoing restoration?

Disneyland or Mt St Michel?

After visiting Saint Michel, we drove to Bayeux and visited the famous tapestry (actually and embroidered cloth) that depicts the events leading up to and then the Norman invasion of England in 1066.  The Bayeux Tapestry is over 200 feet long with about 50 scenes.  It tells the story of how William the Conqueror, leading a Norman army, defeats the King of England (Harold Godwinson) leading the Anglo Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.   

King Edward the Confessor, king of England and about sixty years old, had no children or any clear successor.  At that time, succession to the English throne was not according to the first born heir but was decided jointly by the king and some nobles.  After Edward dies, Harold is crowned king, but this is contested by William who thinks he should have been king and he builds a fleet to invade England and take over the throne.

  



The battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066 less than three weeks after the English had fought the Norwegians 400 miles away at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.  As we know, the Norman conquest of England had a huge impact on the history of that country and the rest of Europe.

The Piolets d'Or

The Piolets d'Or is an award given to a climb(s) the previous year.  An explanation of this award taken from the official website is as follows:

"The purpose of the Piolets d'Or awards is to raise awareness about the year's greatest ascents across the world.  They aim to celebrate the taste for adventure, the bravery and sense of exploration that lie behind the art of climbing in the world's great mountain ranges.

The Piolets d'Or draw their inspiration from mountaineering's rich history.  They are a celebration of a sense of partnership and solidarity, of shared experiences, and reward individual or collective achievement.

In modern mountaineering, questions of style and means of ascent take precedence over reaching the objective itself.  It is no longer a matter of employing huge financial and technical resources (bottled oxygen, fixed ropes, high-altitude porters, so-called 'performance-enhancing' substances…) and large numbers of people to reach the top at all costs.  The Piolets d'Or throw the spotlight on imaginative and innovative new routes, using a minimum amount of equipment, and building on experience."

 

The climb that Mark Richey, Freddie Wilkinson and I did on Saser Kangri II last year was one of six nominated climbs for this award.  It was a huge honor for us just to have been nominated.

The organizers choose a jury each year to select the nominees who come to Chamonix for the event.  At the event, each of the nominees make a presentation to the jury that then chooses a winner(s).  The criteria that the jury uses for selecting the nominees and deciding the winner(s) is:

"The jury judges these ascents irrespective of a climber's nationality and against the following criteria, both on a point-by-point basis and as a whole:

• Style of ascent
• Spirit of exploration: original (previously unclimbed) route and/or mountain, creative and innovative approach
• Level of commitment and self-sufficiency
• High level of technical ability required
• Suitability of route in light of objective dangers
• Efficient and sparing use of resources
• Transparency regarding the use of these resources
• Respect for people, climbing partners, members of other teams, porters and local agents
• Respect for the environment
• Respect for future generations of mountaineers by leaving them the possibility of enjoying the same kind of experiences and adventures"

2012 Jury led by Michael Kennedy on the left



 In addition to choosing a winner of the year's Piolets d'Or, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement award is also given.  On Thursday, the first night of the event, a presentation was made honoring the recipient of the this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, Robert Paragot.

Robert Paragot

I wasn't very familiar with Robert's accomplishments before going to this event.  But I learned that his major first ascents between 1955 and 1971 (many of which he led) include:

• South Face of Aconcagua in Argentina (highest mountain in Western Hemisphere-6962 meters)
• Mustagh Tower in Pakistan - 7273 meters
• Jannu in Nepal - 7710 meters
• North Face of Huascaran in Peru - 6768 meters
• West Pillar of Makalu in Nepal - 8463 meter

He certainly deserved to be recognized and it was a privilege to meet him.



Doug Scott with Paragot & teammates - note small boots on left climber from frostbite amputations after S. Face of Aconcagua

This celebration is a big media event in Europe and in the towns of Chamonix (France) and Courmayeur (Italy) where the events associated with the Piolets d'Or are held.

Posters in the town plaza in Chamonix

The final evening of the event was held in Courmayeur on Saturday night.  There was a big press conference where the media asked questions of each of the nominated teams followed by a dinner attended by dignitaries from both towns.

Large posters of the nominated climbs.  Conrad, Jimmy, and Renan's climb of Meru was around the corner

After short video presentations of all six nominated climbs, the jury announced that the ascent of K7 West by the young Slovenian climbers Nejc Marcic and Luka Strazar was the winner.  The jury then announced that this year they were giving two awards, with the other for the first ascent of Saser Kangri II by Mark Richey, Freddie Wilkinson, and me.

2012 Piolet d'Or Winners

Saser Kangri II team with Freddie (center), Mark (right) and me

It was a huge honor to receive this award.  All the climbs were worthy and it seemed quite subjective  to pick a winner from the six nominated climbs.  For me, the most important thing about the event was participating in a great celebration of mountaineering with wonderful people and making some new friends.  

Looking back on the Saser Kangri II climb I've come to appreciate my partners Mark Richey and Freddie Wilkinson even more.  The teamwork we had on the ascent and their tireless efforts to take care of me and organize a rescue after the descent when I got sick are great examples of the true spirit of mountaineering and the meaning behind this award.   

Chamonix - Skiing the Vallee Blanche

I've always wanted to ski the Vallee Blanche - a 9000 foot descent from the top of the Aiguille du Midi back to the town of Chamonix.  We were here for the Piolet d'Or (more on that in my next post) and had a couple of days to play.

Warning upon exiting the tunnel from the top of Aiguille du Midi

The Telepherique to the top of the Aiguille du Midi

The aerial tramway system (they call it a telephierique) that goes to the top of the Aigulle du Midi mountain is in two stages.  You take one car From Chamonix at around 3,000 feet to a midstation and then get off.  There you board a different telepherique that carries you in a single cable span (no towers) to the top at 12,000 feet.

Skiers descending the ridge on the Aiguille dy\u Midi

The summit of the Aiguille du Midi has been tunnelled out so you walk through the mountain and out onto a ridge.  You must then walk down the ridge to where you can put on your skis and descend the glacier on the backside.

Skiing the top portion of the glacier

You are skiing on an active glacier so the main concern is falling into a crevasse.  We had a local guide with us who is familiar with the terrain and knows where the crevasses are and always went first. 

Open slopes with little crevasse danger

We were instructed to always ski to the guide and not beyond in case there were crevasses.  Where there were open slopes without crevasses we could pick our own path through untracked snow.

Our guide - Christian Trommsdorff who also was an organizer for the Piolet d'Or

In other locations there were narrow sections between crevasses and we had to follow the exact same path behind Christian.

Michael and Julie Kennedy

It was a beautiful day with a fun group.

Climbing up using skins

We descended most of the upper glacier and then put on our climbing skins (fuzzy fabric strips that stick to the bottom of our skis) to ski uphill on the glacier below another mountain called the Dent du Geant (giants tooth).  We wanted to climb high on this glacier to get another ski run down.

From the top of Aiguille du Midi in center we skied down and left and then right of the big icefall

Skiing the good snow below the Dent du Geant

Our group on the Mer de Glace near the finish