Emperor Face

Over Memorial Day weekend Steve House and Colin Haley got together to form an alpine dream team and subsequently crushed a new route on the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies. In a 36 hour single push starting at 4:30am, they climbed a gully system just left of the Stump-Logan route and connected with the top of that climb above the Arête that splits the two lower down. After reaching the top of the headwall, they spent the short Canadian night huddled on a small ledge they chopped in the ice after climbing from their camp Helmet-Robson Col in 19 hours. The next morning they finished the route and topped out around 1:00pm after the classic gargoyle climbing, au cheval, on Wishbone Ridge. Colin wrote a report about this great impressive new route and I cannot wait to see some of the photos.

Brian Massey

I got a call today from a friend who informed me that a great friend and his partner died while climbing on Denali. Right now the details are still being sorted out, but from what is known Brian and his partner Mizuki were descending the West Rib towards the West Buttress. At about 19,000 feet, for reasons yet to be known, they fell. By the time they were reached by another party at around 17,000 feet, Mizuki had unfortunately already succumbed to her injuries. Brian was taken down to a lower camp on the mountain where he too, died of his injuries sustained in the fall. I am truly heartbroken to lose such a fine person. For those who didn't know Brian, he was a true American Hero. As a firefighter, he saved countless lives and will be missed by many friends. Mizuki was an enthusiastic and motivated person, and though I did not know her personally, friends who had climbed with her always talked of her infectious personality. Our condolences go out to the friends and family of both these fine people, and may they both rest in peace. 

George Mallory

In 1999 the world was shocked when an expedition to Everest, led by Eric Simonsen, found the body of George Leigh Mallory. For those who don't know, George Mallory along with Andrew Irvine, where last seen just below the summit of Everest on June 8th, 1924. Little more was known until the body of George Mallory was discovered during the 1999 expedition. A new expedition has now landed in Everest Base Camp, led by Conrad Anker (a member of the expedition who found Mallory's body), that will attempt to climb Everest with nothing more than the gear used during the 1924 attempt. What is significant about this expedition, is that it will likely put to rest all the speculation of whether it was even possible for Mallory and Irvine to have reached the top. Make sure to visit their website.

Crack master, Jean-Pierre Ouellet, has successfully completed the first red-point Ascent of La Zébrée in Mont King, Québec. This stunning finger and hand crack climbs through two roofs and overhangs more than 40 feet in 80 feet of climbing. The line was first discovered by Jean-Francois Beaulieu in 2001, and after three years of effort he climbed the line with preplaced gear. Ouellet managed to place all his gear on Lead except for the very first piece. Part of the Crux of the style Ouellet choose was having to down-aid after attempts, in order to remove the gear that he had placed on lead. Read the full report.

Recently, both the Piolet D'or (Golden Ice Axe) and Mugs Stumps Awards were recently decided and once again a well rounded set of international teams were distinguished. Each year the Piolet D'or is award to climbers who's achievements from the previous year have not only pushed the standards higher, but whom have also done so in a style that challenges the standards. Mugs Stump awardees receive grants for proposed objectives that are planned for the year to come.

Since their groundbreaking Ascent of the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat, Steve House and Vince Anderson have been living on cloud nine. Now, to add to their great accomplishment, they can add the coveted Piolet D'Or (golden ice-axe) award for their ascent of the tallest face on earth. Some of the other nominees included a new route on Broad Peak’s SW face done by Denis Urubko and Serguey Samoilov from Kazakhstan, and a disputed new route on Cerro Torre  by Ermanno Salvaterra and Alessandro Beltrami from Italy, and Argentinean Rolo Garibotti.

One of the top French climbers, Jean-Christophe Lafaille, is now believed to be dead somewhere high on Makalu, just thirteen miles East of Mt. Everest. He was attempting a feat not yet completed on a mountain that is considered one of the most difficult of the 8000 meter peaks. His Solo winter Ascent would have pushed the limits of modern mountaineering, but instead it is feared that the outcome is now utter tragedy. His last contact with his wife and Base Camp manager Katia Lafaille was on Thursday, January 26th and was planning an attempt for the summit from his high camp that night. You can follow reports on his website (translated).

Will Gadd has been up to his old tricks again along the Icefields Parkway, this time adding a line next to and crossing Ben Firth's "The Game". According to his blog he believes this was "the hardest mixed climb I've ever done" and according to the description it sounds like a great feat accomplished in excellent style. Will has become an opponent of some of the competition styles that have been employed on modern mixed climbs in recent years with the advent of heel spurs and the ability to rest almost endlessly on steep terrain. With his self prescribed "bareback style" (sans hooking and heel spurs) has begun a new push for a higher standard of Mixed Climbing style. With his latest accomplishment, he has now found a new dilemma for the ages: "If one tap is cleaning, how many taps are Chipping?" Read his full blog entry here.

There has been an early season blitz of new route activity on the Patagonian ice cap at the tip of South America. In fact, two new routes were completed on the same day just hours apart from each other. The first, ‘El Arca de los Vientos’ (The Arc of Winds) on Cerro Torre and the second, ‘Vom Winde verweht‘ (Gone with the wind) on Cerro Murallón. On the latter route, Stephan Glowacz and Robert Jasper, completed their route that they were forced to turn around on just 250m below the summit due to weather deterioration during the 2004 season. The new route on Cerro Torre follows the same route that Cesare Maestri followed in 1959 during his disputed first Ascent, ascending the north face from his highpoint.