Gear Articles tagged ‘mountaineering’

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The Cutting Edge: 2011 Piolet d’Or

By: Jeffrey Miesbauer | April 19th, 2011
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We’d like to congratulate Ben Ditto and company for winning the 2011 Piolet d’Or this past Friday in Chamonix. His crew, The Wild Bunch (Ben, Nico Favresse, Olivier Favresse, and Seán Villanueva), share the honor with Katsutaka Yokoyama and Yasushi Okada because “these climbs truly represented the spirit of alpinism,” said Jury President Greg Child to Alpinist.

The Wild Bunch received their award for numerous first ascents they named while on an exploratory sailing trip around the coast of Greenland. Captain Bob Shepton convinced the team to help sail his 10-meter vessel, Dodo’s Delight, after he promised the crew a surplus of unclimbed big walls. That’s what they got for the next three months, along with many days on a tiny boat, which made for lots of Wild Bunch bonding time. Read More …

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Posted in Climbing, Outdoor Articles |

The Cutting Edge: The Impossible Wall

By: Jeffrey Miesbauer | April 12th, 2011
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Last week, I had the honor to meet and interview climber and expedition photographer Ben Ditto in Bishop, California, where he currently lives. He (along with Sean Villanueva, Nico, and Olivier Favresse) has been nominated for the IXX Piolet d’Or award for completing ten big-wall first ascents on the coast of Greenland. Traveling on Captain Bob Shepton’s 33-foot sailboat, the climbers began their ascents directly from the deck, as you can see in this amazing video of their first ascent of the Impossible Wall. (It’s part two of a five-part video series sponsored by Patagonia and shot by Ben and his crew.)

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Posted in Climbing, Interviews, Outdoor Articles, Video |

The Cutting Edge: Dempster and Normand Climb Mt Edgar

By: Adam Riser | March 22nd, 2011
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Local SLC badass, full-time alpine climber, and part-time coffee slinger Kyle Dempster recently joined up with Bruce Normand to climb China’s West Face of Mt Grosvenor and the East Face of Mt Edgar. (In 2009, Mt Edgar’s East face tragically took the lives of Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and Wade Johnson.)

On this successful ascent, Kyle found the objective hazard to be far higher than he would have liked. After running up the 3000-vertical-foot approach in only an hour, he and Bruce watched as a serac broke off and wiped out the entire valley where they had just been.

Their ascent of Edgar’s East Face earned Kyle and Bruce a Piolet d’Or nomination for the second year in a row. They won the 2010 award for the first ascent of the Great White Jade Heist on Xuelian West in China.

Below is Black Diamond‘s two-part interview with Kyle in which he talks openly about how he was affected by being on such a dangerous route. Read More …

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Posted in Athletes, Interviews, Outdoor Articles |

More SIA Trade Show Highlights with Backcountry.com Athletes: 4FRNT, TREW, & More

By: Sam Peters | March 11th, 2011
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Here, we showcase some of the  sweetest 2011/2012  gear that we found at the SIA snowsports trade show in Denver this winter. We enlisted a few Backcountry.com pro athletes to do the ‘splainin’; these pros have journeyed farther, stayed out in the cold longer, and skied more intimidating mountains than most of us ever will. They rely on their gear to stay safe and warm in the worst elements; the bottom line is, they know their gear. So, check the vids below to get an exclusive sneak peak at what they are backing for next year.

    Cody Barnhill – Discrete Headwear & 4FRNT Renegade Ski

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Ski the Himalayas Film Release

By: Kate Showalter | December 2nd, 2010
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Photo courtesy Ski the Himalayas

Ski The Himalayas, a 90-minute documentary that chronicles three climbers’ 2009 and 2010 attempts at climbing and skiing 23,389-foot Baruntse is on Dish Network Pay Per View through April 14, 2011. Read More …

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Posted in Outdoor Articles |

Because It’s There

By: staff | November 4th, 2010
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We at Backcountry.com are stoked that The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest will be screened in our backyard this fall as a part of the Park City Film Series. The documentary follows mountaineers Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding as they don leather boots and wool sweaters and attempt to re-create George Mallory’s 1924 ascent to the top of Mount Everest.

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Posted in Uncategorized |

K2 and the Millionaire

By: Kate Showalter | September 16th, 2010
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K2 (courtesy Svy123)

While commuting up the canyon to my cubicle not long ago, I caught this interview Diane Rehm did with Jennifer Jordan, the author of The Last Man on the Mountain: The Death of an American Adventurer on K2. The Diane Rehm Show might not be the first place you’d think you might catch a compelling mountaineering yarn, but the story of Dudley Wolfe, who died during an attempt on K2 in 1939, had me. Read More …

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Posted in Outdoor Articles |

Revisiting Object of Desire: Pacific Northwest

By: Andy Chapman | August 19th, 2010
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Sunset bivy on the way up Mt. Baker

Sunset bivy on the way up Mt. Baker

Ever think back to high school to the guy or girl you had a major crush on during that oh-so whimsical, awkward, angsty part of your life?  He/she was the physical embodiment of perfection; your heart raced in his presence; her page in your yearbook was well-thumbed … or perhaps stuck to the facing page. It tragically never worked out.  You and your perfect match never made it past that isolated summer make-out session and you went your separate ways. Read More …

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Posted in Featured |

More Outdoor Giving

By: Kate Showalter | August 12th, 2010
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Donated climbing helmets (Photo by Kris Kristofferson - Khumbu Climbing School)

In an era when the blank spaces on the map are all but gone, when very little true wilderness remains, and when too many people stay indoors with their TVs, those of us who play in the backcountry might feel compelled to act as stewards of the backcountry by taking care of and preserving the places we love. To continue with yesterday’s list of outdoor organizations we like, we’ve compiled a few more favorites and other ways you can get involved. Read More …

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Posted in Featured |

Top 10 Ways To Get Hurt While Climbing

By: Adam Riser | August 3rd, 2010
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Routefinding errors contributed to 20% of climbing accidents in 2009. Jesse Mattner staying on route on The Scenic Cruise (V 5.10+) in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Each year, the American Alpine Club publishes the one book that no one wants to be in—Accidents in North American Mountaineering. Inside its pages is everything from the most mellow of injuries to horrible accidents that ended in death. The reason that the American Alpine Club publishes such a depressing book every year is so climbers have the opportunity to learn from others’ mistakes. In the 2010 edition, which covers the 2009 season, there were a total of 126 accidents that made the book. Of these accidents, there were 10 things that stuck out as contributing factors.

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Posted in How To |

You Must Be This Old to Ride Mt. Everest

By: Andy Anderson | July 8th, 2010
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How’s this for a secure world record? On the heels of 13-year-old Jordan Romero’s May 22nd summit of the world’s highest peak, which made him the youngest ever to summit, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA), which controls climbing activity from the Tibetan side,  issued new regulations on June 10 that ban those under 18 and over 60 from attempting the peak. Read More …

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Posted in Outdoor Articles |

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