The American Alpine Journal 2010
This page: Jack Tackle on Tangled Up in Blue, the first route on the north face of Thunder Mountain, Alaska Range. Â Jay Smith Cover: Luka Lindic approaching the second bivouac on Bhagirathi II (6,512m), with Bhagirathi III (6,454m) in the background. Â Marko Prezelj
2010
V o lu m e 5 2 I s s u e 8 4
contents
16 Reincarnation, by Denis Urubko A bold new route on the southeast face of Cho Oyu in Nepal.
25 Rejuvenation, by Marko Prezelj
An invigorating trio of new routes in India’s Bhagirathi group.
34 Discovering What Lies Within, by Kyle Dempster
A lost mentor shows the way on the north face of Xuelian West, China.
42 A Bit of Luck, by Andy Houseman
The alpine-style first ascent of Chang Himal’s north face in Nepal.
48 Alone on Annapurna South, by Dodo Kopold
Some time to kill in base camp produces a bold new route.
52 Jobo Rinjang, by Joe Puryear
The alpine-style first ascent of a little-known Nepalese peak.
58 Thriller, by Jens Holsten
Four major routes in two weeks on Alaska’s Stikine Ice Cap.
64 Catharsis, by Jack Tackle
After 28 Alaskan expeditions: the trip of a lifetime.
70 Project Victory, by Gleb Sokolov
A bold new route on the north face of Pobeda in Kyrgyzstan.
78 Free Mountaineering, by Yan Dongdong
An inside look at modern Chinese alpinism.
87 The Golden Peak, by Kim Hyung-il
Jon Walsh following the crux pitch on a new line on the South Tower of Mt. Asgard, Baffin Island. Chris Brazeau
A new route on Pakistan’s Spantik raises the bar for Korean alpinism.
Climbs
90 110 136 150 164 165 170 176 193 201 207 218 231 253 258 280 299 326 351 357 360
Contiguous United States Alaska Canada Greenland Mexico Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil Peru, Bolivia Argentina, Chile Antarctica Middle East (Oman, Yemen) Africa (Morocco, Mali, Namibia, Malawi) Norway CIS: Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan Afghanistan Pakistan India Nepal China Tibet Malaysia AAC Grants
and
Expeditions
362 Book Reviews, edited by David Stevenson ew books by Daniel Arnold, Jerry Auld, Dean Fidelman and John Long, N Steve House, Bree Loewen, Robert Marshall, Royal Robbins, David Roberts, and Ed Viesturs.
373 In Memoriam, edited by Cameron M. Burns Remembering Stimson Bullitt, Riccardo Cassin, Jonathan Copp, Micah Dash, Charles Snead Houston, Toma탑 Humar, Craig Luebben, Clifton H.W. Maloney, Robert Model Jr., and Sean Patrick.
386 Club Activities, edited by Frederick O. Johnson 391 Index 400 International Grade Comparison Chart S ubmission guidelines, expanded reports, additional photos, topos, and comments are available at aaj.AmericanAlpineClub.org
Ruben van Walen on the first ascent of Percolator Addicts, Cordon Granito, Chile (p. 240). Menno Boermans, www.mennoboermans.eu
Jiri Splichal and Martin Klonfar on a new variant to the original winter route on Rulten during the International Winter Meet in Lofoten, Norway. Marko Prezelj
Industry Friends of the
American Alpine Journal We thank the following for their generous financial support: Summit Partner
Benefactor
Patrons
Kate Rutherford leading out on the first ascent of 10 Pounds of Tequila (V 5.12c R), on the east face of Acopan Tepui, Venezuela. Â Mikey Schaefer
Friends of the
American Alpine Journal We thank the following for their generous financial support: Benefactors
Yvon Chouinard H. Adams Carter American Alpine Journal Fund
Patrons
Gordon A. Benner, M.D. Ann Carter Richard E. Hoffman, M.D. John G. McCall, M.D.* *In memory of John Fischer, Charlie Fowler and Randall Grandstaff
Joseph E. Murphy Edith Overly Verne and Marion Read Mark A. Richey Glenn E. Porzak
Supporters
William A. Burd Jim Edwards Z. Wayne Griffin, Jr. John R. Kascenska, II William R. Kilpatrick, M.D.
Special Thanks
David Harrah Michael John Lewis, Jr. Steve Schwartz Samuel C. Silverstein, M.D. Approaching the summit of Mt. Sarmiento, in Chile’s Tierra del Fuego. Ralf Gantzhorn
The American Alpine Journal, 710 Tenth St. Suite 100, Golden, Colorado 80401 Telephone: (303) 384-0110 Fax: (303) 384-0111 E-mail: aaj@AmericanAlpineClub.org www.AmericanAlpineClub.org ISSN: 0065-6925
ISBN: 978-1-933056-23-4
ISBN: (e-book) 978-1-933056-24-1
©2010 The American Alpine Club. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved.
The American Alpine Journal
T he A merican A lpine C lub
John Harlin III, Editor
Officials for the Y ear 2010
Senior Editor Kelly Cordes Associate Editors Lindsay Griffin Dougald MacDonald Art Director Lili Henzler Photo Guru Dan Gambino Contributing Editors Joe Kelsey, Climbs & Expeditions David Stevenson, Book Reviews Cameron M. Burns, In Memoriam Frederick O. Johnson, Club Activities Cartographer Martin Gamache, Alpine Mapping Guild Translators Adam French Marina Heusch Martin Gutmann Peter Jensen-Choi Todd Miller Marina Modlin Henry Pickford Ekaterina Vorotnikova Indexers Ralph Ferrara, Eve Tallman Regional Contacts Lowell Skoog and Matt Perkins, Washington Cascades; Drew Brayshaw and Don Serl, Coast Mountains, BC; Raphael Slawinski, Canadian Rockies; Antonio Gómez Bohórquez and Sergio Ramírez Carrascal, Peru; Daniel Seeliger, Cochamó; Rolando Garibotti, Patagonia; Damien Gildea, Antarctica; Harish Kapadia, India; Elizabeth Hawley and Richard Salisbury, Nepal; Tsunimichi Ikeda and Tamotsu Nakamura, Japanese expeditions; Peter Jensen-Choi, Korean expeditions; Anna Piunova, CIS expeditions; Servei General d’Informació de Muntanya, Spanish expeditions; Lindsay Griffin, Earth With additional thanks to Jeff Benowitz, Nate Brown, Tommy Caldwell, Jer Collins, Steve Gruhn, Max Hasson, Blake Herrington, Elena Laletina, José Luis Mendieta, Bruce Normand, Christine Pae, Roger Payne, Anna Piunova, Joe Puryear, Joe Reichert, Darío Rodriguez, Mikey Schaefer, Jay Smith, Mark Westman
*Directors ex-officio
Executive Committee Honorary President
President
Vice President
William Lowell Putnam
Steven J. Swenson*
Charles B. Franks*
Honorary Treasurer
Secretary
Treasurer
Theodore (Sam) Streibert
George Lowe III*
Jack Tackle*
Directors Terms ending 2011
Terms ending 2012
Terms ending 2013
Charlotte Fox Aimee Barnes Doug Walker Dave Riggs
Ellen Lapham John R. Kascenska Eric Simonson Doug Colwell Roanne Miller Rob BonDurant
Cody J Smith A. Travis Spitzer Pete Takeda Mark Kroese Paul Gagner
Section Chairs Alaska Harry Hunt & James Brady Blue Ridge Simon Carr Cascade Eddie Espinosa & Roger Strong Deep South Chadwick Hagan Front Range Chris Pruchnic
Great Lakes Bill Thompson Heartland Jeremy Collins New England Nancy Savickas New York Philip Erard Northern Rockies Brian Cabe Sierra Nevada Tom Burch
Southern Appalachian David Thoenen Southwest James Pinter-Lucke Tetons Brenton Reagan Western Slope Jim Donini Wyoming Don Foote
Editors The American Alpine Journal
Accidents in North American Mountaineering
John Harlin III
John E. (Jed) Williamson
Staff Executive Director – Phil Powers Director of Operations – Penn Burris Marketing Director – David Maren Development & Conservation Director – Deanne Buck Technology Manager – Craig Hoffman Outreach Manager– Dana Richardson Executive Assistant & Grants Manager – Janet Miller Membership Coordinator – Lauren Shockey
Communications & Content Manager – Emily Kreis Bookkeeper – Carol Kotchek Events Coordinator – Brittany Griffith Library & Museum Director – Sarah Wood Assistant Director & Preservation Librarian – Beth Heller Special Collections Manager – Gary Landeck Ranch Manager – John Clegg
Sunset from near the final camp on the new Korean route on Spantik, Pakistan. Kim Hyung-il Collection
P r e fac e An Open Letter to Managers of Peak Fees and Permits in the Greater Ranges. Your high peaks are beautiful, as are the people who live in their valleys. They attract visitors from all over the world, which is a source of pride for those who live in mountain communities. However, many of the rules that apply to visitors are relics of a bygone era and are now stumbling blocks to climbing in the Greater Ranges. If you simplify your regulations, you’ll more easily and effectively protect the environment, support rural communities, and help mountaineers. Our biggest concern involves the requirement to choose in advance a peak and even a route up that peak. This may be less of an issue for a big group going to a well-known summit, such as a commercial expedition. But for modern climbers—especially the exploratory and new-route climbers represented in the American Alpine Journal—there is a great need for flexibility in the field. We may have seen a photo of a beautiful peak that inspired us to fly halfway around the world to try to climb it. But on arrival we might discover that snow conditions are bad, access routes are dangerous, or the route is unsuited to our skills. Also, the fee structure should not discourage a modern expedition of two climbers operating in very lightweight style. A small group of friends climbing together is the future of climbing, even on the most difficult and remote mountains. There is only so much that can be planned back home in Paris, Denver, or Tokyo. Rigid rules, high fees, inflexibility regarding changes of plans, all discourage visits by responsible climbers, and they can be counter-productive by encouraging rule breaking. All parties would benefit, especially the rural communities that provide goods and services, if the permit process was modernized. Many good ideas have been floated, and they all point toward simplicity and flexibility. Here are key points for your consideration: • A blanket fee and permit could apply to a valley or region, instead of to a specific peak (i.e. give climbers the same freedom as trekkers). • Liaison officers, who generally have little to do on small expeditions, could be replaced by a system of “rangers,” who would follow good-practice environmental guidelines for protected-area management. • Approved tour companies could fulfill most of the roles currently undertaken by liaison officers, and they could deal with permits on the spot or with minimum wait. Over 100 years ago, the pioneers of Himalayan mountaineering were climbing in small teams. In the 1930’s Eric Shipton wrote of his longing to “...wander with a small, self-contained party through the labyrinth of unexplored valleys, forming plans to suit circumstances, climbing peaks when the opportunity occurred, following topographical clues and crossing passes into unknown country.” Those heady days of exploration, when so much was open to enterprising travelers, may be over. But today, if you simplify your regulations, you will not only help mountaineers, you’ll also find that climbers will be easier to manage, the environment can be better protected, and happier visitors will bring more business to support rural communities. John Harlin III Editor
Biyong Village, Tibet, with the east face of an unnamed and unclimbed 6,030m peak behind. Tamotsu Nakamura
If you like the AAJ, you’ll love the AAJ Online. There you’ll find extra panoramic photos, topos, longer reports, and more. Space in the printed AAJ is very tight, so we can’t include everything. When you find a report about a place you’re interested in, be sure to check out aaj.AmericanAlpineClub.org; you might find a lot more good info. You can also leave comments and see corrections.
The American Alpine Club From the 2009 Annual Report. In the face of a tough economy, our club was able to achieve its overall goals. With substantial effort, we met our fund-raising targets and exceeded our membership goals. We also moved forward on many fronts. This year’s Craggin’ Classic was held in Utah’s Wasatch Range. After two years of operating the Craggin’ Classic, it is clear that smaller, more frequent events, operated in cooperation with our sections and local climbing organizations, will be the model for the future. Our rekindled involvement in the international climbing community continued with another International Climbers’ Meet in Indian Creek. The brainchild of past president Jim Donini, the ICM will make its way to Yosemite Valley this fall. The international theme continued when Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, spoke at our Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner. The AAC helped Greg during his early days of trying to build schools in Pakistan, and he received our David Brower Conservation Award in 1998. In turn, he drew a wonderful crowd to the dinner, and, from a fund-raising perspective, it was our most successful ever—grossing over $75,000, plus an additional $15,000 raised for conservation. Last spring, John Clegg came on as the new manager of the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch. With help from Ranch Committee chairman Bill Fetterhoff, this was a great year for the Ranch. Fund-raising was up in general, and then was multiplied by a grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. Our trail building and conservation work in Patagonia continued for a second year under the dedicated leadership of Rolando Garibotti. His efforts have inspired a way for the AAC to support conservation work at local climbing areas in the United States. Modeling our effort after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, we plan to put the muscles of climbers to work restoring and improving trails, staging areas, and signage. If you have needs at your local crag, work with your section chair to bring the new CCC—the Climber Conservation Corps—to your area. We continued to focus our advocacy efforts on issues of national prominence or ones that bode to set a national precedent. Last year, we worked successfully on preventing fee increases for climbers in Denali National Park—an issue that I fear we will have to address again. Moving into 2010, our attention has been focused on the Merced River Plan in Yosemite and the Minnewaska State Park management plan in New York. While my forecast that 2009 would be a challenging year held true, it also was a successful one. The budgeted net operating loss for the club was slightly less than expected. Kudos are due to the marketing team for membership growth that exceeded our plan. I am proud of the marketing and messaging coming out of the club these days; we are telling our story Warming up at the AAC’s 2009 International Climbers’ Meet. better than ever. Underneath that Andrew Burr
success, however, are indications that substantial changes for the club’s programs and operations are in order. Ultimately, the best measure of success for the AAC is the degree to which committed climbers vote for our relevance with their dues dollars. If there are 500,000 committed climbers in the U.S., or even only 250,000, our membership of 8,000plus is a tiny share. Our programs must be improved to fully deliver on our mission to “provide knowledge and inspiration, conservation and advocacy, and AAC member Rolo Garibotti repairing trails during a four-year logistical support for the climbing com- AAC/Patagonia Inc. project. Doerte Pietron munity.” We are well positioned to make substantial changes. Our board has been reformed into a more nimble committee structure, our financial position is sound, and we are led by a president, Steve Swenson, who cares deeply that change is made in a process that’s thoughtful and appropriate. This effort began in an ad hoc fashion in 2009 when the board launched three, independent processes: • With the IT Project, the board established funding for a substantial overhaul of our electronic delivery systems for information. • A research project on how to improve our Grants Program is under way. • Our Knowledge Committee is building a plan to restructure our publications in 2011 and beyond. Steve Swenson has asked that we use our three ad hoc planning processes as input into a five-year plan due to the board in draft form in October. Initial meetings with the board indicate that this process will, for the first time in many years, call for significant changes to the AAC’s core programs. Current programs like our rescue benefit and the AAJ must be evaluated and improved. Programs and membership benefits that are no longer as relevant will be reduced or eliminated. New programs will be added. The board populated a task force of active climbers chaired by board member Paul Gagner to help with this work. Once the draft strategic plan is delivered to the board of directors in October, there will be a comment period followed by revisions before a final plan is presented to the board in February 2011. Your input is essential. This year bodes to be at least as challenging as last year was, but I am grateful that the club leadership recognizes that these times also present opportunities for real change. I hope you take a serious look at how our club can evolve into a community that includes all climbers. Suggestions of any kind can be sent to the Planning Task Force at: planning@americanalpineclub.org Lastly, please vote with your dollars for a better, stronger American Alpine Club. As climbers and club members, we know the importance of partnership—of watching out for one another and banding together to do something great. If we can pool contributions, and go in on this together, then the kind of substantial change our club is seeking is within reach. Phil Powers Executive Director