Chris Sharma Sends “Jumbo Love”, Possible 5.15b Route

Chris Sharma has sent shockwaves through the climbing community with the recent news that he has completed a possible new 5.15b route (9b) on Clark Mountain.  If this climb can be repeated and authenticated as a true 5.15b route, this could become only the 4th route in the world to get this high distinction.

Jumbo Love, as Sharma has called it, is a 250 ft. monster that starts off with a 60ft. climb of 7c.  That’s just to get things warmed up.  The grade then goes up to 8c+ for the next 100 ft.  The climb then gets harder and eases back down to an 8a+/b finisher till the top of the cliff.

Jumbo Love was originally seen as a a possible place to set up three new routes, and was bolted accordingly.  Chris Sharma took it upon himself to change the bolting a hair and make it one huge route.

This news is all over the place.  To read more about the history of Jumbo Love, I highly recommend that you checkout the nice profile on UKClimbing.com.  This goes back to the very beginning of this route and gives a nice perspective on who has tried it and failed before Sharma’s successful climb.  Climbing Narcissist puts some nice perspective on how big of a deal this climb could be, and even offers a bit more to our knowledge database.  Climbing Narcissist mentions that this climb may be featured in a new Big Ups Productions video in the coming months.  That will definitely be something to look forward to.

Ian Jackson: “Climbing’s My Demon And My Cure” British Mountaineer Dies In Tragic Fall Near Mont Blanc

British mountaineer and famed rock climber, Ian Jackson, has been killed in what authorities are calling a “technical mistake” while abseiling a rock face near the foot of Mont Blanc. The 19 year-old climber had been climbing on the Les Gaillands crag near Chamonix  when the 160ft fall occurred.  Ian Jackson was airlifted to a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland but died en route.

Ian Jackson was an experienced rock climber and mountaineer having spent time climbing in North Wales, New Zealand, and the Alps.  He had made big climbs of both Highcliffe Nab in Gouisborough and Ben Nevis.  He was also a frequent climbing partner of famed high altitude climber Alan Hinkes.

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Sonnie Trotter: Trainin’ Like A Rock Star

Sonnie Trotter recently redpointed “Rhapsody” an E11 7a (5.14c R) in Scotland. Those of us that have little clue as to what the numbers signify–well, I will just tell ya, It is a pretty tough bit of climbing. So tough, in fact, that only one other person had ever done it before. Dave MacLeod made the first ascent back in 2006.

I’m not going to sit here and highlight this event, nor Mr. Trotter’s amazing rock climbing abilities. Nope. I’m just going to let you watch a small video of Sonnie Trotter training. Why? Well, you’ll soon realize why he is one of the best climbers in the world today. He is dedicated. Watch and cringe. You just might want to grab an icepack out of the fridge before you hit “Play.”

This video has actually been out for a year, or so, but Summer over at the Vice/Virtue blog brought this to my attention. You don’t get training videos like this often, but it does let you in to the rare world of being a top notch climber. I feel my fingertips bleeding and breaking every time I see it.

Sonnie also happens to keep up his own blog. This was news to me, as well. Will Gadd, who runs the Gravsports blog, mentioned this in a recent post, and for anyone that follows Sonnie, his blog is the place to be. Not only is he an amazing climber, but he is also the intellect behind this great piece of literature:

A Canadian man from Timmins, is walking down the street with a brown paper bag tucked under his arm, when suddenly he bumps into a buddy on the corner.

“whatcha got there Joe?” He asked.

“A case of beer Rick. I got it for my wife.” Joe replies.

“Oh. Good trade!”

Sonnie shares anything and everything with the world. It is a fascinating journey into the life of one of today’s top climbers. Just because these guys (and girls–had to get that in there for Summer) climb, doesn’t mean they don’t lead pretty normal lives away from the rock. Once on the rock, though, they become monsters.

Speaking of Monsters, check out Will Gadd’s blog. He is always doing something crazy…

Rock Climbing Robots From Mars

Rocktoberfest Rocs Red River Gorge October 12th-14th

Petzl America’s annual Roc Trip will be conducted this year in conjunction with Rocktoberfest at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Rocktoberfest is an annual fundraising event held by the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition to help preserve climbing access in eastern Kentucky.

This three day event will feature climbing clinics, competitions and celebrations set on the backdrop of one of the United States’ premier rock climbing playgrounds in eastern Kentucky.

Here is a list of some of the things to be highlighted at Rocktoberfest:

• Clinics for all levels of climbing featuring exclusive instruction from some of the world’s elite climbers..including Sonny Trotter.
• The Unveiling of Chris Sharma’s King Lines, presented by film maker Peter Mortimer.
• Flash Rally Competition featuring some of the world’s top competitors.
• A Special Bounty Prize for someone claiming a first ascent up two designated routes, yet to be determined.
• A Saturday night party featuring a live DJ, and a host Bluegrass Band.
• American and European athletes participating in this year’s events and clinics include Chris Sharma, Dave Graham, Emily Harrington, Lisa Rands, Joe Kinder, Chris Lindner, Danny Andrada, Steve McClure, Tony Lamiche, Said Belhaj and many, many others…

This years Petzl Roc Trip and Rocktoberfest will be trying to raise $10-15, 000 for the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition.

Petzl, one of the world’s foremost outdoor adventure suppliers is hoping to bring in more guests and more attention to this years Rocktoberfest.

This sounds like a really cool time.  If you are anywhere close to this region come October 12-14, make plans to stop by and see what all the excitement is about.  Perhaps you could even bring your climbing shoes and chalk bag and try your hands at two of the famous Red Rock routes, Paradise Lost (5.13b) and Lucifer (5.14c).  For pics of this region and these two famous routes, stop on by the Climbing Narcissist Blog for some great shots taken over this past Labor Day.

An Adventurist Editorial: The Stephen Fossett Debates

We should have all seen this one coming from a mile away–

Going into days 5 and 6 for the ongoing search of legendary adventurer Steven Fossett, people are starting to take their focus off of the search and more onto the debates surrounding these types of events when they occur–

First it began with how great of an adventurer Steven Fossett is.  Over the past few days this focus has slowly moved to the motives of a “Risk-Taker” and if Stephen Fossett’s family should be charged for the search currently taking place.

Both of these items are highly debatable and both of them generally always surround a high profile search, especially if the person involved was also a part of anything that has a certain risk-factor to it or has been the focus of media attention in the past.

Personally, I began taking notice of these debates around December of last year when three climbers became lost on Mt. Hood.  The ensuing search, that garnered massive media coverage, soon became a debate for a cause. 

It may be the cause of the general media’s focus to always provide something new to a highly viewed (and rated) story.  Running out of new leads, they hop back on the bus and get everyone involved in raging debates that once again spark interest to previous stories of the same general nature.

Two questions always emerge:  Should the families of the person being searched for have to pay for this service?  And secondly–the risk involved.  How could they do this to their families and loved ones?  What is it about risk that triggers these people to always endanger their lives? Read more

Adventure-X: Defining Adventure and Extreme Sports

I have put my new Adventure-X column up in the Outdoor Recreation area of Topix.  This weeks column takes a look at Adventure and Extreme Sports and what characterizes each. 

Many of you will already know that I am the current Editor of three seperate areas on Topix.  I currently Edit the Outdoor Recreation, Extreme Sports, and Mountain Climbing areas for their site.  This is a great news source.  Go check them out–actually have a little fun while your over their and type in your zip code in the search–find out what is going on in your neck of the woods–

Want a little teaser to this weeks Adventure-X column?  Read on.

Adventure-X:  Defining Adventure and Extreme Sports

Extreme Sports have been around since the mid-eighties. Not the sports themselves, but rather the term “Extreme Sports.” This term usually brings up an automatic picture of someone hitting the vert or grinding out a line on their deck. Not to long ago, though, things looked a bit different.

When Extreme Sports first gathered it’s famous name (attributed to an article in Outside Magazine) the sports involved looked a bit different than they do now. The ”Extreme Sports” angle was predomminantly geared towards adults–where now it is definately defined by the younger generation.

Extreme Sports essentially took off and focused on high-risk activities: Skydiving, scuba diving, hang gliding, rock climbing, storm chasing, and a new invention–bungee jumping. All of these activities were defined by their inherit risk factor as well as being non-team sports and taking place in the outdoors.

If you would like to read the rest of this column, Click HERE to go on over to Topix.  If you would like to read about Adventure-X and past columns then click HERE.  At the Top of this screen, you may notice a heading titled “Adventure-X”.  I will be posting the newest columns here each week.  This should prove to be a nice way to archive this special column for Topix.  Thank-you once again for your continued support.  I have been hearing some really good things about this and hope it will only get better.

Cheers-

Jason A. Hendricks, Editor

A Black Diamond in Red China? Equipment Maker Moves Production Overseas

For years, Black Diamond has been a leader in the manufacturing of climbing equipment, and good equipment at that.  Black Diamond has recently announced that some of it’s product line will now be made in China. 

Among American climbers, this has started an uproar.  First, there is the quality issue of the equipment–being made in China, will quality issues be forthcoming?  Secondly, this has opened up a whole can of worms for the US vs. China made products.  China has been in the headlines recently for a few “noteworthy” quality issues..ie..lead paint on toys..  Thirdly, is it right for a company that has prided itself on it’s environmental focus to pick the most unenvironmental friendly atmosphere in the world to produce it’s products, and last but not least, who is exactly producing these items–slave labor..ect..

As you can see, this is a very touchy subject.  Many people that have been fans of Black Diamond for years are spouting their dissapproval for this move.  I actually ran across this conversation taking place at the forums on MountainProject.

The very cool thing about this discussion is that Black Diamond and a couple of other personnel that work for various other equipment makers have chimed into the discussion.  People want answers to these questions, and Black Diamond has taken a note to do something about it.  I think this is great!  Finally someone that will listen and at least address these very concerning issues.

I have never seen a company step forward and publicly address these kinds of questions, on such an open medium.  Even if I don’t believe in the practice of shipping our jobs overseas, at least they are answering..Got to give Kudos to Black Diamond for these efforts. 

I am going to be keeping an eye on this one for awhile and see how it comes out…The Good:  Black Diamond is talking about the issues. The Bad:  Part of production has moved overseas.  The Ugly?  China has the worst Environmental laws in the world.  Will be interesting to watch.

What are your thoughts?  How do companies moving overseas effect your views of the product?  Do you actually look into the issues when thinking about new gear..ie..where it is made, who is making it, and the future effects of where it is made on the environment..Chime in and tell me your views by posting a comment…

The Adventurist: Another Step Forward, Another New Role

I recently ran across a site called Topix that caught my eye.  Here is a bit about the company:

Topix is the leading news community on the Web, connecting people to the information and discussions that matter to them in every U.S. town and city.

A Top 25 online news destination (Hitwise, February 2007), the site links news from 50,000 sources to 360,000 lively user-generated forums. Topix also works with the nation’s major media companies to grow and engage their online audiences through forums, classifieds, publishing platforms and RSS feeds.

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Topix LLC is a privately held company with investment from Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB).

Topix LLC is not affiliated in any manner with Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.

To put it simply, this is a news site that THE News Sites go to for information.

To make a long story short, I have applied and been accepted as the new Mountain Climbing Editor at Topix.  They trust that I will now be able to bring the latest and greatest news from the Mountain Climbing world to them and the world at large.

What this means for The Adventurist

I now have access to 50,000 different sources for climbing news.  On top of that, I now have artificial intelligence scouring the web 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all the latest info.

What this seemingly does, in one fell swoop, is it will allow me to bring the latest news and views from around the world involving Mountain Climbing…it also allows me to post, edit, link to, and decide what is actually relevent in the climbing community for the world to see.

To put it quite simply, a lot of us who run our own climbing sites have been frustrated about the lack of media attention to some areas.  If it is controversial..the media generally passes….Well, not anymore.  I can now post items to the Mountain Climbing front page…this includes stories, photos, forum threads, Editorials and well…basically anything I find of interest. 

What This Means to You

As a reader of The Adventurist, I will now be able to bring you even more great Mountain Climbing news from around the world.

If you are a writer or blogger in the world of Mountain Climbing and can bring something to me of interest–you may just see your viewership jump.  What I do is put up links to stories of interest–which could very well be from your site.  That link will take the person to the story on your page.

I also now have the means to write and edit my own stories for the site as well, which will help spread the word around the world.  We will see how it goes.

Submitting a Story or Idea

If you would be interested in having a story or article put up—OR–have found an item of particular interest, send me a brief note through my Submit & Contact page and include the link to the story.  If I think it will fit in, I will be more than happy to include it.

I will also be scouring all my usual sources for interesting articles to include in my updates.  This could be an interesting step for all of us and garner what we do a bit more attention in the world around us.  Just keep an eye out and perhaps you will see something you have done posted on a World-Wide News Outlet in the very near future.

If you would like to take a look at this page, you may do so by clicking Mountain Climbing now.  I have not added a link yet from The Adventurist, but will be doing so very shortly–actually, probably right after this article is posted.  I will also be putting up the RSS feed from this page on The Adventurist as well–if you send me your stories or ideas, you could actually get some much needed Double-Exposure–

This looks to be a great new project.  I need to thank the team at Topix for having the confidence in me for this spot–and will try my best to make it the best source for climbing information on the net.

As For The Adventurist

Of course it will continue on as normal–but now have alot more info coming your way–as well as even more exposure for all of us that take part in some of the great discussions taking place here.  I am looking forward to what this could bring to the table for all of us involved..Thank-you everyone for your support and continued readership.  I am hoping as this site continues to grow that we can all grow together..Thanks

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor,  The Adventurist

This Week in Adventure Sports Weekly–08/22/07

The new issue of Adventure Sports Weekly has been released.  One thing I truly do like about this new magazine is that it is so varied…there is something there for everyone.

This week, Adventure Sports Weekly takes us to the XTERRA Mountain Championships Off-road Triathalon–one of the biggest events of it’s kind in the world.  There were roughly 600 participants at this years event, which is also a qualifier for the World Championships held in Hawaii–this is a pretty good read and involves a first-person account of the event from one of it’s participants..Jeff Harrison.

Next we get an inside look at the youngest PRO Skater in the world, Nyjah Houston.  At 11 years old, he already is riding on the Pro Circuit and has all the usual sponsors to foot the bill.  Many of you will probably recognize Nyjah from the recent X Games–his waist-length dreads are hard to miss.  Greg Baerg from Lat34 fame is credited with the article–and actually had a chance to speak with the young Nyjah about his future and his present..quite entertaining and I am sure we will be hearing much, much more out of this youngster in the years to come.

Next up comes Adventure Sports Weekly’s Climbing Editor Patrick Welsh.  His weekly column dealing with his personal climbing experience–He is a climbing expert working with Black Diamond, has become an Adventure Sports Weekly staple and highly entertaining at that.

This week’s column, “Hanging by a Thread“, takes a look at the unpredictable nature of climbing…His title says it all.  Scary, but many of us know where he is coming from.

Probably the most entertaining piece in this weeks issue happens to cover a sport that gets little coverage in the press…haha…The Roller Derby!

Some of us who grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s may remember the Roller Derby being on TV weekly.  That was the hayday..but this sport has started a new growth spurt in recent times.

This article comes to us from Jen Phillon, a member of the Death Dealers Roller Derby team and gives an account of a recent night at the Derby and the amazing comeback that ensued.  Great Piece that brought back alot of fun memmories.

Overall, I think this may be the strongest issue I have read to date.  Covers a lot of different things.  As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the process of writing some material myself for Adventure Sports Weekly..so we can all look forward to that in the future…Go check it out and tell me what you think.

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