Ueli Steck Scales New Heights With 2008 Eiger Award

By Jo Adams

OF all the mountains, in all the ranges across the world, few have provoked the myriad of feelings that the north face of the Eiger has.

All at once, terrifying, magnificent and inspirational, the Eigernordwand is as steeply enriched with history as it is with limestone and it is this history that has time and again lent mountaineers to show tenacity, courage and unlimited self-confidence every time they step foot on it.

In doing so, prepared as they are to take that extra step, they motivate us and encourage us, forcing us by their own deeds to take a more introspective look on life than we ever normally would.

Whether or not the mountaineers themselves acknowledge this would vary from one to another as generally speaking they are a modest and reticent band when it comes to talking about their achievements in life, preferring instead to let the mountains tell their story.

When the Eiger Award for 2008 was announced in Grindelwald at the end of May it was no different a scenario as the recipient, Ueli Steck, looked as if sprinting up the north face of the Eiger was a doddle in comparison to standing on a podium in front of his peers.

Swiss born Steck (31) has been appropriately recognized not only for a solo ascent of the north face of the Eiger (which saw him register an incredible speed record for the notoriously difficult vertical face), but for his mountaineering in general, his personality and of course his courageous attempt to rescue stricken Spanish climber Iñaki Ochoa on Annapurna just 10 days before.

Modest in the extreme,  Steck described his climb to Ochoa (along with fellow Swiss alpinist Simon Anthamatten) as ‘just something you do’.

“If you were walking down the street and you saw someone who needed help you would give it to them.”

Hardly an apt comparison for the two climbers who not only immediately headed up the storm ravaged Annapurna face to 7,400m, but did so ill-equipped, as they had already stored their gear for their own attempt while waiting for the weather to show some signs of kindness.

“We couldn’t climb up and get all our gear, come back down and then go again, it would have been impossible. So we climbed in regular boots, ones you would use for a summer climb in the Alps.” Steck said.

“We left base camp and got as far as 6,900m but when we got there because we didn’t have the right climbing boots on Simon had to stay put. I was only able to go on because the Russian climber Alexi Bolotov came down from the summit and he swapped boots with me. Luckily they were a size 45, if they had of been 42 it would have been Simon who went on alone.”

Were any thoughts given to the dangerous circumstances?

“We took every care up there. It was no more or no less dangerous than at any other time. We went high and we went fast but we still took every possible care.”

Prior to the rescue attempt, which threw Steck’s name into the worldwide media, he was starting to gain a somewhat unfair reputation as a ‘mad’ climber for his speed records and his solo ascents.

“There were some people who were saying I was mad, crazy, for setting speed records and doing so many solo ascents but it’s really good to know that there are some people out there who understand what Alpinism is all about.

“To win the Eiger Award is great, but like reaching a summit for the first time, it hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

The Eigernordwand solo speed record was previously held by Christoph Hainz when in 2003 he climbed it in 04:30.00, but then Steck came along in 2007 and registered 03:45.00.

Not content with that he returned in February 2008 and proceeded to shake the life out of his own time by registering a mind blowing 2:47:33.

“It’s a very special mountain to me, I’ve climbed it so many times and while I would never lose respect for the mountain, to me it is my playground.” said Steck.

“The Heckmair route is no less difficult now than it was in 1938 (first ascent).

“What has changed is the equipment we use and the skills of the individual mountaineers, the dangers are still the same.

“When I first climbed the north face I took two 250m ropes to make sure I could get back down if I needed to.

“Now I take a 35m rope and I know that that is sufficient for me to descend if I need to. That’s a change in me though; the mountain hasn’t changed at all.”

Steck first stepped onto a mountain at the age of 12 and has never looked back.

Along with Stephan Siegrist he opened the ‘Young Spider’ (1800m M7/Wi6; 7a/A2) route on the Eiger in 2001 and later becoming the first to climb it solo in 2006.

Well known for his extreme alpine style, meaning no fixed ropes or supplemental oxygen, Steck also has other numerous solo first ascents to his name including Cholatse North Face 6440m, Tawoche East Face 6505m and Mount Dickey, Alaska, first ascent (1700m M7+/Ai6 5.9/A1) to mention just a few.

“I prefer the alpine style of climbing. To me that is real mountaineering, it is the biggest challenge.”

A noted solo climber there are times when Steck is more than happy to climb with a partner and he and Anthamatten completed a first ascent of the 6,500m high Tengkampoche in May.

“Simon is a very strong climber and after we had climbed together in Canada I knew he was the one I wanted as my partner for Annapurna.

“We make a good team, we speak the same language and he’s pretty smart.

“He hasn’t got any 8000ms yet so he leaves all the decisions on the mountain to me. If I say we do something he doesn’t argue he accepts and so we work well together. He has to be able to trust me but I also have to be able to trust him, it works both ways.”

“We get on really well together and even when sitting around in base camp for one, two weeks at a time waiting for the right weather window, we got along fine.

“Well apart from the breakfast table! I like to lounge back and relax and Simon hates that, he thinks we should sit upright at the table. He gets very annoyed about that, but that’s the only thing!

“Relationships are very important in climbing and you need to take that with you when you climb. If you can’t get along with someone on the ground it is going to be so much worse on a wall.”

Steck will now take time out to recover from his arduous Himalayan trip and right now he has no plans for any big expeditions.

“I am not giving up on the south face of Annapurna, we will get back there one day, but there’s no rush, it’s not going anywhere. Now I rest, recover and let my body get over the last few weeks. Simon and I will definitely climb again together but I will also solo as well.

“I love the aspect of being alone on a mountain. When you are up at 6,000m and there is no way of going down you are totally alone and I feel very, very small then.

“But that gives you a total respect for the mountain. It opens up your senses, there’s no feeling like it, it is so intense. Then when you go back down into the valley it leaves. So, we keep going, we keep looking for more challenges in the mountains.

“If I didn’t climb I would find something else that I would follow with the same passion. I want to live life no matter what.”

For a man who ‘just’ climbs mountains Ueli Steck has done himself proud and with his name now in the history books of the Eiger in indelible ink, he has already more than made his mark.

Editor’s Note:  This is a Special Report from the 2008 Eiger Awards.  Jo Adams, who wrote this great piece for The Adventurist, retains all rights to this article and the photos contained.  For reprint rights, please contact Jo Adams at siula.grande.peru@gmail.com.  Jo Adams is a Freelance Sports Journalist based out of Dorset, England.  Thank-you Jo for this special report.

©2008 The Adventurist.  All Rights Reserved.  This article may not be republished or redistributed without contacting the Author or Publisher for further arrangements.

Influence, Influenced, and Influencing

I think I just posted the weirdest title in my two years of blogging. It is rather vague, but you will understand it a bit more in just a moment. I promise.

Last week I put up an editorial titled “The ‘Other’ Side of Green.” Basically it took a look at some of the more eco-friendly companies, with their intentions put in perspective. Are they as ‘Green’ or ‘Eco-friendly’ as they claim? Or is this just another strange attempt to lure dollars away from a caring public?

This ‘rant’, as it has now been called, was influenced by a single paragraph I had read over at the Splitterchoss Blog, a great blog for everything to do with rock climbing.

The Influence

Here’s the paragraph that got it all started.

So much of the outdoor industry pretends to be green while at the same time their very existence is founded upon the notion that you need to buy more new stuff. Now granted, there are times when you do need new gear, and I think that is ok. But the big joke about this whole “green” movement is that people think you can save the world by buying more stuff.

Influenced

This single paragraph got me to thinking that how outdoor gear is currently marketed to our eco-friendly, green, carbon neutral mindset, yet really persuades us to take actions that are exactly opposite from this standpoint. Every time we buy something new, we throw something away. Sure, our new gear may be eco-friendly, but our old gear will just sit in a landfill for thousands of years. It really isn’t a revolutionary thought, and I am sure others have felt the same way, but it did spark some interest.

Influencing

A couple of days after my Editorial was posted on this site, I ran across this on the Vice/Virtue climbing blog:

Last week, Jason Hendricks from The Adventurist went on a rant about the so-called “greening” of outdoor gear. And how we shouldn’t rely on manufacturer’s eco-hype alternatives - like recycled polyester base-layers and such - to do it for us. I’m sure this discussion is going on everywhere at once, but for my part, I committed to writing about environmental action you can do, not just pay for. Reducing waste and reusing equipment you already have.

This happens to be from an article entitled “Reduce, Reuse, Resole,”  hence the idea for this post’s title.

Summer, who runs the Vice/Virtues climbing blog has taken this idea a step further.  She is actually influencing her readers to take a second look at their gear and decide if they really need something new, or if that old gear can be fixed or recycled so that it becomes useful once again.  She is promising a whole series of ideas that could keep a butt-load of old gear out of the trash heap.  This first article focuses on climbing shoes.  She offers up some great tips on repairs, as well as where to obtain the materials to do-it-yourself, which saves even more cash.

The way prices are moving skyward on many of our everyday items, this idea is quite exciting and intriguing in relation to outdoors gear.  I personally can’t wait to see her next article.  I know I am looking forward to learning a thing or two about saving some of my gear, as well as my cash.

I will be posting more about Summer and her ideas in the weeks ahead, as I think this could be a huge influence on how many of us think.  She is giving us a needed alternative to how things are marketed to us and what we can do to get the most out of our current gear.  Very nice, Summer.

Skydivers Shake Death By Leaping From Crashing Plane

As a recent commenter on the Free Republic suggests, “Wow, what are the odds…”

Skydivers planning a jump in eastern Spain recently got a bit more than they were bargaining for. The plane carrying the thrill seekers lost a wing, plunged to earth, exploded and killed the pilot and one passenger. The skydivers, already prepared for their jump, decided to bail out a bit early. This move probably saved their lives.

Four of the parachutists were injured in the ordeal after bad landings, with two of them being listed as serious. One, a 23-year-old man suffered some back injuries, while another, a 52-year-old man suffered a neck injury. In total, six skydivers jumped from the crashing plane.

Almost sounds like a weird James Bond type movie scene, but this one is 100% real. To read more on this amazing story, CLICK HERE now.

Delia Salomon To Attempt English Channel Swim–At 16

For most 16 year-olds, cars and driving take top priority. Delia Salomon isn’t like most 16 year-olds.  She has a far bigger ambition. Delia Salomon is planning to swim the English Channel.  Since 1875, the English Channel has only been swam a total of 772 times. In relation to Mt. Everest, this endeavor will be close to four times more difficult,  where over 3,500 people have summited the world’s highest peak since 1953.

Delia Salomon has been training fanatically over the past year for the English Channel attempt. Her first try will take place in August. She has been busy running, swimming, and acclimatizing for the big moment, as well as gaining an extra 15 pounds that will help protect her from the frigid 50 degree waters. As for the acclimatizing, much like climbers on Mt. Everest, Delia is trying to persuade her body into accepting the frigid temperatures of the water. She does this by swimming in cooler waters, as well as the occasional ice bath.

The English Channel is notoriously known for bad weather and the harsh current. Often swimmers are taken miles off course or relent unceremoniously to the current that tugs a swimmer back two strokes for every one forward. The English Channel spans 21 miles across. One of Delia’s trainers recently mentioned to the San Francisco Chronicle that it compares to running 36 miles continuously, uphill. Delia Salomon is planning on completing this feat in 9 hours. The record is seven.

Even at sixteen-years-old, Delia will not be the youngest person to ever achieve that feat. That distinction belongs to a twelve-year-old who completed the English Channel in 1983. Since that time, the rules have changed. The Channel Swimming Association, who governs all attempts at swimming the Channel, has changed the age to 16. They have also enforced a rule that any successful attempt has to end on land. This could require a bit of climber skills to pull off, as the landfall area is surrounded by rock and cliffs.

The San Francisco Chronicle, who recently ran an article on Delia Salomom (she lives in nearby Berkeley) had a great quote from Delia on her ambitions:

“I think I can do it,” says Delia, an A student at Berkeley High who’s completing her sophomore year. “It’s a goal I set for myself. It’s good to push ourselves, to try to do things that you don’t think you can do.“

To bad all kids don’t have that same mentality.  My daughters, all they care about are boys–YUCK!

By the way, another cool thing.  Delia was inspired by reading a book–

Video: Climbing the World’s Tallest Tree

Here’s a pretty cool video of a slightly different aspect of climbing.  Enjoy!

Rafting the Wilds of Alaska

We have all dreamed about grabbing that raft or kayak and heading straight in to the wilds of Alaska and ‘Bear Country.’  Alright, maybe not all of us.  There has been a time or two when the thought has crossed my own mind.  Many of us still look to Alaska as being one of the most wild and untouched places in the world.  Moose, Bear, an occasional Penguin.  Ok, Penguins aren’t from Alaska, but they always add a bit of ‘cuteness’ to a story.  Can’t blame a guy for trying…

Jeff Varvil, who writes a monthly column for Water and Woods Magazine, shows us how easy it is to just get out there and try our hands at rafting the wild rivers of Alaska.  He takes us from where to go, to price and equipment involved.  Most of this costs as little as $60 a day for raft rental, but what is sixty bucks when your in the wilds of Alaska?

Jeff highlights a few of the more popular short rafting routes.  Those suitable for a nice day trip, but he also warns that the rivers of Alaska are as diverse as you could want.  They go from lazy crawls to wild class IV and V rapids.  For the latter, you would definitely need some experience and training, along with some kind of knowledge of survival skills.  It wouldn’t hurt to know how to swim either.

This is definitely a cool read and offers up some great information if you have ever thought about heading into the wilds of Alaska.  I have personally never been, but a friend of mine recently mentioned that his family owns a Bed & Breakfast up that way.  May have to try to pull some strings in the near future–

If you do decide to head to Alaska for a jaunt on the rivers, be sure to keep your eyes peeled.  You never know when that rare penguin might make an appearance..

Free Fishing In Indiana-No License Required June 7th and 8th

In efforts to get people outdoors and discover the wonderful world of fishing, Indiana is once again holding it’s Free Fishing Weekend on June 7th and 8th.  During this special two day event all waters in Indiana can be fished without a state fishing license.  All other rules and regulations, including state catch limits and size, must be adhered to.

This would be a great time to get the kids involved or to take someone who hasn’t been out in awhile.

Current Indiana hot spots include the breakwalls at East Chicago and Calumet Park, where the perch are said to be biting fairly well.  Lake Michigan offers up some good opportunities in Chinook, Brown Trout, Steelheads and Coho.  Also, with the cooler temperatures this Spring and going in to Summer, Bluegill are starting to Spawn and biting like mad around the state.

Most of Indiana’s state parks do charge a small admission fee to fish the waters, but there are plenty of great spots found on DNR property or local rivers and reservoirs that are completely free and easily accessed.

For some tips on cutting back even more on the cost for this Free Fishing Weekend in Indiana, head over to the Post-Tribune, who recently ran an article about how and where to find some cheap gear.  We all know that ‘cheap’ is a good thing.

Denali Update: Search for Two Missing Japanese Climbers Suspended

The search for two Japanese climbers, who were attempting to summit Denali (Mt. McKinley) by way of the Cassin Ridge Route has been suspended. Authorities involved in the search and rescue efforts have put all aerial searches on hold, saying that the area has been fully combed from both the air and the trail, for the two climbers without any luck.

In my last report, I mentioned that the two climbers’ names had not been released to the public, pending their families being notified. This has taken place. The two missing climbers are now being identified as Tatsuro Yamada (27) and Yuto Inoue (24). Both had been climbing with a well-known group of mountaineers, known simply as the “Giri-Giri Boys”.

The Alpinist takes a pretty good look at the background of this rescue attempt, as well as some of the things that rescuers have been able to determine about the missing climbers. One of the biggest things of note was the lack of supplies for an extended journey in the mountains. Both climbers had taken up lightweight gear and only enough food and water for 4-5 days. They failed to meet up with the rest of their group on May 22, and could have actually been missing since May 10th, the date that had set to take off on their own journey to the top of Denali.

From the Alpinist:

In light of their limited supplies and the subzero temperatures, search managers consider that survival is outside the window of possibility. Observers have thoroughly searched the route and surrounding areas to the degree that if the climbers were visible on the surface, there is a high probability they would have been discovered.

It has been a tough couple of weeks in the world of mountain climbing.  First, Inaki Ochoa de Olza on Annapurna, and now these two.  Let’s hope that these two climbers can eventually be found, and at least give their families some peace of mind.  Our thoughts are with them today.

The Adventurist News & Notes…Plus a Special Contest!

I recently ran across an interesting idea over at the Lateral Lines blog. Jon Clausen, who writes the Lateral Lines blog has been a bit busy of late with school and his personal life and decided to do what he called a “Link Dump.” The idea being that there were many things that he would love to write more in-depth about, but he just doesn’t have the time. He put up the links to the interesting articles, with a couple lines of summary or an interesting point or two and the rest was left up to the reader to decide if it was interesting enough to click.

Many bloggers can attest to the fact that we have way more information coming at us than we can possibly ever write about. Along with that, add in any side-projects, reading, commenting etc. and you can see that this can become a full time job pretty fast.

Here is a bit of my own schedule, just in relation to this site over the past couple of weeks. I have done a blog host switch going from Wordpress to Skinny Moose Media. This alone took up anywhere from 2-5 hours a day for almost a week and a half straight. In the meantime I was putting up my daily Everest reports and anything else of interest, trying to get familiar with the Outdoor Bloggers Summit, answering between 25-50 emails a day, making comments on other blogs of interest and working on possibly two more side projects (will get into that a bit later), all while working a full-time job. Needless to say, I have been quite busy.

The “Link Dump” idea appeals to me in the fact that I can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, plus offer up quite a few items of interest at once. I am thinking of possibly doing this on a weekly basis, much like the “My Indiana” pieces I am now including. Anytime I find something that appeals to me, or that I think might hold an interest for you, the reader, I “Bookmark” it for the future, hoping that I will have time to include it in a future post. More times than not, those bookmarks stay there untouched.

Go check out Jon Clausen’s “Lateral Lines” blog to see this idea in action. Then come back to The Adventurist and give me a suggestion for a title to this weekly “Link Dump.” The person who offers up the best idea for a title will receive a special gift–Hey Wow! My first contest. We will see how it goes. Leave your ideas in the comments section below.

I mentioned earlier that I am in the process of a couple of side-projects that don’t necessarily pertain to The Adventurist. One of these projects involves the Outdoor Bloggers Summit. Over the past few weeks I have been contacted a few times by outdoor writers and bloggers asking me questions about ‘blogging,’ and how to do certain things pertaining to this media format. After contacting Kristine, one of the editors over at the OBS, we have discussed having myself offer up a weekly column dedicated to these issues. This should be a fun project and hopefully will be informative, as well.

I have also been offered the opportunity to “Guest Blog” on another Outdoors related site, that has nothing to do with Adventure, but still involves the great outdoors. Kenny Breckenridge, who runs the Kenny’s Great Outdoors blog, has shot me an offer about writing over there on occasion. Kenny is quite the outdoorsman and if you ever get a chance to talk with him, he will leave you in stitches. He is definitely a funny guy, but knows his stuff as well. Go check out his site.

A few other things of interest: The Adventurist was recently mentioned on a Bulgarian Adventure Blog (You may need Google Translator to read this, I did!). That is kind of exciting. This follows up a couple of mentions in the UK–most notably UKClimbing.com, perhaps the biggest climbing site in the UK and all of Europe, as well as a site in Japan. Sometimes we forget the reach that we, as writers have. It is exciting, none the less, to have readers from all over the United States and the World tuning in to this site.

One of my reasonings I’m offering up this information publicly is not to brag by any means, but it is an effort to let all of you know that I do care about what I do and there is a real person on the other side of the screen. With many sites, you get the information without ever getting to know who it is writing. I care about my readers and am truly humbled by the small impact I have been able to make over the last year and a half. Without all of you, I probably wouldn’t be doing this. So, thank-you from the bottom of my heart for taking an interest in what I do.

With the new move to Skinny Moose Media being 90% complete, the future is looking good and my time should be getting better situated. Thanks for coming along for the ride and hopefully we will continue to have a good time here at The Adventurist. There will be a few new improvements, a couple more added features, but in the end, I will still be doing what I do and pushing forward with my goal of making this one of the best sites of it’s kind in the world.

If you have any ideas, news tips, stories, articles, etc. that may be of interest or just want to chat, I always have room in my email box. Drop me a line. The address can be found below.

Cheers-

Jason A. Hendricks

Editor

The Adventurist

theadventurist@cliffhanger.com

Everest 2008: Mike Browder, Climbing with Summitclimb Expedition, in Trouble on Everest–Updated

Breaking News–Breaking News–Breaking News

Continue Below For the Latest Update

Mike Browder, who is a part of the Summitclimb Expedition on Mt. Everest this season, is in trouble. He was going for a late season summit bid as Summitclimb, one of the last teams on Everest this season, was looking to finish up what had, thus far, been a successful expedition.

From SummitClimb (through EverestNews)

Mike Browder seems to be in trouble on the south summit. He’s with Pasang Sherpa and Lakpa Sherpa, two of our best. It seems he is snow blind, and they are trying to get him down. As soon as we heard the news, we sent two more sherpas, Gyelzen and Sangay up from camp 2 to camp 4 with extra oxygen, food, water, and emergency equipment. We are very worried and doing everything possible to get Mike down safely. Our prayers go out to Mr. Browder and the entire sherpa team. We will keep you informed.

Here are the details that I know. I know that this is an ongoing situation on Mt. Everest. Mike Browder had started his push for the summit on May 27, where he was sitting at the South Col with Pasang Gyalu Sherpa and Lhakpa Gyalu Sherpa. At that point, he was looking good and everything was going as planned. At 6 am this morning, Mike, and his two climbing Sherpas arrived at the South Summit. The South Summit, is not THE summit of Mt. Everest. The South Summit is reached at an elevation of 28,700 feet. The “True” summit, or the one all climbers are striving for sits at 29, 029 Feet, just a couple hundred feet higher.

From this point on, the SummitClimb dispatches do not mention that Mike had made it to the summit of Mt. Everest. This is important to point out, only in the fact of where he could be positioned at this time, which, in the post above, is said to be the South Col at 28,700 Feet. Camp 4, where the additional Sherpa support have been dispatched with extra Oxygen, food, water, and emergency supplies sits at 26, 300 feet. When looking at the actual feet, or the distance one has to go from the South Col to Camp IV, you can think that this isn’t far at all and he should be fine, especially with the added support of his Sherpa team. Let me remind you, this is Mt. Everest. Mike is in the “death zone”, his body is shutting down, he is blind. Each step forward involves a break to gasp for air. The climb from Camp IV to the summit takes close to 12 hours on a good day, the return trip down can be done in four. All of this is not even mentioning the wind–which, from a couple different sources yesterday, had picked up quite a bit. -30 degree temperatures and winds in excess of 30-40 knots can definitely add a whole new degree of difficulty.

Hopefully Mike will be able to be bought down. Over the course of May 22-23, we heard of a few rescues taking place on Mt. Everest. Many of these involved climbers who had become snowblind. The reflection of the sun’s rays off the peaks snow and ice can be killer on your vision.

It is now 8am in the morning where I currently live, in the United States. In Nepal, it is roughly 6-7 pm. On Everest, climbers are expected to be back at Camp IV no later than 4 pm. This incident could very well be over. Mike could be sitting at Camp IV as we speak, but no update has been given. Given Sumitclimb’s experience in handling matters of this nature, hopefully Mike can be bought down safely and without to much drama. Would hate to end a pretty good year, as far as safety issues, on Mt. Everest with bad news.

I will try to keep you posted as I find out more.

_________________________________________________________________

For Latest Update–8:57 am May 29, 2008–Click Below

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