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-sm.jpg) First Ascents in Miyar Valley, Himalayas
Photos by Camilo Lopez - In August 2010, Anna Pfaff and Camilo Lopez climbed two new routes in the Miyar Valley, Indian Himalaya. The first line was done on Peak 5,650m, now named Dome Peak after the completion of its first ascent. Camilo and Anna climbed a direct line through the center of the southeast face during a 19-hour push. They named their route the Lopez-Pfaff Direct (IV, 5.10, 800m). The second line was climbed on nearby Peak, James Point 5,200m. After nine days of wind, rain, and snow, the couple took advantage of a short break in the weather and completed the FA of the Southeast Ridge (IV, 5.10+, 600m).  Touchstone Bouldering Series 6 - Pipeworks, Sacramento
Photos by Nicholas Wilson / wilsonfotografie.com - On September 17, 2010, Sacramento Pipeworks Climbing and Fitness held its annual bouldering competition, this year the Touchstone Bouldering Series 6. The women's advanced winner was Halley Tollner, followed by Renee Ross, and the men's advanced winner was Scott Epperson, followed by Dobrisa Jurkovic. See full results here. The event was closed with a high line demonstration by Jerry Miszewski of Balance Community. -sm.jpg) 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell 2010
Photos by Lucas Marshall - On September 24-26, 240 climbers and 60 volunteers gathered to participate at the fifth annual 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell comp at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Arkansas. In this serious test of mental and physical stamina, teams of two take on the gritty sandstone of the Ozarks to climb for a continuous 24 hours. Around 12,000 routes were climbed. Alex Honnold showed up this year, climbing 130 pitches, with 5.13a being the hardest. See the full results at twofourhell.com.  2010 UBC Pro Tour Finals at The Nor’easter
Photos by Jared Alden / jaredphotography.com - On September 24 and 25, the top professional climbers from the U.S. and Canada gathered at the Nor’easter festival at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, for the final event on the 2010 Unified Bouldering Championships Pro Tour Calendar. Daniel Woods, who won the recent UBC event at the OR Summer Market, was defeated by Ethan Pringle and Brian Kim of Northern. Alex Johnson took first over Francesca Metcalf and Angie Payne, who tied for second. Mother nature cooperated to the fullest, and the Nor’easter festival, with music, a sponsor village, and a full festival campground onsite, provided a unique venue for the first large-scale, outdoor pro climbing competition on the East Coast since the 1996 X-Games.  Triple Crown Bouldering Series 2010: Hound Ears
Photos by Matt Paden / frixtion.blogspot.com - This past Saturday kicked off the first leg of the 2010 Triple Crown Bouldering Series at the Hound Ears boulders in Boone, North Carolina. Taking place within Hound Ears Club's gated golf-resort community, the access-magicians of Triple Crown get this normally-closed area opened to climbers once a year through participation in the Triple Crown bouldering competition. Results from the Hound Ears competition can be found at the Triple Crown Bouldering Series website, triplecrownbouldering.org. Click here for a more comprehensive report.  2010 REEL ROCK Film Tour World Premiere - Boulder, Colorado
Photos by Caroline Treadway - Can you believe it?! The 5th Annual REEL ROCK WORLD premiere has come and gone! Just yesterday, we were trying to figure out how we were going to pull off two shows in one night. But two shows we pulled off indeed, bringing in more than 1,700 people through the door. Hallelujah! Thanks to all the local sponsors: Vic's Table Mesa, The Spot Bouldering Gym, Boulder Rock Club, Movement Climbing and Fitness, American Alpine Club, CU Alpine Club, and the Colorado Daily. And not to mention our National Sponsors: The North Face, Windstopper, Petzl, Climbing Magazine, Urban Climber Magazine, EVOLV, Sterling Ropes, and Goal0. Be sure to check out the REEL ROCK tour schedule at reelrocktour.com.  First Ascent in Nangmah Valley, Pakistan
Photos by Leopoldo Faria - This summer, I decided to go explore the big wall climbing potential in Pakistan with three Portuguese friends, Rui Rosado, Ana Silva and Bruno Gaspar. We left for a month and half expedition, and we choose to explore the beautiful Nangmah Valley. We spotted a beautiful crack on an unclimbed wall near Amin Brakk. Climbing in high altitude (near 16,000 feet) wasn’t easy, and trying to free climb definitely wasn’t a piece of cake, either. We found many cracks filled with plants and dirt that forced us to do some cleaning sessions in order to free climb. Apart from that, we could enjoy some high-quality crack climbing, with lots of offwidths! We are glad to have climbed in Pakistan this year and really happy with the route that we have opened (Off-Dido, 5.12a, 550 meters), which is very likely the first ascent of this wall that we call Babar in honor of our cook, Altaf. Read more at www.leopoldofaria.com.  Smith Rocks! A Classic American Crag
Photos by Andy Mann / andymann.com - Back in May, I took a pilgrimage to Bend, Oregon, home to hard-as-nails, crimpy, 5.14-filled American sport climbing. Sitting amid a groovy town, winding rivers, spotted cattle, and big sky, Smith Rock State Park is home to hundreds of world-class, old-school sport routes. However, the secret to Smith Rock's real charm is not the climbing itself, but in the landscape and the people. Also visiting the area at the time were fellow Coloradans Jonathan Siegrist and Paige Claassen, who both made Smith a priority area on their spring roadtrip. I'll let the photos tell the story.  2010 Bouldering World Cup Finals, Munich
Photos by Marco Kost / mountains-and-more.de - Adam Ondra and Akiyo Noguchi won 2010's final Bouldering World Cup in Munich, giving them the gold for the World Ranking. This was Ondra's first year as a BWC winner, but Noguchi stood on top of the podium last year as well. Kilian Fischhuber, last year's BWC winner, finished fourth at the comp but came in second in rankings. Anna Stöhr, who was leading the rankings, won silver in Munich, which led to a silver in rankings as well. Chloé Graftiaux didn't finish in the comp's top six, but managed to eke out a third-place ranking. Alex Johnson, the only American to compete in all Bouldering World Cups in 2010, finished fourth overall.  Qingdao, China: A Bouldering Destination
Photos by Rocker - Qingdao is becoming one of the most popular bouldering areas of China. In the spring, climbers from around the world come to boulder here, including Chris Sharma, Davin Bagdonas, Joe Langwald... Davin Bagdonas said about Qingdao: "It was a huge relief to end up in a place that has amazing amounts of really good rock, a huge number of boulders, and a crew that only wants to climb. In all the places I've bouldered, by far the area in China around Qingdao has the most rock. Millions of boulders sit under hundreds of crags and tumble from multi-thousand-foot mountains down to a long rocky coast on the Yellow Sea." For more by Rocker, visit qdrocker.blog.sohu.com.  Bouldering in the Magical Forest of Sintra, Portugal
Photos by Ricardo Alves - Sintra, a world heritage site near Lisbon, is a well-known tourist attraction with beautiful castles, palaces, gardens and exotic forests. It’s also host to a near-thousand boulder problems spread throughout the forest, with incredible shapes and colors that vary from rough granite to featured sandstone. Climbing there is year-round, even in the middle of the summer because it gets cooler winds from the ocean, and the forest has its own fresh microclimate. On rest days, climbers can visit the nearby beaches of Guincho or Adraga, drop by the stunning Cabo da Roca coast area, or simple explore and enjoy the beauty of Sintra’s architectural and natural scapes.  24 Hours of Gunnison Glory
Words by Alec Solimeo / Photos by Jordan Wemett and Jarrett Luttrell - During Memorial Day weekend 2010, more than 70 climbers gathered at Hartman Rocks recreation area to participate in the second annual 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory, an event that helps raise money for Six Points (a local non-profit organization working with mentally/physically disabled adults), Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up (climbupsokidscangrowup.com) and the security of climbing in the Gunnison Valley (hopefully a Non-Profit climbing users group). Competitors climbed on more than 300 routes and problems, and one climber even made it through all 24 hours. Click here to learn more about the event.  Three New Routes in Central Range of Peru
Photos by Sophie Denis and Beto Pinto - The French-Peruvian team of Sophie Denis and Beto Pinto opened three new routes in the Central Range in Peru, located in Lima’s Region, in a single push. In a week, the team climbed the north face of Suiricocha (5,495 m, nine pitches). Then they climbed the west face of Manon Dos (5,500 m, three pitche). This was a very sensitive face to climb, mainly due to the poor snow conditions with higher risks of avalanches. They finished their expedition by climbing the west face of Vicunita (5,538 m, seven pitches). The new direct lines offer mixed walls and multi-pitches technical faces.  Ama Dablam in the Khumbu Region
Photos by Philippe Gatta - This spring, Philippe Gatta and Jean-Marc Wojcik climbed Ama Dablam (22,493 feet), one of the most amazing peaks in the Khumbu region in Nepal. The two French climbers made a fast expedition – a 16-day round trip from Katmandu. They climbed the Southwest Ridge (VI 5.9 60°, 1,500 m) without Sherpa support and in rather unstable weather. On May 3rd, after 24 hours of snow fall, they took advantage of a short weather improvement to go for the summit. They decided to go straight from the camp 2 (19,685 feet), skipping the exposed camp 3. Jean-Marc decided to turn around at 6,300 meters, and Philippe continued alone. The weather deteriorated again, and Philippe reached the top in poor visibility at 3:15 p.m., making the 3rd ascent this year. Find more info about the route and photos at Philippe's website: http://www.philippegatta.fr/amadablam2.htm  Unique Boulders in Tinos, Greece
Photos by Harald Roeker / GEBRO Verlag Publishing – Located in the Cyclades archipelago lies Tinos, a Greek island inhabited by less than 9,000 people. Famous for the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, scores of windmills, and Venetian fortifications, Tinos also has incredible potential for bouldering. There are more than 500 established problems in the granite boulderfields on the island, with potential for thousands more. GEBRO Verlag (tinos.blocheart.de) provides information for anyone looking to visit. The best season for climbing is winter, but anytime from late autumn to spring provides good weather as well. The clean granite often needs no cleaning, and the boulders offer unique moves on distinctive blocs. |
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