Intotherocks en // iBorderline | cultural and geographic exploration

13 may 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Creative Debut

BETWEEN 17 AND 18 MARCH, 2010, FRENCH YOUNG MAN YANN BORGNET PUT UP DIRECTICE (350 m, M6/7, 5+) ON THE EAST FACE OF THE AIGUILLE DE ROC (3409 m). EXPERIENCED PHILIPPE BATOUX AND JEFF MERCIER WERE WITH HIM, BEING AT HIS FIRST NEW ROUTE IN THE MONT BLANC MASSIF

Do you remember the opening sequence of Entre terre et ciel, one of Gaston Rébuffat’s cinematographic masterpieces? That rocky spear – on which the big man from Marseilles dizzily rises to his feet presenting us with an unforgettable image – is the Aiguille de Roc (3409 m). That image was even chosen by NASA and in 1977 was sent into orbit on the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, travelling beyond the boundaries of the solar system.
The Aiguille de Roc is a wonderful needle of the Mont Blanc Massif, detached from the Grépon (3482 m) on the Envers des Aiguilles side (east) and climbed for the first time on the 6^th of August, 1927, by Mary O’Brien together with Alfred Couttet and Vital Garny (east face, 700 m, V+, D). (continue…)

29 apr 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Discovering the hidden Six-thousanders

EAST TIBET: SUCCESSFUL VERY FIRST ASCENT OF LOPCHIN (KANGRI GARPO II, 6805 m) FROM THE ATA GLACIER VIA THE EASTERN SLOPE AND THE SOUTH-EASTERN RIDGE. ON THE SUMMMIT, ON 5 AND 7 NOVEMBER 2009 RESPECTIVELY: DEQING OUZHU AND CIREN DANDA FROM TIBET AND KOICHIRO KONDO AND MASANORI YAZAKI FROM JAPAN

East Tibet: the kingdom of untouched peaks, where the history of mountaineering is practically all to be written yet. It leaves speechless to see the pictures taken by the tireless Japanese explorer Tamotsu Nakamura, who at the time-honoured age of 75 covered almost 5000 kilometres amid the mountains on east of Lhasa. In the east Nyainqentanghla (extending from west to east for 750 kilometres) and in the Kangri Garpo (stretching from north-west to south-east for 280 kilometres) about 230 of the Six-thousanders – beautiful ones – are still waiting for their first climbers.
The Kangri Garpo Range is just east of Namcha Barwa, the colossus that was climbed for the first and only time on the 30th of October, 1992, by precious 11 mountaineers in a Sino-Japanese expedition. (continue…)

15 apr 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Piolets d’Or: the Winners

BRUCE NORMAND, KYLE DEMPSTER AND JED BROWN AWARDED (FIRST ASCENT OF THE WESTERN SUMMIT OF XUELIAN FENG) ALONG WITH DENIS URUBKO AND BORIS DEDESHKO (NEW ROUTE ON THE SOUTHEAST FACE OF CHO OYU)

Saturday, 10^th April 2010, 11 p.m. At the Majestic in Chamonix, the audience hangs on Andrej Štremfelj’s every word: the President of Jury of the 18^th Piolets d’Or edition is about to announce the winners’ names. Five enterprises have been nominated, all extraordinary. Though, who shall raise the “Golden Ice Axe” in the sky in a few minutes? Štremfelj pauses briefly, then prepares the audience: «Today we have decided to chose two climbs, that represents creativity and exploration». Silence. Another brief pause, then finally the announcement: «This year we have chosen to award the first ascent of the Western Summit of Xuelian Feng, carried out by Bruce Normand, Kyle Dempster and Jed Brown». A roar bursts in the room. We are barely a meter away from the nominees, so we try to take as many pictures as we can and immortalize all the joy on the faces of the three “champions” (continue…)

7 apr 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Those Who Never Stop

ON 20 MARCH 2010, RUSSIAN VALERY SHAMALO, VIKTOR KOVAL AND SASHA GUKOV REACHED THE SUMMIT OF CHOLATSE (6440 m, HIMALAYA, NEPAL) THROUGH A DIFFICULT NEW ROUTE IN THE RIGHT AREA OF THE NORTH FACE

October 2009: Valery Shamalo, Russian mountaineer, and three companions pass along the dizzy north-west buttress of the Siguniang (6250 m, Qionglai Shan) in the Sichuan province of China. Four months later, Shamalo would like to go back around there and try the very second ascent of Mount Edgar or E-Gongga (6618 m). This magnificent peak of the Daxue Shan range (south-west of the Qionglai Shan), was attempted in 1982 by the British, climbed in 2000 by the Koreans and tried again in 2004 by the British. In 2009, Alexander Ruchkin and Mikhail Mikhailov were tempted to climb it as well (but then decided instead to venture on the south buttress of the Peak 6134, where they had a wonderful climb). However, the Chinese authorities decide to give Valery troubles, as they previously did on the occasion of the Siguniang expedition. So, he realizes that a change of plans is required. Where to go? And which peak to try? (continue…)

3 apr 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Winter Trip on the Premier Wall

ON 16-19 MARCH 2010 FRENCH SÉBASTIEN BOHIN, SÉBASTIEN RATEL AND CÉDRIC PÉRILLAT CLIMBED MANITUA (1100 m, 6c, A3+, 70°) ON THE CROZ SPUR ON THE NORTH FACE OF GRANDES JORASSES

There are faces and faces. The North face of the Grandes Jorasses (4206 m, Mont Blanc) belongs to the highest class, for many reason. A five-star wall, according to Valery Babanov the best: «It is severe and secluded. It strikes for its size and commands respect. To climb that is always a challenge, expecially in wintertime. I believe it is impossible not to fall in love with that face, it can try every alpinist’s experience». Valery soloed up there three times. The last one was from the 16^th to the 27^th of July 1999, putting up the extremely diffucult Eldorado (1200 m, 6b, A3/A4, 90°) on Pointe Whymper. According to Stéphane Benoîst and Patrice Glairon-Rappaz, who climbed the North face uncountable times, in every season, Eldorado shares the record of hardest line in the wall together with the Directe de l’Amitité (continue…)

29 mar 2010, by Carlo Caccia

Civetta: a flash of winter on the NW Face

ALESSANDRO BAÙ AND NICOLA TONDINI’S VENTURE: ON 19 MARCH 2010 THEY CARRIED OUT WITHIN THE DAY – 28 HOURS NO STOP FROM REFUGE TO REFUGE – THE FIRST WINTER ASCENT AND THIRD REPEAT OVERALL OF CAPITAN SKY-HOOK

They did dream to do as Renato Panciera and Mauro Valmassoi did: to climb in wintertime within the day the “Wall of Walls”, the legendary Northwest Face of the Civetta (3220 m, Dolomites). So, at the right time – 3 in the morning of Friday the 19^th of March 2010 – Alessandro Baù and Nicola Tondini left the Coldai refuge and reached out for the wall’s base. At 5 a.m. they attacked to the about 300 meter pedestal, where fresh snow gave them a few troubles. So did the following 70 meters, a traverse from the right to the left leading to the beginning of the route itself, which was not easy at all: a treacherous mixed terrain, with unstable snow. Nevertheless, Alessandro and Nicola did not stop and little before 8 a.m. they took off ice axes, crampons, boots and most of the gear, and attacked to the Capitan Sky-hook (continue…)