Video with mountaineering sensation Denis Urubko

Hey, I got a chance to catch up with arguably one of the most successful high mountain climbers on the planet. I picked his brain on climbing training, sponosorhip and many other things… Check out the conversation:

Denis Urubko interview from ClimbBigMountains on Vimeo.

So who is this guy?
Denis Urubko of Kazahstan has climbed 16 8000 meter peaks. He became a hero when summiting the last Himalayan peak to be unclimbed in winter: this February, Simone Moro and Denis summited Makalu. Later, in May, Denis climbed a new route on Cho Oyu to complete his last 8000 meter peak, becoming only the 15th in the world to do so and the 9th to absolve all 14 without the use of supplementary oxygen. Denis is only 36 years old.

After having sat through an exciting 2 hour presentation of his, I got the impression that not only is Denis an exceptional mountaineer, but also a great person. Thanks again for the interview, Denis!

What 7000 meter peak?

Looking at what tour and expedition outfitters offer in the Anglo-Saxon wolrd, I am surprised to see so many possibilities to the Karokaram and the Himalayas, but practically NONE, zippo, nill expeditions to Central Asia: Kazahstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. Why, I ask…?!?!

This isn’t a hypothetical question. I really don’t know the answer, maybe someone can shed light for me… An expedition to the foot of a 7000 meter or even a popular 6000 meter mountain in these ranges requires at least a 2-3 day trek. There are summit fees and possibly national park permits.

I look at what Jagged Globe, the biggest expedition outfitter (I think) has to offer and they charge 3-6-7 thousand pounds for an expedition to these places.

“Why, what else we got, chief?” …you may timidly ask. Well, the Pamir and Tien-Shan mountains have 5 peaks above 7000 meters and countless 6000 meter mountains. All of them are within a day’s drive or helicopter flight from an international airport. No expensive summit fees, just some 30 dollar registration fees. You can climb Peak Lenin for 800 euros (full expedition package) and tackle Communism Peak, Khan-Tengri for 1000-1200 euros apiece excluding flights. The basecamps have nomad-style yurtas, saunas and stuff. It’s sweet.

Oh, and the gastonomy rocks.

Why are expedition outfitters making you people go to less accessible peaks further from your homes with price tags five times higher? What is it that you can’t find in Central Asian mountains that you get for five times the money in India, Nepal or Pakistan?

I’m not angry or anything, but I sure hope that someone has an answer…

When Everything Screws Up On Your Expedition

This was gonna be a funky trip. Everything was planned out for the well-documented summit of Peak Lenin in Kyrgyzistan. At 7134 meters, this was to be my first 7000er. But, life taught me again that while mountaineering is fun, it is also “unstabil”.

After the climb, I would have made an awesome trip to the ancient cities of Uzbekistan. However, things took a totally different direction. Here’s the scoop. Don’t worry, no animals were harmed… More »

What Happened on Peak Lenin

Hey, I’m back from my first big mountain. Things went not quite the way I planned. Anyway, I need to get back on my feet, get life organized and I’ll be with you with the report on what happened on this 7100 meter monster. Thanks for your patience.

Search called off after Tragedy in China

American climbers Johnny Copp, Micah Dash and Wade Johnson were tragically killed in an avalanche in the Sichuan Province of China during their attempt of climbing Mount Edgar.

The blog at climbing.about.com recently informed us that the search has been called off, after locating the bodies of Johnny Copp and Wade Johnson. Micah Dash is reported to be still missing. This story has been all over the news, as the party of three were well known in the climbing community. I found this incredible video featuring Dash and Copp on the spectacular site of photographer/filmmaker Jimmy Chin. What’s really shocking in the video are the last few minutes, where the two talk about risk and tragedy in mountaineering, with pans of Chamonix’s mountaineering memorial site. Ironically, the film was shot and edited in great part by Wade Johnson.

Our condolences to the friends and family of the three alpinists.

Micah Dash and Johnny Copp segment of “The Sharp End” from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

Here is a tribute video from Black Diamond’s blog:

Tribute to Jonny, Micah and Wade (updated) from Ben Alexandra on Vimeo.

Losing a Fellow Climber

It’s been quiet here in the blog. One reason is the good weather - I’ve been out on the rocks or doing stuff around the yard… This weekend it’s kitesurfing, for a change…

I’ve meant to post this week, but bad news hit. Wednesday. Fellow friend and climber, Levi Szabo died in the Nepalese Himalayas on Manaslu (8154 meters) whille descending to C4. Extremely tired, he slipped on relatively easy terrain and couldn’t regain his control after a slide and went over a 500 meter cliff at 7300 meters.

More »

Everest Basecamp Avalanche Video

Avalanches on the Khumbu icefall above Mount Everest BC (Nepal side) are more or less common, but few are as powerful as the one in this video… Even smaller ones sweep ladders and fixed ropes away. If you google Everest BC avalanches, you’ll find a few videos - this is probably the longest and most exhibitive of all. On most of these videos, the avalanches originate from the left side of the Khumbu glacier and as far as I know, the route up the glacier avoids this side…

Still, it’s scary as hell. I witnessed an avalanche…

More »

How to rappel with three people fast and sound

A really cool blog: Alpine Awakening by mountain guide Kurt Hicks recently featured a really good article on how to rapp quickly and securely with a party of three. It’s clever and definitely makes rapping faster and more secure when with a group of 3. Just make sure that the anchor points are strong enough to hold 2 climbers while they rapp simultaneously! Check out the post here.

Update: I got the idea for this post via onthesharpend.com

Say, where are you climbing?

The tourskiing season is coming to an end here in Europe and everyone is seriously starting to look at their climbing targets for the summer.

Thus came the idea of the survey - who is going where? I’m dying to find out - and I bet you are too - what’s hot and what’s not this year… Let’s focus on the birthplace of mountaineering for now - Europe, more specifically, the Alps. If you want, we can do similar a survey for you Americanos and Americanas as well afterwards

Right after we get enough data, I’ll share the results - which may be surprising…

So, here we go…!

Can You Be a Climber Without Being a Mountaineer?

A friend and I were talking last night… He’s a great alpinist, having bagged several difficult routes in Europe and getting to 6600 meters on the shivering, cruel North Face of Khan-Tengri. He went on a small climbing vacation to Croatia’s Paklenica National Park - a paradise of bolted single- and multi-pitch rock routes.  With his girlfriend, a novice climber, they did a few routes where - after topping out, you could opt to hike back on steep, rocky trails to the foot of the wall instead of rapelling.

Great weather in late autumn and a ton of people climbing. But what became apparent to them is the inadequacy of a bunch of sport climbers to… actually hike. It was a disgrace. More »