Click here to read the lowdown straight from the horse’s mouth

Editor’s Note: In a June 1, 2010 NewsWire, Alpinist.com reported that dozens of bolts had been added to the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre in support of David Lama’s attempt to free the iconic route. The story incited a heated ethical debate that resounded in the climbing world. On July 25, Lama responded to the controversy on his website. What follows is a translation of the German that Lama posted on david-lama.com.

Over the last few months my sponsor Red Bull and I have been confronted with heavy criticism. Precisely it dealt with the film production from my project on Cerro Torre and the leaving of material on the mountain.

After my alpine projects in the Dolomites and Mont Blanc and the competitions in Chamonix and Arco, it is high time to put down some thoughts on this subject on paper.

I, as well as all the other people involved in the project, am exceedingly unhappy with the current state of the thing. The following lines are intended to give a glimpse into the future of my project and above all to narrate the events up to this time from my point of view for those who wish to deal with this topic:

In December 2008 a friend gave me the idea to climb the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre free. This idea would not leave me alone, completely the opposite; the more I though about this project, the deeper the idea drove, becoming almost a type of vision.

Because such an expedition is a costly affair, I was glad to have a partner on my side who would lend an open ear to my dream and vision. Above all, Red Bull was excited by this project and the idea of making a high quality documentary film of it. I was surprised and excited by the significance ascribed to my enterprise. Both Red Bull and I knew the difficulty in the logistics of filming on the mountain because, unlike other shootings, on this terrain it would be impossible for me concentrate on anything other than my own climbing, not even on the safety of the crew. I was happy that Red Bull understood this, and I gave the job of seeing to the crew’s safety to a three-man mountain guide team. The jobs were clearly separated so I could concentrate on my climbing, and the crew on the documentary.

For the mountain guides, it naturally was most important to guarantee the safety of the team. For me it was especially important to make sure that the mountain was polluted as little as possible and not to interfere with other climbers’ attempts.

Therefore our lead guide determined that it made the most sense to set a fixed line from the highpoint to the foot of the shoulder. For this goal 12 bolts were placed above the shoulder and 14 placed below, that for the most part were placed far to the side of the actual route. [Editor's Note: When questioned by Alpinist in May 2010, neither David Lama nor his film crew nor Red Bull denied that roughly 50-60 bolts were placed. This number was cited by Horacio Graton, an Argentine guide hired by Red Bull to clean rope and other gear left by Lama and his team. Furthermore, Rolando Garibotti asserts that the bolts in question were placed along the routeline—visible to and within reach of climbers on route—not "far to the side."] The normal rappel route from the shoulder was too dangerous due to icefall.

It was very important for us, after the completion of our project, to leave the mountain clean. During production we cut down ropes left by previous teams, brought them down to the valley and disposed of them. This was also our plan for our own equipment. Naturally, we had planned for a lot of poor weather, but with such heavy snow it became clear that after a month we would not reach the shoulder. Because of this, before our departure, Argentine guides were hired to bring our fixed ropes and abandoned gear down to the valley as soon as conditions allowed. One haulbag and the bolts were the only things that could not be secured. These will of course be removed in the coming season. The material that was left in Nipo Nino, a camp between El Chalten and the shoulder, was cached by us.

The critical voices from the scene have not left us unmoved. Cleaning bolts and not placing them in the first place are two separate issues. The critics have made me think, and above all conversations with friendly alpinists have sharpened my views on these issues.

It is true that the stone is crossed with many crack systems, with opportunities for removable protection, which the camera crew could have used to jumar. But that is easy to say when you are not the one responsible for the lives and well being of the people who work on these placements meter after meter after a violent storm. I would not want this responsibility and understand the decision of our lead guide to place a limited number of bolts.

Bolts or no bolts, for many the controversy lies in whether or not someone should even attempt a production like ours on such a mountain. That question is what divides climbers. Film projects and photo shootings will always be a part of professional climbing and with that also a part of my life. I have without a doubt accepted the consequences from my critics and agreed with Red Bull that for the next attempt on this project other tactics will be used, and no additional bolts will be placed for the production. This decision will have consequences on the quality of the production, but I am happy that Red Bull is with me in this resolution. If it turns out that the film project is no longer possible, and the production abandoned, I will not change my plan—to attempt to free Cerro Torre.

Translated by Keese Lane

“Probably the most adventurous route we have ever done.” This is how Nico Favresse describes The Devil’s Brew, the latest new route up the 850m high “Seagull wall” somewhere off the coast of Greenland which comes in the wake of another two routes established at the start of July. Established with his brother Olivier, Sean Villanueva and Ben Ditto with the use of three portaledge camps, the route has all the makings of one of their finest ascents to date. We’ll find out more when they sail back to Europe, in the meantime check out the brief blog report below.

Impossible mais possible après tout by Nico Favresse

“I’ve been looking at that wall for twelve years, but I’ve never found any team good enough” Bob Shepton winner of the 2009 Tilman medal. On July 12 we committed to “the impossible wall”. After 8 days we found ourselves on the summit on July 22. So how is it possible that we passed 11 days in only 8 you might be asking yourself? The answer my friend lies in the burning midnight sun and 30 hour-days or nights or whatever you want to call it. Our efforts on the wall and on our musical instruments yield probably the most adventurous route we have ever done. It has everything: grassy cracks, spongy mossy cracks, licheny faces, kitty litter offwidths and an inbuilt shower. We got rained on, we got shat on and we got vomited on. We now understand better why the locals call it “Seagull wall”. Every pitch of the 850m wall offered incredible beautiful sustained climbing, always challenging, on superb quality granite. We are very happy to have free climbed the whole thing (if grabbing grass is accepted as free).

We decided to name this new line “The Devil’s Brew” after a little present we offered Bob when we first met him and which he calls the Devil’s Brew. Also it remarkably resembles the water running from a black hole which we collected on the wall, both in colour and taste.

We are particularly proud that we left nothing behind: no bolts, no pitons, no cordelette. The only things repetitors may find extra are a few more brown falcons on the wall but we suspect they have already left. We topped out on the summit with all our gear and portaledges and hiked down to the coast and celebrated our adventure with champagne and freshly caught fish. Later that night we awoke to a raging storm that lasted for a few days so we were very unfortunate not to have experienced that while still on the wall.”

Check out the blog www.xpedition.be for more information

In 2007 Hansjörg Auer from Austria travelled to the massive Blamann granite monolith on the island of Kvaløya in Norway, to carry out the first one day ascent of “Arctandria” (8b). Whilst working the route he spied a possible new line, and with this in mind he returned at the start of July together with habitual partner Much Mayr, with whom he has shared numerous climbs together, such as Waiting for Godot in Patagonia and the first onsight of La Cattedrale on the Marmolada in the Italian Dolomites.

During a rainy few weeks the two worked their way up a combination of two existing routes, Bongo Bar and Atlantis, to create Tingeling and although the duo managed to redpoint all the individual pitches, they were unable to attempt a single day redpoint ascent due to continuous rain. Afterwards Auer commented dryly : “That’s Norway!”

Tingeling, Blamannen, Norway by Hansjörg Auer
Three years ago I managed the first one-day ascent of “Arctandria” together with Markus Haid. I was so impressed that I decided to return to the Blamannen North Face this year with Much Mayr.

At the time my eyes continued to stray across to “Bongo Bar” (A3) on the left-hand side of the Wall. I was certain that the rock quality wasn’t as good, but that this section held immense potential for difficult, alpine multi-pitch routes.

After two days on the wall we started to feel a little down hearted. The third, steeply overhanging pitch of Bongo Bar was completely wet. Climbing free was impossible. Why not try a traverse left into virgin territory? What about a link-up of the routes “Bongo Bar” und “Atlantis”?

Day 3. It worked. But I had to place a bolt, because the loose flake which enabled us to climb the route free fell into space after just a couple of blows of the hammer as I tried to place a peg. We couldn’t have done without the bolt. Unfortunately the corners and cracks above were extremely dirty and often wet. Climbing in these conditions was very demanding and we needed a further two days to complete the first ascent and redpoint the remaining pitches.

Facts Blamann:
Blamannen is located close to idyllic town and island Tromsoe, which can be reached easily by plane. This “small” bigwall is located on the Kvaloya island and is a paradise for mountaineering, sports climbing and bouldering. The North Face now has 9 routes, of which all were first ascended using aid. Apart from “Atlantis”, “Arctandria” and “Ultima Thule”, “Tingeling” is now the 4th free route up this circa 400m high rock face, but the route hasn’t had a continuous one-day redpoint ascent. A visit to Blamannen is highly recommended for those who don’t mind bad weather and predominantly “alpine” conditions. Reaching the wall is very easy and the rock quality is excellent, at times though the routes need cleaning. The island also offers plenty of bouldering and sport climbing.

Tingeling
Blamann, island of Kvaløya, Norway
Route line: combination of “Bongo Bar”, new pitches and “Atlantis”
Height: ca. 400 Meter
Grade: 7c+
Gear: 1 Bolt, pegs, Copperheads, nuts, Camelots up to #4

There are certain routes which represent the history of alpinism and which remain a dream for all alpinists. One of these is the line climbed by Riccardo Cassin, Luigi ‘Gino’ Esposito and Ugo Tizzoni from 4 – 6 August 1938 up the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses. 72 years have gone by. Many things have changed since then, in alpinism too. But “doing” the Cassin on the Walker Spur remains something that one never forgets… And it’s for this reason that we’ve decided to publish the recent experience of Enrico Bonino and Max Lucco, as well as a detailed route description. We’d like to remind you that routes like this one, and above all legendary mountains such as the Grandes Jorasses, require intimate knowledge and meticulous preparation. To catch a dream.

The Cassin route up the Walker Spur by Enrico Bonino
19-20 July 2010. 72 years after the first ascent, Max Lucco and I find ourselves at the base of the Cassin route on the Walker Spur, beneath the North Face of the Grandes Jorasses.
In truth our project was completely different. I didn’t know if I’d manage to find the time and we’d been talking about the Grandes Courses since winter. Then, seeing that summer set in, we thought about repeating the Cassin Route on Pizzo Badile.
The night prior to our departure we spoke to check out the final preparations and I had the crazy idea of suggesting the Grandes Jorasses. Max pounced on the idea, just like for me this had been one of his long term dreams. So… of we went… for Chamonix!
The weather was perfect, conditions were perfect, we spent an afternoon scrutinising the wall and watching a team climb and the bivvy at the base of the 30m corner. That night we were excited but not overly so; all the right ingredients for our dream to come true, and things couldn’t have turned out better.
Thanks Max for this great adventure.

Hours later on Wednesday, a lightning storm forced a massive rescue effort. The second casualty occurred when Brandon Oldenkamp, 21, of Sanborn, Iowa, fell while climbing when lightening struck. The storm prompted a rescue involving 83 people working to bring 16 injured climbers to safety before dark. A hospital spokeswoman at St. John’s said three climbers remained there Thursday, but were in good condition.

We reached the summit around 11am. Although it was a perfect summit day, it certainly wasn’t a day for flying. There was no wind and with the small summit and our tandem, it wasn’t ideal. We tried to run fast down the summit to pick up enough speed to start flying, but running fast at altitude isn’t really possible. Twice we crashed in soft snow and had to walk back up again. The 3rd time there was a hint of a breeze and we gunned it. Everything happened so fast but eventually we were airborne! It was wild! Pierre says it was by far the scariest takeoff he’d ever done (both single or tandem). We landed safely. It took me quite a while to find myself again. Now after a cup of tea I can recall some feelings and I can only say that, apart from many crazy experiences, this totally blew my mind. Pierre was absolutely in control and I have no doubt that he’ll accomplish his dream. Kyle and Guy unfortunately have to walk down… We’ll have tea ready for them.

Marianne

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Every summer Jessie Bonin heads out to the Rocklands to enjoy some of the best rock o the planet and to clean up on past projects. This trip, he has been able to withstand injury and make the best of his time. Jesse has managed to send Leopard Cave V12, In the Middle of the Ass V12, Green Mamba V11, and Rasta Roof V11. Jessie also was able to make a huge personal break through and send his first V14, Derailed, first put up by Daniel Woods and recently repeated by Paul Robinson.

Be sure to check out Jesse’s blog Monkey Life

Jesse Bonin Rocklands. Image courtesy of http://jessebonin.blogspot.com/