A Young Man’s Life in Orange
words & pic by Gustav Janse van Rensburg Marrying into a French family has had its obvious advantages – not having to queue at the embassy for costly visas to enter Europe, and getting a handle on the language making for less embarrassing moments on trips to the Alps, to name a few. The MCSA …
Classic Climbs: King Kong – Krakadouw, Cederberg
words by Kai Fitchen pic by Andy Court Clipping bolts can become a rather addictive hobby. Before I knew it, I hadn’t placed a piece of pro in months and I’d scold myself for always finding some excuse to go sport climbing instead. Trad climbing, sadly, had become this guilty voice in the back of …
In Memory of Dave Pothier: 1973 – 2018
words by Guy Holwill I met Dave in the early ’90s. He would have been around 18, and I was a few years older. Apart from sharing a love for climbing, we clicked because we were both highly opinionated and shared an odd sense of humour. Looking back, we must have been excruciatingly painful, but hey, …
Black Diamond Raffle Prize
We are raffling a Black Diamond Trad Rack consisting of Black Diamond C4 Camalots size 0.4 – 2, a Black Diamond Neutrino Rack Pack, a Black Diamond Stopper Set, a pair of Black Diamond Aspect climbing shoes and a Black Diamond Creek Back Pack – Worth R15 000 The raffle costs R100 per ticket, 150 …
Alex Honnold, Free Solo Trailer
From award-winning documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, comes FREE SOLO, a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock… the 3,200ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park… without …
Alexander Gukov rescued from 6200m on Latok I by a helicopter longline operation
Alexander Gukov, 42, is safe after spending nearly a full seven days at 6200 meters stuck on the North Ridge of Latok I (7145m) in Pakistan. He was stranded since July 25 when his partner Sergey Glazunov, 26, fell to his death while rappelling with most of the gear. Pakistani climber Shamyl Sharafat Ali helped …
Black Diamond Tradathon 2018
Trad climbing is arguably the most rewarding form of rock climbing. The beauty of trad is the amazing depth and breadth of experience that it offers. You are also not limited to hard grades in order to do something “worthwhile” and there is always opportunity for new routing or any level of adventure which you …
Lunag Ri – David Lama & Conrad Anker walk the line
Already in 2016, David Lama and Conrad Anker had set out to climb Lunag Ri, a stunningly beautiful, unclimbed peak of 6.907meters on the borderline between Nepal and Tibet. As things didn’t go as planned the duo has to retreat just shy of the summit but returns one year later, determined to bring the project …
Adam Ondra convinces his Disbelief 9b in Canada
25-year-old Czech sports climber Adam Ondra has freed a 9b slab, Disbelief at the sports crag Acephale in Canada. Read more on planetmountain.com IMAGE: Adam Ondra making the first ascent of the 9b slab Disbelief at Acephale in Canada. Photo by Petr Pavlicek “Disbelief” 5.15b (9b), probably upper end of the grade. Acephale, Canmore, Canada. …
Andrzej Bargiel completes first ski descent from the summit of K2
On Sunday, July 22, Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel became the first person in history to climb and ski the Himalayan behemoth K2 (8611m), located on the China/Pakistan border in the Karakoram Range. The Red Bull report describes the descent: When Bargiel finally reached the summit, he simply put on his skis and started skiing …