The Cleanest Line

A Word …

by Yvon Chouinard

The siege tactic used on Cerro Torre’s Compressor Route is perhaps the most egregious example of alpinism’s egoistic “manifest destiny” philosophy, one that calls for conquering the mountain by any means, then leaving in place the pitons, bolts, ropes and cables. This debases a route, leaving it accessible to those without the skill or nerve to climb in good style. It is the alpinist’s equivalent of hunting with headlights.

Unfortunately, you can see the damage in so many places, in the Dolomites especially, where routes first done in great style in the 1920s now sport bolts every few meters.

Thank God there are a few young climbers like Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk who exemplify the best qualities of alpinism. The magnificent southeast ridge of Cerro Torre has been unshackled and can now be an inspiration to future alpinists who have the courage to climb rather than merely summit by any possible means.

[Above: Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard in Patagonia. Conservacion Patagonica archives. Photo: Rick Ridgeway]

Yvon Chouinard is the owner and founder of Patagonia, Inc. In 1968, he made the historic first ascent of the California Route on Fitz Roy, the highest peak in the Chalten Massif, with Doug Tompkins, Dick Dorworth, Lito Tejada-Flores and Chris Jones. His 1972 Chouinard Equipment catalog was hugely influential in the clean climbing movement (the title of this post harks back to the introduction), and relates to the recent controversy surrounding Cerro Torre. It’s also refreshing to know that, as the decades roll past, Yvon still practices what he preaches. For more on the Cerro Torre controversy, check out Kelly Cordes’ recent post and Doug Tompkins’ letter to Carlos Comesaña on La Cachaña. 

Tortilla Español

by Brittany Griffith

Here’s a recipe that every dirtbag should learn to make; it’s exotic sounding, yet relatively simple to make from basic, easy-to-find ingredients. Also, since it requires nothing much more than a fry pan, spatula, bowl, and plate, this one can be made in your van or campsite.

I first became familiar with the ubiquitous Spanish omelet (aka, Tortilla Español) on a climbing trip to Spain (surprise, surprise). This delicious, versatile, Spanish staple was offered in nearly every tapas bar we experienced. They even sell them in the grocery stores, sealed in plastic wrap. Tortilla Españols quickly became essential crag food since they pack easily, have lots of protein and can be enjoyed warm or room temperature.

I’m going to use my climber friend, Andy, as my subject for the following reasons:

1. He’s a dude, and, like our young friend Hayden from the Secret Weapon, is always looking for a way to impress the ladies with his cooking.
2. He actually has his own chickens in downtown SLC and provided the eggs for the recipe (impressive, right ladies?)
3. I love men in aprons.

[Andy subscribes to Backyard Poultry Magazine and cans his own tomatoes. Photo: Craig Armstrong]

Alpine Mentors - A Unique Opportunity for Young Alpinists

by Steve House

On March 25, 2010, nearly two years ago now, I was climbing the north face of Mount Temple when a hold broke and I fell some eighty-feet. Far enough to break my ribs in 20 places and my pelvis twice.

As I lay on the ledge near my partner, Bruce, I quickly got very very cold as my body shunted blood away from my hands and feet and into my core and brain. I felt the agonizing sensation of my own breath getting shorter and shorter as my chest cavity filled with blood due to the numerous fractures.
 
By this time, Bruce had used our cell phone to call for a rescue, and two hours later I was plucked off the wall by a warden (and coincidentally a friend of mine) on a cable 100 feet below a Parks Canada helicopter.

Two hours is a long time to think. Long enough for the adrenaline to wash away, long enough for it to feel like a very long time. Long enough to weigh your regrets. To tell Bruce all the things you’re thankful for. The names of all the people you Love.

During the ensuing months of convalescence I remembered one particular question that had come to me during my wait: Were there climbs I’d wished I’d done, and hadn’t? As the summer rolled by in a blur of narcotics, wheelchairs, and physical therapy I kept coming up with the same answer to my question: No, it was not more climbing that was missing from my life. Chief on the list was to do more for my community, and from this intention Alpine Mentors was born.

[Above: Steve House, Barry Blanchard and Joe Josephson, from their 1996 attempt at Mount Robson’s Emperor Face. "Though unsuccessful, the trip was my rabbit hole into the world of high-end alpinism with climbers who had done it before." Photo: Steve House Collection]

Cerro Torre: Deviations from Reason

by Kelly Cordes

Late afternoon January 16, Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk sat on the summit of Cerro Torre, making a decision.

Backup. For starters, let’s be clear: None of us has an inalienable right to summit anything. If you aren’t capable of climbing a peak after a manmade path has been removed, nothing has been stolen from you.

“If there is such a thing as spiritual materialism, it is displayed in the urge to possess the mountains rather than to unravel and accept their mysteries,” wrote the great Polish climber Voytek Kurtyka.

[Cerro Torre, with the southeast ridge roughly ascending the spine, facing the camera, in the center of the frame (the route approaches around from the right, out-of-view, to reach the huge snow blob at the base of the ridge). Photo: Kelly Cordes]

I’m specifically referring to yet another raging controversy on Cerro Torre, the otherworldly Patagonian spire. In my 11 years at the American Alpine Journal (where I’m the senior editor), I’ve educated myself on Cerro Torre’s bizarre and complex history. I also have first-hand knowledge – in 2007, Colin Haley and I climbed a new link-up on the south and west aspects of Cerro Torre, before rappelling down the controversial Compressor Route (which ascends the peak’s southeast ridge).

Confessions Of A Yoga Non-Believer

by Brittany Griffith

It started off benign enough: Walker sent out an email to all the ambassadors inquiring who did yoga and would be willing to test out Patagonia’s new yoga line. Of course, I bristled at this. Yoga? That’s for girlfriends. I’m a climber, have a black belt, and have raced on the professional downhill mountain bike circuit. But, that noted, I’d be damned if one of the other ambassadors was going to get to test out the newest bra top before for me just because they “yoga’d” and I didn’t.

So I responded to Walker’s email that yes, I “yoga” and in fact hold bi-weekly yoga classes at my house – which wasn’t a total lie. My neighbor, Porter, who had attempted to espouse the benefits of yoga to me countless times and try to get me to go to a class with her, would come over to my house a couple of times a week for living-room sessions of grammar school PE-style sit-ups and push-ups, and loosely follow a late '90s Rodney Lee “Yoga for Athletes” DVD (fast-forwarding through the parts I didn’t like). No “Oms” or “Namastes” with Porter and I – just general rants about life in SLC (like the local hoodlums’ uncreative tagging of garbage cans, fences and the nearby Mormon church’s dumpster). This was my yoga. No need to pay someone to show you how to stretch, breathe, and recite poetry while you lay on the floor. [Above photo: Porter Teegarden]

Copp-Dash Inspire Award Accepting Applications for 2012

The Copp-Dash Inspire Award is currently accepting applications from January 1, 2012 through February 29, 2012 for small climbing teams attempting fast and light alpine climbing objectives with a desire to creatively document and share their experience. The award was established in memory of American climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, who were killed in an avalanche in China in May 2009 along with filmmaker Wade Johnson.

Sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardwear, and Patagonia, with support from the Jonny Copp Foundation, American Alpine Club, Alpinist magazine and Sender Films, the Copp-Dash Inspire Award will distribute $20,000 this year to North American applicants.

Dirtbag Diaries: The Year of Big Ideas 2012 - Frozen Lemonade

by Fitz & Becca Cahall

When will it snow? It's the question on the lips of ski town locals throughout the West as fluttering flakes have been late to arrive. Sill, the winter provides opportunity: tacky mountain bike trails usually buried under feet of snow, ice climbing on routes normally inaccessible, and ice skating on remote alpine lakes. John Dittli says the skating has been epic in the high Sierra. While others have bemoaned the lack of snow, John has seized the extended window to ice skate on multiple lakes – many more than a typical year allows. He may even secretly hope that the snow remains at bay for a little longer. In the spirit of making the most out of a situation, we present the Year of Big Ideas 2012 – goals from friends, pros and creative thinkers. And no matter what 2012 brings, we'll make sure there's more lemonade in all we do.

Listen to "The Year of Big Ideas 2012 - Frozen Lemonade"
(mp3 - right-click to download)

Visit dirtbagdiaries.com for links to download the music from "Frozen Lemonade" or to hear past episodes of the podcast. You can subscribe to the show via iTunes and RSS, or connect with the Dirtbag Diaries community on Facebook and Twitter.

 

The Master's Apprentice - Yvon Chouinard on Climbing with Fred Beckey

In honor of the release of Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs from Patagonia Books, we assembled this short podcast. Have a listen and you'll hear Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, talking about his alpine apprenticeship with sensei Fred Beckey in 1961.

Listen to "The Master's Apprentice" by Yvon Chouinard
(mp3 - right-click to download)

This story first appeared in Alpinist 14, winter 2005. For more epic climbing stories, visit alpinist.com to subscribe to the magazine.

The featured music is William Elliott Whitmore performing his song "Hard Times" a Patagonia Music Benefit Track for Urban Farming and their mission to create an abundance of food for people in need by planting, supporting and encouraging the establishment of gardens on unused land and spaces. Head over to Patagonia Music to hear more podcasts and more benefit tracks for non-profit environmental groups.

Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs is available now from Patagonia.com and select book sellers. In the book, Fred offers up his characteristic mix of route tips, natural history and climbing lore for his 100 favorite climbs (with honorable mentions of a few more) -- it's the magnum opus of America's most prolific first ascensionist. Check out Patagonia Books for more titles.

 

Lines of Eleven

by Kelly Cordes

Note: On this blog in 2011 I wrote over 30,000 words in 40 original blog posts (to TCL readers, I apologize for the resultant drop in your IQ). I also edited and introduced another seven posts from other authors, and wrote a little on my personal blog (where I put my inappropriate rants). So I got this idea to paste sentences, or, in occasional spots, phrases from a sentence, from my TCL posts into one randomly connected paragraph. I kept original formatting, like italics, and tried to avoid pasting any consecutive sentences, though I cheated in a spot or two. And with 30k words, I got overwhelmed, so I just did it for the first half of the year (I know, what an overachiever). Here it is:

Sicily Climbing Vacation, Part 2: Pasta Con Le Sarde

by Brittany Griffith

Full disclosure: the following sardines and pasta recipe is not my own. And I know what you are thinking: “Sardines? Gross!” But have you read the fine print about sardines? Printed on the box of the Wild Planet ones I bought: “Ounce for ounce, sardines provide three times more calcium and phosphorous than milk, more iron than cooked spinach, as much protein as steak, and as much potassium as bananas. These sardines are considered a Best Choice for Sustainability by a consensus of environmental organizations.” My point? A) Sardines are where it’s at, and B) I recently came to appreciate the hidden virtues of sardines in Sicily (which actually led me to Point A… so maybe these are a little out of order, but, whatever… just stay with me).

Editor's note: Today's post is part two of Patagonia ambassador Brittany Griffith and friends' Sicily Climbing Vacation. All photos by JT.

Chris, Whitney, JT, Burr and myself had been in the car for over an hour. We were headed to the 2000-year-old ruins of Agrigento, and were hungry but couldn’t find a place to eat. JT, desperate for food, pulled the car over in front of a restaurant with a façade that looked like a Long John Silver's with fake anchors, fishnets, and other seafaring paraphernalia.

Hesitatingly, we followed JT inside. The maître d’ put out his cigarette, warmly shook my hand and spoke to me in French. I told him, in French, that I was American. He smiled wide and then greeted us in English. He was large, bald, and missing a front tooth.