Innholdsfortegnelse for October - November 2015 i Gripped: The Climbing Magazine

The Jim Haberl hut sits at 2,030 metres at the Serratus-Dione Col. The modest single-storey shelter has a wood frame, which is topped with a metal roof and cladding. There is a large kitchen and comfortable sitting room that offers stunning view to the south, west and north. The two sleeping rooms can sleep six people each. For those who arrive unplanned and can’t access the hut, there is an emergency vestibule to escape the weather in. To access the remote hut is about a six-hour hike above Lake Lovely Water or a two-day 14-hour trip from the Squamish River. The hut was built in honour of Jim Haberl, who died in 1999 in an avalanche. In 2002, people who knew Jim helped create the Jim Haberl Hut Fund in…

Nova Scotia’s lighthouse path winds along the south shore of the East Coast province. There are hundreds of esthetic rocks that create a breadcrumb trail of boulders dotting the iconic tour. The large granite breadcrumbs lead to Dover Island, a place of uninhabited igneous rock and hundreds of melt-in-your-mouth slabs and cracks. It is nestled in a land of lobster traps and whale sightings and is considered the feature-attraction for local and visiting climbers. While Nova Scotia is not yet part of the elite club of destination climbing hot spots, such as France’s Fontainebleau, California’s Bishop, Canada’s Squamish territory or indeed Yosemite Valley, the appeal of the East Coast Canada small-town climbing community is catching. On a hot summer morning in August, the first boatload of climbers heading to Dover…

On May 16, Bryce Brown of Canmore and his two partners, Willi Pritti from Talkeetna, Alaska and Gord Bose from Salmon Arm, B.C, flew to the Silver City airstrip, with Icefield Discovery flight service, and to Mount Logan’s East Ridge base-camp. On June 11, after completing an ascent of the East Ridge and attempting a rare traverse of Logan, the three climbers were picked up by a B3 helicopter and flown off Canada’s highest mountain. For Brown, a highly skilled alpine climber, it was one of his most memorable climbing experiences. Along the way, he captured hundreds of photos that tell the story of their climb. Brown and his partners knew the history of Logan, the dangers they would face and the extreme conditions they would have to deal with…

Scarpa Furia $189 Climbers looking for the pinnacle of performance on steep terrain can stop searching – just buy the new Scarpa Furia. This incredibly soft and sensitive shoe delivers an almost unprecedented level of precision and control while still allowing climbers to pull with their feet. Scarpa achieves these conflicting qualities by employing a soft synthetic upper, no midsole, a highly asymmetric shape, an aggressive amount of camber and tension and their proprietary Power-Connection-Band (PCB). This tensioned band provides power and precision when standing on small holds without resorting to stiffer and sensitivity-robbing midsoles. The addition of a full-coverage toe cap and fully covered heel ensure that the Furia also excels on technical hooking manoeuvres. Underneath, Scarpa has speced Vibram’s soft and sticky XS Grip 2 rubber for exceptional…

Reiner Thoni, Canada’s most successful ski mountaineering racer, has recently turned his attention to alpine climbing, making an attempt on the notorious Hummingbird Ridge of Mount Logan. How could a relative unknown in climbing circles come out of nowhere to attempt the most difficult standing problem in North American alpinism? Reiner is an example of a growing trend in mountaineering. There is a whole new category of mountain pursuit that is taking Europe by storm, fastest known time (FKT). A long history of training makes Reiner the perfect candidate for the Hummingbird, just as Kilian Jornet, more known as a runner, is breaking speed records on a number of the world’s highest mountains. Rock climbing grades skyrocketed in the 1980s when specific training tools, such as the hangboard, came on…

In 1965, Richard and Louise Guy moved to Canada and became two of the most inf luential and inspiring Alpine Club of Canada members ever. It all started in 1939 when Richard asked Louise to join him on a scrambling trip to the Lake District of northern England. They found a shared passion after climbing a number of famous peaks. They married in 1940 and over the next 10 years had three children. In 1947, Richard, who had graduated from Cambridge with a second class honours degree, worked at London University teaching math; he taught 22 classes a week. Wanting something more diverse, the family moved to Singapore for a decade. On one occasion they f lew to Switzerland and hired a guide named Alfred Steger to take them climbing.…

My dirty, sandal-tanned feet skipped across the rocks and gravel of the Pit Campground, alongside the impressive Sierra Nevada range in Bishop, Calif. It was very early in the morning, and hardly anyone was awake. One of the boys from the Nova Scotia crew saw me grinning from ear to ear, as I did the “walk of shame,” from her Toyota Previa to my wind-mangled tent. He put together the answer to his question, “Where are you coming from?” as he asked it and gave me an excited high five. She was from Colorado, a crusher, on a trip across the western climbing hot spots, had a great dog, and a beautiful smile. A true gem. Everyone thought she was a hottie, and of all the dirtbags to choose from,…

“Welcome to the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival,” echoed the now-familiar voice of the film festival’s opening scene narrator to a sold-out 959-seat Eric Harvie Theatre at the Banff Centre on opening day of the 2014 festival. As images and short video clips of awe-inspiring mountains and mountain feats lit up the screen to the sound of a hair-raising theme song, spectators focused all attention on what was to come. Every year since 1976, the festival has become bigger and better, and the 2015 anniversary event is promising to impress. It all began in 1976, a time before social media, Gripped magazine and Canadian climbing sponsors. As the story goes, a group of bored climbers, including Rockies legend Chic Scott, got together in someone’s basement to discuss how to…

I’m slouched, staring outside my bedroom window in Canmore. I’m sipping on Cuban rum and procrastinating, which leads to daydreaming. My thoughts take me back to Cuba. When I close my eyes, I feel like I am there again. In my daydream, I’m heading back to the Valle de Viñales and I am climbing steep limestone. When I open my eyes, I am back in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s April and it’s snowing outside. I can pack my bags and I’d be in Cuba in seven hours. I am not one to travel to the same place twice – the destination seems more thrilling when it’s new. There is a combination of excitement and apprehension when travelling to a new country. I adore that feeling. I live to move, move…

John Gross, proprietor and owner of True North Climbing, decided to open a climbing gym six-and-a-half years ago. He made the decision after being laid off from his previous job. The vision behind the gym was to create a space where all types of climbers felt welcomed and comfortable and it’s clear that Gross succeeded. The opening of the True North Climbing gym was launched by a Tour de Bloc competition in March, 2010, and over the past five years, the gym has grown into one of Toronto’s must-visit climbing hubs. True North Climbing is one of the largest gyms in Toronto and it’s located uptown near the Downsview subway station. It is in the Downsview Park Sport Centre, which hosts other recreation and sports facilities and is becoming the…

Our pilot called off our flight to Bute Inlet early in the morning. With bad weather coming in, the idea of flying into the mountains was put on hold for a few days. The temps had been unruly in Squamish in spring and so we decided to recoup the early wake-up and mobilize for some sport climbing. A few hours later, saddled up for bolt-clipping, we got another call from the pilot. He said the weather forecast improved and if we could get to the airport in 45 minutes, we could make the flight. In a frenzy, we went for a full repack of our gear, ditching the light draws for the bagged meals and in no time at all were on route to the airport. We flew into Bute…

John Price has become one of the most recognizable names on climbing websites and social media over the past few seasons. In the era of selfies and Instagram, rising to the top is not easy, but through hard work and strategic networking, Price creates opportunities to photograph some of Canada’s top climbers in North America’s most picturesque settings. We recently touched based with the relatively new-to-Canada Australian to get his behind-the-lens story. “This is the diamond east face of Mount Louis near Banff. A few years ago Sonnie Trotter and Tommy Caldwell made the first ascent of this route called The Shining 5.13c. In this photo, Trotter attempts to link the stacked 5.13 pitches as Gripped editor Brandon Pullan belays. This was as high as they got as it was…