Gripped: The Climbing Magazine December 2021/January 2022 Vol. 23 Issue 6

The golden rule of ice climbing is don’t fall, ever, but over the past decade, more and more ice climbers have been falling. The reasons range from inexperience to conditions, but new ice climbers need to have the mindset that you should never fall off an ice climb. Why? Unlike rock climbing, you have metal points strapped to your feet, in your hands and on your harness, and while the combination of potential injuries is vast, they’re all ugly and painful. I will try my best to bestow some ice climbing wisdom that I’ve learned over 20 years of swinging tools, to help you stay on the ice and not in the air. First, sink the picks of your ice tools into the ice to ensure that they won’t pop…

Metolius Prime Rib $68 This three-edge training board is compact and will help you get strong for those crimpy gym and rock projects. The edge depths are 38 mm, 23 mm and 15 mm, which are optimal for sharp rock holds. It can be mounted with only four screws in tight spots where bigger hangboards don’t fit. Scarpa Furia Air $215 These are some of the best all-round climbing shoes for the gym and rock, from boulders and slabs to vertical techy routes. They have a short break-in time, and once they’re worked in, you’ll hardly notice them on your feet because they’re so comfortable. A must-have for serious climbers. Petzl Nocti Light $20 If you own a Petzl headlamp, then the Nocti Light should be added to your road…

Ian Welsted is one of Canada’s most experienced alpinists and high-altitude climbers, having experienced many trips abroad to the great ranges. He’s established dozens of technical mixed climbs on remote walls, climbed with some of the greatest of all time, and works as an ice climbing guide in Canada’s mountains during the winter. In 2013, he and Raphael Slawinski made the first ascent of K6 West’s northwest face at 7,040 metres, over 1,800 metres of climbing, at WI4+ M6+ and over six days of climbing. They received the prestigious Piolet d’Or for their effort. This year, he attempted something never tried before: an alpine-style attempt at the west face of K2 with Graham Zimmerman. The two were stifled by extreme heat, permit issues and crowded basecamps, but still climbed high…

Matty Hong Repeats Flex Luthor 5.15b In 2003, Tommy Caldwell redpointed his long-time project at the Fortress of Solitude near Rifle, Colo. He called the 40-metre overhanging limestone line Flex Luthor. Caldwell said it was the hardest thing he’d ever climbed. It’s found 30 metres right of Caldwell’s other powerful climb at the crag called Kryptonite 5.14d, which was the first of the grade in the country. American crusher Matty Hong made the second ascent of Flex Luthor, nearly two decades after the first, and gave it a personal grade of 5.15b. Hong told us, “I really relied on Margo. She stepped up to the plate and offered to be my partner, to support me up there. Having her be there as a support system is just massive in sport…

Matty Hong on his repeat of Flex Luthor 5.15b in Colorado: “The process felt almost like trying a first ascent. I didn’t have any beta for the route, so I spent a lot of time just working out sequences and trying individual moves. It took a long time. It took multiple trips to the cliff before I figured out a sequence that worked. Usually after someone’s climbed a route, you have so much more information than you do if you’re the first person to climb something. A route like Flex Luthor, it doesn’t make sense right away. You have to put your body in different positions and really figure it out move by move.” Lucas Uchida on his flash of Shelter V13 in Squamish: “I knew it was possible. I…

New Rockies Alpine A long new route was climbed on Mount Whyte over 430 metres at AI3 M4 by Sebastian Taborszky, Austin Goodine and Paul Taylor. Taborszky, one of the Rockies’ top winter climbers, said, “We ran from avalanches and got dusted, hence the name, Whyte Noise.” New American V16 In Joe’s Valley, American boulderer Taylor McNeill established the widest-move V16 in the world. His process took over three years, and he called it Moonlight Sonata. Laura Rogora Climbs 5.15b Italian phenom Laura Rogora is quickly climbing her way to the top of the short list of the world’s strongest sport climbers. This fall, she made the second ascent of Erebor 5.15b/c in Arco, Italy. Rogora had climbed around 20 routes from 5.14+ to 5.15b. Few climbers have ticked anything…