Skip to content
OpenBeta Forum

OpenBeta Forums
  1. Home
  2. Categories
  3. General News
  4. A Journey Through Time by Adam Ferro

A Journey Through Time by Adam Ferro

General News
1 1 146 1

Suggested topics

  • American Alpine ClubA

    The Line—A Sensational Spire in Pakistan

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    16 Views
    American Alpine ClubA
    One winner of a 2025 Cutting Edge Grant from the AAC was alpinist and photographer Tad McCrea, who, along with fellow American Jon Griffin and German climber Thomas Huber, traveled to the Karakoram for their second expedition to attempt two sensational peaks. The first part of Tad’s trip report is shared below. For the second half, you’ll have to wait for your 2026 American Alpine Journal, coming later this year. Jon Griffin, Thomas Huber, and I had visited the Choktoi Glacier in 2024, our goals the west summit of Suma Brakk and the southeast pillar of Latok III. Initially, the weather was stunning, but as our preparation was beginning to pay off, we were hit by five weeks of wet and restless weather. Our objectives quickly became out of reach. On July 14, 2025, the three of us reconvened in Skardu, in northern Pakistan. The approach this time to base camp, at around 4,400 meters on the east side of the glacier, was challenging due to hot weather and raging river crossings.  Then, five days into our stay at base camp, Thomas and I were called to assist in the attempted rescue of Laura Dahlmeier on Laila Peak. [The German athlete was a two-time Olympic biathlon champion and friend of Huber’s. She was retreating from the peak when she was hit by rockfall, fatally, around 5,700 meters]. Along with Americans Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau, who were on another expedition in Pakistan, we were airlifted to the peak, where we located her body from the air and realized any attempt to retrieve her would be futile. We hiked out to Hushe, then were helicoptered back to our Choktoi base camp on August 2.  Two days later, we made an acclimatization trip to 5,700 meters near Suma Brakk. At 12:30 a.m. on August 9, we set off from base camp for the climb. Suma Brakk is a triple-summited peak that has been climbed at least a couple of times by different routes. [The first ascent of the central and highest summit (6,166m) was made in 2007 via the southern slopes and southeast ridge, by Americans Doug Chabot, Mark Richey, and Steve Swenson. In 2018, Fabian Buhl and Alexander Huber—Thomas’s brother—completed the south ridge, with more than 56 pitches of climbing]. The west summit, which we dubbed Eye Ri (6,120m), was unclimbed. It appears as a spectacular needle when seen from the Choktoi side; moving around the peak to the west exposes a gash splitting the entire summit tower. There is a giant chockstone wedged 15 to 20 meters from the top that mimics Sauron's Eye. We started up loose ribs and even looser rock gullies just left of a 300-meter icefall blocking access to a hanging glacier at the base of Eye Ri’s northwestern aspect. We had been here the year before, so we knew where to find the best path to the notch leading to the upper glacial basin. The climbing ranged from steep walking to scrambling. A hike up the glacier, then steep snow and névé with occasional stretches of ice and mixed (50°–75°), took us to the previous year's high point at 5,600 meters on the west ridge, between the first and second gendarmes. While I chopped out a site for the tent, Jon and Thomas took our two single ropes and a tag line and fixed three pitches to the top of the second gendarme.  The next day, we continued past three more gendarmes to a bivouac below the final tower. There were a few rock pitches up to 5.10+ on textured golden granite, and ice up to 80°, and we needed the full quiver of alpine tactics and trickery to get our under-acclimatized bodies up to 6,000 meters. In the morning, we climbed three challenging pitches up the tower, utilizing 12 bolts for protection and anchors. Free climbing up to 5.11, we also employed a variety of aid tactics. At a bus-sized platform four meters below the top of the tower, we fixed lines and rappelled 85 meters to our camp. On August 12th, we jugged our lines and did a short boulder problem to the summit, for what appears to be its first ascent. We laughed, danced, and cried a little as we soaked in the expansive vista, then descended all the way to our 5,600-meter camp, making at least 15 rap... https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2026/3/25/the-linea-sensational-spire-in-pakistan
  • S

    Gibts eigentlich schon ein Fediverse-Klettertagebuch?

    General Climbing vlogger beta7 verticallife climbing bouldering
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    27 Views
    S
    Gibts eigentlich schon ein Fediverse-Klettertagebuch? Kennt da jemand was?(Also eine Fediverse-Alternative zu #vLogger #Beta7 #verticalLife etc)Falls nein: gibt es hier jemanden der List hätte sowas anzugehen?#climbing #bouldering
  • American Alpine ClubA

    The Line—Unclimbed Baffin

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    58 Views
    American Alpine ClubA
    Most climbers journeying to Baffin Island in Canada head to the Weasel River Valley in Auyuittuq National Park, home to the world-famous walls of Mt. Asgard and Mt. Thor, among many others. Yet despite more than 50 years of climbing history in this area, there’s still enormous potential just outside the main valley. In April 2025, an ambitious and creative British team explored the glacier systems east of the Weasel River, finding numerous unclimbed peaks and walls. In April 2025, a four-person team made up of Leanne Dyke, James Hoyes, Ben James, and I flew into the settlement of Pangnirtung. Our hope was to use spring snow cover to ski the length of the mountains to the east of the Weasel River Valley, ascending unclimbed peaks along the way. However, on April 7, strong winds and lack of sea ice prevented us from accessing our planned snowmobile drop-off in Kingnait Fjord (the next fjord east of Pangnirtung Fjord). After this false start, we changed plans and were dropped on April 10 just below Summit Lake at the head of the Weasel River Valley. We had hoped to ski straight up onto the Nerutusôq Glacier, to the southeast of Summit Lake’s outlet, but a lack of snow meant we spent three exhausting days portaging our sleds, food, and equipment up onto the glacier. We made camp three kilometers southwest of Mt. Bilbo (1,842m). From this camp, we made two first ascents. On April 14, we climbed the east slopes to the south ridge of a 1,823-meter peak we named Uppijjuaq. The next day, we made the first ascent of Minas Tirith (1,950m) via its three-kilometer west ridge (PD-), passing tricky steps and steeper granite cracks to an impressive summit tower. We then skied south onto the Fork Beard Glacier, making two more first ascents, the southwest rib of Aqviq (1,860m) and the west face of Inutuaq (1,637m), as well as a failed attempt on a third peak. Next, we headed south on the Fork Beard Glacier, hoping to find a pass at the top of the Turnweather Glacier that would connect us to the Gateway Glaciers to the south, but after two days of searching, no feasible route was found. Fortunately, this unnamed valley had never been visited by climbers, to the best of our knowledge, and we went on to make three more first ascents: the south face of Ukaliq (1,532m), west to north ridge of Uvingajuq (1,615m), and the south slopes of Atangiijuq (1,600m). With so many of the peaks in this area of Baffin given Norse or English names, our team thought it would be nice to instead use the Inuit language to name most of the first ascents. Traditionally, the local population gives names for what the peak looks like or what they see in the local area, and we followed this method. For example, Uppijjuaq means “snowy owl,” Aqviq is “humpback whale,” and Uvingajuq means “diagonal,” after the distinctive ramp we climbed. To end our trip, we skied four days to exit the mountains: first to the west via the branch of the Fork Beard Glacier flowing south of Tirokwa Peak, then south along the frozen Weasel River, and finally to the sea ice in Pangnirtung Fjord. We returned to Pangnirtung village on April 30, having completed seven likely first ascents and skied around 150 kilometers. The weather was surprisingly stable, with many blue-sky days, and although temperatures at the start of the trip dropped to -30°C, it quickly warmed to a comfortable -10°C. The eastern portions of the Nerutusoq and Fork Beard glaciers still have potential for future teams. Accessing this area in summer would be a long journey, but using the spring snow opens up the area. [This mostly British team received support from the Mount Everest Foundation; their extensive trip report can be downloaded here.] —Tom Harding, United Kingdom The 2026 AAJ will publish four more reports from Baffin Island, in addition to the one shared above. We plan to wrap up the Canada section of the book in early February. If you or a friend climbed a long new route anywhere in Canada in 2025, and you aren’t already in contact with an AAJ editor, we’d love to hear about it no later than January 31. Reach us at https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2026/1/12/the-lineunclimbed-baffin
  • GrippedG

    Escape the Winter at These Five European Climbing Destinations

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    42 Views
    GrippedG
    Europe has endless cold-season climbing opportunities – here are five spots for sport climbers The post Escape the Winter at These Five European Climbing Destinations appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/profiles/escape-the-winter-at-these-five-european-climbing-destinations/
  • American Alpine ClubA

    2025 American Alpine Club Gala Awards

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    121 Views
    American Alpine ClubA
    Discover their incredible stories, then join us for the 2025 American Alpine Club Gala to hear more! Brooke Raboutou grew up in Boulder, CO, where she began climbing at age two. At 11, Raboutou sent Welcome to Tijuana (5.14b) in Rodellar, Spain, becoming the youngest person to climb the route. From 2020 to 2022, Raboutou pushed bouldering grades, sending Muscle Car (V14), The Atomator (V13), The Shining (V12/13), The Wheel of Chaos (V13), Doppelgänger Poltergeist (V13), Jade (V14), Euro Trash (V12/8a+), Low Low (V13/8b) Trieste (V14), Heritage (V13), La Proue (V13), Lur (V14), Evil Backwards (V13). Raboutou was the first American to qualify for the Olympics, and during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she finished 5th.  In October 2023, Raboutou sent Box Therapy in Rocky Mountain National Park and promptly downgraded it from V16 to V15. In 2024, Raboutou won silver in the combined bouldering and lead competition at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in climbing. In April 2025, Raboutou sent Excalibur (5.15c), becoming the first woman to send the grade.  Outdoor Alliance is a nonprofit coalition of national advocacy organizations that includes American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Winter Wildlands Alliance, the Mountaineers, the American Alpine Club, the Mazamas, the Colorado Mountain Club, and the Surfrider Foundation. For more than ten years, Outdoor Alliance has united the human-powered outdoor recreation community to achieve lasting conservation victories. Its work has helped to permanently protect 40 million acres of public land, secure $5.1 billion in funding for the outdoors, and convert more than 100,000 outdoor enthusiasts into outdoor advocates. Adam Cramer will be accepting the award on behalf of Outdoor Alliance. He is the founding Executive Director and present CEO of Outdoor Alliance. During his time as CEO, Adam has brought new sensibilities to conservation work that have resulted in hundreds of thousands more acres of protected landscapes, improved management for outdoor recreation, and thousands of outdoor enthusiasts awakened to conservation and advocacy work. He is an avid whitewater kayaker and mountain biker, but is always on the lookout for a good skatepark.  For 52 years, Jack Tackle has focused on alpine climbing, particularly first ascents, in the Himalayas, South America, and Alaska. Jack Tackle is best known for his climbing in Alaska. He has done 35 separate trips, combining both attempts and successes since 1976, and completed 17 significant first ascents in Alaska’s various ranges. Tackle is a past Board member of the AAC (nine years) and served as Treasurer of the AAC from 2009-2012. He has been a member of the AAC since 1978. He presently serves on the Pinnacle and Grand Teton Climber Ranch committees and is the chairman of the AAC Cutting Edge Grant committee. For 30 years, Tackle was an independent sales rep for outdoor brands, including Patagonia, Black Diamond Equipment, and Vasque Footwear. In addition, Tackle guided for Exum Mountain Guides in the Tetons for 40 years, from 1982 to 2022. Michael Wejchert began climbing as a scared ten-year-old in a swami belt. Now a scared thirty-nine-year-old, rock and ice climbing remain his overriding passion. He began writing about climbing in high school and hasn't stopped. In 2013, he won the Waterman Fund Essay Contest for a piece called Epigoni, Revisited, about a failed attempt to climb Mount Deborah in the Hayes Range of Alaska. His first book, Hidden Mountains, won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2023. His essays and features have appeared in virtually every North American climbing magazine and major media outlets: Alpinist, Ascent, Rock & Ice, Appalachia, and the New York Times, to name a few. He is a proud contributing editor at the new Summit Journal. He lives just down the road from Cathedral Ledge, New England's finest trad cliff. As an undersized kid who wanted to be a cowboy, Kelly Cordes never dreamed that climbing would define his life. But he stumbled upon an obsession that took him to places of unimaginable beauty and infused his world with meaning. He established challenging alpine routes in Alaska, Peru, Patagonia, and Pakista... https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2025/7/9/2025-american-alpine-club-gala-awards
  • EpicTVE

    For un uncut click👇 Ratatouille 9a👇 #climbing

    Videos climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    154 Views
    EpicTVE
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3oh0YtGFyo
  • UK ClimbingU

    Fri Night Vid Jirishanca: Josh Wharton & Vince Anderson Climb a New Route in Peru

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    144 Views
    UK ClimbingU
    Josh Wharton is the most accomplished alpinist you've never heard of. But while he's been quietly crushing ambitious objectives to little or no fanfare, fatherhood, and warming weather have begun to reshape the world he knew. When Wharton and his climbing partner Vince Anderson attempt to take the 2003 Italian route to the summit of J... https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=776783
  • UK ClimbingU

    Will Bosi flashes Dune, 8B+

    General News climbing
    1
    0 Votes
    1 Posts
    132 Views
    UK ClimbingU
    Will Bosi has made a flash ascent of Jana vecov's Dune, 8B+, atStaechovck Lom, Czech Republic. https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=776009