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Wonder if it's worth asking for #bouldering or #climbing #beta on Mastodon?

General Climbing
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  • American Alpine ClubA

    The Line—Unclimbed Baffin

    General News climbing
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    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
  • Kemal ASLANA

    I climbed North Africa's Tallest Mountain In Winter ( Mount Toubkal )

    General Climbing girloutdoors climbing mounttoubkal mountaininwinte thruhiking
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    Kemal ASLANA
    I climbed North Africa's Tallest Mountain In Winter ( Mount Toubkal )#GirlOutdoors ​ #climbing #MountToubkal #MountainInWinter#thruhiking #hiking #backpackinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDoP67arR3U
  • GrippedG

    Jonathan Siegrist Climbs Four 5.14+ Routes in a Week

    General News climbing
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    GrippedG
    Siegrist tears it up on a sport climbing trip to the incredible Jilotepec, Mexico The post Jonathan Siegrist Climbs Four 5.14+ Routes in a Week appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/news/jonathan-siegrist-climbs-four-5-14-routes-in-a-week/
  • GrippedG

    A Look at the La Sportiva Lumina 300 Down Jacket

    General News climbing
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    GrippedG
    La Sportiva's Lumina 300 performs like a giant puffy but leaves behind all of the weight and bulk The post A Look at the La Sportiva Lumina 300 Down Jacket appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/gear/a-look-at-the-la-sportiva-lumina-300-down-jacket/
  • GrippedG

    Sung Su Lee Climbing Burden of Dreams V17 Twice

    General News climbing
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    GrippedG
    After dabbing on one ascent, he went back and sent the problem in perfect style the next session The post Sung Su Lee Climbing Burden of Dreams V17 Twice appeared first on Gripped Magazine. https://gripped.com/video/sung-su-lee-climbing-burden-of-dreams-v17-twice/
  • IFSCI

    The dawn of a new CLIMBING season in China! 🇨🇳

    Videos climbing ifsc
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    IFSCI
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxI0BNtIdUk
  • American Alpine ClubA

    Must-Read Ascents On Great Trango Tower From The American Alpine Journal

    General News climbing
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    American Alpine ClubA
    By: Sierra McGivney "The impressive rock spires of Great Trango Tower and Trango (a.k.a. Nameless) Tower create one of the wonders of the Earth, capturing the imagination of everyone who travels on the Baltoro Glacier. Great Trango resembles a giant castle flanked by steep walls. On top of nearly a mile of sheer rock, four magnificent summit turrets comprise the East, West, Main (middle), and South summits," writes John Middendorf. Great Trango Tower is located in the Baltoro Glacier region of the Karakoram Range of Pakistan. The Karakoram is located mostly in northern Pakistan but also reaches into Tajikistan, China, Afghanistan, and India, creating a diverse ecosystem. Cutting-edge alpinists travel to the area to test their skills by climbing new routes on some of the biggest walls in the world. Great Trango Tower, which sits at 6,286 meters, offers challenging granite face-climbing and unforgettable rock features. The climbing history of the mountain runs deep, so we have compiled a list of must-read ascents on Great Trango Tower from the AAJ.  Don't worry! We haven't forgotten Trango Tower (AKA Nameless Tower), the other famous monolith in the Trango Towers group. Our next dive into the AAJ archives will focus on the legendary ascents on Nameless Tower, so be on the lookout. Until then, dive into these epic stories from Great Trango Tower.  Great Trango Tower. Climb Year: 1977. Publication Year: 1978. Author: Dennis Hennek. This list wouldn't be complete without the first ascent of Great Trango Tower. After rerouted and canceled flights, Galen Rowell, John Roskelley, Kim Schmitz, Dennis Hennek, and Dr. Lou Buscaglia began their trek through the Shigar Valley up the Braldu River Valley, where they met up with the final member of their team, Dr. Jim Morrissey. Once they established basecamp on Trango Glacier, a four-day storm settled over them, causing debris to fall on their proposed climb. "The scene greeting us at the base of the gully brought us back to reality and the seriousness of the next 3,500 feet." On the first day of climbing, Hennek, Rowell, Schmitz, and Roskelley witnessed an avalanche filling the gully they had just ascended, where they believed Buscaglia and Morrissey to be. But "luck stayed with us"— the two had scrambled to the side of the gully to check out a waterfall, the avalanche narrowly missing them. This was only the first day, and it wouldn't be the only hurdle in their journey. Yet the rewards were great. "The afternoon was warm and clear, with an unobstructed, unforgettable view in all directions. We all agreed that there could be no better view of the Baltoro Karakoram." Read about the first ascent while looking at black and white photos from their expedition here.  Great Trango, Pakistan. Publication Year: 2005. Author: Kelly Cordes. This article stands out in the AAJ archives because of what a saga this ascent turned out to be. Josh Wharton and Kelly Cordes climbed Great Trango’s southwest ridge, which they called the Azeem Ridge (7,400' vertical, 5.11R/X A2 M6), in what they deemed "delusional optimism," "disaster style," and "safety fifth!" climbing. Cordes and Wharton climbed 54 pitches, facing many challenges. On the second pitch, one side of their jury-rigged double-gear slings came undone, causing about a quarter of their cams to fall. Then, halfway up the wall, the two ran out of fuel, leaving them with only one option, sucking on snow in place of drinking water. Cordes wrote: "When we reached the bivouac where our last fuel sputtered out, we never spoke of retreat." On the fourth morning, Wharton's headlamp slingshotted out of his hands and was lost to the tower. Soon after, Cordes’ belay device suffered the same fate. At this point, their only option was up and over. Continue reading about how Cordes and Wharton kept heading up, even against all odds.  Great Trango Tower's Northwest Face. Publication Year: 2000. Author: Jared Ogden.  This article was written at the turn of the century when technology and climbing began t... https://americanalpineclub.org/news/2024/6/28/must-read-ascents-on-great-trango-tower-from-the-american-alpine-journal
  • GrippedG

    Giuliano Cameroni Opens Third Eye V15

    General News climbing
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    GrippedG
    https://gripped.com/news/giuliano-cameroni-opens-third-eye-v15/