Hardwear Sessions

By Rowan Jimenez, MHW Warranty

For the past 3 years since I started fly fishing I have come to realize that, as much as this is a sport that requires good technique and experience, it is also very much a sport where good luck plays a major role. Just like in any other sport you'll have your good day, your bad days, and of course, your epic day... and an epic fishing day is what I had in my latest trip to Aspen Colorado. Again I have to be honest, in only 3 years I've been very lucky to have fished in some amazing places in the US, but Aspen definitely I have to put in the top ten. I began my trip by wading on the Frying Pan near Basalt late in the afternoon upon my arrival, casting a few dry flies with very poor luck. After a couple hours I had only landed a little brown, at about 11". It didn't do much for my Latin ego, saying size matters, this was totally unacceptable.

Woke up Sunday feeling great and very juiced up to hit the Roaring Fork. Our guide was going to takes us for a long ride of about 8 to 9 miles that would end up in the Colorado River. After a nice cup of Joe and a nice breakfast sitting next to Kurt Russell (one of the many celebrities that populates this town) I'm feeling right in my element. What can I say? The life of a Rock Star is, you know, Hard! It's about 10:30 am when we get to our launching area and it is looking good! We put all of our stuff in the boat - mainly fishing gear, a dozen pieces of fried chicken from the local store, some cokes, H2O, and, of course, cigars. Blast off.

Josh Butson and I are heading out this afternoon for one of the greatest adventures we could ever imagine: Climbing the Barbarian! The Barbarian is a 18,949 ft. peak in the Sichuan province of western China that has yet to see an ascent. 5 teams have tried it's imposing West face, none have seen the top.

We are flying to Chengdu, then taking a 10 hour bus ride to Rilong township before beginning our 5 day approach to climb the 7000 ft. East face of the Barbarian. The face is complex and demands many different skills as well as a burly approach through the remote reaches of the Changping Goa Valley before bushwacking to the base of a 3000 ft. granite big wall capped by snow and ice.

We have no maps, they are not available. No one has ever touched the wall. We have only the attached photo, our experiences pioneering new routes in this valley last year and a backpack stocked full enough to carry us through a minimum of fifteen days of pioneering a truly unique mountain.

We will be checking back in with GPS coordinates, tales of our travel and podcasts throughout the expedition and a post expedition series of podcasts featuring video and still photos.

We look forward to sharing the experience with you and returning home safely.

View Photographs of Ryan's trip on Flickr.

We've got to stop doing trips this way...it's just not healthy to spend 22 hours in a car over the course of two days. Throw in a little jaunt to 12,662 ft from sea level and it is almost guaranteed to have subtracted a year or two off the back end of life...all in the name of fun.

It was mentioned in a previous blog entry that my buddy Brian and I are attempting to highpoint the US. We are definitely going to give it a go. Neither of us wants to take 25 years to do it either so we are trying to be as consistent as possible. To keep things going we headed out to Idaho and Borah Peak two weeks ago. This time we dragged Brian's brother Trevor along. He found out where we were going as he was loading his gear in the car.

You can get to Borah Peak's trailhead from Portland in 11 hours. If you leave Portland after work at 5:00pm...yes, your math is correct...you can arrive at the trailhead at 5:00am (you lose an hour when you cross the time zone). The idea sounded a lot more fun than the execution turned out to be. We were absolutely exhausted when we pulled up to see other climbers throwing on their headlamps to get an early start. That wasn't going to happen so we threw down our sleeping bags next to the car and tried to sleep for two restless hours. That seemed like more sleep then it felt like when we woke up. We were lucky to wake up to a beautiful Idaho morning or else we might have slept into the evening.

David Marchi, Petit Pinson, and Forrest Coots have returned from Las Ardillas. Follow Petit Pinson's day-by-day account of their experiences in Patagonia. We will post their trip journal in installments, so check back next week for more entries!

By Petit Pinson

We are out of the incredible Patagonia peaks and couloirs...back from the coming of spring in the Andes into fall and the promise of winter in California. Our last blog was written from the one computer with internet access that exists in the quaint and colorful village of Cerro Castillo where we spent our last night in warm beds before heading out into the nearby mountains... (...we pick up the journey on Sept. 9th, 2007...)

Sept. 9th, 2007

An early morning in Santiago as we drag heavy ski bags through nearly empty city streets to catch a shuttle to the airport where we are met with the joy of "overweight fees" for our flight down to Patagonia (we try to explain the importance of our expedition to the tourism in the region. "Por favor?...they'll have none of it). Forrest falls prey to the familiarity and caffeine of Starbucks as we board the plane for our 3 hour flight to Balmaceda. A bumpy flight with views of villages, farm land, and jagged snow-covered peaks, and we are filled with anticipation of what Mother Nature has in store for us. We are greeted in Balmaceda by our local friend, Rodolfo Quiros, and another California native, Danny Sullivan. With the Toyota truck stacked full of gear and five anxious travelers in search of snow, we make our way north to Coyhaique to discuss logistics over Chilean wine and scour the isles of grocery stores for meals for our 11-day backcountry journey.

Rodolfo and Danny fill us in on the rainy cold days they've had as we study weather patterns on the web in hopes of imminent high pressure. Meanwhile clouds swirl overhead revealing glimpses of snow-capped peaks in the distance. A few stars in the sky tonight as we rest for our travel and packing day tomorrow. Cities to mountains... the landscape of Chile never ceases to amaze us... from the history of Santiago told in its city skyline leading to high mountains and endless valleys of rock, cactus, poppies, spring flow filling rivers... to Patagonia's mix of coastline, dense forest and wide open golden grazed hills spotted with lakes, farms and villages introducing the mountains we have come to climb and ski.

(Quote of the day: "You guys look like you are constantly ready to go for a long run or something." -- Forrest Coots on the sweet Mountain Hardwear threads worn by David and Petit.)

Fall has returned, and so has Mountain Hardwear's Sharp End Tour.

We all know that fall's crisp days and clear skies represent some of the best days for climbing, but jobs, classes, and other necessities of "real life" intervene. While we can't send the crags to you, we can send you two of our favorite climbers, Ed Viesturs and Micah Dash.

Live vicariously through Micah and Ed. Or use their slideshow as a launching pad for your own climbing adventures. And hey, we know that Ed and Micah are better than anything you'll find on network TV. Or even cable.

View the Sharp End Tour schedule and find a location near you.

To bring you the Sharp End Tour, we've teamed up with some wonderful local organizations:

• Bellingham, Washington: Western Washington University's Outdoor Center.

• Boise, Idaho: Boise State University's Outdoor Program.

• Eugene, Oregon: The University of Oregon, Eugene's Outdoor Program and McKenzie Outfitters

• Malibu, California: Pepperdine University's Campus Recreation Program.

• Riverside, California: The University of California, Riverside's Outdoor Excursions program.

• Tucscon, Arizona: The University of Arizona, Tucson's Outdoor Adventures Campus Recreation program, and Rocks and Ropes.

By Jonathan Lane Sullivan

I was recently with Ben Clark and Josh in the Changping Valley. I received the McNeill-Nott Grant from Mountain Hardwear and the American Alpine Club. I, too, am climbing in Sichuan. I had two objectives while here in China. My first objective was to nail some first ascents in the Bipeng Valley of Sichuan. The second objective was to spend time in the Bipeng, Changping, and Shuangqiao Valleys, getting valuable photos, route info, trail info, and to eventually create a map that will make it easier for future climbers to access these valleys. In total I have spent 55 days in these valleys and have a good handle on the area deemed "the Next Patagonia."

During a stint in Chengdu, my various sources informed there were two American climbers going to Changping Valley (Ben Clark and Josh Butson). I arranged to meet them in Chengdu and before I knew it, I was accompanying them on their expedition. Together we made the 9 hour drive through Chinese villages and over mountain passes before arriving in Rilong. In Rilong we filled our bellies with yak and potato kabobs.

As you might have noticed, during the month of October, Mountain Hardwear celebrates today's outdoor divas with Diva & Conquer. This month, we would also like to highlight a cause close to our hearts. We are also proud sponsors of the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation. HERA provides valuable support to ovarian cancer patients and their families, raises funds for cancer research, and sponsors wonderful events for the community, such as the Climb4Life fundraisers.

Climb4Life is a wonderful event, bringing members of the climbing community together to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. (Read a capsule overview of ovarian cancer, and the disease's impact upon women, on our Diva & Conquer site.) The next Climb4Life will be held in Mexico, from November 8 to November 11, 2007, so start planning your trip!

Women's health-related issues still receive less funding (for research, treatment, and prevention) than men's health-related issues. This discrepancy affects women of all ages, and it affects our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters, wives, and daughters. So ladies, empower yourself and take control of your health! And guys, get involved with your community, and support the women in your life!

Contact HERA for more information about this year's Climb4Life Mexico.

And finally, don't forget to send in your Diva nomination! We've received a tremendous response from our community and hope to hear more from you. Visit the Diva blog and read about the outdoor divas who have touched so many lives.

See More Photos on Flickr! Wayne Clingingsmith Photosets: Mike Fifield Flickr Site:

By Chris Hilliard, MHW Equipment Production Manager

Paragliders, like all gliders, are always descending through the air. The trick is to find air that is rising faster than the sink rate of the glider, preferably much faster, so that the net result is a climb. Rising air is generally lifted two ways, by wind flowing over hills or mountains, which is called orographic or ridge lift, or by the process of solar heating and then releasing rising parcels of air commonly called thermals. These are bubbles of joy for sickos like me.

There is nothing quite like the feeling you get thermalling a paraglider. When you fly into one, it usually lets you know. The glider pitches up and back, which swings the pilot forward on the 20 foot pedulum of the lines. Then you stabilize, usually slow down and start turning to look for the core, the area of strongest lift. The thermal will usually try to spit you out, sometimes the top or side. The tighter the core, the tighter the turn radius and bank angle. And you keeping turning... making constant adjustment by weight shifting and adjusting the brakes inputs.

Circling like hawks in a thermal with a group of friends, whooping and laughing is a real rush. Since we don't use any power the only sound is the wind through the lines, the beeping of varios (heh! turn that down!) and the occasional nervous giggle. A good thermal will send you skyward at a rate of 500 to 800 feet per minute. Conditions during my flights this year have varied from 'scratching around' on days when 200 feet a minute felt like a rocket to days when we were climbing at 1000 ft a minute with a pucker factor of 11.

The golden rule is... "turn in the lift". Over years of flying I've listened and studied, reading articles and books on techniques and weather, but nothing sums it up at the most basic level like this one simple rule. Sometimes it gets a little tough to tell exactly whether you are going up or down, when you are high above the horizon at cloudbase for instance. So we have some help in the form of an instrument called a variometer, or vario if you are into the whole brevity thing. As the name implies it's basically a very sensitive altimeter that samples multiple times a second and lets you know what's going on. They have a graphic display and an audio tone so you don't have to look at it constantly. When you fly into lift the vario starts beeping. As the rate of climb increases so does the pitch of the beeping (and your heart rate).

Ed Viesturs took a break from headlining the Sharp End Tour to talk with us over the telephone. Ed discusses his recent trip to Baffin Island, with Will Steger's Global Warming 101 project, outlines his plans for 2008, shares his thoughts on mountaineering's future, and looks back on his relationship with Mountain Hardwear.

When we spoke with Ed, he had just wrapped up a talk in Eugene, Oregon.

How was your talk at the University of Oregon?

It went really well. It was really good. The room was full, there were 300 or so people, a mixed audience of students and adults. Afterwards we stayed and signed posters.

You must be tired.

Oh no, this was just one lecture. This was easy.

How would you describe the audience? Were there a lot of mountaineers, people who are practitioners, or were the group more skewed towards listeners?

Again, the audience was a mixed bag of climbers, mountaineers, other outdoorsy types, and people who are sort of armchair travelers. People read the books, like Into Thin Air, and they find themselves drawn into this subject, and excited by the adventure in these books, so they come for the images and they want to hear about the experiences.

I also see these talks as a kind of payback, you know, for the support that Mountain Hardwear has given me through all these years.

Let's talk about your recent trip to Baffin Island. How did you become involved with the group? What drew you to this endeavor?

I was in LA about a year ago, and I was at a dinner organized by a friend. One person there was a film producer, and she was involved with the documentary portion of the project. She asked me what I would be doing in the spring, and if I was free, would I like to join the expedition? I said yes, just like that. It was something new and interesting. I thought, yeah, if they want me to come, I'll come. I knew a little about the trip, I had heard about the people involved, like Will Steger, and we already knew that Richard Branson would be involved.

When I arrived, the team had already been on the island for two months. I joined them in their last month. We did an overland traverse of the island. We had just phenomenal weather. We didn't have any storms. It was cold, but perfect. It was what we call "traveling weather." We really got lucky. Before we arrived, the team really suffered through some horrendous weather.

We traveled over sea ice in some parts, through spectacular frozen fjords with towering rocks.

And did you see any evidence of global warming?

I really didn't see, or feel, anything that would point to global warming. I didn't stay for very long.

You have to live there year after year to see the changes, and that was part of the point of this trip, to interview the Inuit elders, people who have lived there for a long time and can share their observations. They definitely tell us that things are changing. Their testimony lets us deduct that something is happening, that what we do down here affects what goes on up there. And as we know more, we can do something about it, change our ways.

The Weather Channel featured Dawn Glanc, one of Mountain Hardwear's climbers, on "Epic Conditions." A weekly television show, "Epic Conditions" examines "the dynamics between perfect weather conditions and perfect location to create the ultimate extreme sports adventure."

Watch Dawn climb at the Ouray Ice Festival, in this teaser from the television show.

Dawn racks up for Colorado's infamous Bird Brain Boulevard with our good friend Andres Marin.

David Marchi, Petit Pinson, and Forrest Coots have returned from Las Ardillas. Follow Petit Pinson's day-by-day account of their experiences in Patagonia. This is the third and final installment of their trip journal.

By Petit Pinson

Sept. 16th, 2007

Yesterday we spotted a classic long smooth couloir on our approach up the valley that whetted our now voracious appetites for fresh turns. It is day three of brilliant sunshine. Who knows how long Mother Nature will be this gracious. It seems to be a common pattern of inversion here. We haven't had the freeze/thaw we're hoping for, but the snow is solid, the pack is deep, and the conditions are variable and fun.

The mini i-pod speakers give us our soundtrack for the morning of Tenacious D ("Rock the fu**in' house, and kick some a**...")... and we flow into the mellow rockin' tunes of Ben Harper and Greg Brown as we skin up to follow yesterdays tracks out of camp and into the big world of Patagonia snow.

This month, Podclimber presents a series of interviews with Ben Clark. LarryB will speak with Ben about his expedition to China's Barbarian Peak (18,949 ft.). The peak is located in Sichuan's Bipeng Valley, a nature preserve. Many of the area's peaks remain unclimbed. Ben and his partner Josh Butson will attempt a 3000-foot tall big wall on Barbarian Peak.

Read Ben's introduction to Barbarian Peak.

Field Report #11: Ben checks in from a hotel in China.

Field Report #10: Headed Home.

Field Report #9: Ready to Climb.

Jessa Goebel recently competed in the first stage of the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, at the Hound Ears, located in beautiful Boone, North Carolina. Jessa placed fourth overall at Hound Ears, and goes on to compete on November 3rd, 2007, at Horse Pens-40 in Steele, Alabama. Triple Crown's third, and concluding stage, will be held at the Stone Fort, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We wish her the best of luck in the next round!

We sat down and chatted with Jessa about her experiences as as a seasoned competition climber, on her approach to training, and her favorite activities, off the rock. Hint: The girl has a weakness for tequila! Send her a case!

By Ueli Steck

October 19, 2007

We are already here in Canada. I am here with Simon Anthamatten, a strong young Swiss climber. We left Switzerland on October 15. Our Idea is just simple. Climbing in Canada. Ok, to be a little more precise, we are here to climb some Alpine routes in the Rockies. We have several ideas for what we will climb.

And we will focus on Big alpine Routes. There are a lot of good alpine mixed climbs and nobody has repeated them. And if we see some new lines of course we will try them! But the Weather in the Mountains is always the same. In the end it is the weather and the conditions that will decide what we are going to climb! There is another goal on this trip: Not sitting around!

So, right now I am sitting on the couch at Will Gadd's house. Don`t worry, it's not that bad. Today I am happy to sit. We are back from a really good climb! When we arrived, we heard about a line on Snowdome Peak. 3 Canadians climbed a new route to the right of Slipstream. Polarity WI 5+ Grade VI 800m. First Ascent: Dana Ruddy, Cory Richards, Ian Welsted. They climbed this really fun alpine route in two days. The Team climbed just to the end of the Waterfall ice. After there is the Glacier Serac that they didn`t climb.

They shared some pictures about the route and about the last pitch. Simon and I were straight away fascinated. I have never climbed such a long ice route. Yesterday (Friday 18.Oct) we left the Car at 6.30 am. We didn't bring any bivy gear, we decided to be fast or not to finish the Route.

But not finishing the Route is definitely not an option!

View More Photos of Ueli and Simon on Flickr.

By Ueli Steck

October 20, 2007:

I am back from a good day of climbing. finally we had dinner in the Pub in Canmore. The weather is still Canadian, snow and wind... But anyway we are still motivated and we went to Riptide. A good hard Ice climb. The climb just like the description written in the Guidebook: The route is more psychologically than technically difficult. Long sections of snow covered, hollow and thin ice is normal. Ok and then we had spindrifts all the time... We were both totally wet on the end of the Day. But happy we climbed another great route in the Rockies. Tomorrow we will go back, we have seen today a great mixed Line to the right of Rocket Man on Mount Patterson. We go and have a look if we can open a new nice Mixed Route.

October 23, 2007:

Sunday we climbed the first 3 Pitches of this new line. Its a wonderful mixed line. Quite hard. It took us 11 hours to go up and do three pitches.

We are quite happy the upper part looks like ice and after [that] we come in to Rocket Man, a route thats to the right. So we have done all the work and now the next time we have to free climb the whole route.

Mountain Hardwear welcomes Freddie Wilkinson to our athlete team! Listen to Freddie talk about his career, and what it means to win the American Alpine Club's Robert H. Bates Award.

Listen to Freddie's Interview.

Mountain Hardwear athlete Micah Dash headlines the 2007 All Access Tour with fellow climber Matt Segal. The Tour benefits the Access Fund, a national nonprofit organization that fights for open access to climbing areas across the country.

An Access Fund ambassador, Micah notes that, "the Access Fund provides a platform in which we, as climbers, can become active in the issues that affect our love of climbing. People shouldn't take without giving something back. "

Micah will discuss his experiences with hard crack climbing in Indian Creek, Utah, big wall climbing in Yosemite and in Greenland, and his recent one-day ascent of the Nameless "Trango" Tower in Pakistan.

Please come out and support the Access Fund, and help us give something to future generations.

Click here to find a tour date near you!

View More Pictures from Ueli's climb on Flickr.

By Ueli Steck

Friday was not that good. We went to try a route on Howse Peak. The weather was just not good. And there were too many avalanches in the face. So Saturday we went back to the project at Mt. Paterson. This time it was time to freeclimb the new route we already opened last week.

We were not sure what we wanted to do. The second pitch is the hardest one. So if we fall on the second pitch, should we keep going and climb all the upper pitches or should we try untill we freeclimbed the second pitch? We hiked up very early so we will have enough time. At 8.30 am we were already at the start of the Route. The first pitch was fast done. Easy, only M5. Then i started for the second Pitch. The climbing is not that hard but very unstable. The hooks are small and slippery... The first part of the pitch goes over a roof. After the roof you are awake. and then it starts the real unstable climbing. It took a long time on that pitch to find the hooks, but I found them. After 40 minutes the Crux pitch was done.

Very motivated, we kept going. There are several pitches where you shouldn't fall.

After pitch 3 there is a Wi5+ X pitch.This Pitch is 59 meters long and there is no real protection. Just keep climbing and trust your icetools.... We topped out around at 5.00 pm and we finished a perfect day at 19.30 in Lake Louise having a coffee. Another great Day in the Canadian Rockies.

The Route is called Rocket Baby Grad VI M8+/Wi5+ X

Gear: you need 10 to 12 Icescrews. (Short ones!!) 10 Quickdraws. And a strong Head.

Our popular Diva & Conquer contest closes next Monday, November 5th, 2007. Hurry and send us your nominations...

Our winning Diva will receive a $1,000 shopping spree and a training day with Lindsay Yaw. Four Divas will receive $500 shopping sprees. All winning Divas will also see their names in print in Outdoor magazine.

For more details on the contest, visit our Diva & Conquer homepage.

Mountain Hardwear athletes Ed Viesturs and Micah Dash stopped in Malibu just days before the fires.

Ed and Micah drew an enthusiastic crowd. The Malibu beach crowd included several novices to the sport, and we hope that Ed and Micah inspired them to get out and climb a mountain--or at least a rock.

Our wonderful student organizers at Pepperdine University created this lovely painted rock for the Sharp End Tour, and we wanted to share their energy and enthusiasm with you.

View More Photos from the Sea of Vapors on Flickr.

By Ueli Steck

Yesterday we had again an early start to Howse Peak. 3.30 am... When we arrived at the parking lot, there was already 20 cm of fresh snow. So it snowed quite hard the day before. We knew from the last time where was even no snow on the parking lot that in this condition there is no way to go to the face. So we slept for another 2 hours in the car, just to get daylight and see the face from the Car.

And we began thinking about big avalanches up there. So no climbing on Howse Peak... We drove back to Canmore, quite depressed, the weather is just good. It was the first day with blue sky that we have here in Canada...

We went back to Will's house and he was quite impressed that we were not climbing...in good weather... We had a cup of coffee and talked and Will just told us we should go at least climbing something else today. But what... It was 11.30 and what could be in condition? Will motivated us to go up and do Sea of Vapors at Mount Rundle. That s quit a serious climb, rated Wi 7 and there is a 2.5 hours hike to the 165 meter climb. Its quit late to go, but no chance Will told us to go up. And we went...

We drove back to Banff and hiked the 2.5 hike in 45 minutes. We need to hurry up... The climb was just very very delicate. In good condition it's hard, but we had thin conditions, its still early in the Season and last week there was no ice... The short icescrews were mostly too long. And the Protection was just not nice. But we climbed the route and were back still by Daylight in Canmore. So the Day ended good with great climbing in the afternoon and Beer and Pizza for Dinner.

And now we are still hoping for Howse Peak...