Piolet d’Or – truly a need for awards?
Much ink has been shed on this issue and many wise -and sometimes less so- opinions have been thrown into the arena. Many of the leading alpinists of our day have voiced an opinion about the place and meaning of this award. And here is something one might see as the root of all evil: ‘leading alpinists’. Most of us embrace the adage launched by Alex Lowe: “the best alpinist is the one who is having the most fun†but for too many the pressures of sponsorship and other outward benefits allow competition to sneak in, hence – the rankings. It would seem natural that those who are likely to get the award to decide what this one is given for and who deserves it, but what if the whole ‘award thing’ as understood here goes against the very idea of what alpinism is really for? Is it about…
Siguniang NW face
I am back from Siguniang. Unfortunately without a route in the bag this time and without much climbing done either… The trip was less than a personal success for various reasons but you can read more about it here Nevertheless the boys managed to put up a new route (Nusu and my departure) so not quite all was lost in the end. For my part I learned some valuable lessons and I hope my next trips will be somewhat more successful. Before my departure I managed to get in some interesting WI 5+ climbing in Shuangqiao gou with Zhao Kai and on a subsequent day with Nusu. Pictures 1-5 (c) Liviu Neagoe and picture 6 (c) Ion Neagoe.
January half way through and preparing another trip
Happy New Year! Well, I hope it will be happy…. The closure wasn’t. December took away Charlie Fowler, Christine Boskoff and, as a cruel and bad joke, Hari Berger. People were asking – what next? Few more minutes left – now what? Been busy. Kind of… Spent Christmas through New Year driving from Guangzhou to the Tibetan plateau in NW Yunnan and back – some more than 5000km. Nothing eventful but a worthy trip. Then back to school and in the fever of preparing the Chinese New year trip: http://www.siguniang4nw.blogspot.com Really excited about it! C
Povestea unui week-end de iarna – Beijing 2007
Primesc un mesaj, cam acum doua saptamini de la rep-ul BD din China ca este o competitie de escalada pe gheata la Beijing si daca sint interesat. Cam tot pe atunci ma suna si un amic de la clubul local din care fac parte cum ca, fiind in Beijing, officially China Mountaineering Association incercau sa recruteze straini care sa participe la campionat. Am marturisit, rusinat, ca nu catarasem gheata de anul trecut si ca nu cred ca sint in forma de un concurs, mai ales de asa anvergura, insa daca nu sint pretentii mari in ce priveste performanta mea, m-as duce cu placere. Cu o zi inainte sa pornesc spre Beijing, pe cind incercam sa descurc itele cargoului cu echipament pe care urma s ail trimit spre Sichuan, aflu ca nu voi participa la competitie impotriva chinezilor ci in cadrul unei “divizii internationaleâ€Â. La intrebarea citi straini sint, raspunsul a…
Escalada
Fiecare catarator are motivatiile sale in legatura cu practicarea acestui sport. Unii nici nu il considera a fi sport de altfel ci mod de viata. Si ocmai pentru acest motiv rar vei gasi doi cataratori care sa fie de acordsupra a ceea ce inseamna catararea in viata lor. In plus nu de putine ori motivatile care ne imping sa facem un traseu sau altul au in egala masura de a face cu orgoliul cit si cu placerea escaladei. Zilele trecute am vazut pe casca colegului meu de coarda un sticker care mi s-a parut ca rezuma perfect ceea ce este catararea pentru mine: “If gravity is a law this is civil disobedience” Este o provocare continua. Un traseu pare imposibil si apoi ‘cade’ cind lucrezi la anduranta insa ramine un alt traseu in care ai nevoie de tehnica si cind il rezolvi si pe acela e altul care apeleaza la…
FA: “Suffering first class” ED (V A3 5.10)
First ascent of the SW wall of the Fourth Sister in Siguniang shan by Wai Wah Yip (UK/HK) and Cosmin Andron (Romania), June 2006. +400m, aprox. 4500-5000m alt (Also in Alpinist Newswire, AAJ 2007 and Shanye) Cosmin ANDRON (安龍) (Guangzhou, October 2006) It should have been a smooth ride. Not a walk in a park but nevertheless a smooth ride. And why not? I have been in the area three times before; I’ve worked three times before with our local contact person; we had pictures, timetable, objectives. Actually I was so certain that everything would go smooth that I even booked my flight for Romania departing the night following my return to Guangzhou. Why not? The summer holiday just started and I was planning on doing something interesting, relatively close to the beaten track, nothing too easy of course but nothing to taxing either. I am not the superstitious kind…
FA: “Transilvania Avenue” TD (V 6a, A0, M4)
TD (270m 6a, A0, M4) 4600m alt, Pilierul vestic, Banji Bei Feng, Qionglai Shan, Tibetul de Est FA: “ Cosmin Andron (RO) si Bob Keaty (USA), 29-31 Ianuarie 2006 English Summary: Transilvania Avenue 6a, A0, M4 Banji Feng North Wall FA: Cosmin Andron and Bob Keaty On 29-31 January 2006 Bob Keaty (USA – Shanghai resident) and myself have completed a route on the north face of Banji Feng North in Bipeng valley, Sichuan. Our intent was to climb the obvious central line of Banji Feng North but snow conditions made the direct approach to the desired line impracticable. We climbed therefore the west buttress and we spent three days and two bivouacs on the wall. We named the route Transilvania Avenue. Its total length is around 270m and we proposed the grades 6a, A0, M4. We did not encounter any utilisable ice on the route itself. We abseiled the…
Rastaman – sau ce poti face o saptamina in Thailanda
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