Michael Wejchert

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Majka Burhardt climbing Repentance in 2012. Brian Post

ReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

In the winter of 1973, two climbers marched to the base of a 400-foot frozen waterfall, which spilled down the sheer granite flanks of New Hampshire’s Cathedral Ledge. The climb, named Repentance, had been ascended in the summer, but clawing up the route in winter was a difficult and dangerous proposition.

The two climbers, John Bragg and Rick Wilcox, started up anyway. Mr. Bragg led the way, a new kind of ice ax lashed to each hand, tiptoeing on the glassy surface with the help of steel crampons strapped to his leather boots. Ice-climbing equipment was untrustworthy and untested; Mr. Wilcox recalled Mr.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ueli Steck on the Col du Plan on the Aiguille du Midi mountain in Chamonix, France. Credit Jonathan Griffith

ReflexionesSocial,

The Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck was probably the best mountain climber in the world. In a sport where a willingness to take risks is as crucial as fitness, he combined an Olympian’s physique and a calculated daring few could rival.

His death this weekend at age 40 — on the Nepalese Himalayan mountain Nuptse, which neighbors Mount Everest — on a training foray, came when he fell around 3,000 feet while climbing alone.

The equipment and terminology of conventional climbing are often difficult to convey to the layman. Solo climbing — which Steck excelled at — is not. It’s as dangerous as it looks.…  Seguir leyendo »