Author Archives: C. J. Leger

Relationships and Mountaineering: Why You Shun It but Shouldn't

Editor’s Note: Relationships and Mountaineering: Why You Shun It but Shouldn’t

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In this Editor’s Note, we’re going to be candid and frank, we’re talking about mountaineering/climbing and why many sportsmen in this field have issues making their romantic relationships work.

If your reason for being alone is because you don’t want to fight or constantly decide between love and climbing, then you don’t really want to be alone. You just don’t want to have to choose, which is different. 

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The main routes up K2, West Ridge; West Face; Southwest Pillar; South Face; South-southeast Spur; Abruzzi Spur

Routes Up to K2’s Summit

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First ascended by Achille Compagnoni on 31 July 1954, the mountain has since sprouted various routes across its faces that lead to the top.

Whether or not you’re crazy enough to attempt it, you’re not getting anywhere without a roadmap. Mountaineers usually take one of these ten pre-determined routes to the peak of K2.

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Is the Hillary Step Gone? Everest2017

The Hillary Step Didn’t Disappear. Or Did It? Why Nepal Won’t Accept This.

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In the case of the missing Hillary Step, we still are no closer to knowing whether or not the landmark is intact. So far, we have seen that various western mountaineers, including Kenton Cool and Tim Mosedale, claim that the rocky outcrop near the summit of Mount Everest is either completely gone or altered in some way.

But officially, the Hillary Step didn’t disappear, collapse or crumble.

Let’s take a closer look at why there is so much confusion.

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The Dark History of Mont Blanc

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When we think of Mont Blanc, we think of excellent climbing, amazing views and incredible snow-capped peaks, but little know about the dark history of Mont Blanc and the once-thriving towns it destroyed in 1892 after the Mont Blanc Massif released a hidden lake within the Tête Rousse Glacier upon the town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and the small hamlet of Bionnay.

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Ueli Steck Cremated and Ashes Split Between Switzerland and Nepal

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Ueli Steck, one of the most revered mountaineers of his time, died on 30, April 2017 while on a Himalayan expedition on Mount Nuptse. He was 40 years old.

On 04, May 2017, Ueli Steck was given a ceremonious burial service in Khumjung, Nepal. The mountaineer was cremated, and in attendance were only close family and friends who mourned his death for over three hours. The ceremony took place in Tengboche Monastery in true Nepalese tradition. It was reported that some of his ashes were spread in Nepal, and the rest, taken to Switzerland to be dispersed by his family.

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Ueli Steck Dies on Nuptse at Age 40

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Ueli Steck’s life ended as the first casualty of the 2017 Everest Season. Steck died near the base of Nuptse at Camp 1 after falling 3,280 ft. (1000 m.). He had climbed the sister mountain of Everest to acclimate himself to the altitude before traversing Everest and Lhotse in May along with the rest of the mountaineering teams who make their summit assaults around 10 May.

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Could Climate Change Make Climbing More Dangerous?

Could Climate Change Make Climbing More Dangerous?

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Could climate change affect outdoor sports that rely heavily on safety, like climbing? One new study by Arnaud J.A.M. Temme published in a geographical journal, Geografiska Annaler, and based on research done by Wageningen University, says this could be the case.

More particularly based on climbing activities in the Alps, the author used previously published mountain guides to dissect the possibility of melting permafrost contributing to the loosening and falling of rocks on mountains.

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Royal Robbins Dies at 82

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Royal Robbins, a legendary rock climber who helped define the rules of engagement for the sport, dies on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, at the age of 82.

Born in 1935, Robbins grew up in Southern California much like most other working-class children spending segmented years between trailer parks before learning how to climb in the early 1950s. His first tackle was Tahquitz, a granite crag that includes nearly featureless sections across its routes and is notorious for loose rock on its North Side. His daring first run would be a testament to his audacious achievements in the future, which struck awe in his followers.

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One Man HAPO Chamber to treat high altitude sickness mountaineering

Short Definitions for High-Altitude Sicknesses

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No one is born a mountaineering expert, not even those who are born to be mountaineers. Because of this, there are many enthusiasts who run into medical terms they either don’t understand or have never heard of altogether. Here’s a rundown of some common high-altitude sicknesses and what to do if you come across them. Consider this High-Altitude Sickness Lesson 101.

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The Seven Summits According to Messner

The Seven Summits According to Messner

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The Seven Summits are the 7 highest mountain peaks within each of the 7 continents – Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South Americ. The variations have to do with disagreements about the placement of mountains on continents and continental shelves.

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Are critics wrong about alex honnold? free solo

Are Critics Wrong About Alex Honnold?

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Alex Honnold, arguably the world’s greatest free climber and center of a climbing controversy, has been featured in a series of television specials profiling his epic achievements. In the February issue of Rock and Ice magazine, he’s featured in an interview spread covering his feelings about death, which seems to have become the hanging topic over Honnold’s head – “Does he know he will most likely die doing what he’s doing?”

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The north ridge of K2, king of mountains Base Camp Magazine

K2: The King of Mountains

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Everest may be on every mountaineer’s bucket list, but true mountaineers know the prize lies on the summit of K2, or Karakoram 2, the King of Mountains; At just 800 ft. shorter than Everest, K2 is the world’s second highest mountain; and while Everest is the tallest, it does not compare in any measure to the brutality that is an expedition on K2.

By measure of ratio, the death count on K2 is much higher than that of Everest, with well-documented mountaineering disasters in 1986, 1995 and the most recent in 2008; the 2008 disaster has been known as the most controversial of all.

For every 100 mountaineers that attempt a summit on K2, 29 will die. Only 306 climbers have succeeded, 80+ have perished. Compared to Everest’s 5600+ summits and around 300 deaths, K2’s reputation is accurately captured by something as simple as numbers.

K2 was dubbed Karakoram 2 in 1856 by T.G. Montgomerie, the name stuck.

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The Seven Summits According to Messner

What Are the Seven Summits?

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The Seven Summits are the 7 highest mountain peaks on each of the 7 continents – Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. The Seven Summits were first completed in 1986 by Patrick Morrow. However, the definition of the Seven Summits differs on how you view the borders of the world map, particularly with the difference being held within Europe and Australia since some don’t view the location of mount Elbrus in Russia as part of Europe or view Indonesia as part of Australia. This difference results in 4 possibilities for the Seven Summits:

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Denali or Mount McKinley?

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Denali, the highest peak in North America and also a highly controversial mountain – its name has been the source of much debate over the past four decades. Denali was first ascended in 1913; back then it was called Mount McKinley, but today, we know this majestic peak by its native name, Denali, but that did not come without much fight, in fact, the state of Alaska, where Denali is located, began proceedings with the Unites States Federal Government to get the name changed to Denali in 1975, but before we go there, let’s rewind to 1896 when the mountain was first unofficially named by a gold prospector as Mount McKinley. After forty years of non-stop appeals, the mountain was officially renamed “Denali” on August 30, 2015, by Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell.

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The 1996 Everest Disaster - The Whole Story Green Boots

The 1996 Everest Disaster – The Whole Story

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On May 10, 1996, four groups of climbers set out to summit Mount Everest – one group led by Rob Hall of Adventure Consultants, another led by Scott Fischer of Mountain Madness, an expedition organized by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and a Taiwanese expedition. The day would turn out to be the single most disastrous event in the mountain’s history, killing 8 and injuring others after an unexpected blizzard ravaged the climbers, trapping them high on the mountain.

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Book Analysis: “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer

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On May 10, 1996, four groups of climbers set out to summit Mount Everest – one group led by Rob Hall of Adventure Consultants, another led by Scott Fischer of Mountain Madness, an expedition organized by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and a Taiwanese expedition. The day would turn out to be the single most disastrous event in the mountain’s history, killing 8 and injuring others after an unexpected blizzard ravaged the climbers, trapping them high on the mountain. This analysis recounts the official accounts of occurrences between May 10, 1996 – May 12, 1996 and the telling of the events from two sides of the same tragedy written into two books: “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer and “The Climb” by Anatoli Boukreev – accounts that have remained controversial and conflicting in their beliefs of what and who was to blame for the tragedy.

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1996 everest disaster the climb by anatoli bookreev tales of ambition on everest

Book Analysis: “The Climb” by Anatoli Boukreev

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The 1996 Everest Disaster unfolded on May 10; after the events, Anatoli Bookreev wrote The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Mount Everest. This analysis covers the events as written in Bookreev’s book. Another analysis of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster” by Jon Krakauer, which is a rival to Bookreev’s version of events was of the same tragedy also written.

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