Free Solo climbing - climbing without a rope, partner or protection - is clearly the most dangerous form of rock climbing. When practiced at the highest level it demands peerless physical skill and stamina and unshakable nerves. Few climbers have ever taken soloing to the extremes that John Bachar did. [more inside]
posted by tim_in_oz on Jul 7, 2009 - 79 comments

Enjoy a wide selection of free extreme sports shorts [flash] in the "Sweetspots" section of the Nike ACG website. Includes further ridiculousness shot in the same location as this previous post
posted by protorp on Jan 29, 2009 - 4 comments

John Gill is the father of modern bouldering. In the early 1960s, he took his gymnastics training in to the field and pioneered the use of chalk and dynamic moves in climbing. In 1961, he climbed the 30 foot height of The Thimble, widely considered to be the first 5.12 ascent in the world, and did so without a rope.

A devotee of body weight exercises, he could perform a one-arm front lever and several one-finger pull-ups. During his time as a gymnast he engaged in competitive rope climbing (formerly an Olympic sport), which is making a bit of a comeback in the Czech Republic (if you think it looks too easy, try it with one arm). [more inside]
posted by 0xFCAF on Dec 12, 2008 - 16 comments

So you've finished hiking the Appalachian Trail, just came down from Mount Katahdin, and you're wondering what to do now. Well, there's always the International AT, which goes through the Chic-Choc Mountains on the Gaspé Peninsula before crossing over to Newfoundland. Then you'd have hiked the tallest mountains in Quebec, right? Wrong. 800 miles to the north, on the border of Quebec and Newfoundland, lie the Torngats. [more inside]
posted by A dead Quaker on Oct 14, 2008 - 10 comments

A few days ago on K2 in the Pakistani Karakoram mountains an icefall trapped climbers more than 8 kilometres above sea level. Eleven died, from the cold and lack of oxygen, from falling or being hit by debris. The expedition website of Nicholas Rice provides an intimate and compelling account of the entire season of activity on K2 and neighbouring Broad Peak.
posted by Flashman on Aug 6, 2008 - 19 comments

"The object of this organization shall be to explore the mountains, forests and water courses of the Pacific Northwest, and to gather into permanent form the history and traditions of this region; to preserve, by protective legislation or otherwise, the natural beauty of the Northwest coast of America; to make frequent or periodical expeditions into these regions in fulfillment of the above purposes. Finally, and above all, to encourage and promote the spirit of good fellowship and camaraderie among the lovers of out-door life in the West." Thus reads the charter of the Mountaineers. Explore the Tacoma Public Library's online exhibit of the Mountaineer's early history, Magnificent Views and Vistas, Mountaineer's Climbs 1912 to 1916.
posted by maxwelton on Mar 27, 2008 - 5 comments

Столбы (Stolby) Free soloing I climb. I've sky dived. But watching videos of people free soloing gives me vertigo. In the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, however, there is a community for whom this is their bread and butter. And now, cats.
posted by vernondalhart on Sep 3, 2007 - 27 comments

9 Superpowers made real. [Via Digg.]
posted by homunculus on Jul 20, 2007 - 33 comments

Cerro Torre is a magnificent, bleak shard of granite in Argentina's Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. In the Patagonian summer of early 1959, Cesare Maestri, Toni Egger, and Cesarino Fava began their attempt to be the first to climb the daunting face of Cerro Torre's northeast ridge. Halfway up the climb, at the Col of Conquest, Fava gave up and turned back, while Maestri and Egger forged on. Six days later, while packing to leave and despairing of ever seeing his friends alive again, Fava found a half-frozen Maestri wandering alone in the snow at the base of the east face. (more inside)
posted by the painkiller on Jan 3, 2007 - 20 comments

The Natural Arch and Bridge Society has many, many interesting pictures and lots of info.
posted by mediareport on Dec 17, 2006 - 8 comments

Rescuers plan biggest search yet, using helicopters, a C-130 aircraft, infrared equipment, and scores of volunteers to search for 3 climbers trapped on Mt. Hood. But at what cost in dollars and lives? A 1998 rescue of two climbers on Mt. McKinley cost $221,818. And Mt. Hood is no stranger to climbing accidents: in 2002, an Air Force helicopter crashed [youtube] while trying to rescue nine climbers swept into a crevasse. Is it time to revisit the debate over who should pay for dangerous, high-profile mountain rescues? [More inside]
posted by googly on Dec 16, 2006 - 204 comments

Todd Skinner falls to his death Sport and free climbing pioneer/entrepreneur, Todd Skinner, died over the weekend in a 500-foot fall. Sadly, it appears that his death was from a "..very worn.." belay loop on his harness. I met Todd about 10 years ago, and was struck by his warmth and enthusiasm. He spent almost three hours at a dingy Seattle climbing gym with about 10 neophyte femail climbers. He helped us all climb better and have more fun. He was generous with his praise, and offered truly helpful instruction - his ego did not get in the way (unlike many climbing instructors/"stars"). He'll be missed.
posted by dbmcd on Oct 30, 2006 - 32 comments

"What has our world come to if we cannot join nature by climbing one of nature's most beautiful features?" asks Dean Potter after he free-climbs Utah's Delicate Arch and pisses off the Park Service. Again.
posted by mr_crash_davis on May 9, 2006 - 87 comments

Wheelchair mountaineering: stunning ascents by the seemingly disabled.
posted by mek on Mar 2, 2006 - 13 comments

Climbing Eiger ... 40 years after your father died trying - New docu-drama from Yahoo - pretty gripping.
posted by RonZ on Oct 25, 2005 - 19 comments

Ed Viesturs summits all 14 mountains over 8000m After 16 years of trying, Ed Viesturs has become the first American to summit all mountains over 8000m (the "Eight-thousanders"). This, in itself, is an amazing achievement; however, even more remarkably, all of Viesturs climbs were done without supplemental oxygen (facilitated, in part, by his genetic abnormalities).

The Eight-thousanders were first climbed in 1986 by Reinhold Messner. Since then, only 12 other people have accomplished the same.
posted by Elpoca on May 12, 2005 - 27 comments

The Ice Wall Project. In Fairbanks, Alaska, where the average temperature is below freezing until May, there is no shortage of ice. By spraying water from two vertical pipes 24 hours a day, a group of climbers create a masterpiece. Ten more feet of pipe has just been added, bringing the total to 136 feet... and still growing.
posted by adzm on Feb 25, 2005 - 17 comments

Remember Aron Ralston, the guy that was trapped under a boulder for six days, and escaped only by amputating his own arm? In this month's Outside Magazine, he tells his story in excruciating detail.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Sep 5, 2004 - 16 comments

The Savage Mountain Amongst peaks over 20,000 feet, K2 is the hardest and most dangerous. Edurne Pasadan became the 6th woman to summit on July 29th, but can she survive the curse of the women who climb K2 ? K2's danger and challenge has attracted a wide assortment of characters, ranging from the bizarre Aleister Crowley to the glamourous Araceli Segarra . The deadly toll continues. Two Russian climbers are missing on the mountain. Read a history of 50 years of K2 summits, and accounts of another ascent here.
posted by F4B2 on Aug 8, 2004 - 5 comments

It's mid-May and for outdoor adventurer fans that means one thing: thanks to major weather pattern shifts, the tiny window of opportunity for climbing Mt. Everest is upon us. The first to summit this year looks to be a team from Mexico and Canada, planning to hit the top on Sunday morning. Of course, summiting Everest is a dangerous endeavor, and the crowds on the trail can often lead to disaster. In other mt. climbing news, the north face of the Eiger is unclimbable this year.
posted by mathowie on May 14, 2004 - 16 comments

What do you do after you climb Mt. Everest? Climb it again from the other side, of course. The first woman to accomplish that feat. And then what? Cathy O’Dowd calls it the E to E Challenge. Everest to Everyday.

So let’s round up a couple of friends, hitch up the dogs and mush from Styggedalen to Nordkapp across 650 km of Arctic wilderness to support the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. And why not blog it daily with a website run from the back of a sled? Today, the sled fell in a river. Sure makes my life seem dull.
posted by Geo on Apr 16, 2004 - 3 comments

Palestinian-Israeli expedition scales Antarctic peak. The "Breaking The Ice" team of four Palestinians and four Israelis, having not shied away from picking the obvious metaphor for the title of their adventure, reached the summit of a previously unclimbed and unnamed mountain last friday, and named it "The Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship". Apparently, the mountain didn't collapse under the weight of all this symbolism. There was blogging, too.
posted by liam on Jan 20, 2004 - 13 comments

French Spiderman does it again! Alain Robert has just sucessfully made it two-thirds of the way up the 50 storey 1 Canada Sq in London's Canary Wharf before being arrested by police in a window-cleaning cart. It's like a war zone down there. As soon as any news links appear i'll post them here.
posted by andyHollister on Oct 18, 2002 - 39 comments

A Sad Day. Sometimes it seems like all the people I admire die before their time. It's a long list: Dan Eldon, Ned Gillette, Ciriello, Galen Rowell, Alex Lowe, Dan Osman, (plus many others), and now: Goran Kropp, died a few days ago. "The Crazy Swede" became famous for riding a bicycle from Stockholm to Everest, climbing it solo and without oxygen, and riding back. This story is told in Ultimate High:My Everest Odyssey.
posted by ig on Oct 3, 2002 - 7 comments

Three Climbers die in Fall on Mt. Hood today. As if that doesn't suck enough, A helicopter crew member is injured critically after a military helicopter assisting in the rescue goes down. And this right on the heels of a recent climbing accident on Mt. Ranier, as well as a recent accident on Mt. Elias.

Ok, that's enough for this season.
posted by bicyclingfool on May 30, 2002 - 20 comments

'Kilimanjaro in 5 Days' is a fun article I saw in 'The Charlotte Observer' when I was back east for Christmas. Mainly, it's fun for me because I climbed it myself, back in november 92, along the same route. The climbing costs are here. Anybody else been and want to comment on this article (or not been and want to comment)?
posted by Sean Meade on Jan 1, 2001 - 7 comments