Baffin Big Walls 2010 - 3 days to go!

Stu, Mark and Twid are in the final few hectic hours of packing and checking before heading out to Baffin on Monday.

photo - Stewart Valley Baffin Island

Make sure you head over to the "Baffin Big walls 2010" site where you can find all the latest, plus live blog feeds via Satalite phone from the expedition as the guys attempt to make the first ascent of an unclimbed wall and peak in the Stewart Valley, on the North East Coast of Baffin Island.

Checkout the site here - http://baffinbigwalls.com/

Mark Diggins on BBC i player

Make sure you head over to BBC i-player where you can catch Mark Diggins head of the SAIS (Sport Scotland Avalanche Information Service) on Episode 6 of "Bang goes the theory"


To view the episode click here - Mark's piece is 20 minutes into the episode

http://bbc.co.uk/i/s8f5x/


For more information on the SAIS and their work head to http://www.sais.gov.uk/

Location, Location, Location

I love the spring time in Chamonix, it’s relatively quiet around the valley, the weather, more often than not, is settled, seasonal work is finished and the options for playing are endless. In the last five days I’ve had four very different days out climbing.

Monday was a big mixed alpine line on a 4000m peak (see previous post ‘Too Late To Say I’m Sorry’). Tuesday ended up as a forced rest day due to not been fit enough for the previous day! Wednesday and we made the steep walk up to Bionassay crag just above Saint Gervais for an afternoon of steep limestone bolt clipping, well trying to anyway, just like the legs weren’t strong enough for a big alpine day the arms definitely aren’t strong enough for Bionassay just yet.

Thursday Colin and I headed up the Midi with skis and rock boots for some alpine granite crack climbing. A quick ski down to the base of the Contamine route on Point Lachenal and you can quite literally step out of your bindings and on to 250m of perfect warm sunny rock (the perfect way to approach a climb??) before abseiling back to the skis. Then a good spring ski back to the Montenvers train station and a late lunch in Chamonix. Friday was multi pitch climbing on the big limestone cliffs of Balme down in the Arve valley. Jonny and I did a route called ‘Le vieux de la montagne’, 7 pitches of technical slabs and steep walls on good quality limestone.

Easy access alpine rock climbing

Colin high on the Contamine Route, Point Lachenal

Top of the Contamine route before a quick abseil down the route and a good spring ski back to the valley

Too Late To Say I'm Sorry

The volcanic ash cloud may have been causing chaos for travellers all over the globe but luckily it hasn't blotted out the sun in Chamonix yet, quite the opposite. Eventually the weather seems to have settled down here and we've enjoyed some rare stable weather for the last couple of weeks.

Heading up the last cable car to the Grands Montets in the evening Dave and I joined a number of teams already insitu for the evening, including the Spanish Alpine Climbing Team (a.k.a Spanish wads!). We'd headed up to do the Robert Jasper line of 'Too Late To Say I'm Sorry', a 1000m line with 300m of thin ice and mixed climbing starting out of the Couturier Couloir and finishing on the Grand Rocheuse (4102m). Crossing the shrund with the first rays of light we quickly moved together over neve and hard grey ice and the first technical pitch of the route before putting in a belay below the crux pitch.

Heading towards the line of 'Too Late To Say I'm Sorry' (marked in red)

Getting the second rope out Dave started a snow cleaning mission to unearth ice and a crack to make a difficult traverse rightwards under a roof. The second part of this pitch is the crux, with the main corner lacking enough ice to climb this year previous parties had either aided or freed the crack to the right at M6 to rejoin the corner 10m higher. Wasted from his snow clearing efforts and in the aid of speed Dave reluctantly pulled on a few bits of gear before tensioning across in to the corner. Seconding on a tight rope I just managed to get it clean, only just managing not to hold up one of the Spanish wads who was leading right behind me... impressive to watch.



The next two pitches gave me some of the best mixed climbing I’ve done in a while, good gear, thin ice and an amazing situation leading to the final ice gullies.




The final pitch was probably one of the most aesthetic and quality pitches either of us has climbed in the mountains, a 40m perfect ice runnel finished off the technical climbing.

The amazing final ice runnel

Wanting to get the full mountain experience we carried on up and easy broad gully to join the East ridge of the Grand Rocheuse and it's summit. A short abseil off the top and 15 minutes later we were standing on the top of the Aiguille Verte. Down climbing the Couturier Couloir in perfect conditions we eventually arrived back at our skis and just got back to the valley without head torches.

On the East Ridge of the Grand Rocheuse, summit of the Aig Vert in the top right of photo

Approaching the summit of the Aig Vert

BBC Live Climb 2010

Mountain Equipment Pro partner Dave MacLeod and fellow climber Tim Emmett will tackle Sron Ulladale, an overhanging cliff on Harris in the Western Isles, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two Scotland and BBC HD Channel on 28th August 2010

photo Dave and Tim winter 2008

Triple Echo - which produces BBC Scotland's Adventure Show - said the Sron Ulladale climb will be a world first in the terms of technology used during the outside broadcast. This is set to be one of the most inspiring films ever produced of climbers in action

Permission for the programme has been granted on the basis that the producers agreed a "leave-no-trace" commitment to protect the fragile local environment. Most of the equipment will be flown in to prevent any erosion to the mountain trails and rare plant life. Triple Echo will be working closely with the North Harris Trust.

The programme will also feature a world record attempt the two climbers will make earlier in the summer. They plan to ascend five new routes on five islands in five days.

Dave said: "I'd love to tell you exactly which part of the mighty Sron we will try to climb, but last week on our recce, close inspection of the cliff was out of the question due to the golden eagles, nesting on the main part of the face once again. "If the eagles hatch chicks (best of luck to them!) we won't be able to look closely at the lines until August. So until then, it's training and waiting. Naturally, our plan is to climb the hardest possible route that imagination and finger strength allows."

You can also checkout some footage below of Dave and fellow Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Andy Turner as they recreated the most famous series of ascents in Scottish winter climbing, on Ben Nevis.
The pair retraced Jimmy Marshall and Robin Smith's first ascents of six routes in winter conditions made in a week 50 years ago. The week was filmed by Hotaches Productions back in February and to be released on DVD soon.

For more information on BBC Live Climb head to

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8625352.stm

More information on Smith Marshall Project head to www.hotaches.com

Dave MacLeod - On UKC TV

Check out the below interview with Dave MacLeod currently showing on UKClimbing.com TV

Piolets d'Or 2010

Over the last few years the Piolets D’Or event has come under quite a bit of fire. So when Nick and myself found out a couple of months ago that our ascent of Chang Himal had been nominated I think my initial feelings were firstly very surprised, pretty chuffed but also maybe a small bit sceptical. Looking back at the week now I can safely say there was no need for any scepticism, it genuinely was a really good week, interesting, fun and very enjoyable.

It was also quite a surreal week as the whole event gets quite a bit of media interest over here so from drinking champagne on top of the Helbronner lift to cragging in the Aosta valley there were cameras everywhere. Something I’m glad I won’t have to get used to, but I’d be more than happy to get used to the amount of good food and wine that was consumed over the week! The best part of the whole event for me was meeting a lot of people who share the same passion and interest for the mountains as you do and sharing stories and future plans over a few drinks.

This year they gave out two awards, the first went to the American/Scottish team for their awesome ascent of the North Face of Xuelian West (6422m) in China. This was definitely my pick of the five nominees and I was really psyched that these guys got it, their whole trip was very inspiring, as well as Xuelian West they also made a number of other first ascent in the area during the month they spent there. The second award went to the Kazakh team and their very committing high altitude route on the South Face of Cho Oyu (8201m) in Nepal.

It’s far from the reason Nick and I both go climbing but at the same time having our ascent of Chang Himal chosen for nomination by such an experienced and respected jury, as was this years, was for me a big achievement and something I was quite proud about. I’ve read elsewhere that the Piolets d’Or is ‘struggling for identity’, OK it maybe needs a few tweaks here and there but from how I saw it as a get together and celebration of alpinism it seems just fine.

I didn’t get any pictures from the week but there’s a load of photos here http://www.pioletsdor.org/index.php?lang=en and you can see all 5 narrated films of the nominees here http://www.tvmountain.com/index.php/piolets-or

Venables at the RGS

If you live or still just happen to be trapped by the cloud of Volcanic ash in London, then make sure you get down to the Royal Geographical Society on Tuesday evening (20th April) where you can catch Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Stephen Venables latest lecture tour "In the Foot steps of Shackleton".


Stephen has been out touring now for the past 6 weeks to rave reviews and sell out crowds across the UK.

If your not in London then don't worry there are still further dates to come in Derby, Somerset, Keswick, Andover, Loughborough, Malvern, Eastbourne and Stanley.

For information on tickets and the lecture head to

www.speakersfromtheedge.com

Also checkout exclusive interview with Stephen in this Months Trek and Mountain Magazine

Spring / Summer 2010 Collection is now online

Head over to the gear section of our site now where you’ll find all the new and updated kit for Spring/ Summer 2010.

Approach
Approach collection sees an array of new products including

Our New lightweight Men’s Gabbro pant and Women’s El Chorro pant ideal for rock climbing and active mountain sports.

New technical midlayer pieces in the Men’s Arrow Zip T and Women’s Cabrera hoody(below) both constructed from Toray Field Sensor fabric that is light in weight, breathable and exceptionally wickable.

The introduction of Cocona to our range in the Men’s Crux T and Women’s Divinity Tank. Cocona is a highly wicking fabric that is created from Coconut shells!

There are also 3 new T shirt designs – Mountain Range, Pulk and Yorik base camp.

Hardshell

Spring/ Summer 2010 sees us launch our lightest GORE-TEX Pro shell jacket yet – The Firefox (below) weighs in at 299g but still has all the features you expect from a Mountain Equipment jacket such as our multi award winning Mountain Hood.

Softshell

We have 2 new lightweight soft shells in our collection for summer the Men’s Orion Jacket and Women’s Brenva Jacket both offering excellent performance and superb value.
The massively popular Men’s Astron Hooded Jacket and Women’s Astral Hooded jacket get a colour tweek for spring with the introduction of a Russet Orange Zips.

Sleeping bags

A huge amount of work has gone into our sleeping bag collection for 2010 not only do we have New Products in the new Titan Range - a range of down bags offering both exceptional technical performance and exceptional value for money, the new Xero MM which takes sleeping bag design to a the next level with the incorporation of a Ballonbed system, but we also have great new range colours best seen in our revised collection of Dreamcatcher sleeping bags. (below)

However the big story on sleeping bags for summer is the vast amount of work we have done on the fills and temperature ratings of our down sleeping bags so we can continue to offer the greatest choice out there to meet all end user requirements from expeditions to the 8000m peaks of the Himalaya to summer camping in the Fells of the Lake district.

Key to this, is our Down sourcing and testing for 2010 which has resulted in us now offering 3 high standards of ethically sourced down across our range -

Our Extreme and Xero bags now have a 93/7 Hungarian Goose Down with a minimum fill power of 750+

Glaciers, Helium, Classics now carry 90/10 Pure Down with a minimum fill power of 675+

Dreamcatchers and Titans are now filled with 85/15 Pure Down with a minimum fill power of 625+

Checkout our entire new product range here

http://www.mountain-equipment.co.uk

Dave MacLeod - Climb Magazine May'10

The new issue of Climb has just landed, make sure you grab a copy and check out Simon Richardsons feature on Mountain Equipment Pro Partner Dave MacLeod and his recent first winter ascent of Anubis, Ben Nevis, Scotland.

Anubis is a E8 6c route that Dave first put up back in July 2005 and he has wanted to re climb it in winter conditions ever since.

For more details on Anubis head over to Dave's website

http://davemacleod.blogspot.com/2010/02/anubis-fwa.html

Late season snow

Spring made a brief appearance over here in mid March but for the last couple of weeks winter definitely had a good go at returning. Waking up a couple of mornings to an unexpected 5 inches of snow in the town and skiing over half a meter of fresh powder up high. I’m still to swing a tool in the mountains this season but to make up for it there have been a few pretty sweet days on the skis making the most of the late season powder.

Here's a few shots from the last few weeks...

Paul skinning up below the Dent de Géant to access the West Couloir of the AiguillesMarbrées

Enjoying perfect spring snow on the Marbrées

Escaping the Easter crowds of Chamonix down in the Vanoise, skinning up to the Col du Genepie

Over a 1000m's of fresh tracks skiing down from the Col du Genepi with not another person in sight.

Pete and Nick skiing off the Midi after the latest storm

Enjoying 60cm of fresh off the Midi

Baffin Big Walls 2010

Mountain Equipment are proud to announce our support of Baffin Big Walls 2010.

The expedition aims to make the first ascent of an unclimbed peak in Stewart Valley situated on the North East of Baffin Island. The highly experienced team of 3 includes (left to right) Mike 'Twid' Turner, Mark Thomas and Mountain Equipment Pro partner Stu McAleese.


Twid tells us more...

"Main Objective is the slender pillar on the left hand side of the below image.
The second back up objective is the Middle peak in the picture. Approaches are about 800m height elevation. Walls 1200m vertical plus ridge to summit 400m


Objective and aims of Expedition
To make a first ascent of an unclimbed peak and Big Wall in the Stewart Valley, off the North East Coast of Baffin Island. Canadian Territories. The Big Wall will be a mile vertical of granite rock. The walls drop straight into the Fjord and are accessed by skidoo from Clyde River. The climbs will be of extreme difficulty some free climbing and some aid climbing. The climb will follow a major line up the huge face.

The team expect to spend at least 21 days on the route. Most of the time, the team, will living on the wall on Portaledges. Portaledges are hanging camp beds 6x4 feet (double) surrounded by a hanging tent.

The climb combines extreme conditions (average temp minus 15-20) and climbing. The landscape is frozen ice with Polar bears wondering past. The ice this far North of the Arctic circle only melts for a few weeks each summer. The back drop to the massive walls is the endless flat frozen sea ice stretching to the North Pole. The Fjords all have massive walls dropping from mountain ranges bordering their edges. These walls are some of the highest sweeps of rock in the world. ‘Polar Sun Spire’ is the largest Big Wall in The Americas 2000m drop. One and a half miles of vertical wall. 30 times the height of ‘Castle Elin’ (50m) at Gogarth!

The Sail Peaks are where we aim to climb. ‘The Sail Peaks’ are based around the Stewart Valley. The valley is an extension of the North arm of the Sam Fjord. The Stewart Valley is lines with massive unclimbed Big Walls. Twid climbed in the valley in 1996. The second team (one yr later) to climb in this amazing spot. Super remote the ‘Stewart’ sports some of the greatest challenges left to the Big Wall climber. A least half a dozen major walls totally unclimbed. Routes on a world stage of a major importance. Any new route will be a Big deal in the mountaineering world."

The Big Walls team set out on the 2nd May'10

For more information and all the latest news checkout http://www.baffinbigwalls.com