Climbing Legend Walter Bonatti Has Passed Away

The mountaineering community lost one of its living legends last night when Italian climber Walter Bonatti passed away at the age of 81. He is best remembered for pioneering new routes in the Alps, Patagonia and the Himalaya.

Among Bonatti's more famous accomplishments were the solo winter ascent of the Matterhorn's North Face and first ascents on the Southwest Pillar of Aiguille du Dru and the Grand Capucin. Other notable climbs include Gasherbrum IV, Rondoy North, and multiple summits of the Grandes Jorasses.

Bonatti played a pivotal role in the first ascent of K2 as well, although it took decades for him to get the recognition he deserved. Working in support of Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni, Bonatti helped establish and stock the high camps on the mountain in preparation for the eventual summit bid. On that successful attemp, Lacedelli and Compagnoni ran out of oxygen and accused Bonatti of using it while he was at Camp IX, an accusation that Bonatti vehemently denied, as he didn't even have a regulator or oxygen mask with him at that point of the climb. That expedition took place in 1954 and it took until 2008 for Bonatti to be officially cleared of the accusations and get the credit he deserved.

An active, daring, and visionary climber, Bonatti wrote numerous books on mountaineering and inspired a generation of climbers that followed him. He quietly passed away in Rome leaving his widow Rossana Podesta behind.

Godspeed Walter.

Video: Speed Climbing In The Alps With Ueli Steck

Swiss climber Ueli Steck never ceases to amaze. He is a fantastic athlete who focuses on climbing big, challenging peaks, often solo and as fast as possible. The video below is of Ueli making a solo, speed attempt on la Ginat, a 13,123-foot peak on the Mount Blanc massif not far from Chamonix, France.

For the record, Ueli sprinted up the mountain in just 2 hours and 8 minutes, and while the video is a year old, if you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth a watch.

Thanks to the Adventure Journal for sharing!

Ueli Steck Speed Soloing the Ginat on the Droites from Jonathan Griffith on Vimeo.

Conquering A New Solo Route On The Matterhorn

Yesterday I posted a story about three climbers putting up a new route on Mount Blanc at the beginning of the month. In that story, I mentioned that one of the climbers, Hervé Barmasse, had also completed a solo climb along a new route on the Matterhorn back in April. Today, I found a beautiful video of that climb that I think you'll enjoy.

With its sharp, distinctive peak, the Matterhorn is one of the most recognizable mountains in the entire world. Rising 4478 meters (14,692 ft), the mountain sits along the border of Italy and Switzerland. It was amongst the final big European mountains to be climbed, with the first summit coming in 1865, and has remained a proving ground for many alpine climbers in the decades that followed.

Barmasse climbed it as part of his Exploring The Alps expedition, during which he's attempting to open new routes on three peaks in the Alps. With the Matterhorn and Mount Blanc already under his belt, he'll next turn his attention to Mount Rosa, the highest peak in Switzerland.

Enjoy the video.



Hervé Barmasse, New route solo on the Matterhorn/ Hervé Barmasse, nuova via solitaria sul Cervino from Hervé Barmasse on Vimeo.

Beautiful Timelapse Video of the Alps

Having a stressful day? Wish you were somewhere else? How about a quick trip to the Alps courtesy of this lovely timelapse video. Sit back, enjoy the music and savor the images. You'll be feeling much better when it's done.

Tour 2011: The Alps Deliver High Drama

Heading into today's Stage 18 of the Tour de France, we knew that we could expect some fireworks between the top contenders in the GC. But what we didn't know was that one of those contenders would put in an amazing attack, while another would see his hopes of winning dashed beyond repair.

The 200.5km (124.5 mile) stage ran between Pinerolo and Galibier-Serre Chevalier and featured high mountain passes, and three uncategorized climbs to sap the strength of the riders in the Peloton. The ride started as expected, with the top riders all shadowing one another, waiting patiently, and biding their time. But then, something unexpected happened 60km into the ride. Andy Schleck went on the attack and left his rivals behind while building a huge lead through the final climbs of the day. At one point, he was as much as 4 minutes out, and was the virtual leader of the Tour. He even caught an earlier breakaway, and steamed passed them, eventually earning a stage win, crossing the finish line more than 2 minutes ahead of his brother Frank, who came in second and 2:15 in front of Cadel Evans, who did most of the work to reel Andy back in on the last climb of the day. The Yellow Jersey, on the shoulders of Thomas Voeckler, was in that group as well, allowing the tough Frenchman to hold on to the lead for one more day.

This big move was an impressive display of strength and extremely bold on the part of Schleck, who needed to be aggressive in order to gain some time and put himself into position to win the race. The gamble paid off, as he is now in second place, just 15 seconds behind Voeckler. Brother Frank holds down third place, 1:08 back, while Australian Cadel Evans is now in fourth, 1:12 off the lead. Tomorrow, on the slopes of Alpe-d'Huez, these men should be throwing attacks at one another to decide who will have the Maillot Jaune headed into Saturday's time trial.

One name conspicuously absent from that list is defending champ Alberto Contador. The Spanish rider lost precious time today and was dropped from the pack on the final climb when Evans made a move to pull in Andy. Contador looked like he was in pain on that part of the ride, and as a result, he is now sitting in 7th place, 4:44 behind Voeckler. With the attack from Andy today, combined with his inability to follow the lead group, it now seems that Contador's chances of winning the race are over, and he may well struggle to even get into the top five. He'll have an opportunity to show his mettle tomorrow, on the final mountain stage of the year. He is also a fantastic time trialist, so he may hope to make up some time on Saturday as well.

No matter who ends up heading to Paris in Yellow, you have to give Thomas Voeckler the respect he is due. The Frenchman has carried the Maillot Jaune with honor and dignity for his country, and as nearly every new stage began, everyone thought "this will be the day" that he drops the Jersey. It hasn't happened yet, and while it seems inevitable tomorrow, it doesn't take anything away from how well he has ridden and how well he has defended the lead. Voeckler is what the Tour is all about, and he has given it his all, as evidenced by the final shots of him today at the finish line. Clearly, he was spent.

As for the other jersey competitions, Mark Cavendish keeps the Green and really doesn't face any competition until the race reaches the Champs-Élysées on Sunday. Jelle Vanendert kept the Polka Dot Jersey, but Andy Schleck moved into third place just four points back. He's likely to gain more points tomorrow, which could lead to the possibility of a winner taking home both the Yellow and the Polka Dot in the same year. Rein Taaramae of Cofidis claimed the White Jersey today as the best young rider in the field as well.

Tomorrow's stage is a short, but brutal one. Just 109.5km (68 miles) in length, it features an awful lot of climbing. THings get started early with a Category 1 climb, followed almost immediately by a Beyond Category climb up the Col du Galbier. From there, it is a long, steady descent, that will test the riders technical skills, but give their legs a bit of a break, before the final climb of the day, a tough slog up Alpe-d'Huez, a Beyond Category climb that is amongst the most storied and feared in the history of Le Tour. It will be on those final slopes that the fate of the riders will be decided.

The question now is, does Andy Schleck have anything left in the tank for another tough mountain stage tomorrow? He needs 15 seconds to shake Voeckler out of the Yellow Jersey, but more importantly, he needs to put more time between himself and Cadel Evans. Neither of the Schleck brothers are particularly great time trialists, and they shouldn't feel comfortable with anything less than a two minute lead on Evans, who excels in the discipline. If Andy falters, will Frank take up the mantle for Team Leopard-Trek? There is going to be a lot more high drama in the High Alps tomorrow. Don't miss it!

BASE Jumping Off Mont Blanc

Last week, Russian mountaineer and BASE Jumper Valery Rozov climbed up Mont Blanc, perhaps the most famous peak in Europe, and jumped off the Italian side of the mountain. According to Red Bull, the sponsor for the event, he then proceeded to make an 800 meters (2625 ft) free fall in his wingsuit, before opening his chute and drifting gently to the ground.

Watching the video of the jump below, it's clear that he didn't go to the summit, but he did climb a big wall on the mountain, where he finds a small ledge to leap from. Still, watching Rozov zip through the air is an impressive sight, and of course, the Alps always look nice too!

Skier Falls Off Mountain. Helmet Cam Records The Action.

I posted this video over on Gadling this morning, but thought it was a good way to start the day here as well, but be warned it is a bit painful to watch. The video features skier Stefan Ager, who was in the Alps for some climbing and shredding. Stefan was wearing his GoPro helmet cam when he accidentally stepped off the back of the mountain he was intending to ski down. The result is rather brutal tumble down some rocks. Fortunately, he walked away with  no injuries at all, but you'll probably wince a few times as you watch the vid. Ouch!

Best Hike's Top Ten Hiking Towns Worldwide: #4

The Best Hike Blog continues its countdown of the Top Ten Hiking Towns in the World today by revealing the #4 location on their list. That honor goes to Cortina, Italy, a sleepy little mountain village of 6000 people located at 1224 meters (4015 feet) in the Dolomites.

Cortina serves as the base camp for a number of excellent hikes into the Alps and is just as popular in the winter as it is during the summer. Best Hike editor Rick McCharles says the best time to visit is mid-June to  early-October if you hope to hike the near-by mountains, but the region is also home to some great skiing come the winter months as well.

Check back tomorrow for the number 3 hiking town. Europe keeps on getting the love for all the great hiking in the Alps, but perhaps the top three spots are dominated by other destinations. We'll just have to wait to see.

Ueli Steck Speed Solos Ginat on the Droites

Ueli Steck is once again up to his old tricks, making a solo, speed-climb up the Ginat route on the Droites in the French Alps back on January 19th, and doing so in what may be a record time. According to this blog post on Alpine Exposures, the Swiss climbing legend sped up the face in just two hours and eight minutes.

The current official record for the route is two hours, thirty minutes, held by Christophe Profit, and although at this point, Ueli's climb is considered "unofficial", it is impressive none the less. Even more amazing that that he completed the little jaunt up the hill without acclimatization and after a two-month lay-off from alpine climbing. It was also the first climb up the face of the year, which means there were no trail blazed that he could follow. Ueli, his usual modest self, said he was just doing it for "fun".

The climb was caught on film and a video is promised in the next few weeks. But for now, we'll just have to settle for the amazing photos shot by Jonathan Griffith that appear on the blog post. The high quality images catch the master climber at work, with the stunning backdrop of the Alps around him. They also give you a great sense of what this big wall is all about, which offers a mixed route of ice and rock, that looks like it would be quite the challenge for mere mortal climbers. For Ueli though, it's just a walk in the park. Back in the lodge by lunch time I'm sure. The man never ceases to amaze.

North Face Coming To US Theaters January 29th

A few weeks back I posted a link to a trailer for an upcoming film called North Face which recounts the efforts of German climbers circa 1936 to conquer the unclimbed North Face of the Eiger. Now, a few more details on the film, including a release date, have emerged.

The film is set to hit American theaters on Friday, January 29th. I've been told that the film has been out for months in Europe, but it is just now making its way to this side of the pond, and from most accounts, it is worth the wait. The movie will center around German climbers Toni Kurz and Andi Hinterstoisser (Played by Benno Furmann and Florian Lukas respective), who were spurred on by nationalism and Nazi pride, to make an attempt on the most dangerous and notorious rock face in the Alps.

The climb begins innocently enough, but conditions soon begin to erode on the mountain, and two men find themselves in a race against time, with the elements closing in around them, and while they are suspended on one of the most challenging and physically demanding rock faces anywhere in the world.

For those that haven't seen it, I've posted the trailer once again. The film looks like it was stunningly shot, and I'm already looking forward to catching it. I'm glad it's finally coming stateside, as it's obviously better late then never.