the ueli steck interview

Transcription

FOR THOSE THAT WORK AND PLAY OUTDOORS
WWW.MOUNTAINPROMAG.COM
JANUARY 2015
IN A QUIET PLACE:
THE UELI STECK
INTERVIEW
Kendal Special
No place to Slip
Ski Japan
■ REWILDING ■ BOULDERING ■ SKI TOUR SHOWCASE ■ SOFTSHELLS ■ ICE TOOLS
welcome
contributors
I’ve not long returned
from Kendal Mountain
Festival, where I saw
a few films, missed
many more, and
managed to catch up
with friends old and
new. This issue, we’re
lucky to be rammed
to the rafters with a
few items from the
same roster. Claire
Carter shares her
view from inside the
Festival Filmmaker’s
Summit, alongside
a round-up of the
award-winning films,
and Henry from SteepEdge shares his best-of-three bouldering
films. Of note for me (and others) at KMF, was the honest and
charming Redemption, which if nothing else is an indictment of
digital media intruding into a young climber’s development at a
critically unhelpful time, and Grand Prize winner Valley Uprising,
which deftly links past and present climbing styles in Yosemite
and beyond. While most were still sobering up on Sunday
morning, I was also lucky enough to spend time with Ueli Steck.
He’s clearly in reflective mood after a fairly definitive 2013.
I hope we managed to capture a little of that quietness in the
full-length interview presented here.
I missed KMF co-founder John Porter’s talk at Kendal, but
we do have an extract from his exceptional biography of Alex
Macintyre, One Day as a Tiger on page 32. Alongside Bradley
Garret’s flawed but brilliant urban expose – Explore Everything Porter’s book is absolutely my read of the year. Of course, there’s
the story of one of Britain’s most driven mountaineers, but also,
as the author’s life weaves in and out, an autobiography of sorts,
there’s a beautifully long range view on cold war era expedition
logistics, the emergence of Alpine tactics in the greater ranges,
and the development of the BMC alongside qualification
requirements for outdoors professionals. There are also gripping
tales from the mountains, set perfectly in a time and context
before the internet and glasnost.
Elsewhere this issue, we have one of the world’s top
conservation photographers arguing the case for rewilding, one
of Scotland’s most experienced instructors with winter safety
essentials, and one of Wales’ finest reporting back from a slightly
wacky ski season in Japan. Kit-wise we focus on ski touring, soft
shells and a couple of versatile paired tools. As I write this, the
first snows are starting to settle, and not before time.
See you on the hill.
David, Editor
Da vid
Will Nicolls is a
mountaineering
and ski instructor
in North Wales. His
company delivers
bespoke climbing,
scrambling and
navigation courses. It also provides
unique cliff camping experiences. Check
www.gaiaadventures.co.uk for further
information.
Claire Carter is a freelance
writer based in Sheffield, near
the Grit. Climbing, running,
ski touring and aerial keep
her out of the studio she shares with the
landscape artist Tessa Lyons. Together
they are experimenting with exploring
landscape in print and ink. Claire is also
the film officer for Kendal Mountain
Festival; her objective is to support
creativity, diversity and development in
the adventure film industry.
Mountains have been
a way of life for Tom
Hutton for as long
as he can remember,
yet somehow he can
never get enough. If
he’s not out taking
photos of them, or guiding among them
then he’s in a cabin in Snowdonia writing
about them. As a self-confessed kit
destroyer, he’s more than qualified to join
the Mountain Pro gear review team.
Peter Cairns is one of
Europe’s leading wildlife
and conservation
photographers.
Author of six books
and co-founder of
numerous conservation
photography projects, including
2020VISION, Peter has a special interest in
our relationship with the wild world. See
more of his work at www.northshots.com.
Richard Bentley is one
of Scotland’s best known
MIC’s, well regarded for
his knowledge of Ben
Nevis in Winter, a provider
for Winter ML training and assessment
courses. He runs avalanche courses for the
MCofS, provides winter safety lectures, is
a ski patroller on Aonach Mor and often
runs their back corrie off piste workshops.
www.mountainmotion.co.uk.
Lucy Wallace is a
mountain leader
and wildlife guide
based on the Isle of
Arran on the West
Coast of Scotland. I n
her spare time she
climbs, bikes and sea kayaks around her
island paradise. When not watching otters
and roaming the hills she edits the Gear
Guide for Mountain Pro Magazine.
www.mountainpromag.com
JANUARY 2015 | Mountain Pro 3
contents
32
6
News
18
Interview
NEWS
INTERVIEW :UELI STECK
BOOK REVIEWS
KENDAL SPECIAL
ROCK PROBLEM - 3 OF THE BEST BOULDERING FILMS
REWILDING: A SPACE FOR NATURE
ONE DAY AS A TIGER
NO PLACE TO SLIP: WINTER MOUNTAINEERING BASICS
NUTRITION: IAN CRAIG
BIG IN JAPAN: A VERY UNUSUAL SKI SEASON
GEAR REVIEW: SOFT SHELL
GEAR REVIEW: SKI TOURING ESSENTIALS
GEAR REVIEW: ICE TOOLS
CUTTING EDGE
TRIED AND TESTED
53
Tried & Tested
Gear Review:
Softshells
46
42
Gear Review:
Ski Touring
Essentials
6
18
10
13
23
26
32
34
38
38
42
46
49
51
53
meet the team
EDITOR: David Lintern
GEAR EDITOR: Lucy Wallace
e: lucy.wallace@targetpublishing.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Chantelle Kelly
e: editorial@targetpublishing.com
SUB EDITOR: Amy Robinson
e: subeditor @targetpublishing.com
GROUP SALES MANAGER: James Lloyd
e: james.lloyd@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 810069
SALES EXECUTIVE: Chris Kemp
e: chris.kemp@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 810083
DESIGN: Leann Boreham
e: leann.Boreham@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 810075
PRODUCTION: Hannah Wade
e: hannah.wade@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 810076
MARKETING MANAGER: Sarah Kenny
e: sarah.kenny@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 810091
MANAGING DIRECTOR: David Cann
e: info@targetpublishing.com
t: 01279 816300
Some material may be speculative and/or not in agreement with current
medical practice. Information in FSN is provided for professional education
and debate and is not intended to be used by non-medically qualified readers
as a substitute for, or basis of, medical treatment. Copyright of articles remains
with individual authors. All rights reserved. No article may be reproduced in
any form, printed or electronically, without wriiten consent of the author and
publisher. Copying for use in education or marketing requires permission of
the author and publisher and is prohibited without that permission. Articles
may not be scanned for use on personal or commercial websites or CD-ROMs.
Published by Target Publishing Limited. Colour reproduction & printing by The
Magazine Printing Company, Enfield, Middx. EN3 7NT www.magprint.co.uk .
©2012 Target Publishing Ltd. Produced on environmentally friendly chlorine
free paper derived from sustained forests. To protect our environment papers
used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably
managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free process to produce
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Published by Target Publishing Ltd, The Old Dairy, Hudsons
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e: info@targetpublishing.com www.targetpublishing.com
In the News
Trust welcomes Scottish government
proposal for stronger deer regulation
Photo: Keith Brame
“We warmly welcome this proposal from the Scottish Government to take
action to protect what remains of our native woodland.
“Many sporting estates have not just allowed, but encouraged deer
numbers to escalate to unsustainable levels, which are harmful both to our
ecosystem and to the well-being of the deer themselves.
“This is a chance to halt and reverse two centuries of destruction.”
Junior Climbing
The John Muir Trust gave a warm welcome to Proposal 10 in the Scottish
Government’s Consultation on the Future of Land Reform in Scotland,
which recognises that Scotland’s biodiversity needs urgent protection
from damage caused by high deer numbers.
Among a package of measures to reform land ownership and use, the
paper calls for Scottish Natural Heritage to be given new powers to
“require that landowners have in place detailed sustainable deer
management plans that protect the public interest, and that the plans
are fully carried out”.
“For the benefit of a tiny minority, much of our
upland environment is bare, degraded and
impoverished as a result of overgrazing by deer.”
The new powers would underpin the current voluntary system, as a
backstop to be used if the voluntary arrangements fail to deliver the
2020 Biodiversity targets.
The Scottish Government is also carrying out a separate review, which
will be concluded in 2016, into whether the voluntary arrangements
should be replaced by a new statutory system of deer management.
Mike Daniels, the John Muir Trust’s head of land and science, said:
6 Mountain Pro | JANUARY 2015
Following the Junior Lead Cup Series on 29th/30th
November, the GB Junior Lead Climbing Team has been
chosen. The Cup Series was held at Awesome Walls,
Sheffield, and competitors competed in the category they will belong to in
2015.
The Junior Lead Team management team take the results from the Lead
Cup into consideration when selecting those for the team, as well as The
British Lead Climbing Championships, BMC competitions, and previous
international performances.
GB Junior team manager, Ian Dunn, commented: “After the great turnout
and fantastic climbing at Awesome Walls Sheffield in the first round of the
Junior Lead Cup 2015/16, the GB Junior Lead team management have met
to select the following climbers onto the Junior Lead Team for 2015.”
THE SELECTED TEAM:
Junior Girls
Molly Thompson-Smith (Team Captain), Tara Hayes,
Youth A Girls
Hannah Slaney, Rebecca Kinghorn
Youth B Girls
Catrin Rose, Kitty Morrison, Isabelle Adams, Abbie Rivett
Youth C Girls
Emily Phillips, Abigail Logan, Kirsten Pyper
Junior Boys
Connor Byrne, Alex Waterhouse
Youth A Boys
Jim Pope, Peter Dawson, William Bosi, Angus Davidson
Youth B Boys
Alex Norton, Sam Oakes, Aiden Dunne, Kieran Forrest
Youth C Boys
Hamish McArthur
NEWS
SPONSORS RESPOND TO CRITICISM
Early in November, it appeared that the energy bar company Clif had
dropped five of its sponsored athletes, who are or have been associated
with free soloing, BASE jumping and slacklining: Alex Honnold, Dean
Potter, Steph Davis, Cedar Wright and Timmy O’Neill. The decision met
with derision online and in print. Recently, they made the following press
statement:
“Over the past few days there’s been a heated dialogue about our
recent decision to withdraw sponsorship of several climbers. We’ve
watched, listened and been humbled by the conversation, and wanted to
share with you where we are on this topic. Our hope is that we can
provide clarity around our climbing sponsorships and to demonstrate our
continued commitment to supporting this great sport and the climbing
community.
Climbing has been a part of our company’s DNA from the beginning.
Over a year ago, we started having conversations internally about our
concerns with B.A.S.E. jumping, highlining and free-soloing. We
concluded that these forms of the sport are pushing boundaries and
taking the element of risk to a place where we as a company are no
longer willing to go. We understand that some climbers feel these forms
of climbing are pushing the sport to new frontiers. But we no longer feel
good about benefitting from the amount of risk certain athletes are
taking in areas of the sport where there is no margin for error; where
there is no safety net.
As such, going forward we will not be sponsoring climbers who are
primarily recognised for free-soloing, B.A.S.E. jumping and high-lining.
This change in sponsorship approach did not come without great debate.
Ultimately, this decision came down to a sense of responsibility to our
own story, what we endorse and the activities that we encourage – which
is largely reflected in our sponsorship of athletes. This responsibility
extends to adventurers of all types – climbers, outdoor enthusiasts, as
well as children.
We have and always will support athletes in many adventure-based
sports, including climbing. And inherent in the idea of adventure is risk.
We appreciate that assessing risk is a very personal decision. This isn’t
about drawing a line for the sport or limiting athletes from pursuing their
passions. We’re drawing a line for ourselves. We understand that this is a
grey area, but we felt a need to start somewhere and start now.
This is a new path for us, and we haven’t been perfect in the way that
we’ve communicated or executed the change in sponsorships. For that
we’re sorry and take full responsibility. Climbing has been a big part of
Clif Bar’s history, and we remain as committed as ever to the sport that
we love”.
British Mountaineering Council: Not
just for climbers
Hillwalking officer Carey Davies
Photo: Terry Abraham
The body that looks after
the interests of climbers,
mountaineers and
hillwalkers has announced
it aims to do more to
represent the hillwalking
part of its membership.
Previously, the British
Mountaineering Council
has been criticised for
being overly-focused on
climbing, but in 2013 it
appointed its first
hillwalking officer,
outdoors journalist Carey
Davies, to develop this aspect of their work.
It has also appointed seven new ‘ambassadors’, but only one is
focused exclusively on hillwalking - Chris Townsend. The BMC have
acknowledged they need to redress the balance. At the Kendal Mountain
Festival, chief exec Dave Turnbull announced the Council’s next moves:
“We’re analysing where the shortfalls are; where we need to do
more…it’s a really important group of members for us. It’s one of
the few areas where we get serious criticism for not doing
enough, and we’re genuinely keen to do it’’.
In a survey of 2000 members last year, while 70 per cent were
climbers to some degree, over 60 per cent described hillwalking as their
primary activity, as opposed to only 26 per cent climbing. While the
BMC’s work on access and conservation scored highly and unified most
members, 70 per cent were dissatisfied with the approach taken to
hillwalking.
Davies, whose post is funded by Sport England, has written an
ambitious strategy paper which highlights the Council’s historical bias
towards climbing at an institutional level - from local area committees
and clubs, to funding, spending and communications agendas. He has
produced detailed plans to widen the remit via press and media, and
appointing more hillwalking ambassadors.
Turnbull commented, “We need help from the media; we need
members who are keen to get involved with that and ultimately, I’m sure,
the organisation will put its money where its mouth is and invest in work
for hillwalkers.”
Progress is being made on communications already, but Davies also
suggests structural changes at a regional level that may take longer to
implement, including widening the focus of regional development
officers to include walking as well as climbing, and an access officer
devoted to hillwalking. One solution may lie in partnerships with other
walking-focused organisations such as the Ramblers and The National
Trust.
Following an open forum in the Peak District in late November, the
BMC hopes to roll out its hillwalking strategy during 2015.
Book Reviews
CHANTELLE KELLY REVIEWS THE LATEST RELEASES FROM THE OUTDOOR
BOOKSHELF
THE GREAT MOUNTAIN CRAGS OF SCOTLAND
Published by Vertebrate Publishing
RRP £35.00
Scottish writers and climbers have come together to create a celebration of Scotland’s
mountains, rock and wild climbing locations. Each page is beautifully illustrated with
breathtaking photography of climbers daring the highest rocks, and captures some of
Scotland’s most scenic landscapes. The chapters begin with a poem from writer Stuart
Campbell, followed with an introduction to the region. There’s a huge variety of information on
offer for each locale - cliffs, climbs and recommended routes. It also includes personal
accounts from many of Scottish mountaineering’s greatest climbers and writers, retelling their
achievements and challenges. Ideal for anyone interested in rock climbing and mountaineering
in Scotland, and something for both beginner through to the expert.
EVEREST REVEALED
Published by The History Press
RRP £20.00
Edward
Norton was a
member of
the 1922
Everest
expedition,
the first
which aimed
for the
summit.
Although
unsuccessful,
Norton set
the record
height of
reaching 26 985 feet. He was also the leader of the 1924 attempt,
where he set a world altitude record of 28 126 feet without oxygen
- a record that stood for 54 years. This is a glorious showcase of
Norton’s private diaries, revealing his first-hand personal account
from both expeditions, covering the routes, weather conditions and
illness up close and personal. The book also includes letters written
by Norton while on Everest: three to his mother, Edith, one to the
Mount Everest Committee chairman, and two letters of condolences
to family members of those who sadly died on the 1924 expedition.
The pages are graced with photographs, as well as beautiful sketches
completed by Norton throughout his time on Everest.
EMPIRE ANTARCTICA
Published by Vintage Books
RRP £8.99
Author Gavin Francis spent an entire 14 months in the ‘white room’ of
Antarctica, as the base-camp doctor for the British Antarctic Survey at the
Halley research station. Empire Antarctica explores his journey to
Antarctica and his search for space and silence, a far cry from his hectic
professional life back home in Edinburgh. I was immersed in the world
that oscillated between loneliness and isolation, wonder and discovery,
and the rare opportunity of living among the majestic emperor penguins.
Gavin’s written word is poetic, but there’s plenty of information here too
- a history of the first
Antarctic discoveries,
including Captain James
Cook’s second voyage to the
Southern Ocean, where he
rightly predicted the
existence of another unfound
continent. There’s regular
references to Scott and
Shackleton, who both
attended the Discovery
Expedition; the first official
British exploration of the
Antarctic in 1901-4. This is a
really fascinating read for
anyone intrigued by the
continent – I was transported.
KENDAL SPECIAL
Mountain Festival
industry summit
ADVENTURE FILM IS BOTH A BROAD CHURCH AND A CONTESTED LANDSCAPE,
WHERE THE LINES BETWEEN RAW ACTION DOCUMENT, ARTISTRY AND
STORYTELLING ARE INCREASINGLY BLURRED. KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL
FILM OFFICER CLAIRE CARTER SURVEYS THE BATTLEGROUND IN HER FIRST
REPORT FOR MOUNTAIN PRO.
Photo: Henry Iddon
This year at Kendal we wanted to bring that ‘Share the Adventure’ strap line
behind the scenes and make it relevant to those filmmakers, athletes,
sponsors and commissioners who bring adventures to the screen. In
between the main events and the crush at the bar, it’s hard to share much
beyond a drinks’ order. What would happen if we put a bunch of industry
people in a box with some booze to talk about adventure film craft, share
ideas, agree or disagree? We booked a real box for an afternoon, invited
some eminent panellists and ordered some booze for half-time.
‘I realised a while ago that pretty much all of us filmmakers work in their
own little sphere, and there’s hardly any exchange. Exchange is what we
really need to stay on top, learn from other people and become better in
terms of storytelling and technically. KMF is a chance to talk to different
people from the outdoor business, as well as seeing the newest and best
films from a wide variety of sports.’ Sebastian Dorek, Switzerland.
The first KMF Filmmaking Summit kicked off with a panel put together by
festival partner Channel 4:
‘We have a remit for finding and supporting emergent talent across the
creative industries. Supporting Kendal Mountain Festival is principally a way
of getting first sight of great short form content and talent, but we also want
to help filmmakers better understand ways of working with us and other
buyers in the industry, whether that be acquisition of their content,
development or commission.’
KENDAL SPECIAL
Photo: Henry
Iddon
So explained Ch4 development manager Ian Mackenzie, introducing his
panel of filmmakers, Stu Thompson and Katie Garret, producer Gareth Rees
and Ch4 sports coordinator Keme Nzerem. The KMF/Ch4 Shorts Award
considers all selected films of 13 minutes or less for television acquisition.
You might assume that TV would need to package up adventure as cliché
for a mainstream audience, as near to Cliffhanger as a budget could stretch.
Not so. Meet the maker of last year’s winning film, Katie Garret. In four
understated minutes, her film Cave Unicycling explained the ‘adventure’ of
mastering single wheel tricks in dank British caves, and was duly aired on
Ch4 last week. Katie described her aim to make adventure films that are
accessible, that can inspire anyone. Some of the audience shifted in their
seats. This was a controversial theme of KMF14. All the films the judges
shortlisted, and those that did well in the People’s Choice Vote,
transcended their particular genre. Whether it was a climbing bum, a
tortured caver or acid-addled kayaker on screen, you could appreciate their
adventure; it was accessible. Keme, also acting as chair of this year’s judges,
pointed out:
’Adventure filmmaking is at a crossroads. The Gopro generation has well
and truly gonepro, and now the challenge is to produce stories that
resonate not just with fellow adventurers, but a wider audience. There’s
always a place for pure action - whatever the sport - but why limit your
audience? This year’s KMF entries showcased a huge range of filmmaking
talent and production techniques - filmmakers increasingly need to offer
something different to get heard above the competition. Adventure film has
so much to offer the wider industry - and it deserves to continue growing
and find new viewers.’
But where does that leave niche documentation; what about tribal
adventure films? Were all the winning films just soap operas set outdoors?
Not for me. From the simple, effective conceit of Jen Randall’s Where
Walking Took Me, to Seb Montaz’s Dejame Vivir, where athlete Killian Jornet
carries the camera and is in effect, the filmmaker, the films demonstrated a
real authenticity – a desire to express the true spirit of their adventure. This
sounds rather obvious. ‘Authenticity’, being true to one’s own spirit, is a
quality the adventure industry would claim to have in spades. After all, we
adventure, we experience the real world, we know ourselves. But how,
when the point of an adventure is an unknown outcome, do you prevent
the filmmaking process and pressure of delivery from corrupting it? How do
you authentically record a risky event; are you accountable if the worst
happens?
The second panel of the Filmmaking Summit, ‘Reel or Real, Authenticity
in Adventure Film’ aimed to open up these issues and ask questions of
filmmakers themselves. When do you stage events to avoid risk? How does
your presence affect the athlete’s experience? The panel of filmmakers Jen
Randall, Rich Heap and Ben Pritchard, and athletes Hazel Findlay and Andy
“Adventure filmmaking is at a crossroads. The
Gopro generation has well and truly gonepro,
and now the challenge is to produce stories
that resonate not just with fellow adventurers,
but a wider audience”.
Kirkpatrick, did well to articulate their experiences in the field, as the
debate from the floor intensified between those who felt that adventure
film could and should be an edit of events that really occur, and those who
felt the key point was to entertain, and so adventure filmmakers should
have the same flexibility of craft as in any other genre, and still be deemed
authentic.
‘The panel within Real or Reel wasn’t so much the five people sitting on
the stage, as it was the 100+ people sitting within the whole room - it was
unlike anything I have ever seen at the festival before. Opinions from all
corners of the industry were thrown around and bounced off the other;
unlike the films/lectures where one’s role is to sit back and relax, the KMF
Summit provided far more active involvement…’ Rob Greenwood, UKC.
The recent ‘sacking’ of soloists by the brand CliffBar served to highlight the
third pole of this debate: if sponsors favour a safer kind of adventure, will
truly adventurous adventures continue to happen if the athletes are reliant
on film for finance? Other tensions were voiced; the logistical challenge in
assuring the delivery of bigger, better, more dangerous adventure pitches
and the responsibility of a filmmaker to an athlete on ‘set’. I wonder
whether these feelings correlated with the reduced number of pure
adrenaline films in this year’s submissions spread. Instead, several films
depicted a lifetime of adventurous existence, rather than a single extreme
moment, and just within climbing, we had three films about heritage and
the birth of adventure, rather than the cutting-edge of risk. Is the cuttingedge better off beyond the cameras? Are CliffBar’s soloists now free to
adventure unhampered by shot lists? We had to close the Summit
mid-flow, but the debate continued (louder still) into the bar. It was
personal and polarised; if the Summit had had a sponsor, it would have
been Marmite.
It was reassuring to be reminded we work in a passionate industry full of
people keen to share in debate. There are no easy or safe conclusions to
these issues; it is an adventure in itself. If the Summit was anything to go
by, the filmmakers and the athletes will keep on questing for new ideas,
new boundaries and new methods in both filmmaking technique and
narrative. Hopefully the sponsors will support this authentic approach, and
KMF15 will see another set of creative, spirited adventure films that make
clear connections with a widening audience. It will certainly see another
Summit.
‘Listening to and contributing to discussions with people on both sides of
the camera was very engaging as a filmmaker. With the surface now
scratched, it will be interesting to see how this event develops in future
years. KMF has become the go-to place for the aspirant adventure
filmmaker; the friendly atmosphere and community feel actively
encourages people to talk, share ideas and stories - whether that’s
filmmaker to filmmaker or viewer to viewer, at KMF, it’s often hard to make
that distinction.’ Adrian Samarra, Cold House Collective.
‘For most of the year we are either locked away alone in a studio or hanging
off a remote cliff face, so it’s great to have an event where we can meet
other folk face-to-face. Social media is all very well, but a handshake over a
glass of red will always generate a stronger connection. Paul Diffley, Hot
Aches Filmmaker
Keep sharing; we will see you next year.
KENDAL SPECIAL
Film
Awards
HERE ARE THE TRAILERS AND TEASERS FOR THE AWARD-WINNING FILMS
THIS YEAR AT KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL.
GRAND PRIZE, VALLEY UPRISING
www.youtube.com/embed/W4SU7aLzS00
KENDAL SPECIAL
BEST CLIMBING FILM, SUFFERFEST II, player.vimeo.com/video/102425965
BEST MOUNTAINEERING FILM, METANOIA, www.youtube.com/embed/nGDoptuuldU
KENDAL SPECIAL
BEST ADVENTURE & EXPLORATION FILM, DEJAME VIVIR,
www.youtube.com/embed/J8vhFkZxqGs
BEST ENVIRONMENT & CULTURE FILM, DAMNATION,
www.youtube.com/embed/8X2dYnTX55E
KENDAL SPECIAL
BEST SHORT FILM, WHERE WALKING TOOK ME,
tv.thebmc.co.uk/video/where-walking-took-me
BEST SOUND, SOUNDS OF PARAGLIDING, player.vimeo.com/video/107580451
KENDAL SPECIAL
BEST VISUAL, AFTERGLOW, player.vimeo.com/video/108679294
JUDGES SPECIAL PRIZE, CAILLEACH, player.vimeo.com/video/97435479
INTERVIEW
Taking
Stock:
The Ueli Steck
Interview
Photo: David Lintern
DAVID LINTERN FINDS THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS MOUNTAINEER IN A
QUIET PLACE AT KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL.
HOW DID YOU START CLIMBING?
Photo: Freddie Wilkinson
You know, I started climbing when I was 12 years old, and it’s really
simple in Switzerland, you have the Alpine Club - which has a really,
really good programme. And basically I just got into that. My family
doesn’t climb at all, so my first experience was with a friend of my
father; I would go rock climbing and really just followed the club
programme. You can go every weekend, every week, once a week;
we were in like a climbing gym, although at the time climbing gyms
didn’t exist, but it was like, you know, wooden holds - pretty basic.
In my teens, we still went climbing outdoors in the winter because
the indoor facilities were so basic. Where I grew up, I was near to the
mountains; even a half hour car journey was a long distance for us!
WHY GO FAST?
You know, time always matters in the mountains. When I grew up we
were told you must be efficient, you should be fast. So I think this
is a real issue in climbing – if you don’t make it in a day, you have
to have a bivvy, and it’s not nice. But also, the really fast ascents are
a personal challenge. It’s hard to find a challenge these days, you
know. All the mountains are climbed, in the Alps all the faces are
done - you can maybe put up a new route or whatever, or a variation,
but mostly it’s all done.
ARE YOU COMPETITIVE?
Yes. There are some that are happy to be in nature, but it was never
that for me; it was always about the challenge of climbing, finding a
hard route...you know, I grew up with sport, I was playing ice hockey
when I was young, and so that was my emphasis, my tradition if you
like.
ONCE THE DECISION IS
MADE, I DON’T THINK
ABOUT IT. I DON’T PUSH,
THERE’S NO PRESSURE; I
PUT ALL THAT OUT OF MY
MIND. I’M JUST GOING TO
HAVE A LOOK.
WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GOING SOLO AND SPEED?
was a really hard moment for me, because I’m thinking ‘this time it’s
It’s just more efficient if you’re alone. If it’s not too technical, you’re
really going to work’, there are two of us, and then he bails, and then
always faster solo… and it’s a different experience when you’re
I’m thinking ‘what am I doing?!’ I had to take a decision really fast,
alone; I’m much more in the nature of the moment, there’s no one
because there were too many reasons not to go. I didn’t know I could
around to disturb that; there’s so much more focus.
get to the summit alone. At that point, I still had a big backpack with
a sleeping bag and other equipment, but when I started on the first
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE KEY DECISIONS ON ANNAPURNA
slopes, I realised it was in perfect condition. It took me an hour to
LAST YEAR?
get to camp one at 6100ms, where we had slept before, and there I
Well, Annapurna for me, it was a long journey. I tried it in 2007 and
decided I had to try, so I left everything there.
2008, it didn’t work, so I went back in 2013 to try, together with Don
Bowie, and we got well acclimatised with a couple of nights on the
AFTER YOU WERE HIT BY AN AVALANCHE AND LOST YOUR CAMERA AND
face then went back to base camp, and then October 8th we tried to
DOWN MITT, WHY CONTINUE TO GO UP, AND NOT DOWN?
climb it. When we got to the Bergschrund, Don bailed. He was just
I could… but I put so much in. That was the moment I realised ‘you
scared, he didn’t feel safe. I appreciated his decision, you know, it’s
are really in trouble up here’. From this point on, the summit changed
cool, it’s better than going up for a couple of hundred metres and
my mentality. I really just fully accepted without stress that I might
then deciding…
not come back down. This had never happened to me before, but
But you need to be a strong climber. We discussed that you have
in this moment, I accepted I was going to die. This was the really
to be able to move individually until 7000 metres - if you have to
interesting thing - how far you can go until you accept it, and you’re
rope up before it takes forever, it’s too slow, and I’m not into that. It
not afraid of death. My only thought was ‘can I keep going without
INTERVIEW
Photo: Freddie Wilkinson
picture, then it creates discussion, and then again, if I had taken a
photo at night, it would change nothing.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER?
You know, I was empty after Annapurna. It wasn’t a good time; I
was really broken, even in my head. So, it took a little while to start
climbing again. I’ve spent too much time on Expedition over the last
couple of years, and you lose fitness. But now I’m training seriously
again, maybe 30 hours a week.
DID THE FACT THAT YOU WERE RECOGNISED FOR THIS CLIMB WITH THE
PIOLET D’OR MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO YOU?
Yeah, it was nice to have that. I relaxed a little. But also, I have to
accept now I’m in a position that somebody will find something to
criticise. Every mountaineer or climber who tries to push the limit,
someone will find a fault on a forum somewhere…though it would be
better to go climbing!
SO, YOU ARE TAKING A LITTLE TIME RIGHT NOW - WHERE ARE YOU AT WITH
THAT?
You have to accept that pushing that far you can do maybe once
in your life, and then you should stop, because otherwise you will
die. Check all the good French climbers from the 1980s, they’re all
dead. The only one who is still alive is Christophe Profit, and the only
reason is because in a certain moment after K2, he said ‘I’m done, I’m
working as a guide.’ I will still climb but this is over, I’ve reached my
that glove?’ But I still had climbing gloves, and I had one mitten, and
peak and that’s good enough. I think it’s really important to accept
I could change that from hand to hand. So I went back down, found
that, and…I just have. I’ve had discussions with Steve House; he’s in
a place to stay, and brewed snow for an hour, and as soon as the
the same situation. After Nanga Parbat he knows if he continues like
sun left the face, the wind was gone. Once I continued climbing, the
that he’s not going to survive, and it’s the same for me. So you really
previous day’s snow was perfectly frozen to the rock, perfectly sticky
have to find a new way. It’s not like I want to stop climbing, but I have
– it was a dream you know, a chance of a lifetime to get conditions
to somehow get off this road. To climb in that style now is a no-go.
like that…
And that is a process I had to go through.
DID YOU WRESTLE WITH THE DECISION TO GO ON DURING THE REST?
HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT YET HOW YOUR CLIMBING STYLE MIGHT CHANGE;
No - I think this is something very important in life. You have to realise
WHAT PROJECTS ARE ON THE HORIZON?
when you are given a chance, and then you have to push. Once on the
I’m taking some time to think, but I always have plans! I want to find
headwall, I was just concentrating on the climb, and every corner you
some projects, which are maybe less risk, but need a lot of endurance.
move around opens another door – ‘oh yeah, it’s going to work’, it was
Next year, I have an idea for a really nice Alps project, and then in the
pretty nice! I was moving really fast, you know, I had no equipment; I
fall, I might return to the Himalaya to climb Lhotse, with a partner.
was just wearing my down jacket that day. My problem was I had to
be able to down climb most of it, because you cannot rappel a 1000
REWINDING TO THE SPRING OF 2013, CAN YOU REFLECT ON THE MEDIA
metre face with one ice screw and one piton! And then the upper part
STORM THAT HAPPENED AFTER THE ARGUMENT WITH THE SHERPAS ON
became really perfect, easy. On the summit ridge it was kind of weird,
EVEREST?
it wasn’t clear which one was higher at first, so I went on. There was
We did not start to make the news. There were a lot of people in base
not much feeling there. I spent maybe a minute at the summit before
camp who started to talk bullshit and then you’re forced to talk. It’s
I turned around.
easy not to talk at first, but then the story goes on and on and you
cannot just stay quiet. We did the one press release and that’s it, and
AND THE LACK OF SUMMIT PICTURE?
then we said no more. That was also the agreement between us and
In the moment, I was just climbing - only when I came back I realised,
the Sherpas – make a statement but no more. You know Everest, it’s
‘oh shit I will not have a summit picture.’ A Sherpa saw me at midnight
a business there. People are talking too much these days, I think. You
just below the summit with my headlamp and later, when I saw him
have Facebook, Twitter; everybody is pushing out 24hr news...
on the glacier, I didn’t even have to talk; he was like ‘you summit!’
That was a really, really, cool moment. But, of course, if there’s no
WAS THERE ANYTHING POSITIVE TO COME OUT OF THAT EXPERIENCE FOR
SO YOU REALLY HAVE
TO FIND A NEW WAY. IT’S
NOT LIKE I WANT TO STOP
CLIMBING, BUT I HAVE TO
SOMEHOW GET OFF THIS
ROAD. TO CLIMB IN THAT
STYLE NOW IS A NO-GO.
AND THAT IS A PROCESS I
HAD TO GO THROUGH.
personally.
WHAT ABOUT THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND THE
MOUNTAIN?
I was thinking of going back this spring to try again, but now I’m
not. There is too much going on there between the companies and
Sherpas. I don’t want to be any part of it, it’s too crazy. You saw it
blow up again this spring, after the avalanche. I understand the
Sherpa’s position, but everybody who works there knows there is a
risk. If you’re only there for the money, that’s fine, but you have to
accept the risk. When this avalanche happened, everybody was ‘Oh,
poor Sherpa’. This is bullshit…for the Sherpa as well! They know what
they’re doing and they get well-paid for it. But then, there are big
pay differences, which causes jealousy, friction between them. For
example, Russell Brice pays his Sherpas well, maybe 5000 dollars,
whereas others pay only £500. Russell’s Sherpas were happy to
continue after the avalanche, but the others refused.
THE RISK WAS TOO GREAT FOR THE MONEY THEY WERE PAID?
YOU PERSONALLY?
Yeah. But they also said; ‘No you cannot continue the work, otherwise
For me, I learnt a lot. Before maybe I was a little naïve, I always saw
we break your legs and we burn your houses’. That’s what is going to
the good in people, but the situation on Everest was, it is terrible.
happen. It’s like the mafia, you know, it will not stop.
As soon as money gets involved, people change. With business
comes a lot of jealousy. It’s a hard lesson, but for me personally it’s
Our thanks to Ueli for his time, Cat for organising, and Jamie and co.
good, so I can get some distance from all that, and don’t take it too
for hosting.
Photo: Jon Griffith
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bouldering
Rock Problem
As we finAlly heAd into winter, sub-zero temperAtures And short
dAys leAd some to focus their Attention on hArd, frictiondependent boulder problems. henry from steepedge tAlKs
through his top three bouldering films from 2014:
Wild One:
The story of Philippe Ribiere, perhaps one of the world’s most inspirational climbers. Abandoned by his
parents at birth, Philippe was born with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, and spent the first four years of his life
in hospital undergoing multiple operations. Philippe first discovered rock climbing aged sixteen, and despite
having deformed fingers and toes, as well as disproportionately short arms, he soon became an exceptional
climber, repeating numerous hard problems across Europe. Despite being shown little love and affection as
a child, Philippe has based his career around organising paraclimbing events, helping disabled climbers who
have experienced the same disadvantages as himself. Featuring Philippe making ascents of difficult boulder
problems at his local crags, as well as his paraclimbing competition appearances, Wild One tells the story of
a truly remarkable climber and human being.
http://steepedge.com/categories/disability-inspired/wild-one.html
BOULDERING
PROJECT MINA:
Professional climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk is one of the best outdoor
OUT OF SIGHT II:
boulderers in the world, with multiple ascents of 8A+ under her
The second installment
belt. Yet on the indoor bouldering world cup circuit, she’s struggled
in Neil Hart’s pursuit
to achieve consistent good results, and has never made it to the
to capture ascents
podium. Despite this, she spends the majority of her time training to
of the best, and
compete, when she could be out on rock enjoying success on some
of the best boulder problems the world has to offer. Project Mina
most rarely climbed
attempts to find out what motivates a climber to dedicate their life
Fontainebleau. Focusing
to their sport, focusing on the quiet ascents and gruelling training
on problems off the
sessions that lead
boulder problems in
to the top-outs
beaten tracks of the
forest, Out of Sight II
and trophies we’re
features a wealth of
so used to seeing
international climbing
in other climbing
films. From Push
talent, including Nalle
It director Jen
Randall, Project
Mina gives an
insight into the
life of one of
Britain’s most
talented climbing
personalities.
http://steepedge.
com/categories/
rock-climbing/
project-mina.html
Ashima Shiraishi and Jan
Hukkataival, Jimmy Webb,
Hojer, alongside leading
local climbers making
ascents up to 8C on Font’s perfect sandstone boulders. Hart’s film
also includes the more unusual interactions with problems in the
forest, including multiple ascents from one-armed climber RenéPaul Eustache, and barefoot ascents of problems as hard as 7C!
Out of Sight II offers an alternate perspective of one of the world’s
most popular climbing destinations, proving that despite years of
development from visiting and local climbers, Fontainebleau is still
full of hidden gems. Find out more here
http://steepedge.com/categories/bouldering/out-of-sight-ii.html
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CONSERVATION
A Space for
Nature?
REWILDING HAS BECOME THE LATEST
BUZZWORD FOR ONE OF THE OLDEST
IDEAS IN CONSERVATION. CAN WE
REALLY ‘REWILD’ AN ISLAND THAT IS
HOME TO 60 MILLION PEOPLE?
CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHER PETER
CAIRNS MAKES A PASSIONATE CASE FOR
THINKING BIG.
Studies suggest that even today, the Scottish Highlands could support
400 lynx. Feeding primarily on roe deer, they would curb grazing
pressure, allowing new trees a better chance of survival.
CONSERVATION
Private landowners in Glenfeshie in the Scottish Highlands are working to restore native woodland and the mosaic of rich habitats that comprise a healthy forest.
M
ention the ‘R’ word within certain circles and hackles
the vast shoals of fish. The science is now telling us that if we want
rise; sharp intakes of breath can be heard. Rewilding is
our ecosystems to function as they should, we need to think bigger;
seen as dangerous, preposterous even. It brings to the
we need to repair, re-connect and revitalise whole landscapes.
surface a deep-seated fear of wild animals and nature
Rewilding has myriad connotations, but at its core it promotes
run riot, a lack of civilisation, even. In a country that has tamed the
the restoration of natural processes; allowing nature to go about its
great outdoors almost exclusively for our own benefit - made it safe
business unimpeded. For many advocates it also necessitates the
to walk, camp or cycle – ‘rewilding’ jars with the notion that nature
return of absent species that in the past fuelled those processes. In
is and should remain under human dominion. Throw in a suggestion
Britain, such species would include wild boar, crane, beaver, lynx,
of rampaging wolves or prowling lynx, and the prospect of rewilding
wolf and even bear.
our orderly, managed island, seems distant at best, ridiculous at
worst. And yet that needn’t be the case.
Fanciful? Not so, I would argue. Across mainland Europe these
creatures are finding their way back, relieved of centuries of
Rewilding may be easily dismissed as a buzzword, but it does
persecution. But here, in a country with more ‘conservationists’ than
encourage us to think differently. It needs us to be objective, long-
almost anywhere else, discussions around rewilding remain cautious
sighted and considerate of our place, not as individuals, but as a
and are driven by politics rather than ecology. Rewilding in Britain
species. It’s a word that hints of the future not the past, offering a
isn’t starting from scratch - there are some exciting developments
tantalising glimpse of what might be possible. Until now, we’ve been
across the country - but relative to other countries, even those with
conservative in our aspirations. We’ve settled for holding on to tiny,
less resource than our own, our efforts are conservative.
isolated fragments of nature, populated by a beleaguered suite
So why should we rewild? Firstly, we simply have a moral duty to
of species. Yes we have badgers and otters, ospreys and kites, but
put right the damage done over the last few centuries. We are quick
where are our large carnivores? Gone too are the huge whales and
to condemn developing countries for eradicating their own wildlife.
In parts of the Cairngorms National Park, forest fragments are being joined up to
create wildlife corridors across vast areas.
How about our own backyard?
“HERE, IN A COUNTRY WITH MORE
‘CONSERVATIONISTS’ THAN ALMOST
ANYWHERE ELSE, DISCUSSIONS
AROUND REWILDING REMAIN
CAUTIOUS AND ARE DRIVEN
BY POLITICS RATHER THAN
ECOLOGY. REWILDING IN BRITAIN
ISN’T STARTING FROM SCRATCH
- THERE ARE SOME EXCITING
DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY - BUT RELATIVE TO OTHER
COUNTRIES, EVEN THOSE WITH LESS
RESOURCE THAN OUR OWN, OUR
EFFORTS ARE CONSERVATIVE.”
And there are serious, practical reasons too. Without forests to
clean our air, without peat bogs to clean water and store carbon,
and without predator-prey interactions putting nutrients back into
our soils and encouraging diversity, our world is an engine running
without oil. We may get away scot-free for now, but for how long?
The engine needs repairing or it will seize up. We all rely on the
free stuff we get from nature – including places to ‘play’ - but if we
don’t allow natural processes some room to flourish, the ecosystem
services we rely on will come under increasing threat.
Finally - and this may resonate with many outdoors people - we
need wildness in our lives. A detachment from nature is bad for us. A
growing body of research is attributing conditions like obesity, antisocial behaviour and even depression in children to a lack of time
spent in the outdoors.
In my view, rewilding is not about going back and recreating
something we’ve lost, it’s about moving forward. It’s also about
letting go, and here is where I think we struggle. We like our wildlife
for sure; we perhaps like our wildlife more today than at any time
in recent history. But we like it on our terms, under our control.
CONSERVATION
Sea eagles were reintroduced into west Scotland 30 years ago, and have
recently been returned to the east. These huge raptors would once have been
a common sight around the whole coast and given the will, could be again.
Wolves have only been extinct in the UK for around 300 years, but that’s long
enough for us to get used to life without them. Wolves are now clawing back
old ground in Europe with new populations in Germany, France and Spain.
We like to ‘manage’. Rewilding passes that responsibility back to
Scottish charity Trees for Life have planted over one million native trees as part
of their objective to rewild 600 square miles in Glen Affric and in neighbouring
glens. Ultimately this might be a place to reintroduce lynx or wolf.
nature, and we’ve grown out of that habit. A shift in mindset then, is
really all that is needed to kick-start an exciting new chapter in our
relationship with the wild world.
There are undoubtedly socio-economic and cultural
considerations against rewilding, but I’d argue they are all
surmountable. We can all do our bit by supporting organisations
committed to rewilding, and by rewilding our own patches –
gardens, allotments, local parks, and if you find yourself in our
National Parks for work or leisure, then there too. But hanging onto
isolated fragments of nature is no longer an option – we need to
think bigger.
LEARN MORE
SCOTLAND - The Big Picture: A photographic initiative by Peter
Cairns which frames the case for a wilder Scotland:
http://northshots.com/thebigpicture/
Trees for Life: Scottish charity working towards restoring large
areas of wild forest in the Highlands. www.treesforlife.org.uk
John Muir Trust: Working to protect wild land and engaging
people in support and appreciation of wild places. www.jmt.org
Rewilding Britain: A new organisation committed to developing
a new approach to conservation through restoring natural
processes. www.rewilding-britain.org
GET INVOLVED
Become a wildlife gardener:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/advice/wildlifegardening/
Beavers have a profound effect on their surroundings and are referred to as
‘keystone species’, due to their wetland engineering benefitting insects, fish
and birdlife. Their return to our river catchments might even help with flood
mitigation.
FURTHER READING
FERAL: Searching for enchantment on the frontiers of rewilding
by George Monbiot
ONE DAY AS A TIGER
Bandaka
AN EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM THE 2014 BANFF GRAND PRIZE AND
MOUNTAIN BOOK FESTIVAL WINNER, ONE DAY AS A TIGER, BY JOHN PORTER.
T
he weather remains perfect, but the wall steepens into
Alex has woken up. We are now in his domain.
more technical ground. At breakfast, I bandage my fingers
‘You are like the fabled monkey,’ Voytek says, ‘or maybe just joker
with tape to cover the deepest lacerations. Once again
Alex takes up the rear and jumars as Voytek and I take
in the pack.’
Alex takes the ice screws, organises them carefully on two
three leads each before swapping over, repeating the routine as the
karabiners on either side of his harness. He takes four deep breaths,
mountain falls away beneath us. We are rising above the surrounding
exhaling like a locomotive gathering steam, then makes a perfect
peaks. The seemingly endless ridges of the Hindu Kush march in
placement with his axe in the ice above. He leads nearly a full rope
ranks toward the two main peaks at the eastern end of the range –
length with one screw for protection before he cuts a narrow stance
Noshaq and Tirich Mir, eighty miles away as the eagle flies. In the
in the hard ice and brings us up in tandem.
evening glow, we reach the sixty-five degree summit ice and hack
We are now only twenty feet below the bottom of the cornice.
out a ledge big enough for the three of us to make a sitting belay.
It looks impenetrable. Alex takes the recovered ice screw and sets
The ritual begins as we pass the pot of food back and forth
off again. With a grin I agree he is a bit like a monkey. His front
between us, each taking two spoonfulls of instant potatoes and
points barely scratch the surface as he tiptoes up near-vertical ice.
cheese before passing it on, content and amazed by our bench in the
Unexpectedly, he finds a hole at the base of the cornice, climbs in
sky at 21,500 feet. Then Voytek has to spoil it.
and rests. While gazing at the unlikely prospect of ice now stretching
‘You see there the Pamirs? That one big peak on the far left? Last
twenty feet out over his head, he spies a slice cut deeply into the
year two Russians climbed a big face for three days and couldn’t get
cornice, which leads diagonally up and right. It ends in a wedge of
through the cornices at the top, so they had to go back down.’
deep blue sky.
‘Well that’s great, Voytek, we’ve already established we can’t get
back down from here.’
Dawn breaks slowly behind the great peaks to the east, gently
Alex shouts down his news and begins to squirm and chimney up
and out toward the lip. Thirty feet later, he is looking down through a
hole at his alarmed companions. To him, we appear as red-jacketed
gathering pace and strength as it scrolls through a spectrum of
gnats on a vertical mirror. Then Alex rolls onto his back, swings his
pastels. By the time the sun splits open the horizon, we have nearly
Terrordactyl and takes a comforting bite into the hard ice above. His
finished our porridge.
arse hangs in space for a moment, then he gyrates up and out of
The summit ice field is like The Shroud on the Grandes Jorasses,
sight. There is a shout of elation. I am last up and roll out onto the
steep but straightforward, except for one rock step, which I tickle
broad summit plateau. I am facing a new horizon at last, new ranges
over on front points. The overhanging ‘frog’s eyes’ seem to stay
of peaks tumbling away to the west and south.
motionless at first, but after eight pitches we are passing up the
Voytek and Alex are thirty feet back from the edge with axes sunk
bridge of the nose between them. There is one final, unwanted
deep for a belay. I stagger toward them, arms dragging, spirits flying.
surprise. From base camp, we thought the frog’s eyes were the
‘You look like you’ve just seen heaven.’
summit cornice. In fact, they hide from view a final cornice now
‘I guess this is as close as we’ll get, kid.’
hanging over our heads. I remember Voytek’s words from the evening
before but none of us says a word.
The ice has now hardened into the familiar black steel of a winter
alpine face and has steepened. Voytek and I are debating the options
when Alex arrives at the stance. Voytek thinks it might be possible
to go left, I wonder what happens out right. Alex clips onto the ice
screws, smiles and looking up says: ‘My turn guys.’
Copyright © 2014 John Porter/Vertebrate Publishing.
http://www.v-publishing.co.uk/books/categories/
e-books/one-day-as-a-tiger.html
A 10% discount on the book is available to Mountain
Pro readers. The code is MOUNTAINTIGER, and is
valid until the end of February 2015.
John Porter enters the summit ice fields at the end of day five
on Koh-i-Bandaka. Photo: Alex MacIntyre.
“ALEX TAKES THE ICE SCREWS,
ORGANISES THEM CAREFULLY
ON TWO KARABINERS ON
EITHER SIDE OF HIS HARNESS.
HE TAKES FOUR DEEP BREATHS,
EXHALING LIKE A LOCOMOTIVE
GATHERING STEAM, THEN
MAKES A PERFECT PLACEMENT
WITH HIS AXE IN THE ICE
ABOVE.”
WINTER MOUNTAINEERING
No
place
to slip
BUYING ALL THE TOYS, STRAPPING
THEM ON AND HEADING OUT INTO
THE WHITE WON’T NECESSARILY
MAKE US SAFE. LOTS OF PRACTICE ON
FRIENDLY TERRAIN IS KEY. RICHARD
BENTLEY WALKS US THROUGH SOME
WINTER CLASSROOM ESSENTIALS.
S
ome people say that there is no such thing as winter
walking, only winter mountaineering. This is open to
debate, but it does reflect the seriousness of heading out
into the UK mountains in winter conditions. There are
greater inherent risks and greater demands placed on personal
skills, knowledge, and mountaineering decisions.
In this piece I am going to look at the development of good
movement and mountaineering skills, which are fundamental to
travelling through the winter mountains safely. There are other key
skills, not discussed here, such as avalanche awareness, navigation,
and an understanding of cold injuries and hypothermia issues,
which also need to be learnt, but first things first…
LEARNING TO WALK
When coaching roped winter mountaineering and climbing, I will
often use routes that are well within the client’s ability to solo.
“DEVELOP THE
HABIT OF A SUBPROGRAM LOOPING
AT THE BACK
OF YOUR MIND.
“WHAT’S THE
CHANCE OF ME
SLIPPING HERE?
WHAT HAPPENS IF I
DO?”
WINTER MOUNTAINEERING
Once they have developed the safety net of good ropework and stance
Descending tower gully - good snow but serious
management that will catch them if they blow it, it’s time to move onto
consequences
harder routes and more difficult ground. A similar approach can be used
for the key winter skills such as footwork, crampon technique and use
of the axe.
One of the biggest challenges in winter is the changing nature of the
snow underfoot. This is probably one of the main reasons for difficulties
and accidents. A friendly grade 1 slope with plenty of soft snow and no
inherent risk one day can become a nerve jangling, crampon technique
demanding, and scary slope the next day.
It is this ground, at grade 1/2 to grade 1, with widely fluctuating
degrees of seriousness that is often the objective for folk who are
relatively new to the winter game. A realistic awareness of our abilities
needs to be developed over time. Can they safely crampon around and
move on this slope without slipping, catching a crampon, or tripping
themselves up? When moving around on steep slopes in winter, it’s
good to develop the habit of having a sub-program that is constantly
running in a loop at the back of your mind. It’s simple, and goes like this:
“What’s the chance of me slipping here? What happens if I do?”
Perhaps the difficult thing for less experienced winter mountaineers
is the ability to answer these two questions correctly and honestly!
In particular, the second. The answer to the first question depends on
technique, confidence and the ability to move in a slow and precise
manner if the slope demands it. The answer to the second one is all
about the snow conditions under foot.
Often when coaching winter skills and winter mountaineering, I
see relative novices who are gripped with what they perceive as the
steepness and exposure of the slope they are on. To allay these fears,
and to try and teach them about perspective and snow conditions, I
simply fall over in front of them. Low and behold, I don’t slide off down
to the corrie floor at warp factor six, to play pinball with the boulders
below! Why not? Because the snow conditions are soft and forgiving. If
you fall, you slide slowly or just lie there in a big depression in the snow.
I may encourage them to do the same, “fall over, see what happens.”
As long as the snow is fairly soft and the slope not too steep, they are
often surprised at how slowly they slide or how nothing really happens.
This can enable them to move around with more confidence. Remember
though, this is a judgement call. The same slope two days later may see
us all on a rope and exercising extreme caution!
Gaining an understanding of how serious the snow conditions are
underfoot, is a fundamental skill that needs to be learnt (the sooner
the better), through experience of the different types of snow, from soft
fresh snow to boiler plate scary neve.
So before committing to serious, steep snow slopes, we need to
hone our crampon skills and develop confidence on slopes that are
representative, but in a safe manner. Examples of good areas to do
this would be short scoured slopes with soft snow at the bottom,
or shallower slopes with a nice runout area. Alternatively, set up an
anchor and be belayed while you practice your ankle bending French
technique on 30 degree bullet proof neve!
In all these training instances, the answer to your sub-programme
loop should be “no real consequence”.
FEET FIRST
Simple ropework on a gully exit
I’ve not talked about axe techniques yet. Yes, it’s good to develop good
ice axe technique for winter mountaineering and climbing, and part
of this does involve learning self-belay and self-arrest. But I must
admit, I am a little of the continental school of thought. Let’s learn
skills and venture onto more challenging terrain.
We don’t need to be climbers, and the ropework can be kept
to stay on our feet, stay upright, and have good crampon technique
fairly straightforward. A few slings and carabiners, a harness
first. Prevention really is far better than a cure when it comes to
perhaps, (but not essential) along with an axe, can give us enough
slipping or falling in the winter mountains. Also, in reality, it takes a
options to safeguard awkward steps, steep sections and awkward
lot of practice and experience to actually arrest quickly enough, or
cornice exits. If it does go wrong, slips and tumbles and falls will
slow down a slide, on a steep, hard slope.
be the order of the day. If you are the one on the end of the rope
Little and often is a good way to approach learning self-arrest.
trying to negotiate that awkward final scarp slope or cornice, and
Once again, think about friendly slopes and the answer to our sub-
slip, then a slide down the hill will happen. Hopefully however, this
programme if it goes wrong. If you do ten or fifteen minutes every
slide will be limited to several metres, rather than several hundred
time you are out in the mountains in your first couple of years, then
metres!
it will develop as an unconscious reaction, which is really what it
As with our footwork and crampon technique, learning some
needs to be. Also, the fun part is that glissading down at the end of
basic winter ropework is best done on ground that you would be
the day can also be used as your self-arrest practice. For safety’s
happy to solo around on. Interesting but easy ground, with no big
sake though, best done with crampons off your feet.
consequence if you blow it. Choose a simple ridge or grade half
Remember as well, self-arrest doesn’t always stop you; it may only
gully with some good natural anchors around. Thinking back to our
serve to slow you down. If this is the case you have to stick with it.
comments on snow conditions under foot, do it when it’s not rock
It will make the crunch at the bottom less serious! Remember, be
hard neve, but friendlier, softer snow. The idea is that you can focus
honest with yourself about the consequences around you.
100 per cent on learning your new rope skills, and not be worrying
LEARNING THE ROPES
too much about slipping or your own personal movement skills.
Sure, you may get some odd looks from experienced folk soloing
Because of the seriousness of slips and mistakes in the winter, it
past you on the way down if you are practicing in No4 gully on Ben
makes sense to learn some mountaineering ropework. Some simple
Nevis, but hey, that will be you in a few months’ time.
belay techniques and deploying a rope when the consequences of a
slip are too scary to contemplate, is a good skill to have in the winter
MOVING TOGETHER
mountains. It’s also natural progression once you have developed
One misconception I see all the time on the hill, is people thinking
some good movement skills, as you may want to start to use these
they are being safer by moving along together with the rope
between them. Moving together with the rope is a high level
skill to do correctly. It needs a good understanding of winter
mountaineering and a high level of personal competence to do
right. There are many different reasons why we do it, all of them
requiring a different approach, with each approach providing a
different amount of safety. Sometimes the technique provides
some safety, sometimes none at all, and if done incorrectly, it’s far
more dangerous than if the rope was not there. If in doubt, untie
and one person carries it!
For example, have a look at the picture here, spot the rope, and
ask our little sub-programme question. What is the answer (see
picture left)?
THE FUN IS IN THE JOURNEY
So get out there, and play around on friendly terrain. Think long
and hard about this terrain and what is good for your current skill
level. Hone your skills, learn from friends, use a book or do a course
or two. The key is to develop yourself through experience, while
staying just within your competence zone. Don’t rush onto that
scary grade II route you’ve always wanted to do. It will always be
there, and will be all the more enjoyable when you cruise up it in a
relaxed and confident manner.
Don’t ignore the other essential stuff either. Learn about
avalanche awareness, make sure you can navigate and consider
the winter environment and what needs to be in your rucksack
for those ‘just in case’ moments. But be careful, it’s addictive. It
will take you to some amazing places. Before you know it you’ll be
standing at the bottom of some classic Scottish ice route with two
axes in your hands wondering; “How did all this start again?”
NUTRITION
Staying Power
REGISTERED NUTRITIONAL THERAPIST IAN CRAIG PROVIDES SOME
ENDURANCE ALTERNATIVES TO THE QUICK SUGAR FIX.
These days, we too often talk about ‘active food’ or sports nutrition in
terms of brand names - ‘I take this shake or I take that gel’. The phrase
‘keep it real’ is overused in most areas, except where it should be – in our
food choices. Using real ingredients means avoiding the fade-out
experience as our blood sugar levels drop during the last couple of hours.
There are some lessons to be learnt from eating habits of the past masters
- corned beef and cheese sarnies and a flask of coffee - but, we can also
do better than that.
Sandwiches are still convenient, and if made correctly, can be longlasting in the energy department. If it contains a reasonable amount of
good quality protein and fat, along with unrefined carbohydrates and
some veggies, it helps the slow-burn metabolism that is most important
for us on a long day out. A runner may be able to get though a marathon
with sugary foods, but they are moving at a much faster metabolic rate
and complete their outing much sooner in the day than do most
mountaineers. So, think more about fats, and not so much about
carbohydrates, for mountain energy.
I’m going to divide our food intakes into a ‘mini-meal’ option, and some
snacks:
MINI-MEALS
If you’re out in the wilderness for the whole day, you will be doing yourself
a great disservice by trying to go without solid and sustaining food. I
suggest including a lunch, even if it is just a five minute sandwich stop.
Even Tour de France riders manage to nibble some solid foods during less
strenuous sections of the race, despite the great speed that they travel at.
Meals need to be easy to pack and consume, but it is still possible to
include protein and ‘good’ fats. Examples are hard-boiled eggs, precooked meat or chicken, cheese, and tinned or smoked fish. Don’t forget
the carbohydrates - although they are less important for all-day exercise
than for high intensity bursts, they should still be included in good
quantities. Easy options are bread, wraps or crackers – for those who are
sensitive to wheat; rye, oats and rice make good alternatives. Potatoes,
sweet potatoes and pumpkin or butternut can also be carried easily in a
sandwich bag. Tupperware expands your options further and it means that
you can carry dinner leftovers such as rice, some cooked meat/chicken/
fish/lentils/beans, and vegetables. I’ve seen cyclists in the middle of a
24hr MTB challenge pulling out a leftover Chinese stir-fry – beats crackers
and cheese!
The carbs, fats and proteins (our macronutrients) take care of our energy
(calorie) needs, but we also need micronutrients; vitamins and minerals.
They don’t seem as important as the big calorie nutrients, at least not until
you consider that biochemical reactions will not proceed without them.
These reactions produce the energy to propel our muscles, they make
brain chemicals for concentration and clarity of mind, and they produce
hormones, antioxidants and immune cells. Therefore, our micronutrients
are essential, even just for a short blast up a mountain. Where do you get
your vitamins and minerals? Fruit and vegetables - where else? In your
sandwich, double the volume of chicken with some sliced tomato, rocket,
avocado and alfalfa sprouts. If you’re doing the Tupperware option, chuck
in some leftover steamed broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, spinach or
some salad veggies.
SNACKS
When any of my clients exercise for more than about two to three hours, I
have them munching on protein bars, flapjacks, bananas, baby potatoes
and really anything that takes their fancy.
Nuts and seeds are also fantastic snack options – they have a good
protein content and are high in essential fats. So, make yourselves a little
trail mix, which can include nuts, seeds and dried fruit.
Fresh fruit like apples and bananas have always been used in sport, and
provide some easy energy as well as their plant-based functions. Other
easy examples are salad vegetables like carrots, pepper strips, baby
tomatoes and olives.
When conditions dip below freezing, you might be faced with frozen
sandwiches and snacks by the time lunch comes. The key is insulation –
wrap your bag of food within the extra layers of clothes in your pack, keep
it close to your back or in an internal jacket pocket, and your hard work
during the day should ensure a satiable lunch.
Energy and protein bars can also make quite convenient and healthy
snacks while you are on the go, but you need to be choosy about which
ones. The typical cereal bars, although branded as healthy, are usually
packed with refined sugar and processed oils. If you pay a bit more, you
can buy bars that are packed full of energy-giving calories, as well as being
healthy and nourishing. Read the ingredients’ label and make up your own
mind.
If you fancy the DIY option, there’s nothing that beats this protein-rich
recipe from Rachel Jesson:
PROTEIN POWDER BALLS
Ingredients
■ 1 cup of mixed nuts
■ 1 cup of mixed dried fruit
■ 6 large fresh (or rehydrated) dates with 80ml of water
■ 1 heaped tbsp maca powder
■ 1 heaped tbsp hemp powder
Method
Food process the nuts and dried fruit separately. Food process the dates
and water with the maca and hemp powder. Mix all the ingredients
together by hand and form into little balls. To stop the balls from sticking,
they can be rolled in desiccated coconut, cinnamon or cacao.
SKIING
Big
in Japan
Photo: Sam Smith
WILL NICOLLS WORKS A WINTER SKI SEASON WITH A DIFFERENCE
J
apan is probably not the first place you think of when
anywhere, only there was more of it. His anecdotes of Japan’s
considering working in the mountains abroad. Do you even
seemingly alien culture further fuelled my desire to go. Obtaining a
consider Japan mountainous? I didn’t. And, who can speak
working holiday visa was the first step to gaining a job ski instructing
Japanese?
in Hakuba. It is one of the better-known ski towns, having played
My fears were quelled as I flew over the island of Honshu,
host to some of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Two trips to the
home to Tokyo. Peak after peak stretched into the distance, white
Japanese embassy in London were required; it was a simple and
summits surrounded by trees, a distinct lack of anything resembling
extremely friendly process. Unlike other embassies I’ve visited for
flat ground. My guidebook purports Japan is in fact 75 per cent
the same purpose, they actually seemed to want me to go to their
mountainous. From the air this seems wholly true. Celebrated
country!
among skiers for ubiquitous powder days, the mountains receive
A working holiday visa costs a princely sum of £20 or thereabouts.
huge amounts of snowfall each year. The more northerly resorts
It is valid for a year and is available for anyone aged between 18
of Hokkaido (the top main island) generally witness knee-deep
and 30. For anyone older, or those who have already used their
snowfalls every day of winter, with waist-deep dumps a couple of
sole working holiday visa, a sponsored visa is required. These are
times a week. Honshu, being more southerly, receives less, though
more difficult to arrange and are dependent upon the applicant’s
more sunshine. I couldn’t wait to get into ‘the white room’.
experience and qualification, normally requiring an employ to have
A good friend had already spent a winter teaching snowboarding
worked for a company previously before they invest in it for you.
in Hakuba. Sam reckoned the snow was as good as any he’d ridden
Most foreigners I spoke to had acquired a job at a ski school; few
SKIING
Photo: Sam Smith
intended to stay on for the summer, as the English speaking market
experience something completely different. The ski resorts
recedes during that season. One of the rules of the working holiday
themselves felt so far removed from anywhere else I’ve skied, it’s
visa is that you cannot work in bars, so most foreigners are qualified
hard to convey. Firstly, the mountains were very unique. The ski
instructors, as there is little other work available. A few ski schools
resorts nestle in the rounded foothills of the Alps, only a kilometre
also operate multi-activity summer programmes, so there is a
or two from summits reaching almost 3000 metres. Most of the
possibility of year-round employment.
resorts lie at relatively modest heights, their bases at only 700
Having spent the last few years living in Llanberis, where sheep
metres and tops commonly at 1500 metres. Cold snaps will see
freely roam the high street, I must admit, Tokyo was a bit of a shock.
temperatures plummet to -20, generating incredibly light, fluffy
I’d timed my trip to perfection; it was a public holiday and my hostel
powder. Warm periods result in rain; the proximity to the coast
overlooked the busiest temple in the city. You can imagine how
and low height provide very similar conditions to Scotland. Trees
much fun it was to carry a rucksack, duffle bag and ski bag down a
adorn the slopes, though tree skiing is strictly forbidden apart from
narrow road for a kilometre, chock-a-block with people! Although
at Cortina. Why? I’ve no idea. Nobody does. Even my boss, who is
not being able to read... anything, even road names, I realised it
married to a local, lived there for ten years, and speaks Japanese,
wasn’t intimidating at all, the locals were very helpful and stopped
can’t find out. It’s strange. But it’s Japan!
several times to ask if they could help me.
Two English speaking ski schools were established in the Hakuba
Jagged ridges break out from the smooth tops of the ski resorts,
beckoning to greater, steeper, deeper and hugely more dangerous
valley, alongside eight ski resorts. The vast majority of clients
things! Advanced and expert skiers with an interest in backcountry
were Australian, with the odd ex-pat here and there. Without
will be both delighted and gutted. Inbounds skiing rarely reaches
the Australians, working a winter would not be viable. From my
anything steeper than 35 degrees, while almost everything out-of-
experiences, few Japanese people can speak English, while none of
bounds lies at roughly 45. A glance at a 1:25000 map reveals the
us could speak Japanese. This is clearly limiting work-wise; finishing
reality. Everything is a terrain trap. A myriad of contour lines cause
a season and hoping to pick up a job elsewhere is wholly reliant
an instant headache, trying to read the lines almost impossible.
upon an English speaking business, and English speaking clients.
Steep re-entrants and gully lines link every aspect, with little chance
Surfing is the other mainstream activity which people visit Japan for.
of escape should one slide. Add to this the steep slopes, average
Outside of these tourist hot spots, it is very difficult to communicate
of 1.5 metres weekly new snow, and you have a recipe for a very
with locals.
exciting time. Then consider ever-changing strong winds and rapid
Having worked in the USA and New Zealand, I wanted to
fluctuations in temperature. In three months I only managed to ski
“STUNNING COULOIRS, CLIFF BANDS,
ARETES AND TREES CATCH WHEREVER
YOUR EYES REST; THERE IS A LIFETIME’S
WORTH OF PHENOMENAL SKIING EASILY
ACCESSED FROM THE RESORTS. AND
OF COURSE, BLANKETED IN PRISTINE
POWDER. SO WHAT’S THE CATCH THEN?”
Photo: Sam Smith
in the backcountry three times, as it just wasn’t safe enough to do
so. The thought of each does however bring a huge grin to my face;
blasting between trees, face shots at every turn, memories that
never get old! This is misleading though - had I had use of a car, I
Photo: Will Nicolls
could have driven out of the valley to lower, safer slopes.
Avalanche control in resorts was interesting to say the least. Due
to conservation policies, bombing is not permitted in most of the
Hakuba resorts. As such, ski patrol just ski down and cut the slopes!
I think they must just draw straws in the morning; they certainly
earn their money! As far as I can see, professional patrollers from
abroad would not be able to work in the resorts unless they
speak Japanese. It’s completely understandable, but is a shame
nonetheless; it must be a brilliant and rewarding place to patrol.
That is, as long as you’re not the one who pulls the short straw!
If the changeable snow conditions, strange resort policies and
relatively limited work opportunities don’t sound that enticing,
then getting a job as an instructor is fairly straightforward, even for
instructors with no previous experience. Having chatted to other
instructors who have worked on Honshu and Hokkaido, it seems
there are many ‘rookie’ instructors working alongside fully certified
staff and even examiners. Most would agree that pay rates are
better than the USA, though not as high as Europe. Group lesson
rates are substantially lower than private rates, which can reach £30
hour, though this is a generalisation; each ski school has its own
rates.
Working in the USA or Europe isn’t working in Japan, though. It’s
conventional. It’s not wacky. And this is why you should definitely
consider heading out there. Where else do you get a control panel
for your toilet? It’s the size of a TV remote, with music, temperature
and bidet controls! Then there are the hot springs, or ‘onsen’, as
Photo: Sam Smith
they’re called locally. Gender separated, they’re the perfect end to a
day of cartwheeling through steep snow. You pay, walk in and strip.
Before getting into the water you’re expected to wash thoroughly;
no clothes allowed thereafter. As Brits it feels quite strange to begin,
brash even. Aussies love it of course!
I can think of a dozen great anecdotes to attempt to give a flavour
For more information
For visa information have a look at: www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp
For Nagano tourist information: www.go-nagano.net
of the culture. But I’d just be attempting, you need to go and witness
For Hakuba information: www.hakubtourism.jp
it for yourself! I’d say I’ve skied in better resorts and had snow of
For general skiing and travel advice: www.snowjapn.jp
equal quality, though I don’t regret spending three months there at
It’s worth trying to catch the Nagano Fire Festival on the 15th
all. I’d happily go again. The bizarre nature of the country, incredibly
January if you’re out there. You can Google it to find out more; let’s
polite and welcoming people, and endless ski opportunities should
just say it’s another interesting cultural aspect!
appeal to anyone who loves being in the mountains. I rest my case!
GEAR GUIDE
Soft Shellfor her
SOFT SHELL IS A TRICKY CLASS OF OUTDOOR CLOTHING TO PIN DOWN. HOW
BREATHABLE, WINDPROOF, WARM OR STRETCHY SHOULD IT BE? MEMBRANE
OR NO MEMBRANE? THE ANSWER OF COURSE, DEPENDS ON THE GAMES YOU
PLAY. LUCY WALLACE AND DAVID LINTERN INVESTIGATE.
Designed for facing up to full-on winter gnarl, this is one beast
of a soft shell. The windproof Gore Windstopper membrane
breathes relatively well, even though it is laminated to such a
tough and durable fabric, and the deep pile lining is very warm
indeed. Berghaus haven’t held back on technical features; there
are underarm vents, thumb loops in the elasticated cuffs, a
two-way zip, vast harness-friendly pockets, plus Napoleon and
sleeve pockets. All this comes at a weight penalty; at 850g, this
is definitely not a jacket to be carried all day in the bag. The
adjustable hood works best for me under a helmet; it will go
over one, but I can’t see over the chin guard when the zip is done
up. It’s a great dry weather shell for those who feel the cold. I’m a
sweaty type, and found it just too warm for active use. ■ www.berghaus.com
THE NORTH FACE WOMEN’S VALKYRIE
JACKET £180
Totally windproof in Gore Windstopper, this is a versatile soft shell that works year-round, as
it is relatively lightweight at 585g and not too warm. Despite the chic matt
finish and tailored looks, it bristles with technical features, including a
superb helmet-compatible hood with stiffened laminated brim, pit zips,
huge, harness-compatible pockets and a bicep pocket. The sizing is
generous; my Medium sample has long arms and body that will
suit tall people. I was impressed with the performance of this
jacket in a range of situations. Gore Windstopper has a
membrane, so breathability is restricted in favour of
windproofing, but the pit zips help a lot. The lightly brushed
fleece interior offers some insulation, but mainly serves to
manage moisture. I’ve tested it in cool damp conditions
walking in the UK, and cold dry weather on a recent
climbing trip, and found it a very comfortable and adaptable
soft shell for climbing and trekking. Pair it with a cosy
insulating layer in icy conditions.
■ www.thenorthface.co.uk
LOWE ALPINE
PERFECT STORM
JACKET £120
If like me you
run hot,
and tend
to find
most
soft
BEST BUY
shells
i
ta
www.moun
a bit
clammy
for active
use, take a look
at a membrane-free
version such as this, or
the Patagonia option
also reviewed. To me,
the Perfect Storm is the
slightly better of the
two, as it has a longer,
slimmer cut in both
the arms and body,
and a wired adjustable hood that fits brilliantly over a
helmet. Other features include two huge pockets and
a Napoleon pocket. The tightly woven Stormweave
stretch nylon fabric is highly wind-resistant (but not
windproof), breathes better than a membrane, and
handles moisture well. It isn’t particularly insulating
on its own, but this adds to the versatility, as it can
be layered up year-round. The tough exterior and
full-on stretchiness make it a brilliant companion on
thrutchy rock climbs and scrambles, where flimsier
gear could get shredded. I like it for mountain biking
- I’ve no fear of stray snags and grazes when razzing
about in my local forest. The weight on my scales is
525g.
■ www.lowealpine.com
np
rom
ag.com
BERGHAUS TETON II £180
GEAR GUIDE
Lightweight, membrane-free
soft shells such as this are
hardwearing, wind-resistant and
extra stretchy. This one from
Patagonia is really light at
464g, good not only for
roadside cragging, but
also Alpine escapades
where durability and
weight will battle
eternally for priority.
The features are
simple, with two
main pockets and
a little internal
one. The hood is
adjustable, with
a soft peak that
doesn’t offer much
protection but keeps
the weight down. The fabric is lovely, a very light and supple weave
of recycled polyester and spandex. It has a tough outer face, manages
sweat well, dries quickly and has a small pack size, making it a very
useful bit of kit indeed.
■ www.patagonia.com
Soft shell as a category is a bit of a moving
target, and in this issue I’ve allowed
my heart to lead me in awarding
Ed’s Choice. The Coalesce Hoody
is simplicity itself in soft shell
format, with a supple Polartec
Windbloc membrane. It features
harness-compatible pockets,
and a minimalist hood that
layers under or over a helmet.
Lacking in pit zips, venting is an
issue, so it isn’t ideal for
working up a big sweat in the
hills. However, it has been a very
comfortable and cosy friend on
some cold and breezy days, and
I’ve appreciated its fitted design,
flexible fabric and low weight
(430g), especially when climbing. As a layer
EDITOR’S
it offers genuine warmth without bulk, and
CHOICE
the clever cut provides superb freedom of
movement. It’s a brilliant cragging and
in
nta
www.mou
bouldering soft shell, ideal for taking
advantage of that lovely cold weather friction. Of
all the jackets tested, it’s the one I want to wear every day, and for me
that makes it a winner.
■ www.blackdiamondequipment.com
pr
om
ag.c
om
PATAGONIA WOMEN’S
SIMPLE GUIDE HOODY £120
BLACK DIAMOND WOMEN’S
COALESCE HOODY
£160
SHERPA ADVENTURE GEAR DEVI HOODED
JACKET £140
The Devi Hooded Jacket is all about warmth. With a deeply fluffy lining, and a generous cut that
provides lots of room for layers underneath, it is an inviting garment that feels great to snuggle
into. The membrane cuts out wind and spindrift, while the fabric retains the softness and
flexibility of a fleece. It is pretty hefty (720g on my scales), but for this you really do get a lot of
insulation. I found it too hot and chunky for activities that generate lots of sweat, even in cold
weather, and too bulky for winter climbing. The design is simple, with a minimalist hood (to be
worn under rather than over a helmet), and two small hand warmer pockets. A bicep pocket on
the sleeve will take handy items such as a ski pass. This feature is a clue to the jacket’s ideal
purpose. It is flexible and tough with lots of freedom to move, great for piste skiing on crisp
blue-sky days, or other wintery fun of similar intensity.
■ www.sherpaadventuregear.co.uk
GEAR GUIDE
Soft Shellfor him
ARC’TERYX GAMMA HOODY £230
EDITOR’S
pr
om
ag.c
om
This is proving to be pretty much perfectly dialled for the more active fast and light stuff.
CHOICE
The fabric used is Arc’teryx’s own Fortius 2.0, a four-way stretch which allows full range of
movement, especially in the arms where it counts. Water just rolls off - in common with most of
in
the others here, the face fabric is nigh on waterproof, while the seams are not. So, you get damp
nta
www.mou
eventually, but stay comfortable. The sizing is spot on in my Medium, with room for a baselayer
and a thin mid underneath, without compromising climbing mobility. Features-wise, the laminated hood
moves nicely with the head and cinches at the back, there’s external storm flaps on the Napoleon pockets,
the hard warmers are harness-friendly enough and a perfect size, and the length is short, but not so as to
expose the waist. There’s even an arm pocket for ski pass or similar. The inner is zoned: thin fleece on the
shoulders and a microgrid on the front panels, and this walks the line between protection from the elements
and being breathable enough to dispense with a two-way central zip and pitzips. My only real issue with this
is the elasticated sleeves, which are tidy but mean you can’t hitch the sleeves up to the elbow to spill heat.
Otherwise, it feels like a soft shell should – a second skin. For active climbing and skiing in high mountains this
is nigh on perfect. In a temperamental Scottish winter with some belaying I might want a bit more warmth and
length. It’s expensive, but you get what you pay for with the Gamma.
BLACK DIAMOND
CRAG HOODY £160
This is tagged as a ‘technical climbing
jacket with a casual feel’, which pretty
much sums things up. The face exposed
to the elements is Polartec Windbloc,
which I find less breathable than the
Gore’s Windstopper. There are no
pitzips here, the centre zip is one-way
only, and this combination felt a bit
stuffy, but on the plus side it’s pretty
impervious to wind and water. The
pockets are low on the waist and the
tapered sleeves are deftly cut but don’t
offer closures, so this is less a strictly
technical climbing jacket, and more for local crags and coffee shops.
Confirming that impression, there’s a third, zippered internal pocket at the
waist, which is useful around town but less handy elsewhere. The hood works
well though; it doesn’t really move with the head but offers full visibility, and
two internal draw cords at the rim seem to do the job where others need a
third at the back. Overall, this is neither fish nor flesh, but it is pretty stylish,
and has served me well on my local MTB trails in this year’s very soggy
autumn. http://eu.blackdiamondequipment.com/en/homepage
MAMMUT ULTIMATE HOODY
£210
A versatile and lightweight shell with some unusual design features. The
material is super stretchy Gore Windstopper which shrugs off wind and
rain well, and all the drawstrings are inside the jacket, which means there’s
not much to snag or pull by accident. The thumbloops are designed so you
can take or leave them here, which is good because I prefer not to bother
– they just get wet in my experience. The hood is (just about) helmetcompatible, but could use a rear drawcord, but the three
torso pockets are more than high enough not to interfere
with a pack or harness. Zips are all two-way, and it packs
down really small and lightweight at around 500gms. It’s
a regular fit and offered an excellent range of movement
even while climbing, but the length is on the short
side, so those with longer torsos might want to try
before buying. The most unusual aspect of this is
the elbow to hem pit zips, which means it’s
amazing for dumping excess heat, but can feel a
bit fussy under a pack. This is barely insulated and
has no fleece inner – it’s been great for running in
mixed weather, but look elsewhere if you feel the
cold or intend belaying in unstable conditions.
www.mammut.ch/en/index.html
GEAR GUIDE
A superb winter-weight
shell. Gore Windstopper
makes another
appearance, this time
backed with a microgrid
fleece inner, which
makes this a warmer
option than others here.
I like Windstopper for
its water-repelling
qualities, and true to
form this jacket has
fought off some very
heavy showers with only very minor ingress – it dried quickly too.
There are conventional pitzips and the centre zip is two-way,
which means dumping excess heat is straightforward enough. The
hood offers excellent protection, featuring a rear drawcord and
simple, easy-to-use-with-gloves toggles, out of eye’s way, on the
outside of the hood. Reflecting its UK heritage, this is longer in the
body than some others here, with pockets high on the ribs to
avoid harness and rucksack straps. Those pockets are sadly too
small for gloves or maps, but there are lots of them - two hand
warmers, and two on the chest, for bars, phone, torch and
compass. Sizing is on the generous side without being flappy,
which allows some layering underneath and a full range of
movement in the arms without riding up. Sleeves have standard
Velcro fasteners for climbing, and the hem drawcords are out of
the way at the back, so they don’t dig into your hips. It’s on the
heavy side at 760gms - I wouldn’t want to pack it - but this will be
on my back when the snow finally settles in Scotland.
www.berghaus.com
SHERPA LOBUTSE
£140
Outstanding value and performance here
from Sherpa, making this particular ‘Best
Buy’ an easy decision. The shell is polyester
BEST BUY
coupled with spandex, so there’s a nice
i
ta
amount of stretch and
www.moun
manoeuvrability in this, and it’s
good and roomy in the body to
allow for layering too. The
sleeves are beautifully
articulated and have Velcro
closures, and the torso is a
decent length, so it’s well
spec’ed for climbing,
alongside a non-restrictive,
helmet-compatible hood. Bear
in mind that the hood isn’t
wired or laminated. A rear
drawcord makes a welcome
appearance; the face
drawcords are weirdly long and dangly - but at least they are inside the
jacket, so whiplash isn’t an issue. Otherwise the hood moves with the head
and offers perfect visibility and face protection when fully zipped up. The
hand warmer pockets are full sized, but could do with being just a touch
higher to avoid harness snagging, and there’s an enormous external chest
pocket as well. The inner isn’t exactly fleece, but because of that provides
a really practical amount of insulation. I found this sat somewhere in the
middle of those under test – definitely warmer than the Ultimate, but not
as warm as the Berghaus. It doesn’t have pitzips or a two-way centre zip,
but overall it’s a very workable middle ground between protection and
breathability. Apart from those strangely long hood cords, and the fact that
the outer shell isn’t quite as water-resistant as the Windstopper options
reviewed, there’s no real reason not to choose this over the best of the rest
here. www.sherpaadventuregear.co.uk
np
rom
ag.com
BERHAUS
VALPAROLA
£180
FJALLRAVEN KEB JACKET £240
The odd one out, but don’t dismiss it out of hand quite yet. As you’d expect from the Swedish outdoors
supremos, there is amazing attention to detail, with stretchy soft shell on the back, chest and arms, and the
tougher G-1000 panels where they matter – on the elbows, shoulders and lower sleeves. This canvas-like
material can be made waterproof with Greenland Wax, which when regularly applied works very well. Even
without, water just rolls off. Sizing is roomy, which is great for layering underneath and freedom of
movement, but does mean getting a waterproof over the top is a struggle. The pitzips are really only
rib-zips, but there’s not much insulation here so it’s a non-issue. The trade-off for less warmth is great
breathability, at least when unwaxed. The hood is, frankly, a design marvel – at half-mast, there’s a high
collar and secure chinguard, but fully deployed, it’s polar-style and offers maximum, tunnel-like protection.
It is helmet-compatible, albeit at the expense of peripheral vision. However, the stiffened rim that forms
the collar can be folded back to give a bit more visibility in Eskimo mode! Massive chest pockets, Velcro
sleeve adjusters and external storm flaps on the front zips complete the pretty-as-a-picture. Given that
enormous hood and general sizing, I wouldn’t wear this for mountaineering, but for bushcraft, forestry or
moorland operations, where fabrics need to be durable as well as breathable, it’s a bomber, if expensive
choice. www.fjallraven.co.uk
GEAR GUIDE
Ski Touring Showcase
IT’S THE PERFECT MARRIAGE BETWEEN CLIMBING AND SKIING: AN EASY PASSAGE TO THE TOP,
AND THRILLS AND SPILLS ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN. AT LEAST, THAT’S THE SALES PITCH.
GETTING THE GEAR RIGHT IS PART OF THE FUN, AND BECOMES ESSENTIAL WHEN CONDITIONS
DON’T PLAY BALL. TOM HUTTON & LUCY WALLACE MAKES SOME SUGGESTIONS.
PATAGONIA ALPINE
GUIDE PANTS £190
Wet conditions, or even wet snow, usually call for
waterproof trousers – think the same as you’d wear for
winter climbing. But dryer Alpine conditions, or the odd
bluebird day on these shores, demand something more
breathable, especially when skinning. And this is where
soft shell pants really come into their own. The Alpine
Guide Pants are near perfect for the job: wind-resistant,
water-resistant enough to cope with the odd tumble on
wet snow or moderate snow fall, yet not at all sweaty.
They’re stretchy and well-shaped, with articulated
knees that make them really easy to move in, whether
it’s skiing or climbing; and they’re tough too, so will take a few scrapes.
Heavy duty scuff guard ankle patches protect against errant crampons and
ski edges. The brushed interior feels great against the skin, and I really like
the flat profile waist that fits easily beneath a harness. The ankle cuffs are
gusseted and elasticated so slip easily enough over a ski boot or climbing
boot, yet aren’t a disaster over more delicate footwear. I like the leg pocket
– useful for a map or GPS, yet doesn’t look too contemporary. For hut to
hut trips I’d pair them with some featherweight waterproof pants that
would hopefully stay in my pack. ■ www.patagonia.com
PETZL CREVASSE
RESCUE KIT £125
Okay, so if you restrict your touring to
Scotland, Wales or the Lakes, you aren’t going
to need this. But anyone who’s venturing onto
glaciated terrain will. And even if you’re
signing up for an organised tour, there’s a
chance they’ll want you to carry at least some
kit to help out in a rescue. If you’re heading
out independently, then not only do you need the kit, but you’d also be
advised to have spent a fair bit of time practising how to use it. This is a
great little set, containing everything you’d need to haul a companion or
even yourself out of a crevasse (except a rope and harness). The screw
gates, of which there are two, are oval-shaped, so much quicker to deploy
and easier to use with pulleys etc. And the Micro Traxion – a self-locking
pulley that makes up around 50 per cent of the overall cost of the set, is a
godsend in any haul system, yet only weighs 85g. In addition you get a
Tibloc ascender/locking device, a lightweight Partner pulley and a 120cm
sling that will make a foot stirrup for hauling yourself, or can be used to
add advantage to a larger pulley system. ■ www.petzl.com
MAMMUT ELEMENT
BARRYVOX £260
I was fortunate enough to spend a day testing transceivers
in the purpose-built transceiver park in Chamonix last
year. And over a few hours I tried all the main transceivers
on the market. A week later, I bought an Element Barryvox.
It would be fair to say that it wasn’t perhaps the very best
transceiver I tested: I would award that accolade to its
big brother, the Pulse Barryvox. But the Element was
so close…almost half the price, and for someone
who doesn’t use a transceiver regularly, provided
me with everything I could want. I was most
impressed by the huge range. And then by
the accuracy of the arrow and the distance
display as it helped me follow the curved flux lines. It got me to the fine
search mode as quickly as any of the others. And when you get below 3m,
the direction arrow is replaced by four arrows – a simple but important
reminder to start the vital bracketing search. It was quick to flag multiple
burials, and has the capability to mark them once found. Overall it’s a
superb bit of kit, and one I think has the right level of sophistication for
most tourers – certainly me. ■ www.mammut.ch
LOWE ALPINE ALPINE ATTACK
35/45 £90
A versatile, Alpine-style pack is essential for big Alpine
tours, whether they are hut to hut or just big single
days. We ask a lot from them. On a typical hut to hut,
you’ll start the tour with a full pack that includes
pretty much all your clothing (you probably won’t be
wearing much down in the valley), crampons, axe,
safety gear, snacks and water. And you’ll possibly even
need to strap skis on it for the first few hours, too.
And then by the end of your trip, you’ll have possibly
made an attempt on a summit where you’ll have
removed just about everything and cinched it down as
tight as possible just for the climb. The Alpine Attack 35/45 is just about
spot-on. Skis can be attached and removed in seconds – vital in bad weather
transitions – and axes the same. It’s light considering its carrying capability,
with a superbly comfortable back system. Yet it can be stripped to almost
nothing with a removable lid and tuck away hip fins that won’t obstruct a
harness. The single-buckle design makes it quick to get in and out of; and time
can be of the essence when you need to get to skins or harscheisen on a
windy col or icy slope. ■ www.lowealpine.com
GEAR GUIDE
FALKE
SKITOURING
SOCK ST4 £25
Sock choice is an awkward one when
ski touring. Walking socks are designed
to protect feet from the repetitive motion
of walking, but they don’t usually have
much in the way of protection for the
shin; ski socks, on the other hand, do a
great job of protecting shins from
stiff boots, but aren’t really designed
for walking. The priority, if you do a lot of
skinning, has to be the feet. The motion of
skinning is relentless – every step is pretty much exactly the same
as the last, and this creates friction and heat. And with nonbreathable plastic boots on, it’s pretty tough to get rid of sweat.
Add sweat, friction and heat together, and you get blisters. The
ST4s are lovely soft, merino wool blend socks that minimise
friction by feeling soft against the skin, even when wet, and by
their anatomic shaping that reduces rucking. They wick well so
keep moisture away from the skin; and the padding is carefully
placed only where it’s needed to make sure things are as cool as
possible. And like all good ski socks, there’s plenty of protection
on the shin, so you can enjoy those hard-earned turns on the way
back down. ■ www.falke.com
THE NORTH FACE
KITCHATNA £380
In the Alps, certainly for spring touring, a
lightweight waterproof shell might suffice;
perhaps with a soft shell or lightweight
insulated jacket as the main outer layer.
But in the UK, Scandinavia or more wintry
conditions, a bombproof shell is
essential. The Kitchatna has been
designed specifically as a ski
mountaineering jacket – seeking that
illusive compromise between climbing and
skiing. And it makes a pretty decent fist of it;
bristling with the kind of features needed for
both, yet weighing in at a reasonable 545g, including a zip-out snow skirt.
It’s tough – as you’d expect from Gore-Tex Pro – breathable, and it’s also
extremely comfortable, even over just a baselayer. The hood is superb:
deep, easily adjustable and with a bendy, reinforced peak that really does
keep bad weather out of the eyes. The collar’s high too, making it possible
to really bury yourself in foul conditions. With goggles on you won’t be
exposing much skin to the elements. The hip pockets are perfect – high
enough to be clear of pack straps and large enough to swallow a map; and
the small Napoleon pocket is useful too. Lengthy pit zips provide ventilation
when skinning, when the cuffs can also be pulled up easily too.
■ www.thenorthface.co.uk
JULBO UNIVERSE GOGGLES £160
Ski goggles
are essential
for UK
touring, yet
you can go
years in the
Alps without
ever needing them. Thing is, like a good pair of over gloves, you don’t realise
just how much you’ll appreciate them until things get really bad, and then boy
do you need them. The Universals fit the bill brilliantly for me. The Zebra Light
lens – basically photochromatic – lightens and darkens according to available
light, offering protection from category one to category three. This makes them
perfect for bad light, like a typical Scottish white-out, where they’ll protect your
eyes from the needle-like ice and snow crystals; and the yellow tint will help
with definition. Yet they are still good for shorter stints under clear skies –for
example a descent, where they’ll feel a lot more secure on your head than
glasses, and will also prevent wind getting in your eyes. They are well
thought-out, with a very minimalist frame that affords great all-round visibility,
and a comfy, easily adjustable strap. There’s plenty of airflow, and the lens is
treated with an anti-fog coating, so overall they don’t fog too badly either.
■ www.julbo-eyewear.com
OSPREY KODE ABS 22+10 £120
Avalanche airbags haven’t made a huge impression on touring. Mainly,
no doubt, because of the weight; but perhaps also because the amount
of exposure can be more easily mitigated by the fact that tourers spend
most of the time travelling very slowly, even though they will usually be
off-piste. But for shorter day tours, or lift-assisted back-country access,
where a small pack is usually carried rather than a typical Alpine
climbing one, an ABS won’t feel quite such a burden, and obviously
could be a lifesaver. The Kode 22+10 ABS is an excellent ski pack by
itself. It has an excellent harness that really holds the load steady –
essential if you’re really trying. And I like the two compartment design
that means wet items such as skins, or
shovel and probe, can be stored
separately to dry items like
clothing. Skis are easily attached
diagonally for those cramponing
sections, and a helmet can also be
clipped in place. But the real key
thing about this pack is its
compatibility with an ABS Vario Base
Unit, turning it from an excellent ski
pack into an ABS pack that’s
perfect for big days or shorter
tours. Note that the ABS Vario
Base Unit will set you back
around £500.
■ www.ospreyeurope.com
GEAR GUIDE
AVALANCHE! BY ROBERT
BOLOGNESI (CICERONE) £7.99
Nothing will improve your avalanche
safety skills more than a dedicated
course, and I would definitely advise
all ski tourers to invest time and
money in one. But this book is
excellent as a beginning, or
reminder. It’s small – certainly small
enough to slip in a ski boot or
similar, to make sure you pack it and
read it on every trip. And it’s packed
with information; from personal
accounts of real life avalanches to
assessing risk for yourself, and more
importantly, offering some solid tips
on how to reduce that risk. On top of
all this, it’s supplied with a Nivo Test:
a small card that can be carried in a pocket or a pack that asks 25
questions related to the conditions you are encountering. It then
cumulates the answers using a rotating disc that then offers you an
evaluation of the risk. It may sound gimmicky, and perhaps in some ways
it is. This came to me recommended by a mountain guide highly
experienced in avalanche safety. And it does make you ask yourself all
the right questions, whether you want to rely on the evaluation of the
test or not. Essential reading. ■ www.cicerone.co.uk
ORTOVOX KODIAK
SHOVEL £69
Alongside probe and transceiver, a shovel forms part
of the holy trinity of avalanche safety gear. Hopefully
it is the only one of the three that will see regular use
in anger, making speedy shelters, or excavating layers
for snowpack information. For avalanche rescue, the
Kodiak is an excellent choice because rapid snow
movement is the primary concern. The 3.1 litre
bucket eats snow faster than any other I’ve tried, and
the topnotch blade is very sharp and strong, coping
well with icy layers. The D grip handle is comfortable
and aids effective digging. The shaft is oval for added
durability, and can be fitted to the bucket in two
ways; the traditional shovel assembly, or
perpendicular to the blade to create a giant hoe for
scooping and dragging debris. That big bucket does
take up a bit of extra room in the rucksack, but it
packs away surprisingly neatly. At 790g, lighter
options are available, but the additional weight gives
buried victims more chance, making this a
particularly good option for outdoor professionals.
LW
■ http://www.ortovox.com
ARC’TERYX
ALPHA SV
GLOVES £220
Okay, so £220 is serious money for a pair of
gloves. Even if they can effectively be used as
three pairs, as the Alpha SV is basically a fleece
inner glove and a Gore-Tex Shell that can be
worn separately or together. I find this
two-layer approach just perfect for ski touring.
The fleece inners are ideally suited to
skinning up – warm enough to take the chill away from
the air, yet ultra-breathable, so no sweaty hands. They
are also dexterous enough to wear on transitions –
stripping or applying skins or adjusting boot buckles. And
the Gore-Tex and leather shell gloves are a true work of
art, with shaped fingers that make them look positively 3D in comparison
to most gloves. These can obviously be pulled on over the fleece for
warmth and weatherproofing, but are also excellent on their own for
descending on wet afternoon snow, when the full monty would just be too
hot. The leather is super supple and grippy enough to hold a pole halfway
down its shaft on traverses. And the single-hand drawcord makes putting
them on and off a lot easier than most gloves out there.
■ www.arcteryx.com
BLACK DIAMOND
CARBON 240
QUICKDRAW
PROBE
£69.99
Probe choice usually comes down to a
decision based on length versus weight,
with every centimetre mattering in the
search for avalanche burial victims. This
is a tough decision when selecting an
item of gear you hope will stay in the bag,
as those extra centimetres add weight,
but could be the difference between life
and death. Enter the Black Diamond
Carbon range of extremely lightweight
probes. The carbon fibre shaft is as stiff
and strong as aluminium, but weighs significantly less. It also feels
warmer in the hand, although this will barely be a consideration in an
emergency. BD have tinkered with their deployment action and the
latest version is slicker than ever, with everything slotting in to place in
one simple movement straight out of the bag. The tip is protected with
an alloy point that is slightly wider than the shaft, making it easier to
push in and out of packed snow. Bright markings indicate probe depth
in cms. Traditionally, full burials are rare in UK avalanches, but recent
hard winters are changing that view. In the Alps and beyond, 240cm is
considered a minimum length, and Black Diamond makes a 320cm
version too. Weight for 240cm: 271g. LW
■ http://blackdiamondequipment.com
GEAR GUIDE
Mountainteering Ice Tools
IN THE RUN-UP TO WINTER, LUCY WALLACE HAS BEEN HAVING FUN AT HER
LOCAL INDOOR ICE WALL, WHILE GETTING TO GRIPS WITH SOME OF THE BEST
ALL-ROUND TECHNICAL TOOLS ON THE MARKET.
PETZL QUARK ICE AXES £195 EACH
The Quarks are genuinely versatile, at home on both steep ice and technical routes. With various modular components and bolt-on
options, they are customisable and potentially very lightweight - suitable for Alpinists and ice climbers at any grade. My test
pair came with Griprests and Trigrests for leashless climbing, with the standard hammer and adze fitted. The Griprests are
really comfy, but I found that the Trigrest was sore on my small fingers, contributing to a bit of pump. It is useful placed further
up the shaft for swapping hands and daggering. The position of the grip rest is easily adjusted in extremis, or, like all the
bolt-on components, can be removed completely with a hex key.
Moving up the tool, the shaft has a moderate arc for clearing bulges. If these were my own pair I would add extra
grip here for daggering. At the business end is Petzl’s T rated ICE pick. I love that these lightweight tools have such a bomber pick - a big
confidence booster for Scottish routes, where fat ice is rare. It is really aggressive on hard ice, and with a fearsome set of teeth that make
extractions more awkward than some. The hammer and adze supplied are adequate for mountaineering purposes, and can be removed and
a spacer added for ice routes.
And so we come to the nitty gritty; the swing… admission time, like many ice climbers, the quality of my sticks is a work in progress.
Initially when using the Quarks in their basic set-up, my swing felt alarmingly imprecise. I’m used to using heavier tools, and rely on a
bit of additional welly to power my placements. The picks themselves bite the ice beautifully when the placements are good. It is
possible to adapt the Quarks with pick weights, but I didn’t get a chance to try these for this test. However, over the course of a few
climbing sessions, they really grew on me, I got the hang of the balance, enjoying solid placements, and my swing improved too, so I
feel these tools actually taught me something. Weight with adze and hammer is 550g, with everything removed a mere 460g each.
■ www.petzl.com
EDELRID RIOT HAMMER AND ADZE £155 EACH
These modular tools felt well-balanced and comfortable in the hand from the word go. They are excellent
all-rounders - suitable for ice and technical mountaineering, and slightly heavier than the Quarks, at
595g each. The additional weight and narrow shaft contribute to a swift and precise swing, with good
first-time placements. It is possible to add head weights for really hard ice, but I’m not convinced it
would be necessary for most people, unless the adze and hammer were removed for pure ice
climbing (blind washers to replace these are also available). The ergonomic rubber grip is
relatively short - I’d definitely be adding extra grip to the shaft, but the narrow diameter suits my
small hands perfectly. My test pair came with two sizes of hand rest for leashless climbing - easily swapped over
to protect the knuckles of bigger hands. The shaft is a just little straighter than the Quarks, with a gentle curve two
thirds of the way up for negotiating bulges.
At the head, the removable hammer and adze are business-like and efficient. The adze is pretty big for a
technical tool, and is flush with the top of the axe for effective strokes through snow and ice. I like the way that
the flat head sits in a gloved hand; although overall this tool is far from ideal for traditional plunging and
self-arrest, it is more comfortable in this mode than many of its competitors. The T rated pick has a long toothed
edge, with fierce backward facing serrations that ease progressively towards the relatively clean tip.
Overall this is an adaptable pair of tools that will cope with a wide range of routes and gradients, from
technical mountaineering to steep ice. They felt neatly balanced in the hand, with a very forgiving swing for easy
placements. I loved them even before I saw the price, which is good value for a well thought-out set of technical
tools. ■ www.edelrid.de
GEAR GUIDE
Cutting Edge
LUCY WALLACE HAS BEEN CHECKING OUT THE LATEST PRODUCTS FOR
CLIMBERS AND MOUNTAINEERS, AND FINDS THAT THIS SEASON’S INNOVATIVE
GEAR IS LIGHT, TOUGH AND WATER-RESISTANT.
BERGHAUS ULVETANNA HYBRID JACKET £250
This state-of-the-art hybrid down and synthetic insulated jacket is fresh from the MtnHaus design team. Body
mapped zones of Hydrodown (down with a hydrophobic treatment) insulate the core, biceps and top of the head.
Elsewhere Berghaus’s proprietary Hydroloft Elite Pro synthetic fibres help manage moisture and dump heat.
The body mapping is repeated with Quantum Pertex shell around the down areas, and heavier stretch
Microlight Pertex over the synthetic sections. I tested the ladies’ version, taking it out hillwalking and indoor
ice climbing, and found the stretch panels have a versatile fitted shape that layers easily over a soft shell or
under a hardshell. It’s not exceptionally hot, above freezing it works well for lunch stops and standing
around chatting. In more extreme conditions it’s a warm layer for moving about rather than a belay jacket,
and the combination fill copes well with damp and sweat. The low profile fits under a harness, and I found
it offered no hindrance when climbing. At around 340g for the women’s version, it is light and
understated, with elastic cuffs and two torso pockets. The minimalist hood is adjustable and helmetcompatible, but if conditions were really bad I’d be inclined to wear it under rather than over a lid for
extra warmth, which the simple design comfortably allows, with the elastic that frames the face, sealing
in heat. In summary, it’s tough, light, cosy and very versatile: purpose-built for Alpine adventures, and
ideal for UK winter mountaineering too. LW ■ www.berghaus.com
FORCE 10 ALPINE 35 RUCKSACK £90
The Alpine 35 is the mid-size in F10’s new range of waterproof climbing packs, ideal for mountaineering
days, with an external rope storage system. While it retains the classic tube shape that climbers prefer,
there is plenty of innovation to be found in the eye-catching design. Because it is waterproof, the main
compartment is accessed via a backward facing, water-resistant zip rather than draw cord and buckles,
the knock-on effect of which is a lid pocket that flops forward rather than backwards when opening
the main compartment. This alters the balance of the pack when it is propped up on the ground, so
takes a bit of getting used to (don’t drop your rucksack). The harness is Spartan, with an unfussy
stiffened back and soft shoulder straps for a minimalist carry. It’s a unisex design and I’ve found it fits
my narrow frame with no problems. The waist belt is a plain, removable webbing strap, perfect for
wearing with a climbing harness. On the outside are a series of daisy chains and removable straps
that can be used to engineer all sorts of outside storage. The double buckle system on the straps is
unusual, but it means that the straps can be rigged in any way you please, as you are not restricted
to attachment points on the rucksack. I’ve found the rope carrying system works best if you leave
the coils long enough to be lashed in place or threaded with the side compression straps. The
pack is incredibly light at just under a kilo, despite being made of tough 500D waterproof Cordura,
with fully taped seams. I’ve not had it long, but it has already endured two weeks of desert
mountaineering (prickly vegetation) and a week of being dragged through a Scottish bog, and is
holding up well to the abuse. LW ■ www.force-ten.co.uk
TRIED AND TESTED
Tried &
Tested
CHANTELLE KELLY SPOKE TO PROFESSIONAL ROCK CLIMBER ROBBIE
PHILLIPS, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE BRITISH CLIMBING TEAM.
Robbie discovered his love of climbing through
the Duke of Edinburgh Award age 15, and shortly
after joined a climbing club. He began training
regularly with coaches and entered the British
Indoor Climbing Championships as his first
competition, later joining the Great British
Climbing Team to compete nationally and
internationally. Robbie has been climbing for 10
years, visiting some of the world’s top climbing
destinations. He’s sponsored by Edelrid and
Evolv.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIECE OF CLIMBING
EQUIPMENT?
Has to be my beautiful blue Edelrid Anniversary
9.7mm (80m) rope! That thing is a joy to climb
on, slick and lightweight, yet durable. Ropes are
everything in climbing, they save your life.
WHAT IS PARTICULARLY ESSENTIAL TO YOU?
Comfort! Obviously there’s a lot of brands
punting performance and sacrificing comfort for
that edge on your hardest climbs, but why can’t
you have both? My Cyrus is the most comfortable
harness I have ever worn - it did me well sitting in
it for days up a steep mountain cliff in a
thunderstorm. It’s my top choice for hard sport,
trad and Alpine climbing.
WHAT PIECE OF KIT DO YOU OFTEN USE THE
MOST?
Either my chalk bag or my Edelrid Pants (not
underpants!). Although I have eight year-old
sized hands, I have chunky fingers and I can’t fit
my hands in small chalk bags. Edelrid do a bigger
bag with a wide opening that makes quick
chalk-ups easy on hard climbs. My Edelrid Pants
are durable, warm and stylish, and allow
complete range of movement on the wall.
IS THERE A PARTICULAR BRAND YOU ALWAYS
USE, OR WOULD RECOMMEND?
Edelrid are the main brand I use. They have a real
connection with the sport of climbing as a
multi-disciplinary activity, and respect the
transitions between the styles to create some
truly unique products.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN CHOOSING
CLIMBING SHOES; ANY YOU WOULD
RECOMMEND?
There are a few brands that stand out on top, but
for me the one shoe that I have come to rely on
for maximum comfort, durability and
performance is the Evolv Shamans. I
recommended a lot of climbers to these shoes,
and it seems that they are never disappointed. In
particular for sport climbing and bouldering, they
function really well, but I used them with
enormous success on hard granite cracks and
technical Alpine face climbs as well.
For more information about
Robbie Phillips, visit his website:
www.robbiephillips.co.uk, or
follow him on Twitter: @
robbiephillips_
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK.
FILL OUT OUR SHORT READER
SURVEY AND YOU COULD WIN
A GARMIN GPSMAP 64S*
*Garmin GPSMap 64s with Topo UK & Ireland Light
Mapping – RRP £279.99
WWW.MOUNTAINPROMAG.COM/READERSURVEY

the ueli steck interview

Transcription

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