Hard Sends, Alpine Drama, The Monument and New Cabins
A famous Ontario roof crack gets another repeat, and a Quebec crusher throws down in Rifle
Shoulder season often means late-season sends of summer-long projects, new ice and mixed routes and gyms getting busier. There’s a lot going on and these are just a few noteworthy things, beyond Janja Garnbret onsighting two 5.15b sport routes, and Jacopo Larcher making the first ascents of two hard crack climbs in Italy. And if you’re wondering, here’s who won at the Banff Film Festival.
Quebec crusher Annie Chouinard has sent Class Act 5.14a at Rifle. The top Canadian sport climber is not new to the 5.14 game, with ticks of Pure Imagination 5.14c at Red River Gorge, and Sha Sha 5.14a at Orford in Quebec. Read about her process on the test-piece Colorado route that she climbed in hot temps.
In Ontario, Dustin Johnston-Jewell repeated the uber classic Monument 5.12d. Local climber and photographer William Tam, said, “Congratulations Dustin on sending The Monument, Ontario’s legendary roof crack. The history and lore around this route is impressive but even more amazing is how few ascents it has. This was a standout year with The Monument seeing three known ascents, congrats to all!”
This year saw land go up for sale near the crag Mainface at Musquodoboit in Nova Scotia. Climbers were worried access could be threatened. Adam Benjamin recently announced: “It won’t happen overnight but my cousin Tamuno Cookey and myself are starting a new venture with the recently purchased land at Mainface. Nothing we are planning will negatively influence your current access, but I do have some ideas that will benefit your access. I won’t get into that now but as things get going I may reach out for a hand. Thank you all for the support.” You can follow along on the project below.
The world of alpine climbing is full of tragedies, triumphs, epics and drama. This week saw the first ascent of an often-tried massive mixed route in the Himalayas. Tom Livingstone and Matt Glenn made the first ascent of the huge north pillar of Tengkangpoche (6,487 m) in in the Khumbu Valley of Nepal. After their first ascent, many said that they scooped their buddies Quentin Roberts and Jesse Huey, and used some of their fixed gear. Climbers from around the world chirped in with their opinions about the ethics of big mountain climbing. At the end of the day, Livingstone wrote some thoughts about things here, and Roberts posted about the high-energy debates surrounding the ascent below.
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