Tag: secret project

JAPAN'S BEST ALPINE TRIPS BEGIN HERE

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KAIKOMAGATAKE O-REN TANI & LOST KINGDOM

IT’S THE YEAR WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR. DRY & COLD, THE FLANKS OF KAIKOMAGATAKE ARE IN THE BEST CONDITION THEY HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS WITH GOOD ICE EVERYWHERE. ANYONE LOOKING TO GO INTO KAIKOMAGATAKES ‘LOST KINGDOM’ IS ADVISED TO SADDLE UP. THE APPROACH HAS CHANGED, MAKING IT QUICKER WITH LESS WANDERING AROUND, AND ICE FALLS…
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TIBETAN BIG WALL EXPEDITIONS 2018

2018 sees a series of climbing expeditions to the wildest objectives we can conjure, including a return to the North Eastern Tibetan plateau. after several visits and always stopping to stare, this year we have all the pieces aligned for attempts on several unnamed 5500m – 6000m peak and  walls across eastern Tibet. evolution in access,…
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ICE CLIMBING JAPAN 2018/19 ROAD TRIP

THE 2018/19 ICE CLIMBING JAPAN SEASON WILL BE ON THE ROAD 3 weeks, 100s of kms, dozens of ice climbing locations departing from our usual way of doing things, this upcoming winter will use the climbing mainstay – the road trip. rolling the length of Honshu, this is the ice climbing aficionados trip going thru…
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10 years ago, Sichuan

10 years ago the Sichuan quake changed everything. massive death and destruction obviously – 80,000 killed – but it galvanized iceclimbingjapan. wed been there just weeks before and we went back again, along with other climbers both Chinese and foreign. its this event that turned us into the punkish, outward looking outfit ICJ has become,…
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2017 EXPEDITION – CENTRAL ASIA

TO THE HEART OF CENTRAL ASIA, THIS IS EXPEDITIONS 1910 STYLE Must have; Well developed sense of humor, curiosity and resolve Previous expedition experience with unsupported approaches, alpine climbing and remote areas Navigation experience Desirable; Desert experience Central Asia experience Glaciological expertise Dates August 19 – 30. Confirm by May Members will be joining a…
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‘Standing Room Only’; Xialong Rezha, First Ascent, 5625m, Sichuan/Tibet

Xialongrezha west face. Pitches 1 – 4 continue obscured below the fin of rock. 12 pitches, Russian alpine grade 5A (Scottish IV, M4, some pitches run out, some simu-climbed or soloed). 650m. descent by rappelling the route. Photo: Rob Baker During unbroken perfect weather from late October to early November we made the first ascent…
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CHINA CLIMBING PERMITS: HOW, WHAT, WHY

despite not being the best weather window, now is the time when many climbing teams head to Sichuan to climb. seeing the region as a blossoming frontier – and in a way it still is – teams unfamiliar with the mechinations of China show up thinking things will be like Nepal, or Pakistan, or Kyrgyzstan…
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BBC EASTERN TIBET ARTICLE

its not often much comes up on Tibetan areas in the BBC, but sure enough, heres a pretty good article describing some of the modern lifestyles out there, very close to some areas we climb in. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36938787 they get much of the general overview pretty good, helping to dispel some of the persistent myths about…
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EAST FACE OF MAEHOTAKADAKE: BUGS, HEAT & SUMMER ICE

you dont hear much about the east face of Maehotakadake (3090M). the north ridge is a classic alpine techy scramble, and a panoramic trail crests its top, but the big, jagged, looming east face is usually little much more than an ominous view as people go past it on the way to other things. with…
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WILL GADD UNEDITED Q#2

Q: how much of the evolution of your climbing has been planned progression? and how much has been random opportunity? WG: I’ve always just wanted to go climbing. When I was in high school I climbed as many days as possible during climbing season, and that’s still true today. I never thought about it as…
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