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Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 9:51 pm
by thespiffy
Never heard of this route, I had to look it up. (Hummingbird Ridge)

I found a picture of the route in The American Alpine Journal;

http://books.google.com/books?id=_bRSqS ... te&f=false

:shock:

Edited to add below comment;

I was in a local shop last night, picked up A31 and thumbed through it. I landed right on a page discussing Mt Logan and it also touches on the Hummingbird Ridge route if anyone is interested.

Table of contents can be found here; http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP31

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 12:43 am
by Tangeman
Mr Leghorn wrote:The one that has a route composed of pure diamond. So hard that pitons were never able to be inserted, and other than the fracture crack which ascends the entire route, it is a shear un-weathered wall which is as smooth as glass. I have heard rumors in the climbing community that De Beers Diamonds wanted to mine the rare vein worth over 500 trillion US dollars, but it and it's location is protected. Only climbers who know someone who can tell them how to get there are aware of it, and anyone who publicly divulges the location may be killed. I may have said too much already.


Now I feel like I know too much...

Hey, I've never seen that car in this neighborhood before...

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 1:35 am
by Ski Mountaineer
Impossible to tell. A personal "favourite" of mine is the climb of the Shinning Wall, Gasherbrum IV, by Schauer & Kurtyka.

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 2:20 am
by JHH60
thespiffy wrote:Never heard of this route, I had to look it up. (Hummingbird Ridge)

I found a picture of the route in The American Alpine Journal;

http://books.google.com/books?id=_bRSqS ... te&f=false

:shock:


There are plenty of other routes in North America which are technically harder but none with higher commitment level (or so say some pretty good alpine climbers, like Jeff Lowe). Mugs Stump and Jim Logan, who later made the first ascent of the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson, were among those who tried to repeat it and were turned back.

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:33 am
by Noondueler
JasonH wrote:Image
Why, that's not a mountain! That's a can of phylum annelida! Maybe you needhttp://www.fishing.com/

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 2:18 pm
by adventurer
The West Face Direct route on K2

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:24 pm
by JHH60
Mr Leghorn wrote:The one that has a route composed of pure diamond. So hard that pitons were never able to be inserted, and other than the fracture crack which ascends the entire route, it is a shear un-weathered wall which is as smooth as glass. I have heard rumors in the climbing community that De Beers Diamonds wanted to mine the rare vein worth over 500 trillion US dollars, but it and it's location is protected. Only climbers who know someone who can tell them how to get there are aware of it, and anyone who publicly divulges the location may be killed. I may have said too much already.


Unfortunately Mr. Fitgerald gave away the location to that one back in the '20s. It's in Montana and owned by the Washington family...

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/diamond/diamond.html

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:48 pm
by Arthur Digbee
JasonH wrote:
Vitaliy M wrote:Whitney trail is the toughest in lower 48 duh!

Nope, it's Mount Sunflower when the cows are in heat.


Mt. Sunflower Sea-to-Summit Route has never been done.

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:55 pm
by JasonH
Arthur Digbee wrote:
JasonH wrote:
Vitaliy M wrote:Whitney trail is the toughest in lower 48 duh!

Nope, it's Mount Sunflower when the cows are in heat.


Mt. Sunflower Sea-to-Summit Route has never been done.


I did it in 3 hours. I have the sunburn to prove it.

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:58 pm
by chugach mtn boy
mattski wrote:have a read threw this. some of them seem pritty hard

http://www.mountainz.co.nz/content/article/news.php

I did and I read this:
Climbers will be expected to carry the poo pots on climbs and walk-ins for which they reasonably expect to be away from a hut for 2 hours or longer. DOC will monitor the scheme by requiring climbers to present poo pots when signing in or out of the park. There will also be occasional spot checks at track ends.

Those NZ climbers are better men than I am, I tell you. :shock:

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 10:49 am
by dadndave
I'll chuck in the Kangshung face of Chomolungma/Everest.

As I understand it, it has only ever been climbed once - and even then only as far as the South Col and with only one member of the party actually continuing to the summit from the Col (Venables).

So a diretissima to the summit would really be something to write home about - especially without oxygen, and of course, solo, but since that hasn't been done, I suppose that's off topic.

Edit: My mistake. It's actually been climbed twice, and it seems that the first (1983) may have been by a more direct route (ie, not via the col). I can't find too much in the way of details though. ( Momb, Buhler, Reichardt summited on 8 October, 1983. Lowe, Reid, Cassell summited 9th October. I have no details on the route taken.

More googling required....

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:35 am
by Damien Gildea
dadndave wrote: It's actually been climbed twice ....


Make that four times. The 1983 American route takes the obvious huge buttress on the left of the face. The climbing down low on the rocky part is some of the hardest technical climbing ever done on Everest. Unrepeated.

The 1988 Anglo-American route takes the shorter slope further left again, up to the South Col. This route has been repeated twice - first by Chileans, then again by an Indian team. Both found the route in quite different condition to the FA.

There have been several other attempts over the years. Koreans tried a few years ago. Pierre Beghin had a plan to solo a new route on it but died (Annapurna '92) before he could try. In 1994 Vaseline sponsored Sandy Hill Pittman (Everest '96 fame) to attempt it, guided by Alex Lowe, Barry Blanchard and David Breashears, but they found it too dangerous. There has been a few others, none getting very high ...

D

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:53 am
by dadndave
Cheers Damien,

I found a reference to a 2005 attempt but can't find details, either of the climbers or whether it was successful.

I see what you're saying about those buttresses. The crux is at the bottom - and that's if you ignore the obvious avalanche danger.

Mallory apparently checked out Kangshung in the 20's and remarked that it was best left to those "less wise"

Do you have more info?

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 2:31 pm
by Damien Gildea
Yes Mallory and others saw it a lot as they came in from that side (walked from Darjeeling!), and in later years climbed many of the peaks in that area NE of Everest itself (Kharta Kangri etc).

The Americans, led by Andy Harvard, actually went there in 1981, but failed, so went back (sans Harvard) in '83. I think Ed Hillary also went in on the '81 trip, just to BC, but got AMS. John Roskelley was also on one of these trips but left as he felt it was too dangerous and did not want to use O2.

The '83 team eventually used a rocket to fire a line up the buttress to mechanically haul loads. That buttress, now known as the Lowe Buttress, as George Lowe led most of it, looks terrible to climb. And those upper snow slopes just look like a huge crap shoot. Not surprising it's unrepeated. Lou Reichardt's summit meant that he is the only(?) person to have summited via new routes on both Everest and K2.

All this is just off the top of my head, too tired to reach for the library ;-) The 2005 attempt might have been Cathy O'Dowd and her partner, but they never made much impression on the face, trying a line on the right hand side, underneath the Fantasy Ridge, I think. I believe the Koreans were trying the 1988 route, around 1999 or so.

The Chilean ascent in '92 was funny as it comprised some of the country's best climbers, but another lone Chilean was part of an international group on the normal S Col route at the same time. They ended up going for the summit the same day and the Kangshung guys were going crazy trying to get in front, so that the first Chilean ascent of Everest would be by them, by the better route. They didn't think much of the other guy ;-) And I think they did just manage to get one of their guys ahead, and he was shouting abuse at the normal-route-guy on the last section to the summit! :-)

I was wrong before about four ascents - it's three, as the Indians I was thinking of did not summit, they got to around 7000m on the 1988 route.

Should also mention that on the '94 attempt Steve Swenson was also on the team, and after they bailed, he went around to the now-normal North Ridge route, joined up with Eric Simonson's team, and summited without O2, becoming one of the few people to have summited both Everest and K2 from their northern routes without O2.

Another trip most don't know about is that months after the 1988 ascent, another team including a young Ed Viesturs tried a separate line but failed really low down.

Seems teams either summit, or get nowhere ...

Re: whats the hardest mountain climbing route in the world

PostPosted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:40 pm
by SpiderSavage
This is one of those dumb questions that junior high kids ask.

Like: Duh, would your rather get shot in the leg with a .44 magnum or a 12 gauge with a slug?