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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 1, 2016 - 12:01pm PT
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Thomas has made a remarkable recovery and is going back to Latok 1 to establish a route on the north face. There have been over 27 failed attempts to establish a route on the north side of Latok since our 1978 epic.
I feel that Thomas, along with Anton Gutsch and Sebastian Brutscher, has an excellent chance to seize what has become the Holy Grail of alpine climbing and I, along with George Lowe, want to be there to witness it.
While George and I want to be there for historical perspective we won't just be sitting on our butts. We hope, along with Thom Englebach, to establish our own new route on one of the surrounding technical 6,000 meter peaks.
It's been 38 years since I left the Latok/Ogre cirque which, I believe, is the most beautiful mountain Amphitheatre on the planet.....pretty psyched!!! We leave on 8/11 and return on 10/4.
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Porkchop_express
Trad climber
Springdale, UT
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This is super exciting news! Best of luck out there! Would love to see this go down with everyone there to witness.
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The Lisa
Trad climber
Da Bronx, NY
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Have an amazing trip!
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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From all I've read, both the Huber's are beasts so it's probably no surprise Thomas is ready to go. I'm stoked for each and every one of the crew that this came together. Good luck to everyone!
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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Have a great time!!!
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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27 failed attempts, eh?
If anyone can do it, it's Thomas. He made the second ascent of the Ogre after a mere 26 failed attempts, so what's one more.
Good luck, buddy!
Cheers, eh?
"Piton"
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EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
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Age is just a number... eh, Mr. Donini.
I'm in awe of your staying power and lofty endeavors.
Good luck.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Best of luck to you, Jim, and to the Huber expedition. I look forward to hearing about great things.
John
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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we'll leave a light on for you
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Reeotch
climber
4 Corners Area
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And fer God's sake . . .
Be Careful!
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ecdh
climber
the east
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I rarely do, but both trips i will be avidly keeping an eye out for. Exciting stuff.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Good luck and best wishes to all involved.
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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Pretty psyched. Indeed.
Loved the impression that came across of Huber in the film about the Yosemite aid route.
Incidental Wall? Recondite Wall?
Whoops!
Had him confused with Tomaž Humar.
Huber is alright, too. Either of them.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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May the road rise up to meet you.
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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^^^^^^^^^^^
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 1, 2016 - 05:52pm PT
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You can see our highpoint indicated by the yellow line. A Norwegian team reached a point 2,000 vertical feet lower.....the highest by anyone since our climb.
Thomas has a good battle plan and the GUNS to do it.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 1, 2016 - 06:13pm PT
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Already packed....thank heavens the Jaoanese have figured out how to dehydrate wine!
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Jim, you are an inspiration. Safe travels!
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Have a great trip, Jim. We are all rooting for you!
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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climate change asterisk
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Woot!
Just kidding Jim. Good luck to the team, have fun and be safe.
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Nick
climber
portland, Oregon
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You sir, are a steely eyed mountain man.
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jim! Best wishes for a "significant-sufferfest" & remember to come back with your story.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Good luck Jim. What a grand adventure.
Oddly enough I was thinking of this route (not of climbing it myself of course) a few weeks ago.
Have a great time. Post up when you can.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Yer gonna die, n00b.
Someone had to tell ya.
Yep, the Grim Reaper's comin' fer ya, Mr. Spray. :0)
Bestoluk II's North Face might be an easier choice, but it's yer life.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 1, 2016 - 07:45pm PT
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Come on mouse, you know Bestoluks a walkup. Besides, since it's the 666th highest peak, the lines of climbers on it are atrocious. Half of the Exum Guides are there right now.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Best of luck to both parties, Jim!
You guys do it!
(Can't wait for the TR either)!
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steve s
Trad climber
eldo
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Best of luck to the teams! Sounds like a great adventure. Jim, keep an eye on the " mission " for us and don't let him near any "tickets"!!!!' Pull down. Now puke!
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rick sumner
Trad climber
reno, nevada/ wasilla alaska
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Best of luck to both teams. A slight regret though that the old men of the mountain are not to be the ones to solve one of the greatest alpine problems on earth. What an inspiration that would be.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Enjoy it man, even the suffering. By now you probably know that better than most if not everyone on this planet.
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Have a great trip,
We all eagerly await your TR
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Very cool! Go kick ass!
Watch out for the third street tunnel, you'll think you are a mole.
Stay light, not solid!
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Best of luck to all.
Didn't realize the highest point reached since BITD was 2000' lower.
Puts your awesome effort into perspective.
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canyoncat
Social climber
SoCal
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Listen here young man, we'll expect you home by curfew!
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FBrewster
Trad climber
Foresta, CA
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good luck jim!!!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Can't wait to read about it! All the best and return safe and happy, all of you!
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PolishClimber
Trad climber
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I wish you great luck and excellent weather!
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Best of luck Jim. If you are successful--names in the guide book.....--you can start counting your age backward, or so I've heard.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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What a team! Good skill set amongst these three. Good luck!
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mudrock
climber
Eastside
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Very best to all. Most especially veriest very best to Toni Gutsch who I shared a short ambulance ride with a few years ago. * GO TONI *
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 8, 2016 - 06:33pm PT
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We fly out on 8/11 and return 10/4. Probably no info. until we return. We're way psyched....seven full weeks with no election news!
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Tom Patterson
Trad climber
Seattle
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seven full weeks with no election news!
Sure, the setting and the climbing will be stellar, but this is a huge perc!
Best wishes, donini!
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zBrown
Ice climber
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All the best to you two.
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hellroaring
Trad climber
San Francisco
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Aug 10, 2016 - 08:20am PT
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Damn! What a trip!! To the whole team have fun-suffer some, be safe-balls out. Jim life is to live & adventure. Your glass is full & overflowing!
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Aug 10, 2016 - 10:28am PT
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Looks like a nice 5.6 ridge scramble in the next photo up, done before noon. I've so never been on anything like that - I have no idea...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 10, 2016 - 11:07am PT
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I fly out of Denver at 6:00 am tomorrow and return on 10/5...let the games begin!
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Aug 10, 2016 - 11:20am PT
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Good luck! I'll have to give George a call.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Aug 10, 2016 - 12:27pm PT
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Good luck, have fun, and stay low.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Aug 10, 2016 - 01:02pm PT
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seven full weeks with no election news!
That is a gift in itself. I'm so sick of that crap.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Aug 10, 2016 - 02:19pm PT
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Have a fun and safe trip Jim. Jim B is healing up I'll fill him in when I see/talk to him next.
Peace
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Aug 31, 2016 - 03:58am PT
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Fast bump,
Energy and light
thinkin' of the pairs Gettin after it - may the strong be strong,
Fresh LEGs and peaceful sunrises,
prayers for all that are going and very well deserved coming home for all.
Here is what I found I'll add the link if I can
http://blogs.dw.com/adventuresports/2016/08/13/thomas-huber-pakistan/
Cut and pasted,[quote
Thomas Huber: “I’ll travel with a laughing heart”
Thomas Huber will set off again
Thomas Huber will set off again
Incredible – that describes Thomas Huber’s current life quite aptly. No wonder that the 49-year-old German top climber uses this word very often when we talk on the phone. Thomas was, as he himself says, “incredibly lucky” when he survived his 16-meter-fall from a rock face on 5 July. He recovered so “incredibly fast” that he – as initially planned before his fall – will shortly go “with incredible joy” on expedition to Pakistan. Truly incredible! The aim of the travel is the north side of the 7,145-meter-high granite giant Latok I in the Karakoram. Huber’s team includes Toni Gutsch – who, in 1997, first climbed the West Face of Latok II (7108 m) along with the Huber brothers and US climber Conrad Anker – and Sebastian Brutscher.
Legendary failure
The German trio will share their Base Camp with the Americans George Henry Lowe, Jim Donini and Thomas R. Engelbach who want to climb a bit on the six-thousanders in this area. Lowe and Donini, both now older than 70, made history on Latok I in 1978: Along with George’s cousin Jeff Lowe and Michael Kennedy, they opened the route via the Latok I North Ridge. 150 meters below the summit they had to turn back in a storm. “The most remarkable failure in alpine history”, Thomas Huber says appreciately. The four US climbers spend 26 (!) days in a row on the ridge before they returned completely exhausted, but safely to Base Camp.
Thomas during hypoxia training
Thomas during hypoxia training
Thomas, you’ll leave shortly to Pakistan, only a few weeks after your 16-meter-fall and surgery on your head? How can that work?
It was a skull fracture, which was fixed so that I could expect no permanent damage. We then made some medical tests, working with neurologists. I prepared myself for high altitude with a special program by Markus Goebel. By reducing oxygen you can thereby simulate altitudes of up to 6,000 meters. We have repeatedly measured the brainwaves and made MRIs. The result: It had no effect on my brain, no edema have developed. The doctors have given me a so-called “self-reliant release.” They said: “Thomas, in the end it’s up to you to decide it.” I have prepared step by step for this moment. Actually I haven’t been thinking of the expedition, I simply wanted to recover. With the energy that I have received from outside, from my personal environment, I recovered so incredibly fast that I now have the courage to start this expedition. I say yes to this expedition. But nobody has to worry about me. I have also the courage to say no at any moment. If I feel that it doesn’t work physically, I’ll say no.
You meanwhile did some climbs again. How did it feel?
Still a bit shaky. The three (broken) spinous processes of vertebrae have still not grown together optimally. I have to be patient. But I am already able again to carry a backpack. I climbed along with my son through the Watzmann East Face, via the “Wiederroute” up to the central summit. I also did a lot of mountain running. I can do all this without pain, without vertigo, without headache. Only the asymmetric strain of my back while climbing is still a bit painful from time to time.
Has the inner cinema started when you climbed, in the sense that you remembered your fall?
Only once for a short time. There is an automatic role in our climbing hall. After you have climbed up, you sit down in a loose strap and are moved back down to the floor. There I hesitated for a short moment. I looked down, 15 meters, exactly the height I had fallen down. First I climbed back. My daughter was with me and said: “Next time you sit down!” I did, and it was fine. If I am belayed, I have no problems. The fall happened because the rope was a non-standard one, it had been cut off. I was incredibly lucky and I gratefully accepted it. Therefore I have no nightmares or inner cinema in the sense that I would think: “Oh God, what happened?” I am grateful and happy that I am still alive and can look forward. For me this now means going to Latok I. I am still far from thinking of a summit success. Maybe I’ll reach the top, maybe not.
The North Face of Latok I
The North Face of Latok I
Actually the mountaineering season in the Karakoram is coming to an end. Why are you so late?
The Latok I North Face gets a lot of sunshine, because it also has an east component. From 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. there is constantly sun. Therefore we decided to go in fall, when the sun is much lower. Only when the wall is in the shadow, you have a chance to climb through it. Otherwise it’s impossible. I have looked at the weather information. There is also acceptable weather in fall, and it’s just colder.
You have now spoken about the North Face, earlier reports said you wanted to complete the route via the North Ridge. What exactly are you planning to do?
There is always far too much talk in advance. You have to face the wall, and then you take exactly the way that seems to you the coolest and best. Perhaps the North face is possible, maybe the North Ridge is the only possible way in this time of the year and in these conditions. You always have to be flexible. If you focus too much on a single goal on such a mountain, leaving no alternatives, you will most likely come back without summit success. On such mountains you may have a plan, but then you have to look for new ways, because the conditions are constantly changing.
Thomas at Latok I in 2015
Thomas at Latok I in 2015
Regardless of whether the North Face or the North Ridge of Latok I, both were too hard nuts to crack for dozens of expeditions. Is it possible at all to speak about a chance of success on the north side of this mountain?
No, you can’t. But in mountaineering it’s itching to go where many have failed before. That’s why I back then went to the Ogre, an incredible mountain. (In 2001, Thomas succeeded, along with Swiss climbers Urs Stoecker and Iwan Wolf, the second ascent of the 7,285 meter-high-mountain in the Karakoram). Similarly, I see the Latok I North Face. This is a very nice goal. Perhaps inspired by the fact that so many did not make it, you think you climb it first due to your experience, your skills, maybe your luck. That’s enormously attractive.
Do you think that you’ll now, after your fall, enjoy even more to be on the road, regardless of whether you’ll be successful or not?
I’ll travel there with incredible joy. It is a tremendous gift. Whether I get to the top of Latok I or not, the very fact to be under way now at that place is beyond all description. I take this joy and energy with me. Sometimes you have to leave behind the high expectations and say: “Now I no longer think of what I want to achieve, I just go on my journey and engage in the project.” I have a wonderful team. And I believe that if this energy is setting up a dynamic process you can do crazy and great things. But even if I return home without summit success, I will do it with a laughing heart, because I may be healthy again – and wild.
Date 13. August 2016 | 9:17
Tags Brutscher, Donini, Fall, Gutsch, Huber brothers, Huberbuam, Latok I, Lowe, North Face, North Ridge, Thomas Huber
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Aug 31, 2016 - 02:54pm PT
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Given the news that the Lotok l, team is helping to co-ordinate the search
I'll bump this.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2866806/EMERGENCY-RESCUE-for-Scott-Adamson-Kyle-Dempster
I was struck at dawn here - east cost 5am -(spent some time searching)-
with the need to send vibes that way
So the bump from the page I don't follow it.
Just as I say all light and love that way ~ to the swirling mists ~
May the strong be strong and all find fresh legs and calm skies....
I did not see the lost climbers notice, "making the rounds on social media" this morning but now that I've read up on it a bit.
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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Aug 31, 2016 - 04:08pm PT
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Hey Gnome. I don't know if this the right thread for all the dope you're posting.
Thanks for keeping us up to date, though.
Mega props to Big D and the lads for canceling thier own goals.
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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Sep 30, 2016 - 04:51pm PT
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Bump!
Welcome back Mr donini! How did it go?
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| Messages 1 - 56 of total 56 in this topic |
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