Mons obscurum

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Messages 1 - 36 of total 36 in this topic
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 1, 2017 - 10:00am PT

All more obscure than Lembert Dome but worthy of attention. Like I say...it’s a big world out there.
Serve up some of your obscure gems!
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Dec 1, 2017 - 12:19pm PT
[photoid=517189]
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Dec 1, 2017 - 12:20pm PT
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Dec 1, 2017 - 12:21pm PT
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Dec 1, 2017 - 12:23pm PT
& donini raises the bar even higher...
jgill

Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
Dec 1, 2017 - 12:44pm PT

Lankins Dome: Used to be one of my favorite soloing areas.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 1, 2017 - 02:45pm PT
You bet they’re okay johnokner I’m going to bump this daily with a new picture for the nexr week to keep it fresh.
norm larson

climber
wilson, wyoming
Dec 1, 2017 - 02:53pm PT
norm larson

climber
wilson, wyoming
Dec 1, 2017 - 02:55pm PT
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Dec 1, 2017 - 03:51pm PT
Great photos folks. I want to play too!






donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 2, 2017 - 04:20pm PT

Daily bump for climbing content. Not an obscure peak in the background but the 6000 meter peak Thomas is standing on sure is.
MH2

Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
Dec 2, 2017 - 05:21pm PT
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Dec 5, 2017 - 08:47pm PT
bump
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2017 - 08:57pm PT
Thanks mouse...here is a ST climbing content injection.
Delhi Dog

climber
Good Question...
Dec 5, 2017 - 09:05pm PT
Donini save the day again!





BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Dec 5, 2017 - 09:20pm PT
Wewie cavemonkey, that shet looks seck!!
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
Dec 5, 2017 - 09:24pm PT

Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Dec 5, 2017 - 09:29pm PT
Mons Obscurum peaks on an "alternate" route towards Machu Picchu in 2007.

I never did figure out where we were on a map, or if the peaks were named.

Our highest pass was 15,100' & the inviting peaks were only two or three thousand vertical feet above it.




The night before the pass, we did have good views of a big peak to the south, or was it north? It was hell for me to be with a guided group of very competent Peruvian Indians that didn't need, or have maps for whitey.



On the positive side, our group of 4 friends had the last-moment surprise addition of a Lehman Brothers 25 year old Investment Banker, to our private trek. He suffered a night of altitude-sickness at our 12,500' camp & went down the next morning, while we old farts treked on.

We were not heart-broken.



donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2017 - 09:39pm PT
He went down as did Lehman Brothers...you had divested yourself no doubt.
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Dec 5, 2017 - 10:03pm PT
Jim! Per your comment:
He went down as did Lehman Brothers...you had divested yourself no doubt.

He was the nicest Lehman Brothers investment banker I had ever met. Unfortunately, he had never been higher than Aspen CO., & after I gave him a pep-talk on altitude sickness, & he suffered a little in Cuzco, he became somewhat obsessive on the subject.

After he suffered all night at 12,500', he was slumped over & green, leaning on his tent the next morning. Heidi popped out of our tent, all frisky & fun, walked over to him & asked:

"Are you going to die boy?"

He went down soon after, then re-appeared at Machu Picchua, & he & the head guide, whose big tip had likely suffered, hated on us for the next few days of our tour.

Then Lehman Brothers went down early the next year. Poor kid. I bet he's making less than a million a year these days.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Dec 5, 2017 - 10:07pm PT



Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
Dec 5, 2017 - 10:14pm PT
Sufferfest City . . . take your pick, she really wants to know you.

Nice images all.
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
Dec 5, 2017 - 10:18pm PT

BLUEBLOCR

Social climber
joshua tree
Dec 5, 2017 - 10:24pm PT
Ghost,

SENSATIONAL.
Lituya

Mountain climber
Dec 18, 2017 - 12:28am PT
Fritz, picture number 4 looks like Veronica. Number two, I think, is a shoulder of Salkantay.
Lituya

Mountain climber
Dec 18, 2017 - 12:30am PT

Kate's Needle on the skyline.
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
Dec 18, 2017 - 06:54am PT
Some desert obscura from the Great Basin - not as big or spectacular, but pretty cool in their own right.
MikeL

Social climber
Southern Arizona
Dec 18, 2017 - 07:08am PT
Wonderful images, Donini. Improbable looking formations sometimes.

Does anyone have a handle on the history of the geology down there? You know, like one for dummies?
COT

climber
Door Number 3
Dec 18, 2017 - 01:12pm PT
Jim posted a few pictures from the Avellano region near his home in Chile. I have been there a few times with mixed success. Here is a video and write up of my 2015 trip. The 3,000+ foot South Avellano Tower is still waiting for an ascent. Go get it!

https://vimeo.com/124764182
https://thesummitregister.com/climbing-the-avellano-towers-of-patagonia/


CLIMBING THE AVELLANO TOWERS OF PATAGONIA

I first visited the Patagonia region of South America in 1999. I spent several seasons climbing some of the classic lines in the Fitzroy and Cerro Torre Massifs. In this time period there were no weather forecasts available and climbers simply hoped for good weather windows that would allow them to ascend the striking towers and spires. I learned about the importance of staying motivated through the weeks and weeks of wind rain and snow. I also loved the camaraderie shared between the climbers from different countries and with different abilities. However, the increasing number of tourists and climbers as well as the development of the town of Chalten was, in my opinion, removing the wildness from the experience.

In 2004, a Chilean friend Nacho Grez invited me to explore a remote part of southern Chile that he said contained large unclimbed granite walls. We carried all our gear and food along the rugged 20 mile approach and then endured really bad weather even by Patagonia standards. By the end of our three week expedition we stood on top of the North Avellano Tower (5.10 IV, 75 degrees). Rain and snow of the approaching winter season eventually drove us out of the valley, but not before I glimpsed a massive 3,000+ ft tower at the south end of the range. I knew I would be back.

In 2013 my partner Szu-ting Yi and I started making plans to return to the Avellano Range. We recruited Jared Spaulding and Matt Hartman to join us. On January 1, 2015 Szu-ting and I flew to Chile and rendezvoused with Matt and Jared in the resort town of Coyhaique. This year we decided to approach the mountains from the southwest, starting at the small town of Bahia Murta on the shores of Lake General Carrera. On the map this approach was much shorter than the one I used in 2004. We would quickly learn that shorter does not necessarily mean easier or faster.

On January 5 we began shuttling our food and supplies into the mountains, along a rugged “cow trail,” then bush-whacked up a small river, continued up steep rock slabs to tree line where we made our basecamp. From there we continued around beautiful alpine lake which was fed by a calving glacier on the north side. We crossed a loose scree and boulders to reach the col separating the east and west Avellano valleys and then descended a 1,500ft snow slope to reach the base of the South Avellano Tower. We ended up carrying 600lbs of supplies and food over 80 miles. To say the approach was a grueling, somewhat dangerous endeavor would be a great understatement, but then again such things should be expected in wild Patagonia!

On January 19, under clear skies we started up the imposing north face of the South Avellano Tower. The rock was high quality fine granite reminiscent of Yosemite. However, there were few crack systems and those we did find were choked with grass and moss making placing climbing protection difficult. We climbed approximately 1,500ft reaching a large ledge system. Unfortunately, above there were no continuous crack systems to follow. We tried climbing on the left then right side of the ledge, but without placing bolts (we chose not to bring expansion bolts) our route was not climbable and we were forced to retreat.

With our food running low we decided to climb a tower we called the Tooth that was on the way out of the Avellanos. On January 21 the good weather was turning bad as we started up the striking granite peak. As we climbed up the coarse granite cracks a group of giant Andean Condors circled above us, playing in the wind of the approaching storm. Being scavengers, the condors were hoping we would lose our grip on the mountain and provide them with an easy meal. We disappointed the birds and Jared and Matt safely reached the summit of the Tooth (Filo Suroeste 5.10, 1000ft).

While we didn’t reach the summit of the South Avellano Tower, I am very proud of our effort. We persevered through a challenging approach that would have stopped most expedition long before they even reach the mountains. We worked well as a team, stayed safe and relatively healthy and walked out of the mountains as friends excited for our next adventure.

Brandon-

climber
The Granite State.
Dec 18, 2017 - 01:25pm PT
DD, is that the Todra Gorge? I've always wanted to check that place out.
David Knopp

Trad climber
CA
Dec 18, 2017 - 09:24pm PT
NickD i love the Hot Creek area-spent a bunch of time doing archaeological surveying with the USFS, found so much stuff we had to stop-arrowheads of all sizes, wickiups, fire pits, petroglyphs unloose slabs. There's a spot n of there called Horse Heaven, i think it's the prettiest place in my memory-very obscure-that part of NV can be yours all alone...
Lituya

Mountain climber
Dec 18, 2017 - 10:22pm PT
Fritz, same peak as in your photo only from the Moray area. Veronica is nineteen thousand something feet.

Delhi Dog

climber
Good Question...
Dec 18, 2017 - 10:29pm PT
DD, is that the Todra Gorge?

No, the first two images (and they do look very much like Todra!) are in Oman.
You'll see the entrance just up the road from Tanuf in the link below.
http://www.google.co.in/maps/@23.057637,57.4834378,8987m/data=!3m1!1e3

The 3rd + 4th are in Morocco and very close to Todra though.

The last is K2 from the plane. One a side note when the steward saw me taking photos out the window he told me to stop that is wasn't allowed ('cuz that was Pakistan and we were still in Indian airspace-hah).

edit: if you do get a chance there is a shitload of NR climbing in both Oman + Morocco!
Larry Nelson

Social climber
Mar 3, 2018 - 09:03am PT
Bump for great photos
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Mar 3, 2018 - 09:12am PT
pretty awesome everyone.. altitude sikness sucks and sometimes you get it even when you train like hell....
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Mar 3, 2018 - 10:36am PT
Jim had a shot of the Avellano Towers, making the following TR link of interest: https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2018/03/british_and_irish_first_ascents_in_chilean_patagonia-71498.
Messages 1 - 36 of total 36 in this topic
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