Video: Slacklining With Dean Potter

Where do you go to get a thrill after you've climbed some of the toughest rock routes in the world? If you're Dean Potter, you move on to slacklining. In the video below, Dean is walking a tight wire, more than a 100 feet long, across an open chasm in Yosemite, without any kind of safety device. One misstep, and it is a long fall to the ground below. Crazy stuff, as usual, from Dean.

I'm not sure I get the whole slacklining/highlining craze. It seems like you're just asking for trouble. Still, the video is unnerving the watch, I'll grant you that.

On Assignment In Yosemite With Jimmy Chin

I came across this fantastic video this morning while reading Backcountry.com's The Goat Blog. Created by the talented folks over at the Camp 4 Collective, the video follows professional photographer Jimmy Chin around Yosemite as he documents the climbing culture there for National Geographic. Chin, who is one of the most accomplished adventure photographers working today, narrates the film, which gives more insight into his experiences there.



On Assignment from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Hiker Falls To Her Death In Yosemite

A hiker in Yosemite National Park fell 600-feet to her death on Sunday while descending from Half-Dome in the rain. The death was just the latest in a particularly bad year in the National Park, which has already seen 13 other deaths in 2011.

26-year old Haley LaFlamme, along with three of her friends, were making their way down from the summit while a thunderstorm raged around them. The group was on the famous Half Dome cables, which are put in place on the steeper sections of the trail to aid with the climb, when LaFlamme slipped and fell. Rangers were immediately called for assistance, but she died almost instantly.

With 14 deaths in Yosemite already this year, 2011 is on pace to be one of the worst years in the history of the Park. In the five previous years, stretching from 2006-2010, Yosemite had 38 deaths total, and with 4 million visitors per year, the park is amongst the most visited in the entire U.S. system.

Safety experts are blaming some of the fatalities this year on the unusually heavy snowfalls this past winter. Those snows lingered later into the year, and have created heavy run-offs that continue even now. Rivers and streams remain swollen, and those conditions have caught many unaware, such as the three people who were swept over Vernal Falls a couple of weeks back. Hopefully this is not a trend that will continue, and visitors to Yosemite will take a bit more caution in the days ahead.

My condolences to Haley's friends and family.

Alex Honnold Solos Another Tough Route In Yosemite

Rock climber Alex Honnold is once again pushing the boundaries of rock climbing in Yosemite National Park, a place that has become his own personal playground over the past few years. According to Climbing.com, Honnold made a solo, ropeless ascent of The Phoenix, knocking off a route that is rated as a 5.13a. He reportedly went on to free climb Chouinard-Herbert a 5.11+ route the next day as well. Both climbs were captured on film.

According to the Climbing.com story, The Phoenix took just eight minutes to complete, while Chouinard-Herbert required two hours on a surface that was reportedly wet at the time. Honnold says that it wasn't two hours of climbing however, as he had to stop at times and wait for the film crew to move into proper position. That climb was being recorded by 60 Minutes, presumably for an upcoming profile of some kind.

Last summer, Honnold did back-to-back climbs on the Northwest Face route on Half Dome and the Nose on El Capitan, completing both routes in just eight hours. That feat established him as one of the top rock climbers in the world, and he has since gone on to tackle other impressive routes, including some spectacular towers in the country of Chad. He has also been climbing a lot of tough routes in California's Jailhouse Rock and is preparing to travel to Newfoundland on a major trip later this summer as well.

I never cease to be amazed at the things that Alex is up to. It seems that we're hearing about him tackling some incredibly tough new routes, usually solo, every few months. At this point, I think he practically owns everything in Yosemite!

Alpinist Continues Speed Series Interviews

A couple of weeks back I posted about a fascinating set of articles that had been published at Alpinist.com. Dubbed the "Speed Series" the stories were a set of interviews with some of the top speed climbers on the planet, including Alex Honnold, Sean Leary, and Dean Potter. Since then, there have been two more additions to the Speed Series, putting Ueli Steck and Hans Florine under the microscope.

Part III of the series is with Steck, who, for my money, just might be the strongest climber on the planet. Ueli has set speed records on the Eiger that are simply unbelievable, knocking off that beast in just 2 hours, 47 minutes, 33 seconds. In the interview, Steck talks about what got him started in speed climbing (he began on the Eiger!), how he improved his times on that iconic mountain, and his general approach to the "lifestyle" of climbing. It is an insightful and interesting read about what makes one of the top climbers of this generation tick.

The focus of Part IV is Hans Florine, who has held a number of speed records in Yosemite, including what was once the fastest time up The Nose on El Cap. Hans discusses why he loves climbing in Yosemite Valley, what draws him to speed climbing, and how he got started. (Hint: They were just trying to squeeze in as many climbs as the could!) He also touches on alpine climbing vs. speed climbing, as well has his philosophy on the sport, amongst other things.

I'm not sure if Alpinist has any more interviews such as these planned for the weeks ahead, but I've found them to be excellent to read. Writer Gwen Cameron has done a great job in rounding up some of the best climbers around and allowed us to get inside their heads and see what drives them. Hopefully this will be a regular series for some time.

Alpinst Speed Series: Q&A With The Fastest Climbers Around

Alpinist has been running a series of articles called the "Speed Series" in which they ask some of the top rock climbers about their approach to speed climbing the toughest routes in the world. The articles are interesting and informative, and it doesn't hurt that they are about some of the biggest personalities in the sport.

Part 1 of the series was written back in January and focuses on Alex Honnold, who put up some impressive climbs in Yosemite last year. Honnold talks about what inspires him to speed climb, his philosophy for climbing, and what it takes to be a successful speed climber, amongst other things. He is one of the top climbers in the world right now, and it is interesting to get his take on a variety of subjects.

The second part of the Speed Series was published in February and is an interview with Sean Leary and Dean Potter, who set the speed record on the Nose, the most iconic route up El Cap in Yosemite, last November. In this article, Sean and Dean talk about achieving that goal, what strategies they employed to improve their time on the Nose, and how the challenge of setting a new speed record has changed over the past ten years. It was fascinating to read Dean's comments on that subject in particular, as he previously set a speed record on the route a decade ago with Timmy O'Neil. Potter says that it is much more challenging now, and that you have to be "cutting edge" and at the top of your game to succeed.

Both articles in the Speed Series are good reads and insightful looks at climbers who are unique personalities in their sport. They're definitely worth a look while you wait for the warmer  months to get here, when the speed climb competitions will no doubt heat up again.