Julian

Some routes specifically set up for drytooling.

"Look at this asshole climber" (LATAC) is a great variation on "Look at this fucking hipster" (LATFH).

One of my friends, who likes Patagonia's jackets (or at least gets them on pro deal) went to Alaska last year with a DAS, nanopuff hoody, and one of the older models (don't remember the name) as his insulated jacket selection.

Outside of the greater ranges I have a hard time believing there are that many conditions that are too cold for the Atom LT/SV combo. Also with regards to the comments about Arc'teryx's pricing, the Atom line is way below their usual price points and easily competitive with anything else out there of a similar quality. Patagucci's synthetic and down garments are not that much cheaper considering their inferior design and build. An LT/SV pairing would cost $450 retail and can be obtained at a considerably better price than that by shopping around or using Ebay.

"There is a reason the Patagonia DAS is likley the most used belay jacket ever producted." Advertising, sponsorship, and market saturation? I semi-kid, but there's also a reason Arc'teryx is kicking Patagonia's (and everyone else's) ass six ways from Sunday lately in terms of almost all design and cut related aspects.

The Atom LT/SV combo may be the best technical insulated outerwear system ever designed (whether or not Arc'teryx actually intended them to be used together). Both garments are designed and cut absolutely perfectly.

Rolo isn't mincing any words in support of them and ridicule of the whiners: http://www.climbmagazine.com/news/2012/01/rolando-garibotti-interview

A lot of those "locals" are just other foreign climbers living there for a portion of the year.

Rolo Garibotti does a pretty good job of dispelling the whole "locals" thing over on SuperTopo and other places. The city of El Chalten has only even existed since 1985, and almost all the "guiding" and other such services people have referred to are trekking/hiking companies or guiding up easy routes on the easiest mountains. By the way, in Kruk and Kennedy's statement it sounds like they were met with resounding approval from a group of Argentinian alpinists they encountered.

I really like the Black Diamond Xenos.

Can someone post a picture of this (or send it to me)? I'm certainly not looking to snag the FA (from down here in South Carolina ), just curious where this feature is and what it looks like.

Nice write up and photos, cool adventure! Good decision-making is worth more in the long run than any summit.

Didn't Steve Schneider also get into a fist-fight with Bean Bowers in El Chalten over bolt-chopping on Cerro Torre? Or is that a different Steve Schneider?

Picked up the OR Radiant Hybrid hoody this year and love it.

Good luck Dane, you are going to beat this! Be strong like you are in the mountains and you will see it through.

What's interesting about that one it seems to be so hard that even the Russian big-wall team hasn't done the dirretissima (their route traverses off to the right after climbing the main wall when it reaches the dark triangular upper face). Also with respect to Bhagirathi III and Peak 4810 (whose picture appears in the initial post), I'm curious as to why it's apparently not acceptable ascend those in the same manner as El Cap. Is it because there isn't a highway leading to the cliff and a hippy camp full of smelly dudes living semi-permanently at the base? I'm reminded of Topher Donohue's quote about the chopping brouhaha on Cerro Torre: "A bolt war is a bolt war no matter how many layers of stinky long underwear you need to put on". Substitute "aid climb" for "bolt war" and I think it still rings fairly true.

A more general question: what counts as an acceptable venue to do siege-style aid climbing, and what does not? As long as people are honest about the reporting, what does it matter? The Russian big-wall climbs may be "irrelevant to modern alpinism" but if one regards them as big-wall climbing rather than alpinism, then they are no different than a lot of stuff that still gets done on El Capitan. And I know the magazines will only talk about free climbs these days (Ammon McNeely's 2nd ascent of Wings of Steel being an exception), but plenty of new routes have gone up in aid style over the past decade. Jim Beyer put up Project Mayhem on Mt. Thor around the same time as the Russians climbed Jannu, I think. Is one location allowed while the other is scorned, and if so, why? I do disagree with leaving the wall littered with gear though. A team should always remove as much as possible from their climb, and leaving everything fixed on the wall is really poor form. I did chuckle a bit though when reading Steve House's book about how he was ready to leave a pile of rope abandoned on Nanga Parbat that only ended up getting taken down because he and Bruce Miller retreated. Not exactly the kind of behavior he usually advocates.

So how many climbers are allowed to do a big-wall in capsule style and call it "alpine style" without getting called out for it? Solo only? 2? 3? Is someone going to bust up on Anker, Chin, and Ozturk for "sieging" the Shark's Fin? One thing I will give Steve House credit for is he's consistent enough in his ethics to have the balls to call out Alex Lowe, Jared Ogden, and Mark Synnott for doing so on Great Trango Tower. Most US climbers and media would never had taken shots at Alex Lowe like that, even if they would have at a team of relatively unknown Russians doing a route in the same way. Even Mr. Purity Mark Twight didn't seem to mind Greg Child and Michael Kennedy using (and leaving) a portaledge on the Wall of Shadows on Mt. Hunter, or if he did he kept it out of the passage in Kiss of Kill where he talked about them.

That's a bit of a disingenuous comparison unless they were trying the exact same line. Most of the Russian big-wall routes push somewhat contrived directissimas straight up the steepest part of faces at the expense of having to do a ton of aid climbing and fixing. It's debatable whether any climbers or teams would bother to try these lines in another style simply because they would more likely look for paths of least resistance rather than forced lines. Also worth noting in this thread (if we are talking about the history of this wall) is that Tomo Cesen climbed a less direct route up the north face of Jannu in 1990. It didn't happen, some of you say? Prove it. I for one will take Mark Twight and Marko Prezelj's word on that issue until shown otherwise. One thing I dislike about some of the criticisms of the Russian Big-Wall project climbers is that they are easy targets for criticisms by westerners because none of them (or their pals) are likely going to see and/or respond to any of the comments. For instance, their recent ascent of Latok III from all reports was done capsule-style (climbing pitches with portaledge camps in between), and there were derisive comments online about it being a "siege". Meanwhile, Dave Turner climbed a new route a couple of years ago on South Paine Tower in the exact same style, and actually referred to it as "alpine style" without anyone correcting him or raising an issue with it.

The Arc'teryx Atom SV hoody is what you want.

Here's one short form of the answer: more Russian teams are willing to pursue big wall aid climbs in remote parts of the world, especially in the Himalayas which are comparatively close for them (the Pamirs even more so of course), while most North Americans who are aid climbing aficionados (a decreasing breed to be sure) stick closer to home and climb hard aid testpieces in Yosemite, Colorado, Utah, and Squamish, or at least stay in-hemisphere and aid big walls in Patagonia, Greenland, or Baffin Island.

My basic system is: 1. base layer synthetic t-shirt: usually my Arc'teryx Ether if it's clean (I own one I got on clearance, wouldn't pay $70 for a shirt ever) but anything light will do here. If it's going to be cold, base layer long sleeve shirt (I like the ones from Land's End). 2. Arc'teryx Accelero pullover: this is one of those magic items from the Dead Bird that seems to have flown under the radar. It manages to adapt well to both cold and warm conditions (often just by unzipping the 1/2-zip front), sheds a light snow/rain, and dries quickly. This is pretty much the only piece of clothing I wear every single time out in the alpine/ice/mixed realm. Most of the time, when moving/active and in not-too-bad weather, I can easily get away with that two-layer system. 3. If it's really cold, really wet, or really abrasive, I'll throw on my one softshell jacket (Arc'teryx Venta SV hoody). I just got a hard/soft shell hybrid (Sherpa Adventure Gear Lungta Hybrid jacket) that looks and feels good and I'm excited to test out when the conditions call for it. I also just bought a used Arc'teryx Gamma LT jacket that will probably fit in here. 4. Belay jacket/sweater: right now this is usually one of three things, depending on conditions: a North Face Redpoint belay sweater (Primaloft 1 insulation), an Arc'teryx Venta SV softshell (Gore Windstopper), or a MEC Slipstream 2 Hoody (Polartec Windpro Hardface). When REI's 20% off sale starts on Friday (I also have a bunch of store credit to spend) I'm getting an Arc'teryx Atom SV Hoody. If it seems like I'm a brand whore for Arc'teryx it's only because I've found their stuff performs the best in the field and gives me the best fit of anything I've used. Plus all my Arc'teryx stuff has been purchased at 50% off or better.

I have a dinky little drytool training setup I put up in my gym, which is about as good as it gets for training for winter climbing in Florence, SC besides just doing stuff like weights and cardio. My friend made a little video of it today (please forgive my embarrassing technique): EDIT: the video code isn't working, here's a direct link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100140170035036

It's a screaming deal but just watch out because the only ones (at the moment) on sale for $70 on eBay are women's models, which isn't indicated in the auction title but is discussed in the description (they also try to provide conversions to men's sizes in the item description). There is also a men's large for $99 which I'd consider buying if I hadn't just picked up what looks to be a similar style of jacket from Sherpa Adventure Gear on SAC.

Yeah my problem is I live in an apartment complex and don't really have the ability or space to build anything. I've been trying to convince one of my colleagues to turn his garage into a man-cave, but to no avail so far. Also with regards to the university, I'm actually a professor there so I figure I can probably get away with more (like drytooling in the weight room) than I might if I were a student.