Extreme photo of the Week!

[Wallstein]

Here's some monday morning Extreme for ya.

 

You can download a 1600x1200 wall paper here from >NG.com< if you like.

 

 

 

[Dane]

thanks, some great video there as well.

[kurthicks]

nice photo mikey!

[genepires]

yeah great photo. Among the many great elements, I like the way the jet contrails frame up the climber. Lines right to hand and heart.

[ivan]

i read the article today - great pix of course, for krisakes its national geographic, but this epitomizes everything that i think sucks about the present and summarizes what was So Fawking Kewl about the Hallowed Past:

 

"Climbing in the 70s was about adventure much as about athletics. Today its evolved into vertical gymnastics....Consider the 30 or so climbers who show up a party at Potters cabin. In the old days such a gathering would be a rager, roaring till dawn. No longer. Nobody smokes, hardly anybody drinks...one and all are in bed before midnight..."

 

hanging out in the valley sans smokes n sangria?!?

[billcoe]

Classic! Following in the footsteps of Galen Rowell, the great one. Awesome shot. You got more like that Mikey?

 

Nevermind, I clicked the link on your post....duh! LOL! Probably about to be sucked into a black time hole surfing your site now:-)

Edited April 21, 2011 by billcoe

[ivan]

the whole lot, sans article, is on ng's site:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/yosemite-climbing/chin-photography

[Wallstein]

Don't worry Ivan there are still plenty of people gettin loaded in the valley having a good time. It just more often than not those are the same people that you find day after day just hanging around the bridge not really climbing that much.

 

I do hear you about the adventure thing though. I get a little bored about hearing the same climbers climbing the same route just faster. There are a few people in the valley like this and I always wonder why they just don't go climbing on something new.

 

There is so much adventure left in the valley it is incredible. I've been climbing there for 15 years now and I'm proud to say I've ONLY done the Nose twice. Alot of locals would be like "what you've only done it twice?" but then I just point out all the other formations that I've climbed and new routes I've done. I'm much happier having an adventure than shaving another 30 minutes off my time.

[num1mc]

...one and all are in bed before midnight..."

 

But it was the same bed