Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chilling Footage of Aconcagua Failed Rescue


Recently, one of my friends and climbing partners made a self-guided attempt (in a party of 4) at climbing Aconcagua (6,962 meters/22,841 ft). Since he was carrying a SPOT satellite beacon with him, I was able to track his progress throughout the trek. Once he reached camp 2, his position did not change for several days. The next time that his position updated, he was back in Mendoza. Given that he was not going to descend the mountain via the same path that he used to reach camp 2, I knew that something must be up. Not long after I began to worry, I heard news that there had been several deaths on the mountain in the past few days. As the news gained details, I learned that three people (a guide and two climbers) had perished. Upon returning to Mendoza, my friend wrote the following on his blog:
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Hello constant reader.
Bad weather, developing sickness, and death of friends above us led us to pull the plug. Lots of snow and viento blanco forced us down from our high point at camp 2 (5800m). I have a respirtory issue and Matt was getting mild HAPE (all of us are sick now). Crazy week on the mountain.
Back safe and sound in Mendoza now and we will be enjoying wine, steak and showers until we return next week. We love and miss you all, but thanks to smart decisions we will all be coming home to see you. More updates later.
Cheers and Namaste!
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A few days ago, some footage of a failed rescue attempt was released to the media. It caused an uproar in the mountaineering community. The video shows a rescue team reaching the injured guide:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=924_1234614888&c=1

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Man Buried for Over 2 Hours, Survives with Avalung


I've been skiing/climbing with an Avalung II for a couple of years now. In the back of my mind, I always questioned claims made about how long they might keep you alive. Today, I'm a believer. According to the Denver Post...

"When three men on a backcountry trip were buried under as much as 7 feet of snow for more than two hours without help, it was an increasingly popular device known as the AvaLung that at least one of them reported is a reason he is still alive."

A New York Times Article about Fred Beckey

I recently ran into an article that the New York Times published in December, 2008. It’s about the life of Fred Beckey. He’s 85, and still climbing. Some of my favorite quotes from the article are as follows:

“He was said to howl at tourists.”

“His past was the stuff of lore, his plans the stuff of mystery.”

“Defined by defiance, he ascended peaks termed unclimbable by the Mountaineers, a local outfit renowned for classes and publications promoting the sport. In return, the Mountaineers rejected his guidebook manuscripts.”

“By 1963, when he logged 26 first ascents in a single year, his legend was secure.”

“Far past retirement age, Beckey has kept hard to the road, recruiting younger companions to split the cost of travel.”

Read the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/sports/othersports/16beckey.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Free Adventure Wallpaper (for your desktop)

I’ve started a wallpaper gallery for some of my adventure photography. I will be adding one new photo each month. Rather than start from scratch, I added 6 pictures to get things started. You can visit the gallery via the link below:

http://www.scottborger.com/gallery.php?gallery=wallpaper

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Gear Used on the Rupal Face


In 2005, Steve House and Vince Anderson (both IFMGA guides) completed their alpine-style first ascent of the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat. The significance of their “fast and light” climb earned them the distinguished Piolet d’Or Award. Following the climb, Steve House discussed the gear that he used on the climb. You can watch the discussion here:

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?assetid=10348

I was particularly intrigued by the fact that they coupled a 55 meter 5mm static rope with a 50 meter 8mm dynamic rope for the rappels. Combined with lighter crampon centers, two axes (one ultra light) and a custom ultra light wind shield for their stove, these guys brought minimalism to a new level. If you’d like to see a discussion of the clothes that they wore on the climb, you can watch it here:

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?assetid=10350

Monday, February 2, 2009

What's the Verdict? Let Pack Analyzer Decide

If you frequent the mountains in a variety of seasons, chances are you have a lot of gear. In my case, I have gear for a variety of activities and conditions. How do you decide what to pack and what to leave behind? As the saying goes, "ounces become pounds, and pounds become pain." On the other hand, leaving crucial gear behind is no better. Having found myself in this conundrum many times, I decided to build a solution that eventually became known as Pack Analyzer. Pack Analyzer is a relatively simple MS Excel application that keeps track of all of your gear options and their respective weights. After weighing your gear items and inputting their respective weights into Pack Analyzer, packing becomes a painless and efficient process. As you select/deselect gear items, the pack weight, on-body gear weight and pack list update in real time.

Since building Pack Analyzer, I've cut my packing time down substantially and I no longer leave for trips wondering if I forgot something. It was so useful to me that I decided to share this application with the public for free.

You can download the application here:

http://www.scottborger.com/gallery.php?gallery=packanalyzer

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Day 1

If you just found this site for the first time, you’re probably asking yourself “What the heck is Mountainscribe?” Mountainscribe is the online artistic vent of Scott Borger. I (Scott) am a Colorado-based mountaineer, photographer, and now blogger. I will be using this blog to express my perspective on recent trips, photos, gear, events and other elements of outdoor life in Colorado and beyond. Barring my absence for trips, I’ll do my very best to keep the content on this blog frequent and relevant.