Skyward Mountaineering

SPINDRIFT!! This has truly been a challenging season for alpine climbing in the AK Range and despite a promising forecast, a bit of wind and snow was enough to move the needle and created torrential loose avalanches that flushed the Ham and Eggs couloir.

With careful climbing and a bit of willingness to suffer the team was able to push through into the meat of the narrows section but ultimately descended in favor of conservative decision making. It’s fair to assume this would be purely type 2 fun but the team remained stoked and whooped and hollered in between bursts of spindrifts that lasted minutes each time. Heads down, hoods up and a firm grip on the tools!

Our social media posts must have gotten lost in the snow, it’s a bit delayed but we’re back from some challenging conditions on the Moose’s Tooth. No summit this time but our team made it to the col in great time and battled some serious wind, snow and whiteout conditions.

Impressive efforts all around!

Perfect rock climbing weather for Unaweep Canyon granite! Despite the warm@winter, this spring has remained mild and very pleasant for sunny rock climbs!

Sketchy desert anchors series number 2: Drilled Angles!

Pitons were originally made of wrought iron (hence the name “angle iron”) which is highly malleable though most modern pins are now chromoly steel which is more corrosion resistant. Drilling a hole and hammering in angles was a very common protection method in the soft sandstone desert, such as in Zion, Moab, and Garden Of The Gods, among other places. These anchors were often stronger 1/4” bolts and prominent first ascentionist Ron Olevsky was a major proponent.

However, these pitons are not stainless steel so due to the age it’s likely many are heavily corroded despite the arid climate. In fact, many drilled angle iron pitons have been found to just be held into place by the bonding of the rust to the sand particles despite sounding good with initial hammer testing (sketchy). These pitons are also highly subject to fluctuations in size as the metal expands and contracts with cold desert overnight temps and hot sunny days, this further weakens the bond between rock and metal. Additionally, the shape of these pitons put significantly more force on the edge which is more likely to fracture rock in the event of high forces in a lead fall (yikes).

Still a common sight at desert anchors, these should be backed up with modern bolts or cams and viewed as suspect. Though significantly stronger than knifeblades, you shouldn’t rely on aging fixed gear such as drilled angles, but this piece of climbing history is still neat to appreciate.

In a world of via ferratas, we’re taking the next step in the evolution of alpinism. Construction has already begun and we’re now taking reservations for the exclusive Black Canyon Adventure Chairlift!