A curious experience in roped climbing (whether on auto-belay, top-roped climbing, or following a leader on a multi-pitch route) is the presence of instinctive fears that should have no rational basis for persistence. Like the fear of falling, for instance. There you are, tied in with your faithful figure-eight knot into your climbing harness, whichContinue reading “Climbing And The Persistent, If Irrational, Fear Of Falling”
Category Archives: Mountains
That Alex Honnold MRI In ‘Free Solo’
One of the most commented on segments of Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarelyhi‘s ‘Free Solo‘–the film that details Alex Honnold‘s incredible free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park–is that of the MRI of Honnold’s brain. This MRI is performed in an attempt to solve the mystery of how Honnold is able toContinue reading “That Alex Honnold MRI In ‘Free Solo’”
Climbing The Grand Teton (And Finding Myself At The Top)
In August 2012, my wife and I went on a road-trip through parts of the American southwest and west: New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota were our most prominent destinations. We camped and hiked in several national parks; I made note of some of those experiences here. Among the national parks we hikedContinue reading “Climbing The Grand Teton (And Finding Myself At The Top)”
Summits As Virtuous Constraint
This past summer, on July 8th, as noted in a post here, I climbed Long’s Peak in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. A minute or so after I stepped on to the summit, grabbed a quick sip of water, and removed my helmet, I shook my guide Rob Smith‘s hand, and thanked him profusely. IContinue reading “Summits As Virtuous Constraint”
Acknowledging Prayers Offered On Our Behalf
On 30th July, I hiked up to Corbet High Camp–operated by Jackson Hole Mountain Guides–in Wyoming’s Teton range in the Grand Teton National Park–to begin an attempt to scale the Grand Teton on August 1st. There, at high camp, my climbing partner and I met another pair of climbers, young lads from Louisiana, headed upContinue reading “Acknowledging Prayers Offered On Our Behalf”
Climbing The Bastille Crack In El Dorado Canyon
The Bastille Crack in El Dorado Canyon, Colorado is a bonafide classic Colorado climb. Climbing it today–guided by Adam Fisher of Colorado Mountain School–was an absolute pleasure. Five pitches of crack climbing, funky moves, great exposure.
Long’s Peak Ascent Via Cables Route
Long’s Peak summit via Cables Route, July 8th. I began climbing last year; this made for a great beginner’s route. Elementary climbing for a few pitches (max 5.4), 6-mile approach (especially hard when you are half asleep), some funky scrambling on our descent through the Keyhole Route, and 5000 feet of vertical gain all addedContinue reading “Long’s Peak Ascent Via Cables Route”
The Decalibron Loop
A great little loop hike around four Colorado Fourteeners: Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln, and Mt. Bross.
Mt. Evans Summit
Mt. Evans summit (14,130 feet ASL, Colorado), 9AM Mountain Time. A great little hike, off at 7, up top at 9 at a leisurely pace.
Volcanoes In Ecuador: Thwarted But Happy
Climbing volcanoes in Ecuador has been a long-held dream of mine. From January 13th to the 19th of this year, I took a few baby steps toward realizing it: I traveled to Machachi, Ecuador to try to hike and climb Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, Ecuador’s tallest volcanoes. I failed; both volcanoes were not prepared to receiveContinue reading “Volcanoes In Ecuador: Thwarted But Happy”
Samir Chopra 