I recently had the pleasure to network with like-minded UK mountaineer Sven Hassall, and he agreed to share his riveting experience assaulting one of Steve Roper’s and Alan Steck’s Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.

Be sure to look up Sven’s outfit– Summit Mountaineering.  Especially if you are in the UK and looking for adventure!

-TO

“Irene!  Yeah man, Irene!” The enthusiasm behind the voice and the significance of the Black Hawk Down movie quote (the code word that initiated their long awaited operation) were not lost on me; I had just escaped a meeting at Whitehall and finally, after a lengthy period of planning, training and fund raising was on route to meet the rest of the team and begin our journey to Canada.

24 hours later and crammed into a bean tin of a different flavour I recalled the people around me on the Underground as I took that call; rushing around lost in their own worlds of SMS, time pressures and iPods. I pitied them a little knowing that I was heading for a better place and a more satisfactory way of living. I envied them too though; knowing that they would be at home that night, cocooned in the warm security of the concrete world they have created, no hanging belays, sickening exposure or fear. Yes I envied them, but not too much. Continue reading Cirque of the Unclimbables →