Climbing

Rebuffat Couloir, Tour Ronde, Winter

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I flew from New York to Milan, arriving at Malpensa airport 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. I recollected my duffel full of mountaineering equipment, took the train to the city center, and then walked to my buddy Enrico’s apartment, 30 kilos on my back. He was finishing up work; we pored over avalanche forecasts and trip reports. We asked all our contacts for conditions, suggestions. We scoured the Facebook groups. We ended up choosing the Rebuffat Couloir on the Tour Ronde, a route no one had suggested, and for which we had absolutely zero conditions information.

The weather looked best for tomorrow. We woke up, 5:15 a.m., dragged ourselves to the car, and drove to Courmayuer. Parked, dressed, and just enough spare time for an espresso. 8:30 a.m., first lift up, and we were on it. American country music played through the stereo system on the shiny cable car. 9:00, suited up and ready for action, we stepped onto the glacier at 11,300 feet. I’d always heard alpinism in Europe was accessible, but this was next-level.

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North Face Cobra 60 First Impressions

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(“First impressions” is a bit of a misnomer for this post, as I’ve now used this pack for around 30 days. However, I used the older rendition of this backpack for 5-6 years, so in my opinion, I am indeed still forming my first impression.)

I beat the ever-loving-hell out of my previous Cobra backpack. For years, it served for any purpose I needed it: cragging pack, international travel, overnight backpacking, ice climbing, alpine rock climbs. That pack went with me to Europe, to the top of the Grand Teton, to Mount Baker, to alpine ice climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park, and elsewhere. It finally died this summer in Peru — split along the bottom after I overloaded it, trying to fit seven days of supplies in a 60-liter pack.

North Face generously warrantied that pack, sending me the updated version. I have now taken this pack on a few outings, including local day trips around Boulder, an overnight climb of the Fisher Chimneys on Mount Shuksan, and five weeks of climbing and cragging in Indian Creek, Utah. Here are my initial impressions.

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Shaqsha, SE Face

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Shaqsha is an obscure mountain for Peru, despite the fact that it graces the cover of Brad Johnson’s “Classic Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca”, the most popular guidebook for the area.

A great book – exceedingly hard to find these days.

Shaqsha was not on my radar at all until a chance meeting with Alejandro Urrutia and Rodrigo Ramos, a pair of Mexican alpinists. They were sitting in Cafe Andino, a western-style coffee shop in Huaraz popular with climbers, making a topo of a traverse of Chopicalqui they had just completed, from the SE ridge to the SW ridge.

They had been sick half their trip, they said, but had also managed to sneak in Shaqsha, via the left side of the ridge. A good climb, easy. “The right side also looked good,” they said, showing a photo of their tent pitched on the glacier in front of the face.

I wanted that picture. And off we went.

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