Calum Kenny (UK/Hong Kong) and I climbed the North Ridge of Vallunaraju in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca on July 10, 2024. We successfully completed the route, although we found it in much harder condition than reported in many sources. We carried our camp up and over and descended the standard route to moraine camp, and then the Llaca refuge.
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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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When I wrote my Ice Season wrapup post in late April this year, I commented that I probably wasn’t done climbing ice. And here we are, mid-June, still finding solid water ice in Colorado. I logged Day 47 of my ice season this past Sunday on Mount Evans (a.k.a. Mount Blue Sky), a 14er near Denver.
Evans boasts one unique feature: a road to the 14,267′ (4,350m) summit.
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Hey friends,
Those of you who’ve followed me for a while know that in addition to travel, I have another passion: climbing. (For more context, see one of my favorite essays I’ve ever written: ‘Work the Problem.”) The “Pieces of Life” feed is a pretty solid example of this: it alternates between climbing pictures and travel pictures. The two don’t mix, they come in blocks. A month of climbing photos, then a few months of travel photos. Then back to the climbing. Then more travel. Etc.
The night before I left Colombia, I met an American expat for drinks. Happy for a friend, he kept buying me rounds. Uneager to leave Colombia, I kept accepting. Together, over the course of what was supposed to be just a quick get-to-know-you afternoon, we drank 26 beers. Our pyramid of empties filled the tiny table.
I traveled home the next day: 12 hours, three airports, one hangover. I arrived in Colorado late on a Saturday night. The next morning, Sunday, I was in Boulder Canyon, climbing. Leading 5.10d and 5.11a, although certainly not elegantly. Most people wouldn’t do that.
I wasn’t speaking Spanish, but I was speaking a language I loved — climbers have a language and a diction all their own. Kneebars, cams, handjams, crimps, onsight… words I loved hearing almost as much as chevere, súper, and ciao.
Ever since returning home from Colombia, I’ve been climbing a lot. I find this is the most effective way to fight the post-travel depression that always sets in when I return from an extended jaunt abroad. Luckily for me, home is Colorado, where amazing climbing literally comes at you around every corner.
While I’ve been doing a ton of climbing, I realized I haven’t written much about it. So today, I figured I’d give it a go.
Some photos from Pokhara.
thisisyouth 