Friends Shad Burnham and Brian Waters climb Cassin Ridge

A couple of friends of mine, Shad Burnham and Brian Waters, summited Denali last week via the Cassin Ridge.  I don't know all the details yet, but I have been told it took them four days due to high winds and stormy weather.  Shad's been a good climbing partner of mine for years.  This year he and Brian have been getting after it, climbing many fun and difficult routes in the Tetons over the winter, with the goal of getting up the Cassin Ridge on Denali.  Well done, guys!  Shad is the owner of the Pro Shop at The Front climbing gym.  If you're ever in Ogden, stop by and check out his shop and the gym.

Chad Kellogg's Summit Attempt on Everst

As many are aware, Chad Kellogg was on Everest this spring with the goal of setting the speed record of Everest without Oxygen.  He's already set the speed records on other smaller peaks.  On Mt. Rainier, he set the speed record by going from the Paradise parking lot to summit to parking lot in five hours (the same amount of time it took our group to get from parking lot to Camp Muir).  On Denali, he went from basecamp to summit to basecamp in 23h 55min.  Absolutely incredible!  Did I mention he survived cancer somewhere in there?  Chad's goal for Everest was to climb it from basecamp to summit in under 20hrs and back to basecamp in under 30.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but he gave it a valiant effort, and I doubt it was his last effort.

Anyway, here is a link to the fifth and final installment of videos that OR was making to document his attempt:

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/video?utm_source=Outdoor+Research+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a5aab37033-Classics_Launch4_23_2012&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=a5aab37033&mc_eid=b239035502

Jonathan Griffith's Video - Denali

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Jon Griffith's, http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions. His photography and videography is top-notch. Jon is often the photographer and videographer for Ueli Steck. One of my favorite videos, partially because I have a slight obsession with Denali (though I have never been there), is Jon's video of he and Will Sim climbing the West Buttress and setting the speed record on the Cassin Ridge. Speed records on the Cassin (or on any route, for that matter) are controversial because it is very much condition-dependent. For example, Colin Haley and Bjorn-Eivind Artun climbed it the year previous with the hope of breaking Mugs Stumps' record of 15 hours. They finished the route in 17 hours, running into deep snow for the last 3,000 feet or so. Either way, if you can climb the Cassin in a day, you're incredibly strong.

Another great video is of Joshua Lavigne and Raphael Slawinski climbing the Cassin in a day. I can't seem to figure out how to embed videos from vimeo, so here's the link to his video:


http://vimeo.com/26046094


Joshua Lavigne's Blog:


http://alpinesummits.blogspot.com/


Colin Haley's blog is also one of my favorites. Read about their Alaska 2010 trip climbing both the Cassin and a new route on Mt. Foraker, Dracula, here:


http://colinhaley.blogspot.com/2010/06/alaska-2010-dracula-and-cassin-simul.html


and last but not least, Raphael Slawinski's blog is always good. He is a great writer and I always enjoy reading his posts.


http://raphaelslawinski.blogspot.com/