|
|
|
Everest climbers map new Himalayan routes
09:32 a.m. EST Mar 25, 2004
Holy north face Batman, the daring duo is at it again! Take a look at the photograph of Annapurna on the right, the red line is the classic route (first climbed in 1950 by the French climbers Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal), the dotted green line is the route Dennis Urubko and Simone Moro will take. These guys will also take a new route on Baruntse with Bruno Tassi.
Speaking about the route on Baruntse, Dennis said; "There will be 2000 meters of vertical ice and rock face that we’ll try to climb in light style (alpine). The top of our face is not the real summit and for that reason we will have to continue our climb on the final ridge till the very top at 7129 meters. Our idea is to then make the descent via the North ridge” (see photo on the left, green line is new route).
How about a few of Simone’s thoughts on climbing: “Climbing is a way to discover one’s personal limits, techniques and psychology. It is a way to become aware of the limits that one can overcome with determination, motivation and training. At bottom, these are the same qualities that motivate people to change their environment at work or adjust and better their emotional and/or social life. So if individuals are moved by the same stimuli, although in different directions, isn’t it time to stop calling alpine climbers crazy!?”
First off, the Italian/Kazakh combo along with another Italian, Bruno Tassi, will be attempting the North Wall on Baruntse, 7129m. After getting acclimatized, Simone and Denis will then move onto Annapurna’s North Face, attempting a new line on it.
Annapurna, which just peeks above the 8000m level, rising at 8091m, is the most deadly of the 8000ers. In total, only 130 climbers have summited Annapurna, while 53 have died. The overall fatality rate is thus 41%, or four and a half times that of Everest’s overall fatality rate of 9%.
Image of Baruntse (left) and Annapurna (right) courtesy of russianclimb.com.
|
