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BANFF
MOUNTAIN BOOK FESTIVAL 2004
Wednesday Evening, November 3, 8 pm
Eric Harvie Theatre
ALEX HUBER - The Vertical Horizon
Among his many achievements, Alex Huber is
best known for some remarkable big-wall climbing, most notably
on El Capitan, in the Dolomites and in Patagonia. In 1998, with
his brother Thomas, he gained worldwide praise and publicity for
the first free ascent of North America Wall on El Capitan. In
the Dolomites, Huber free-soloed the Direttissima route on Cima
Grande, his only gear a helmet, a chalk bag and climbing shoes -
one of the most stunning free-solo ascents ever on an alpine
face. Using slides and film, Huber shared his stories with
the Wednesday night audience, including his free ascent of
Bellavista on Cima Ovest, one of the hardest multi-pitch free
routes in the world. Huber’s appearance in Banff was
supported in
part by Berghaus.
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GEORGE LOWE and CHRIS JONES -
Climbing the North Twin
The 1974 first ascent of the north face of North Twin was
featured by the American Alpine Journal in its 2002
Ten Climbs to Remember issue. In it, Barry Blanchard wrote,
“It is, hands down, the hardest face in the range. Five thousand
feet of sheer, black, and north-facing limestone, steeper than
the Eiger, one and a half times as high as El Cap, a great dark
cape of a peak …. Then there is the loose rock and the falling
rock ... at times it makes the Eiger look like a kiddies’
sandbox…. I believe that nothing then accomplished in Patagonia,
the Alps, Alaska or the Himalaya measured up to what George and
Chris accomplished with ‘a rope, a rack, and two packs’.” The
audience joined
George Lowe and Chris Jones - two climbing icons - on the 30th
anniversary of this historic ascent of a face that has since
been climbed only twice.
Chris Jones Biography
Read more about Chris Jones and George Lowe in Barry Blanchards'
American Alpine Journal article
The North Face of North Twin, Touchstone of the Range.pdf,
2002. Published with permission from the
American Alpine Journal.
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