April 2015 – James Stone

Here are three videos, all taken by Derek on the ascent of Ojos del Salado. The latter two show my slow, stumbling arrival at the summit. Boy was I relieved to get there!

The first shows the extreme aridity of the area where were climbing. That said a glimpse of Laguna Verde can be seen in the distance from around the 30sec point in that video. Laguna Verde was where we waited out most of the time for the weather window to make this climb.

We ended up being extremely lucky with the weather on the day of our climb. The air was almost still if a little bracing at -10C on the summit but the solar radiation made it feel a bit warmer.

I doubt that I will ever reach a higher point on the Earth’s surface now, so these videos bring back happy memories though do not quite expunge the hardships endured in achieving the summit. Nor should they – a reminder that things you want to achieve should never be made too easy!

Thanks to Derek for the videos.

The Inaccessible Pinnacle is the trickiest of the Munros to bag. Its easiest route is a graded rock climb – even if only at a moderate grade. And the normal way off is by way of an abseil down its steep west ridge.

I have been up twice, on each occasion assisted by Sue. The first time the cloud was down and so I (perhaps fortunately) missed the exposure as I carefully picked my way up damp and disconcertedly slithery rock. On the second occasion the full psychological impact of the exposure was felt. The route by the east ridge isn’t technically difficult but this time the dry rock was balanced by the lively wind. The route which is about a foot wide much of the way up has been described as “with an overhanging and infinite drop on one side, and steeper and further on the other”.

Sanctuary is eventually to be had beside the Bolster Stone which perches at the summit. From there, assuming the cloud is above the summits, there are fabulous views along the Cuillin Ridge and out to sea.

For some the In Pinn, as it is more often called, is a challenge too far. So I imagine that the news reported on 1st April would have delighted many:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69629&utm_campaign=ukc_2015_14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ukc_newsletter

Videos taken on Ojos del Salado

Mountain amusement

Archives for April 2015