Connect with us

Utah

Utah climbers help solve the ‘last great problem in the Himalayas’

Published

on

Utah climbers help solve the ‘last great problem in the Himalayas’


Three American climbers lay in the dark, sharing a custom-made sleeping bag on a portable ledge dangling from a massive cliff high in the Himalayas. They were anchored to the north face of Mount Jannu, one of the world’s biggest, sheerest rock walls.

The void below them was 10,000 feet of thin black air. Above them, within reach, was something most people can only imagine.

“I know we still have a lot to do,” Alan Rousseau said to his two fellow climbers. “But I feel like we just did something cool.”

The next day, Rousseau, Matt Cornell and Jackson Marvell — little known outside of climbing circles, for the moment — stood at Jannu’s summit. Before them were the white tips of other major peaks, including Everest and Kangchenjunga.

Advertisement

They may not have had the full perspective. That is now coming from other top mountaineers, who see the group’s ascent of Jannu’s north face as a monumental achievement.

“In my mind, it’s the greatest climb ever — the greatest Alpine climb,” said Mark Synnott, a renowned climber and author who was stymied by Jannu’s north face in 2000 and called it the “last great problem in the Himalayas.”

At 25,295 feet, Jannu — with its remote location and combination of height, steepness and altitude — is one of the most daunting peaks for climbers. Its north face, especially, has stirred and vexed mountaineers.

Others had been to the top of Jannu, but not many. None had done this route in following the minimal ethos of an Alpine-style ascent: no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp.

The three men used only what they could carry on their backs.

Advertisement

“It’s the simplest way of doing something,” Rousseau said. “You just begin at the bottom and go to the top.”

Rousseau, Cornell and Marvell gathered in Utah last week to share their story for the first time — the yearslong dream; the day-to-day struggle to ascend nearly 2 miles of mostly sheer rock and ice; the blackened, frostbitten fingertips that still needed to heal.

The three climbers had not yet fully processed their achievement.

“We did something we didn’t think was possible,” Rousseau said. “It gave us the realization that we can climb in one of the biggest arenas out there.”

They called their expedition “Round-trip Ticket,” in a nod to Valery Babanov and Sergey Kofanov, who completed an Alpine ascent of Jannu’s west pillar in 2007.

Advertisement

“Perhaps some day, a pair will climb a direct route on the north face in Alpine style,” Kofanov wrote in 2017, “but they’ll need to accept the likelihood that they’re buying themselves a one-way ticket.”

Camping in a Crevasse

The expedition began with a 30-hour drive from Kathmandu, Nepal. A hiking trek to base camp began at 5,000 feet of elevation, and for six days, the climbers used porters and pack animals to climb out of swampy junglelike terrain.

Base camp was established at the foot of Jannu’s north face in a meadow at 15,500 feet. Arriving Sept. 17, the climbers acclimated to the altitude and studied forecasts, searching for a weeklong window of clear weather.

In early October, they found a promising stretch.

Advertisement

“It removed a lot of stress,” Marvell said.

They prepared their climbing packs, taking advantage of ever-improving gear. Climbing tools — ice axes, crampons, ice screws, pitons and so on — are stronger and lighter than ever.

So are ropes. The climbers used two ropes, each 60 meters long. One was a 9-millimeter nylon rope for climbing, the other a thinner one so that the lead climber could lift gear, allowing teammates to concentrate and ascend without cargo on their backs.

They carried dehydrated food. They had one stove, one pot and one 2-pound sleeping bag, wide enough to fit three men, the better for body warmth.

The most helpful technical innovation might have been the two inflatable single-person portaledges, hanging perches that could be anchored to cliff sides so that climbers could rest. The climbers fastened the portaledges side-by-side and slept with their heads resting against the rock, their feet out over the void.

Advertisement

The climb began on a Saturday in October. It was “mixed” climbing — a mix of rock, snow and ice — with the men rotating into the lead position.

The first two days involved about 6,000 vertical feet of climbing, 60 meters of rope at a time.

They slept the first night at 19,000 feet, in a crack “where the glacier movement separates away from the ice that’s stuck to the mountain face,” Rousseau said. “Which sounds crazy to a lot of people, that we camped inside a crevasse, essentially.”

They could feel and hear the movement of the glacial ice.

(Jackson Marvell via The New York Times)
A photo by Jackson Marvell of fellow climbers Alan Rousseau, left, and Matt Cornell on Mount Jannu in October. No previous climbers had done an Alpine-style ascent Ñ no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp Ñ of the north face of the HimalayasÕ Mount Jannu.

Advertisement

“It’s just wild to see how fast that is pulling away from the mountain and how active it is,” Marvell said.

Such instability was a constant danger. Falling rock and ice routinely showered the men. Shards sliced through their tarp, as they rested on their portaledges at night, but caused no injuries.

“They weren’t big enough to hurt you,” Cornell said of the shards. “They would just destroy all your gear.”

On the fourth day, Cornell was below Rousseau and Marvell when he saw them disappear in a cloud of falling ice and snow.

“Oh, God, they’re going to be killed by this thing, it’s going to rip the anchor out, and then it’s going to pull me down because I’m attached to the rope,” Cornell recalled thinking. “So, I was just bracing, ready to be sent down the mountain. And then it all, like, clears past them, and they’re moving around, like: We’re good!”

Advertisement

The men laughed together at the retelling. They slept that night in the pocket that the fallen chunk of ice had left behind. The hood of Marvell’s jacket was sliced open in the episode. “I was blowing feathers the rest of the climb,” he said.

Cornell led the group through a long block of technical pitches on the fifth day, as the men moved beyond the apexes of other Alpine-style attempts. They were nearing the top of the north face.

“Improbability faded away,” Marvell said.

On a 10-hour sixth day, they reached the top of the wall — the real goal — and climbed a tricky but nonvertical stretch toward the summit.

Before getting there, Marvell took a glove off and found his fingers blistered, a sign of severe frostbite. The men discussed options.

Advertisement

“We’re 100 meters from the top, and we have the weather window of the decade,” Marvell said. “Is it worth potentially losing the tip of a finger, you know, or will this frostbite get worse? And it seemed to me to be worth the risk.”

They reached Jannu’s summit at 4:20 p.m. on Oct. 12 and stayed for just a few minutes. The mission was never the top but the climb.

“Getting to the top of Jannu was kind of like crossing the ‘t’ and dotting the ‘i,’” Rousseau said.

(Jackson Marvell via The New York Times)
A photo by Matt Cornell of fellow climbers Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau on the shoulder atop Mount Jannus head wall in October. No previous climbers had done an Alpine-style ascent no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, and no porters beyond the base camp of the north face of the HimalayasÕ Mount Jannu.

The Height Is Not the Point

Advertisement

Their accomplishment has the climbing world buzzing. It represents a tonic to the media-obsessed, big-money, guide-led, fixed-rope conga-line parades on mountains such as Everest. Such mass upward migrations do not interest blue-collar mountaineers such as these.

“I have been asked a couple of times if I climbed the north face of Jannu to train to eventually climb Everest,” Rousseau said. He shook his head. “It’s a different sport than that sport.”

For alpinists, the public’s fascination with the highest mountains is a bit like judging an ocean swimmer by how deep the water is. Marvell has had similar queries from well-meaning acquaintances: How high is Jannu?

“That’s not really the point,” he said.

Hundreds typically reach the summit of Everest every spring. Those with the skill, strength and imagination to consider the likes of Jannu’s north face, with a willingness to dare to be first, might number in the tens.

Advertisement

The mountain’s 3,000-foot head wall, parts of it overhanging and spackled in corniced snow and ice, is roughly the size of El Capitan, in California’s Yosemite Valley. The section foiled previous attempts, including one by Ueli Steck and three others nearly two decades ago.

In 2004, about a dozen Russians laid siege to Jannu’s north face, drilling it with bolts, draping it with dozens of fixed ropes, swapping out men when they became hurt or exhausted. The nearly two-month expedition succeeded and was considered an extraordinary feat, earning the Russians a Piolet d’Or, Alpine climbing’s top award.

This was not that. This was three men, two ropes and one shared sleeping bag.

(Jackson Marvell via The New York Times)
A photo by Jackson Marvell of the sleeping tent for himself and fellow climbers Alan Rousseau and Matt Cornell on Mount Jannu in October. No previous climbers had done an Alpine-style ascent Ñ no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp Ñ of the north face of the HimalayasÕ Mount Jannu.

“It was much more a kind of personal thing as opposed to, like, what outside statement it made about anything,” Rousseau said of their climb.

Advertisement

Conrad Anker, a leading mountaineer of the past several decades, considers the Alpine-style climb of Jannu’s north face to be a generational feat. He called it “an antidote to fixed-rope, high-altitude tourism.”

“There are so many different ways we play with gravity on cliffs,” Anker said. “This is the purest, the most demanding, the ultimate expression.”

Anker, 61, said he had reviewed the past 30 years of Piolet d’Or winners, and “there is no climb that matches this.”

He was part of a three-man team, with Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, that scaled an improbable route up Mount Meru, another vaunted Himalayan peak, in 2011. That expedition was detailed in the award-winning documentary “Meru.”

“Meru pales in comparison to this,” Anker said, citing Jannu’s greater length, height and elevation.

Advertisement

Rousseau, Cornell and Marvell have been climbing together for about four years, in pairs and sometimes together. Two previous attempts on Jannu’s north face, in 2021 and 2022, ended early but were valuable scouting trips. Last year, the three scaled what Climbing magazine called “one of the most legendary lines in North American alpinism”: the Slovak Direct route on Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, in Alaska.

“That was sort of a trial run, to see how we all jibe together, moving through that kind of terrain,” Rousseau said. “And that worked out pretty well for us.”

Now, they are climbing’s newest power throuple.

(Jackson Marvell via The New York Times) A photo by Jackson Marvell of fellow climbers, from left: Alan Rousseau, Matt Cornell and himself on Mount Jannu in October. No previous climbers had done an Alpine-style ascent Ñ no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp Ñ of the north face of the HimalayasÕ Mount Jannu.

Rousseau, 37, is married and lives along the foothills in Salt Lake City. He guides climbers in Utah and beyond. Experience in leading others makes him the logistical leader and a calculated voice when circumstances demand difficult decisions.

Advertisement

Cornell, 29, is known as a quiet, compact free-solo (no rope) ice climber. He usually spends winters near Bozeman, Montana, and summers around the rock-climbing hub of Yosemite National Park, working at a restaurant (owned by Anker, a mentor) to help fund his pursuits. He lives in a 2003 Freightliner van, with 320,000 miles, fitted with a bed, stove and other amenities.

Marvell, 27, lives in Heber City, Utah, and has a few sponsorship deals and also his own welding business. Tall and wiry, he spends summers off the coast of Alaska, climbing up and rappelling down oil platforms, timing repair work with the tides. Having grown up in Utah, he was drawn toward the sandstone towers of the desert and was willing to attempt just about anything.

The descent from Jannu’s summit, by a series of rappels that hopscotched back down the face, stretched to midnight the next day. By then, Rousseau, too, had frostbite across his fingers. After a day at base camp, the men flew in a helicopter back to Kathmandu, where Rousseau and Marvell spent five days in a hospital, getting their hands treated.

Healing continues, and the men hope not to lose any fingertips.

The three already have plans for another monumental climb.

Advertisement

They do not include Everest. Something bigger.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Utah

Utah hosting seven transfer portal players this week, per report

Published

on

Utah hosting seven transfer portal players this week, per report


Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham made it clear that this offseason would be one of the busiest in program history regarding the transfer portal. True to his word, the Utes have secured 14 new additions, addressing key areas as they prepare for their second year in the Big 12. With the competition ramping up, Utah’s aggressive approach reflects the urgency to remain competitive in one of college football’s most unpredictable conferences.

The Utes’ portal activity highlights a calculated strategy to strengthen positions that lacked depth or consistent production last season. Whittingham and his staff leaving no stone unturned. Despite already securing a significant haul, Utah isn’t done yet. Over the next few days, they plan to host seven additional transfer portal visitors, aiming to round out what could become one of the program’s most impactful portal classes. According to a report by KSL’s Steve Bartle, three of the seven players have been named ahead of the visit to Salt Lake City with the other four remaining anonymous.

Among themo notable names visiting Utah is Washington State receiver Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez has been a productive receiver for the Cougars, tallying 55 receptions for 655 yards and five touchdowns across two seasons. At 6 feet and 189 pounds, Hernandez brings a combination of route-running precision and reliable hands. His visit to Utah on January 3rd is part of a packed schedule that also includes meetings with Wake Forest and Virginia. Despite missing part of the 2024 season due to injury, Hernandez finished strong, accumulating 31 catches for 397 yards and five touchdowns. His proven ability to stretch the field and produce in high-pressure moments makes him an intriguing addition for Utah’s receiving corps.

In the backfield, Utah is pursuing Utah State standout Rashul Faison. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back rushed for over 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns last season, emerging as one of the top available backs in the transfer portal. Faison’s physical running style and breakaway ability caught the attention of several major programs, including Florida State, Alabama, and North Carolina. However, Utah remains in the hunt, with Faison set to visit Salt Lake City on January 7th. The Utes’ running back room is already solid, but Faison’s dynamic play during Utah’s matchup against Utah State in Logan left a lasting impression on Whittingham’s staff. Adding him could provide Utah with a one-two punch in the backfield.

Advertisement

Another player on Utah’s radar is Arkansas receiver Dazmin James, who brings tantalizing speed and athleticism to the table. James, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound receiver, clocked a 10.46-second 100-meter dash in high school and recorded sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash times during his recruitment. While his production at Arkansas was limited—he redshirted in 2023—James showed flashes of his potential in Arkansas’ bowl win over Texas Tech, where he recorded three catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. James will visit Utah alongside Faison, adding another layer of excitement to what could be a transformative weekend for the Utes.

The remaining four transfer visitors have not been publicly identified, reflecting the competitive nature of the portal process. Two of these players visited earlier this week, while the final two are expected on Sunday and Monday. This cloak-and-dagger approach underscores Utah’s desire to keep potential additions under wraps until deals are finalized.

Utah’s proactive stance in the portal aligns with the realities of modern college football, where roster turnover and reloading talent through transfers are essential for sustained success. The Big 12’s physicality and speed demand depth at every position, and Whittingham’s ability to identify and recruit impact players will be crucial as the Utes aim to contend for a conference championship.

Utah has ‘big money’ problem with a billionaire calling NIL shots for rival

The broader significance of Utah’s portal success speaks to the evolving identity of the program. Once known for developing under-the-radar talent, Utah is now competing head-to-head with national powerhouses for premier transfer targets. This shift is a testament to Whittingham’s longevity, the program’s stability, and Utah’s growing reputation as a destination for players seeking to maximize their potential.

Advertisement

Steve Smith Sr. becomes first-time finalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame

As the portal process continues, Utah fans can expect more fireworks in the coming weeks. Whether it’s landing high-profile names like Hernandez, Faison, and James or pulling off surprise commitments, the Utes’ aggressive offseason sets the stage for a potentially exciting 2025 campaign. With Whittingham at the helm, Utah is making it clear that they’re not just participating in the Big 12—they’re here to win it.



Source link

Continue Reading

Utah

Brian Higgins: In 2025, there will be even more reality TV shows about Utah

Published

on

Brian Higgins: In 2025, there will be even more reality TV shows about Utah


This is part of a series of forward-looking predictions for 2025. Read more.

When I was asked to write about my predictions for 2025, a number of important topics ran through my head. The post-election political landscape. The increasing presence of artificial intelligence in our lives and what it means for the future of work. The health of the Great Salt Lake, Bear Lake, the Colorado River or any number of important waterways in Utah and the West. But setting out to answer those questions would leave another, more important question unanswered.

So I will answer that question: Yes, they will make more trashy reality TV shows about Utah in 2025.

How could they not? Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is one of 2024′s most talked-about shows. Meanwhile, Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” is as popular as ever, and its spinoff “The Trial of Jen Shah” had great ratings on C-SPAN. It’s clear from these shows that America wants to know more about Utah. Or at least the fabulously wealthy, mostly white, occasionally religious women of Utah.

Advertisement

This isn’t going to change in 2025. In fact, I predict there will only be more interest in the Beehive State. And rather than being an annoyance, this will actually be a great opportunity to showcase what life is like for Utahns who exist outside of the realms of dramatic cocktail parties, lavish getaways, soft-swinging affairs and high-profile financial crimes. We’ll all get our shot at reality fame next year.

The networks will be strategic about it, of course. They’ll ease people into it with the tried and true “wives” theme. “Keeping Up With Utah Jazz Wives” will premiere first. Imagine the drama of watching Jazz couples shop for houses in 29 different cities during the trade deadline or trying to find an outfit that matches those highlighter-yellow jerseys. A show like this would also offer a refreshing twist on the genre, since the average NBA player is about 100x more dramatic than any housewife.

After that, we’ll slowly move away from the upper class. It’s time for “The Real Ski Bum Condo-Wives of Salt Lake City.” This is drama. This is intrigue. If you thought the showdowns on “RHOSLC” were intense, wait until you see how Aspen from Cottonwood Heights reacts when her husband, River, buys a third pair of powder skis with the rent check. Throwing a glass of wine in someone’s face is interesting; throwing a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon in their face is cinema.

At this point, America will have full-blown Utah fever. It’s time to let the men shine. “The Secret Lives of Mormon Husbands” is Hulu’s next smash hit. The male version will be a bit different, though. Unlike “Mormon Wives” and “RHOSLC,” which follow the women throughout their daily lives, “Husbands” will be a “Hard Knocks”-style sports documentary following a full season of church ball.

No one will be able to resist the highs and lows of recreational basketball in suburban Utah. It’ll blow “Hard Knocks” out of the water. Sure, when a passionate, hard-working kid from a D2 school narrowly misses out on his NFL dreams, that’s sad. But when Jeff from Layton tells his wife and kids that he missed the game-tying free throw in overtime? Devastating.

Advertisement

This show will also help America move away from its mystical fascination with Mormons. For whatever reason, it seems the viewing public thinks LDS members live very different lives than their own, whether they be devoted members or “Bad Mormons,” like “RHOSLC’s” Heather Gay. But if viewers want a glimpse at some Utahns who truly live unique lives, they’ll go crazy for “The Real Desert Kangaroo Rats of Moab.”

The catty critters didn’t come here to make friends; they came here to strut their stuff, speak their minds and survive on a diet of grass seeds and mesquite beans in desert scrub, open grasslands and creosote flats. Sir David Attenborough will narrate and say things like, “Here in the desert, water is scarce. But there’s plenty of tea and — like the temperatures — it’s piping hot.”

We haven’t even touched on dating shows, and Utah is the perfect venue for some of America’s biggest love-centric trash TV. Have the producers of “The Golden Bachelor” even heard of Park City? These are the fittest 70-somethings in the world, people. Forget pickleball; this will be the first season with an ultramarathon group date.

Netflix’s “Love Is Blind,” the show where contestants fall in love through a wall and get married six weeks later, should also take a visit here. Fans of the show deserve to see a family that’s almost entirely unfazed by the idea of getting married that fast.

It’s going to be a big year for Utah, and I think there will be room for everyone to cash in. And if you think that you, yes you, aren’t interesting enough for your own show, just remember the golden rule of reality TV: No idea is too stupid.

Advertisement

(Photo courtesy of Brian Higgins) Brian Higgins

Brian Higgins is a writer and comedian in Salt Lake City.

The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Utah

Utah Jazz Trade Rumors: It’ll take a LOT for this Jazz player

Published

on

Utah Jazz Trade Rumors: It’ll take a LOT for this Jazz player


According to Jake Fischer during his NBA rumors chat on Bleacher Report, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are both available. But he also says that the Utah Jazz would prefer to keep Walker Kessler. (Big shoutout to David J. Smith for the notice on this one.)

This is not something new regarding each of these players but it does provide some clarity with Kessler. But this idea that it would take a “major package” to get him reminds me of something. Oh, that’s right, all of last offseason where we heard the same thing with Lauri Markkanen. That ended up turning into nothing, and we’re seeing the same playbook. Utah is happy with Kessler, but if there’s a team out there to give a major overpay, it sounds like Utah won’t turn that down. Looking back at this offseason and how it panned out. Teams like the Warriors and Kings, who were very interested in Markkanen, certainly look like they might regret not paying the huge price tag.

As far as Sexton and Clarkson, it seems pretty obvious that Utah is likely going for the highest possible package they can get for Collin Sexton. That may take time but Utah needs to think about the ramifications of having Sexton potentially costing them losses down the road. Utah is in an extremely tight race for Cooper Flagg and should think about making a move sooner than later to make that more possible.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending