The PlanetFear World Climbing Report

Welcome to planetFear’s weekly world climbing report, bringing you all the major highlights and first ascents from the global scene on rock, ice, and in the mountains.

After the storm of major news that swept the international scene last week, which included the first winter ascent of Anubis by Dave Macloed, almost certainly Scotland's hardest winter climb, and pioneering routes on big walls in Venezuela and Mexico,  this week as been relatively quiet one in the climbing world.

Nonethless, sport climbing's man-of-the-moment Adam Ondra had a productive day at Siurana: he repeated British climber Richard Simpson's mega route A Muerte (9a) in just three redpoints (having tried the route twice before on previous occasions). For most other climbers on the planet, this would rank as an exceptional personal achievement. But for someone who recently onsighted an 8b+ and two 8c's in the same day, doing a 9a third go probably wasn't a overly taxing affair. Ondra is clearly on his best form yet, and his activities this year will be watched with keen interest by sport climbers across the globe as he continues to push the glass ceiling of international standards ever higher. You can read more and view a short video of Cedric Lachat climbing A Muerte on Bjorn Pohl's blog.

Further news has emerged this week of some impressive big-wall adventuring in Patagonia over the winter. In late January, American climbers Ian Nicholson and Graham Zimmerman climbed the east face of Los Gemelos in the Torres del Paine area of Chilean Patagonia, making what is probably the third ascent of the mountain to date. Their route The Slash (IV+ 5.10b A2) takes a line across the lower of the twin peaks and then up the southeast ridge of the higher peak. You can read a full report with photos by Dougal Macdonald on the climbing.com website.

Top British trad climber and planetFear blogger George Ullrich was also in the Torres del Paine area over the winter. Along with fellow team mates Mason Earle and Peter Rhodes, George attempted to force a new free line up the extremely imposing 850m face of Cerro Catedral. The team started up the existing line of La Escobar De Dios (VI A4 5.10+) and then broke  left up the steepest part of the face. Ullrich put in an exceptional effort in onsight free-climbing the crux (A4) aid pitch of the existing route, and the team managed to make a series of superb hard free ascents above this, until they were stopped just over half way up the wall by some typically atrocious Patagonian weather.

“Can you give me a hand guys? My portaledge has collapsed” Ullrich reportedly exclaimed on the team's ninth night on the wall. They wisely retreated the next day in ever-deteriorating conditions, but deserve the highest praise for showing that a free ascent of the magnificent face of Cerro Catedral is possible. As possibly the youngest team ever to attempt a new route in Patagonia, we can surely expect news of some serious big-wall adventures from the trio in future. You can read an excellent article by Peter Rhodes on their Cerro Catedral epic on UKClimbing.com.

A few weeks ago, the news that top German alpinist Ines Papert lead two routes of Scottish VIII (the first of the grade ever lead by a woman) cranked up the tempo of women's winter climbing significantly. This week, there is a fascinating interview with Papert by Scottish winter expert and leading British mountaineer Ian Parnell on the planetmountain website, in which Papert discusses the extreme psychological challenge of the Scottish VIII's grade, and why, for her, mixed climbing protected by trad gear defines the future of hard winter climbing.

Planetmountain.com also released the tragic news this week of the recent death of Giovanna Cantamessa, on 9 March 2010. The 55 year old had been the chief coach of the Italian Sport Climbing Federation since 2002. His energy and enthusiasm for all aspects of climbing will be sorely missed by all those who knew him. Our deepest condolences go out to Cantamessa's family and friends.