Home/Mountaineering/Cold Mountain information

The Cold Mountain Page

A collection of technical articles, and trip reports. Covers waterfall ice climbing in North America and climbing Mt McKinley.




Ice climbing

Note: The last ice climb I've done was the Theft in 1996. Things change.

The Ice FAQ

Ice climbing gear

Locations

Images and Stories

Personal trips

I started to climb ice in the Alps. See my collection of pictures of classic climbs and testpieces. In North America, I explored a few areas, among them Quebec, New England (from which comes the Tales from the wet side: a report by Greg Hager on a 1994 trip), Utah, and Colorado (don't miss the pictures of The Fang).

So far, my favorite area is the Canadian Rockies. In March 1994, I went on my first trip there. We struggled against bad conditions but managed to climb some classics, until an avalanche hit us on Polar Circus ( short report, pictures, recit en francais ). I returned to the Rockies in February 1996. This second trip was eventually more successful, ending on Sea of Vapors. See pictures and read my account as well as Wayne Trzyna's and Bob Cordery Cotter's.

However, my most memorable experience was climbing a new line in British Columbia, The Theft, 240m, V 6R, with Kevin Normoyle, another "rec.climber". The report is just a summary, but there are some pictures and also a "bumbly" version of the events, Eric Hirst style.

Other interesting accounts

The NA ice-climbing season 95-96 summarized

Mt McKinley, Alaska

The trilogy about my climb of the Upper West Rib solo

Other climbing reports


A different perspective

These stories, all by Mike Sarmiento, show that you don't have to go far or climb hard routes to have an excellent adventure.

Related Links

Home/Mountaineering/Cold Mountain information