The incredible 'Stone Nudes'

It is a breathtaking - and death-defying feat - which redefines the term extreme sport. Battling both gravity and the elements, the climber claws her way up a granite boulder by just her fingertips.

For most, the lack of ropes and safety equipment would be a perilous step too far. But this woman has gone even further and abandoned her clothes to take part in the new sport of naked rock climbing.

The climber is one of a series of super-fit 'Stone Nudes' captured in action on the cliffs and mountains of America.

Without clothes, specialist shoes or other equipment, participants say the experience captures the 'true essence of the climbing spirit.'

It is the latest extreme sport craze to sweep the US, and is now tipped to become a popular pastime in the UK.

Climbing Accidents

Climbing is the "Safest" of the Extreme Sports

Photo Credit: Scott Hailstone/iStock

Even with the current mania in this country for rock climbing, the number of deaths in the U.S. from all climbing accidents averages about 25 per year, or about 1 death every other week. This makes climbing one of the safest of the “extreme” sports. So why do many people think that climbing is so dangerous? That may be due in part to the fact that climbing accidents often get a disproportionate amount of media coverage, leading many to feel that climbing accidents are much more frequent than they really are. The fact of the matter is, climbing accidents are so rare that they almost fail to show up on many accident charts at all.

What Causes Most Climbing Accidents?

Lack of proper training is the leading cause of climbing accidents, followed by equipment failure or the lack of proper equipment maintenance. Many people simply drive to a climbing area and try their hand at it with little or nothing in the way of training and almost no equipment—and then they are surprised when they suffer an accident.
Accidents are also caused by simple overconfidence; climbers think they know more than they actually do and suddenly find themselves in a dangerous situation with no idea of what to do.
Carelessness is another cause of climbing accidents. Equipment must be maintained and checked (and re-checked) before each climb. Carelessness ties in with overconfidence many times. New climbers check and re-check knots and the set up of their belayer…but as climbers gain more experience and become too confident in their climbing abilities, these things tend to become less important – and that’s when accidents happen.

Tips for Remaining Accident and Injury Free

An injury can keep you from climbing for an entire season. Even a minor injury can be annoying and painful. Here are a few tips for reducing your chances of being injured while climbing.
Start by warming up your muscles before a climb. Do some stretching exercises to limber your muscles and to get your core body temperature up. Also, when you are finished with your climb take a few minutes to allow your body to cool down.
Don’t overdo it. Many climbers become fanatical and spend every free minute climbing. This is bad for your muscles and bad for your entire body. Pace yourself. Never climb more than 4 times a week – fewer times if you are doing strenuous climbing. Climbing with tired or weak muscles is a prescription for disaster.
Never climb when you are injured. A sprained finger or a stretched or torn tendon or ligament will not be improved by a climbing session. As difficult as it may be to admit that you have an injury and to stay away from climbing, you will do yourself and others a world of good and help to reduce the number and severity of climbing accidents if you will refrain from climbing until your body is in peak shape.

Let Common Sense Be Your Guide

Know your limits and don’t put yourself in a position that takes you well past those limits. Train and keep training – and always climb with a buddy. Climbing can be a great sport, an excellent way to test your physical and physiological limits – but be careful out there.

Rock Climbing: A religious practice?

Chris O’Connel, owner and aficionado of the Boston Rock Gym contacted me a few weeks back. O’Connel is a dedicated and kindly reader of my almost daily epistle and wondered if rock climbing was on my agenda during my year of “elite fitness.” HELL YA! I replied.

As many of you may know, I work in social media consulting. I cut out the PR agency out of a media campaign and take it straight to the web. I create a digital strategy to capture the the trends of the media as it has almost fully jumped ship from newspapers and radio to cloud computing, mobile devices and social networking.

Anyway, I’m on board at the Boston Rock Gym and in turn I get to train and write about my experiences as a novice ( oh so novice) climber who still has more junk in the trunk than she should and a bosom that keeps her from actually getting flush against the wall. I wonder if my Zaftig figure is akin to a bulldog swimming? Are we both destined to drop like a boulder in water? Time will tell.

What I do know is the following:

I humbly bow before the young athletes that do climb, boulder and forge new, breathtaking death defying routes for the immortal to chance their luck.

I say this with out pretense and with complete humility.

I had the pleasure of attending the Reel Rock Film Festival at The Regent in Arlington last Thursday night.

Two words from the Film Festival: Alex Honnold. (PLEASE WATCH VIDEO)

I will plainly admit: I have no words to describe Honnold as a climber. The 23 year-old, featured in Nat Geo’s new series, First Ascent, becomes the first person to free solo Half Dome’s NW face. And, for those not in the climbing community, this means the kid climbed a sheer, flat rock without ropes. Honnold climbed with pluck, a quiet mind and graceful gait.

The California Geological Survey about Half Dome in 1865 stated: “It is a crest of granite… perfectly inaccessible, being probably the only one of the prominent points about the Yosemite which never has been, and never will be, trodden my human foot.” Well, it got trodden, people by a veritable Spiderman.

As I watched this episode of Honnold’s ascent, I felt dizzy, nauseous and quite honestly not believing my eyes. I sought information. How does a person train for such a climb? What is Honnold’s diet? Does Honnold have water with him? How the hell is this being filmed? The only facts I received that were even tangentially related to Honnold were that he reads Dostoyevsky, he possibly has never been kissed, lives in a van and arguably has the empty mind and quiet soul of the Buddha (sans body fat) seeking enlightenment not under a tree but in his embrace of the rock.

Rock Climbing Extrem

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Starring: James Franco.

To quote the priest in Breaking the Waves, “You are a sinner, Anthony Dod Mantle, and you deserve your place in Hell.” Well, be it a blasphemy to be a sinfully good cinematographer, then Mantle has surely earned his spot in the inferno. With the spectacular lensing of 127 Hours, Mantle and co-cinematographer Enrique Chediak prove that sometimes life is at its most exhilarating when delivered at twenty-four frames per second.

127 Hours marks Mantle’s fourth collaboration with writer/director Danny Boyle, their most recent project being 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. Whereas Slumdog was an overhyped lapse into sentimentality and cultural appropriation, not to mention a real hack-job of a great book, 127 Hours is a triumphant and inspiring story of survival. Not only is 127 HoursBoyle ’s best film since Trainspotting, it’s also a flawless piece of filmmaking.

The opening sequence of the film introduces Aron Ralston (James Franco). An avid outdoorsman, Aron embarks on a weekend hiking trip. His preparations are rendered in a frenetic montage that is sure to excite whichever moviegoers are not already fleeing for the exits. The hyper-kinetic style continues as Aron begins his trek, and it soon becomes clear that Boyle and his technical crew have envisioned a spectacular means to replicate the adrenaline rush that Aron gets from his extreme adventures. The brisk pace and roller-coaster energy of the first act ensure that 127 Hours is a cinematic high unlike any other.

The most enthralling part of Aron’s journey, however, occurs when all his rock climbing and cliff jumping ends. In a quick moment, while traversing a wide crack in the surface, Aron’s support gives way and he falls into the deep ravine. He becomes trapped in the hole, as an enormous boulder breaks away during the fall and crushes his arm. The rock is too heavy to move and he, literally, is caught between a rock and a hard place. Coincidentally, 127 Hours is based on Ralston’s memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place, so the outcome is not nearly as bleak as it sounds. True, Aron’s prospects are extremely dire: equipped with only a few hundred millilitres of water and minor food rations, he has little to sustain him until help arrives. He soon realizes that the likelihood of assistance is minimal, for he remembers that he informed nobody of his trip. The hopelessness of Aron’s situation is punctuated by a stunning aerial shot in which Mantle takes the camera from Aron’s landing spot and ascends the precipice from which he fell, zooming out until the frame stresses Aron’s isolation with an expansive birds-eye view.

Aron’s predicament is especially troubling because he is such an experienced climber. One cannot imagine how a less-prepared climber would have fared in such a situation. (Well, that’s not true…) The subsequent hour or so depicting Aron’s attempts to free himself are a harrowing, white-knuckle inducing feat. Rendering each moment thoroughly captivating is James Franco’s stellar performance as Aron. Franco essentially performs a one-man show in 127 Hours and it’s anything but boring. Not only is the role physically demanding, but also it requires Franco to reach the most complex levels of Ralston’s tormented psyche, which becomes extremely volatile in the final stages of his despair. Throughout 127 Hours, though, Franco never abandon's Ralton's lust for life. The extent to which Franco propels himself into the role makes Aron Ralston one of the most affecting and impressive achievements of the year.

Accentuating the heroism of Ralston’s survival is Boyle’s ability to depict the minor details that both give and take hope from Aron’s situation. Of particular note are the beautiful shots in which Aron gets fifteen minutes of sunlight to warm up: the way the camera captures the light quickly moving across the rocks is but one way in which the natural elements of the setting are exploited to an ominous effect. The film’s greatest moment, though, is bold scene in which Aron decides that the only way to free himself is to cut off his own arm. While many filmmakers would shy away from depicting such a gruesome sight, Boyle holds the shot on Aron throughout the whole ordeal. The physical exertion of Franco’s performance makes this scene unbearably shocking, riveting, and emotionally draining – if you thought watching Charlotte Gainsbourg’s self-mutilation in Antichrist was an ordeal, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Thanks to Boyle’s fearless staging, Ralston’s unfathomable extrication is the consummate moment that defines the film.

127 Hours is easily Boyle’s finest accomplishment as a director. It also marks some career-high work from his collaborators including Franco, Mantle and Chediak, and editor Jon Harris, as well as composer A.R. Rahman, whose score pulsates through 127 Hours with an electrifying beat. 127 Hours is a uniquely inspiring film that is guaranteed to leave you breathless.

The Emerald Krabi – Rock Climbing

Krabi is situated in Krabi Province of the Southern Thailand, covering an area of 4,708 square kilometers facing the Andaman Sea in the west, has a beautiful term as the Emerald on the Andaman Sea.




Home to many natural marine lives, stretches of virgin coral reefs and numerous islands and caves, Krabi is most famous for their remarkable limestone cliffs and rock formations

And hence one of the main activities in Krabi is – Rock Climbing. Believe it, many extreme adventure seeker come to this place, solely to look for a high challenge on the steep wall of nature.




It was the second day of my trip in Krabi, the waves were not as choppy that morning. So we went out to sea on a speed boat to see the beautiful coastal cliffs and island landscapes of the Andaman Sea’s jewel.


I like my AirAsia cap


The ride was really really bumpy despite the calm waves. Imagine this, I was standing on the front deck of the boat, and when the boat hit a coming wave, I would be bounced 2 feet into the sky, it was like a trampoline at sea.




I wanted to stay on the boat forever, but we arrived at our destination some 30 minutes later. How time flies when you’re having fun~

The boatman climbed in front to anchor the yacht.




It’s amazing how these people can steady themselves so well on the edge of the boat. I mean, what if he falls huh? And stepped on a sea urchin or something, don’t think I’m kidding, two guys stepped on few while snorkeling that day.

Well, at least you know you’re pretty close to nature this way, lol. And bet sea urchins do come cheap here.

Apart from meeting many other foreign rock climbers here, the amazing structure of the cliff facing the sea makes climbing on vertical walls seems a lot more fun, and romantic.




Better than climbing fake stones pin on flat walls in shopping complexes or indoor theme parks anyway.




Fake stone with holes! Ridiculous!!





Boring~~!!


Krabi has the real thing man!

Just look at how high this baby (the wall I mean) can go.




Higher




And higher



Oh look mommy, no hands.


You don’t find shopping complexes built that high do you?

That mini guy on the cliff you see there is the lead climber. It means he’s the first to climb the cliff, without any safety rope. Basically a lead climber climbs up cliff at any height to hook ropes to safety pins that was already fixed into the cliff so climbers can climb safely.

I was sweating just looking at him hanging with his fingers some 30 feet above ground, rope-less....

My challenge…however, is this. The little baby next to the big manly cliff.





Me putting on my safety harness


Honestly I never though I could do it. But rock climbing, as I learned, it not all about using pure arm and finger strength (neither which I have); the most important part is to hook your hands onto the rocks, and push yourself up with your legs.




The trick however, is focus. Focus really hard on the rocks, find your next curve or point where you can grab onto with your fingers. And before I knew it, I have reached the top with ease (after much screaming and wailing). No sweat.

Once you’re up there, hang around, the view is great!




While I was attempting the small and easy climb, this dude was doing a jump-and-climb stunt.

The Deepest Cave

Located in the politically ambiguous Republic of Abkhazia, the Voronya Cave (Crows’ Cave, in Russian) plunges 7,188 feet (2,191 m) into the depths of the Arabika Massif, a limestone formation dating back to the Age of Dinosaurs. Also known as the Krubera cave (after Russian geographer Alexander Kruber), the cave was discovered in 1960 and has surpassed Austria’s Lamprechtsofen as the world’s deepest cave and the only known cave deeper than 2,000 meters (6,561.5 ft).

Credit must be given to the the Ukrainian Speleological Association for establishing a series of depth records in the Voronya Cave and its many subsidiary caves. Beginning in the early 1980s, the Ukr.S.A. began deliberately clearing blockages and expanding squeeze points so that cave explorers could penetrate ever deeper into the interconnected caves. The current record depth of 7,188 feet (2,191 m) was set in the autumn of 2007 but as the Ukr.S.A. mounts annual expeditions to the Voronya Cave system, it’s possible those figures could change.

The Most Remote Land

A “pole of inaccessibility” is that point on a continent that is the greatest distance from any ocean in any direction – the North American PofA is in South Dakota. There’s a hierarchy among poles of inaccessibility, however, and the most inaccessible of all lies in the frigid wastelands of Antarctica.

In 1958 the Soviet Union established a base at the Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility which they quickly abandoned. Before leaving the base, the Soviet team installed a golden bust (OK, it’s plastic) of Lenin to oversee the icy landscape and mark the USSR’s global reach. Lenin’s eyes gaze back wistfully in the direction of Moscow – on the bright side, he won’t be troubled by pigeons. Below the bust, nearly inundated by years of snow, is a small hut that contains a guest book for visitors to sign. I’m guessing it’s a very thin periodical.

Sandstone and the Coming of Winter to the Northeast

Me sending "Gurkha" (5.12-), Reservoir Wall, Indian Creek

At the end of October Katy and I made a trip to the great red desert. We got seven climbing days in with perfect weather. The highlights were Katy's first Indian Creek leads of routes that actually have names; and, my onsights of "Anunnaki" (5.12-), Optimator Wall, "Dos Hermanos" (5.11+), Donnelly Canyon, "Tips Layback" (5.11+), Power Wall, and "Layaway Plan" (5.11+), Rambo Wall, among others. I'm finally making some gains at the Creek - this was my fifth trip to the land of the perfect splitters! Can't wait to go back!!!!

"Leave It to Jesus" (5.11d), Endless Wall, New River Gorge, WV

Just before Thanksgiving, Katy and I managed to have four days of perfect rock climbing weather down in the amazing "Creek of the East" - the New River Gorge of West Virginia. The Nutall Sandstone of the New makes the Wingate Sandstone of the Creek seem soft! It's amazing stuff - hard like granite yet the locks are soft like sandstone. I onsighted "Leave It to Jesus" which has long been a dream of mine. It is one of the finest pitches of rock climbing anywhere. What a spectacular gem it is!!!! She go! Katy red-pointed "New Yosemite" which had been a nemesis of hers, so she was psyched! The other highlights for me were "Chasin' the Wind" (5.11b) at Beauty Mtn., and "Stuck in Another Dimension" (5.11a) at the Junkyard Wall. Lovin' the NEW!

Audrey Gariepy and Mat Audibert at St. Alban, QC

Lately I have been traveling up to Quebec as often as I can to train for the comp at Ouray which is fast approaching. I was roped soloing up there one day in the rain when Audrey and Mat showed up. They were literally on their way to Canmore and stopped by for a burn before driving across the vast flat middle of the continent. Gotta love the Quebecois! Can't wait for Ouray!

Me on "Omega" (WI5+), Cannon Cliff, NH (Photo by Andy Tuthill)

Winter came with a vengeance to the Northeast at the beginning of December! Cannon and Lake Willoughby are going off! Everything's in! Jim Ewing and I climbed "Omega" and "Prozac" on Sunday the 2nd of December. On Monday, I led a drytooling clinic at the Boston Rock Gym and it snowed over a foot up north during my absence. I went back up to Cannon for more with Andy Tuthill on Tuesday the 4th of December. We climbed "Omega" again in full conditions. It was my eighth ascent of this marvelous route (it was Andy's fourth - his first and second times were in the late 70's though . . . what a stud!) It is days like these that make life so precious!

More Utah shots

Here are a few awesome shots of the price of evil taken by the legendary Heinz Zak.

Bellyful of Bad Berries

Thanks Heinz!

Here in Massachusetts, things are smaller and not quite as exciting...

Unless you try to go skiing...

This is a trip report of my fall in Yosemite and Utah. Enjoy!

Yosemite

The weather in the Valley this fall was not exactly Ideal. A couple of huge rainstorms soaked the Capitan to it's core, resulting in prolonged periods of seeping cracks and wet faces. This is what ultimately shut down our proj for the season, but we still made some great progress.
Over the past year, Brad Gobright and I have been working on a new free line on the west side of El Cap. The route will be an 8 pitch variation to the Huber's Golden Gate, leaving the Salathe 6 pitches earlier. The variation has a handful of difficult pitches that will make the route more direct and quite a bit harder than GG.
This October we went for a full redpoint attempt on the route. After 4 days on the wall, we had team freed up to the 23rd pitch; a short, steep, exposed arete that marks the final crux before joining GG. We quickly saw that it was dripping, no doubt from the torrential rain right before we got on the wall. After a day and a half of waiting and trying to dry the pitch we bailed, intending to return five days or so later when the pitch would be dry. Five days or so later brought even heavier rains, and with November near that was it for the season.

On the 12c roof pitch
Photo- Tom Evans

Brad about to lead the first 5.13 pitch

On a heady 12+ pitch

On the 5.11R/X 24th pitch
Photo- Tom Evans


Inspired by my good friend Will Stanhope who sent the day before, I managed to nab an ascent of the painfull Sasquatch (a steep finger crack put up by Dean Potter) before I left the valley.

Once in Moab, my Israeli friend Amit and I got straight to business on an old Indian Creek project of mine. It was a route I found at Reservoir Wall in 2008 with Nico Favresse. Nico left before he could do it, and I couldn't link the crimpy less-than-tips moves on lead. After 2 days of work on it this November tho, I was able to send what we called Machete 5.13.

Red Rocks

I had to go to Vegas for a week, and while out there I got an onsight of the classic Desert Gold 5.13a. Sadly though, I have no pictures!


Utah

Next up was a project that had been haunting me since I first found it a year and a half ago. Its a second pitch offwidth roof right off the road near Blue Gramma cliff. I had given this route many tries, and destroyed a few pairs of pants and shoes. I was reluctant to get back on it, knowing how hard, painfull, and un-fun the pitch was, but after three more back breaking sessions, I finally fired the FA. I called it The Price of Evil 5.13-, a name Pamela Shanti Pack came up with, as she had come close to sending the route this spring.

Photos- Brad Gobright

The last few weeks of the trip was mostly spent highlining, but I did get out to send a few other nice routes. Had a nice day out at the Crackhouse with friends and some BASE jumping hooligans, sending it from the Potter traverse start. I also got to do the first free ascent of a really nice sport route on Potash road. My friend Ryan, who was on the FA team was nice enough to let me get on it. Horizontal Mambo-5.12d climbs the start of the popular Bad Moki Roof, then traverses right out the middle of the massive roof on awesome jugs, culminating with a sandy, insecure mantle. Definitely the steepest line on Potash. In near darkness after a couple sessions, I sent wearing a headlamp with dying batteries.
The last send of the trip was Bushido-5.13, a massive underclinging arch first sent by Noah Bigwood. I headed up there with Canyon Cain, a local crusher, who by the age of thirteen has already sent 5.13 in the Creek. I gave it a solid onsight attempt falling at the final crux, 25 feet from the end. Canyons micro hands made the first half of the route a lot harder, but he made a solid effort. I returned a few days later for the redpoint, and what I think was the fourth or fifth ascent.

Bushido is the upper arch

Back in Mass now, its either Patagonia or plastic season, and I'm choosing plastic this round. Getting psyched for the spring.