Equipment and Nutrition for Modern Alpine Climbing

When climbing in Alpine style most discussion and debate are focused on the bivouac strategy.  Common questions are, do you plan to sleep?  Do you plan to lie down or sit on a pack?  Wear puffy pants or use a sleeping bag?  Should we share a sleeping bag?  Tent or no tent?  Generally the food and nutrition conversation gets wrapped up in this, because your bivy strategy generally determines how long you plan to be on route for.  Liberty Mountain distributes a number of products that have facilitated my success and helped me answer many of these questions climbing around the world.  The convenience of being able to get all these products from one source is unparalleled in my opinion.  I just got home from a trip in the Central Alaska Range where I completed a first ascent on the East Face of Mount Dickey (5,000’ AI6+M7 April 3-5) with Jackson Marvell.  Below I’ll talk through some of the products we used and how they allowed us to keep things light and fast on the wall.

Liberty Mountain distributes Valandre, a high quality down manufacturer based in the Pyrenees.  I use one big puffy on these routes and a half sleeping bag to cut weight and increase versatility. In the above photo I was in our first bevy using a Garmin inReach Mini to get an updated weather forecast.  Photo by: Jackson Marvell

On route we ate Mountain House meals for dinners.  It’s the lightest, and easiest way to get about 700 calories in. Aside from this, all food was either bars (Honey Stinger, Kind Bars, ProBars, Kate's Real Food) or GU. Our weight got lighter when a raven raided our first bivy and threw a stuff sack with 6,000 calories off the face.  This was also motivation to climb a bit faster!  A Jetboil Sumo made for a great on-route cook system. Since it melts water fast, we also just carried one Nalgene bottle and brewed up as needed. 

Making some water to start day three on route.  Photo by: Jackson Marvell

At our high bivy we had a surprise snowstorm, with about 4 inches accumulating.  We had 2,000 vertical feet of steep terrain (60-90 degrees) overhead and spent the night in a torrent of spindrift.  This is when we were pretty excited to have an Equinox Myotis Tarp, an ultralight sil-nylon tarp with tie-down points.  We draped this over our small, chopped snow ledge and all night the tarp got hammered by blast after blast of spindrift. That 8 foot by 8 foot sheet of silicone impregnated nylon likely made the difference between discomfort and serious danger!

Jackson at 4 am in the high bivy, counting the minutes until sunrise. 

Arguably as important as the bivouac and cook system, is the rope system.  When climbing on steep features with coarse granite, I generally like to go a bit beefier with my rope system.  It’s possible to be jugging on lines, or hauling packs and leading on one rope.  Because of this we used one Beal Joker, 60 meters X 9.1 MM and one Beal Ice line, 60 meters X 8.1 MM.  I also was really impressed with the new Beal Ghost harness, which has enough surface area to be comfortable but also packs down small and has minimal bulk.  On our trip we climbed 11,000’ of steep climbing and the ropes look no worse for wear.

Follow the leader.

Liberty Mountain is also the distributer for Grivel in North America. I am always happy to have their ‘hot forged’ steel in my corner.  The Thor Hammer, allows me to place pitons and specters with confidence and still climb on an aggressive tool, the Tech Machine.  Also, the G20 Plus is a super light, mono-point crampon with replaceable front point. A crampon like this is key for an expedition with multiple big, difficult objectives planned.  Another handy tool from Grivel on this route was the ‘Carryabiners' aluminum ice clippers. I have snapped several plastic ice clippers in cold temps.  Loosing your ice screws on a big route can mean a forced retreat, or worse if a safe retreat isn’t possible.  The last piece I’ll mention is the Plume Twin Gate carabiner.  My climbing partner was using a traditional screw gate carabiner.  He had to breathe or suck on his carabiner to get it to melt enough to open most of the time.  The plume twin gate, uses two wire gates to create a locking mechanism. There is no surface area to ice up, and I’m convinced it’s the best carabiner for ice and alpine climbing.

Using Outdoor Designs Denali Gauntlet gloves while vision-questing into mixed terrain. Photo by: Jackson Marvell

Liberty Mountain distributes the following products that were used on this ascent:

Grivel-

Plume Wire Gate

Plume Twin Gate

Thor Hammer

Tech Machines

G20 Plus

Carryabiners

Master Pro Belay device

Stealth Helmet

Beal-

Ice Line 8.1 60 meter

Joker Golden Dry 9.1 60 meter

Ghost Harness

Dyneema slings

6 mm accessory cord

Valandre-

G2 jacket

Bloody Mary sleeping bag (at base camp)

Nutrition-

Mountain House Meals

Gu 

Honey Stinger Waffles

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews

Kind Bars

PROBAR Meal Bars

PROBAR Bite Bars

PROBAR Almond Butter

Kate's Real Food Tram Bars

Other-

Equinox Myotis Ultralite tarp

Outdoor Designs Denali Gauntlet glove

Jetboil Sumo

Garmin inReach Mini

Nalgene bottle







Alan Rousseau is an AMGA, IFMGA, and UIAGM Certified Guide, and member of the Beal and Grivel athlete teams. Learn more about his climbing accomplishments here

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12-Months O’ Swing’n - Climbing Ice Every Month for a Year

Photo - Nathan Smith

Grivel and Beal athlete Alan Rousseau shares photos and stories from his escapades on ice over the last 12 months.

Around March of 2017, after five consecutive months of ice climbing, I looked ahead at my schedule and thought it looked realistic to get 12-months straight of swinging ice tools.  As an IFMGA mountain guide I travel around the world’s ranges lining up trips to fill my calendar.  I was working the 2016-2017 winter in my home range, The Wasatch. The spring was booked in the Alaska Range for April and May.  Then the summer was spent in Chamonix for June, July, and August.  To round out the year my long time expedition partner, Tino Villaneuva and I had secured the Mugs Stump Award and Copp Dash Inspire Award to head to Kashmir for September and October.  This year has been my craziest schedule to date.  I hope you enjoy experiencing the following images of my frozen year filled with hanging belays, spindrift caked hoods, and hot-forged-steel against frozen stone.

Fall of 2016 I felt a previously unparalleled psych for cold alpine climbing.  I had a ton of mixed projects in mind and spent my fall swinging around, bolting sections of Provo Canyon I had seen smears form on in years past.  My training was all ice-tool-centric; I neglected Rocktober, in hopes that I would be climbing ice in November.

November:

This is the first of the twelve-months and it kicked off with a bang.  Nathan Smith (guide book author and Salt Lake climber) called me up and told me there was a big ice route formed in the Beartooths.  The route “Ice Dragons” had seen a number of ascents recently and it was reported to be in fat condition.  We found 1300’ of friendly thick ice in WI3+ condition and it made for a great warm-up to the season.  More details can be found on the Liberty Mountain Blog here.

The next times on ice would proved to be a bit dicier, as they happened around the Salt Lake area quite early in the year.  A normal early season destination for people chomping at the bit the last couple of years has been the “Hell Gate” area in Alta, Utah.  Hell Gate’s high elevation gets snow early in the year, and then the melt freeze cycle creates some fickle frozen drips that never lack excitement. 

Pictured is Niels Meyer on “Hell Froze Over”.  Alta had been experiencing below freezing temps for only 24-hours when this photo was taken.

The last day of the month, was a good one.  I went down to Provo with a friend, Aaron Kurlan. We figured the ice would be too thin and we would probably just drytool.  When we pulled into the lot I saw an ice smear we had bolted in the fall was formed.  We were both bummed we didn’t get an earlier start but threw gear in our packs and made a dash for it.  Getting to the zone we bolted involved climbing a couple pitches of the previously established “Purgatorium” M6 WI6.  The ice was delaminated but the rock gear was reasonable.  From the top of the second pitch, our route deviates left through a few bolts of really technical M7/8 into a roof traverse with a mix of thin ice and big moves on rock.  The next pitch climbs a splitter dihedral that was choked with ice.  I was stoked a route I thought would take a year or two to form went down in November!  We named the route “Devine Mercy” as the climber must travel from “Purgatorium” to “Stairway to Heaven”. 

December:

With December’s arrival the Intermountain West ice season begins in earnest.  I took a couple trips to Bozeman, one of which was with Tino Villanueva as a bit of a training mission for India.  We got to get on some nice routes including the Mummy IV, which was in prime condition mid-December. 

I was also able to red-point another route I bolted this fall “Scenic Byway” M9+ the newest addition to the highway wall in Provo.  A four-bolt roof joins in with the same dagger “Highway to Hell” tops out on.

 Photo: Niels Meyer

January & February:

Generally no-brainer months for ice and this year was fortunately no different.  Guiding and teaching ice festival clinics brought me to Ouray to sample some of their reliable flows.

Also, the final yet to be red-pointed routes that I had bolted in Provo saw ascents.  Two M8/9 routes in Provo’s “Fang Amphitheater” that require spray-ice came into shape.

  

Mark Pugliese on “Kenny Sloggins” M8/9

March:

In addition to some days on the normal local circuit, I caught the North East face of Storm Mountain in Big Cottonwood Canyon in nice condition at the end of the month.  It’s one of the true alpine ice routes around the Wasatch.  Its upper elevation, and North East exposure generally cause it to form when everyone is complaining about how it’s too warm to ice climb.

Jake Current on the NE Face of Storm

April:

April means the end of Ice Season in most places.  Fortunately, April started a seven-week stint of guiding and personal climbing in the Central Alaska Range.  I was able to guide two successful ascents of “Ham and Eggs” (V WI4, 5.8) to the summit of the Moose’s Tooth, as well as the SW Ridge of Peak 11,300 (V WI3, 5.8).

May:

In May, I teamed up with another local Salt Lake climber Sam Novey. We had ambitious plans of trying the Moonflower Buttress on Mount Hunter and the Infinite Spur on Mount Foraker over a 20-day period. The weather this year in May was very unsettled in the Central Alaska Range.  We attempted The Moonflower four times over 15-days. Each time we were either stormed off, or encountered dangerous avalanche conditions and bailed.  Even on our best effort we had to endure four hours of intense spindrift under a tarp to get in 2,800’ of good climbing on the “Bibler-Klewin route”.

Sam Novey in the Mcnerthney ice dagger, we had both just freed “the prow” our first time on it, but the stoke turned to concern as the snow began to fall.

June: 

I arrived back home from Alaska the first day of June, and enjoyed some warm sunny weather for three weeks before the duffels were reloaded and the European Alps season began.  I am based in Chamonix, France for the summer, which is a great place to climb ice during the summer months.  A couple days of cold stormy weather is all it takes for granite corner systems to ice up.  The day after I arrived, I decided to kick jet lag by soloing the central route on the North Face of the Triangle to the top of Mont Blanc du Tacul, followed by the Cosmiques arête.  At AI3 M3 and probably ~1,500’ of climbing, the central route made for a pleasant way to reconnect with the Mont Blanc Massif.

July:

This summer there was no shortage of cold storms in the Alps.  Tino Villanueva and I managed to sneak in a good morning on some of the chimneys high on the Midi.  We both had to meet clients at noon, but climbed some fun water ice and rime features.  We would have sworn we had been transported to Patagonia.

August:

When I initially hatched this plan of climbing ice all year, I was most worried about August.  I got lucky in the middle of the month when a big, cold, wet system lined up with my days off.  I tried to find partners at the last minute for a mixed route, but came up empty handed.  I decided to solo a route I had climbed a number of times before, the Chere Couloir (WI4- 800’) located on Mont Blanc du Tacul.  The flash-freeze conditions made for thin engaging climbing and an aerated 85-degree crux forced me to hunt around for solid sticks.  Below is a photo from when I had guided it earlier in the season.    

September/October: 

The Chamonix season was an intense one.  On the last day of my season, September 1 (again on the Chere Couloir), I had guided 60 of the last 67 days.  I was glad to have a few down days before heading to India. We arrived in Dehli September 6, and traveled to  the Suru Valley in Kashmir to try the previously unclimbed peak “Rungofarka” (6495M).  Our first attempt was unsuccessful, only climbing about 2,000’ of terrain up to AI5+M5 on Rungofarka’s North Face.  After climbing as far as we could, there were no ledges for a bivouac in sight, and in light snow we retreated on September 25.   

After a few rest days, a high-pressure system moved in and we had changed our objective to the North Ridge.  

It appeared to be steppier and have options for bivouacs.  On September 30^th we moved up to our Advanced Base Camp for the night.  Over the next four days we accomplished the first peak ascent of Rungofarka via the North Ridge, a rowdy ~50-pitch route at VI M6 WI4+.  It made for an eventful end to a very cold year.   

The upper crux encountered the fourth day on route at 6300 meters

Our ascent took the left skyline of the peak September 30 - October 4 in alpine style.

For next couple weeks I plan to thaw out, and chill with my wife and our cat.  I’m sure I’ll be ready to lace up the boots in November, and keep the streak alive!

Alan Rousseau is an AMGA, IFMGA, and UIAGM Certified Guide, and member of the Beal and Grivel athlete teams. Learn more about his climbing accomplishments here 

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Gearing Up for Alaska

Grivel and Beal athlete Alan Rousseau shares his thoughts on the gear necessary for a successful climbing trip to Alaska.

This spring over the course of seven weeks I did three trips into the Alaska Range.  Two of these trips I was working as a mountain guide, and one was a personal trip.  Starting in mid April I guided the Ham and Eggs route on the Moose’s Tooth in the Ruth Gorge.  Late April I had a second client for another trip up Ham and Eggs followed by an ascent of the SW ridge of peak 11,300 (a mountain named by its elevation located in the West Fork of the Ruth Gorge).  

A look up the Moonflower

In May I met a friend of mine from Salt Lake and we made several attempts on the North buttress of Mount Hunter.  With this much climbing planned on a diversity of objectives my gear quiver was quite extensive.  For which I am thankful for Liberty Mountain’s support.  The focus of the following article will be on equipment I used for these various objectives and why they are suited well for climbing in the Alaska Range.  

Scoping the Mooses Tooth

Mid April in Alaska can be a pretty cold time, however, with spring arriving earlier and earlier I advised my clients that although it can be cold; it’s better to be cold on an ice climb than show up and have it melted out! I used warm double boots for all my trips into the range this year.  The boots I used fit well to both the Grivel G20 and G22 crampons.  For the Moose’s Tooth and Peak 11,300 I used the G22 crampon.  For long moderate routes the dual front-point reduces calf and ankle fatigue while providing a more solid platform.  

Rapelling Ham and Eggs

The North Machines made for an excellent ice tool on “Ham and Eggs” and Peak 11,300.  The swing weight is spot on, and the pick angle works really well on the lower angle ice (60-75 degrees) encountered on both of these routes.  The Hammer and adze are also both the “real deal”. There has been a trend lately with tools to make the adze and hammer smaller and smaller.  I feel on most tools out there the hammer is too small to actually place a piton or picket, and the adze is not large enough to really move some snow or chop a good bollard.  For big alpine routes it’s a huge advantage to not have to carry an actual wall hammer to place a solid piton.  Grivel tools are the only ones I feel like I can actually hammer with. 

Sorting ropes on Peak 11,300

Using ropes as insulation

When it comes to ropes there are endless options for routes like these, all have their merits.  For the Moose’s tooth, I used two, Beal Gullys (7.3mmx70m).  They are super light weight, and ultra water resistant.  It is important to have two ropes for the descent, and I feel fine about going with such a thin line since there is little rock encountered on the route and therefore few sharp edges.  Most of the pitches are full rope lengths on this route so it’s nice to have less rope weight.  For the SW ridge of 11,300 I opted to carry a Beal Gully on my back and for simplicity of handling the rope I used a single Beal Opera (8.5mm).  Guiding a route like the SW ridge the rope technique is changed often from long pitches, to simul climbing, to short roping, and short pitching.  Being able to have one rope instead of two can shave hours off your time at the end of guiding a big route.  For the descent it was nice to have a light twin rope to use on the rappels.  Some people prefer to use a 6mm cord for a tag line rappelling, however in cold windy places I find the 6mm tangles up a bit too much.  Although the 7.3 Gully is a little heavier it tangles less, and if a rope gets stuck it’s nice to know both ropes in your system are designed to take falls (should you have to lead up to retrieve a stuck line). 

Bollard on Ham and Eggs

Cornice at the top of peak 11,300

For the North buttress of Hunter, which has more difficult technical climbing a “sendier” set up is nice.  I changed my tools up to the Tech Machines, which was nice to have a solid match point for the harder mixed sections.  The tool’s pick angle is designed more for vertical to overhanging terrain.  The G20 crampon was my choice for this objective.  This lightweight crampon helps reduce fatigue, and using a mono point in rock terrain is much more comfortable for me.  A mono point allows the climber to pivot ones foot on small edges without levering off the hold.  I was happy to have it while freeing the Prow pitch, which used to have an A2 rating, and is now generally referred to as M7-.  

Moonflower pitch 9

For the Moonflower our rope set up also changed to a Beal joker (9.1mm) and a Beal gully.  For the harder pitches and pendulums on the route I prefer to have a rope over 9mm.  The last thing I want to be thinking about in the crux is if my rope is on a sharp edge.  I like climbing on skinny ropes, but there is a time and place for it.  Ask yourself what benefits you will gain by using a real skinny cord, and see if any apply to the climb you have at hand.  If its likely the leader or second will fall in rock terrain, or if jugging lines is a possibility think hard about if the skinniest rope is the right choice. 

The pieces of gear that I used for all of these objectives were the Grivel Stealth helmet, Grivel Sigma K8g and plume twin gate carabiners, Beal Mirage Harness, Cypher mydas draws and dyneema slings, and a Cilo Gear 34B pack.  The stealth helmet is super light and surprisingly durable.  The adjustment systems are simple and unlike most helmets with a “turn knob adjustment” the stealth’s adjustments will not freeze on you.  The Grivel twin gate carabiners have been a game changer for me, especially in cold environments.  I was so tired of having lockers freeze on me I began belaying with non-lockers on big cold alpine routes.  These twin gates have little surface area to freeze and once you get the hang of them they are easy to operate one handed with gloves on.  

Bivy on the descent of Peak 11,300

The Beal Mirage harness packs small, is lightweight, and has enough surface area to help keep circulation to your legs.  Weight savings is key with all the gear you have to bring up on these routes, the cypher mydas carabiners helped out a lot in this department.  I used four mydas sport draws and 6 mydas alpine draws with dyneema slings on the moonflower.  The last piece of gear I‘ll talk about is the Cilo gear 34B pack.  This bag has been with me for several years, hundreds of days of use, and the dyneema keeps on givin’ er.  It is small enough to still climb well, but if you go light you can fit a few days of kit in it.  Check out Cilo gear’s line of packs all handmade in the USA.

Cook tent at the base of Mooses Tooth

Ham and Eggs

I hope this has been helpful to see what equipment allows me to work and climb personal objectives in Alaska.  Now it’s time to pack for the next two months of guiding in the Alps, immediately followed by a personal climbing expedition on the India Pakistan border supported by the Mugs Stump Grant.  See you in October North America!     

-Alan Rousseau

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