Watch Edelweiss USA Athlete Cheyne Lempe on Baffin Island

Edelweiss USA athlete Cheyne Lempe came back from a trip to Baffin Island with a first ascent and a new outlook on adventure climbing. The trip started out as the fulfillment of a life long dream, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. Watch the short film "Haywire" to see the full story.

 Check out the full video here: https://vimeo.com/151439063

Baffin Island First Ascent - Cheyne Lempe

©Cheyne Lempe

Edelweiss athlete Cheyne Lempe and David Allfrey established a new route on the Great Cross Pillar in the Sam Ford Fjord on Baffin Island: Deconstructing Jenga (5.9+ A3+, 900m).

Zenyatta Mondatta Speed Ascent - Cheyne Lempe

On October 3, 2015, Edelweiss athlete Cheyne Lempe joined forces with David Allfrey and Skiy Detray to speed-climb Zenyatta Mondatta (A4, 16 pitches) on El Cap in Yosemite, establishing a new speed record on the route.

The Gear That Made It Happen With Cheyne Lempe

Edelweiss athlete, Cheyne Lempe has been jumping between Yosemite and Patagonia for the last few years. He's been setting some records and snagging first ascents on some phenomenal walls. In all of these adventures, he's kept one thing pretty consistent...his rope. Here's what he has to say about the Edelweiss Energy 9.5mm:

In the past few years, I have used the Edelweiss Energy 9.5mm climbing rope on more big routes than anything else. The rope has an incredible durability-to-weight ratio, and is a true workhorse. Dragging the rope through miles of abrasive granite down in Patagonia or grinding it up the huge walls of Yosemite, the rope has always been a crucial factor in my success.

The following images were taken during significant ascents while using the Edelweiss Energy rope:

The North Pillar Sit Start (5.11, C1, 2000m) - Fitz Roy Massif - Patagonia, Argentina - First ascent. Photo by Cheyne Lempe.

How to Climb the Yosemite Triple Crown in Under 24 Hours

Edelweiss athlete, Cheyne Lempe recently completed the Yosemite Triple Crown with Dave Allfrey in 22 hours 59 minutes, making them the third pair of climbers to ever complete a one-day linkup of Yosemite’s biggest walls. Photos courtesy of Cheyne Lempe.

Meet the Edelweiss USA Team

Edelweiss, the most reputable climbing rope manufacturer, has organized a team of USA climbers to represent the brand in the states as well as abroad. This solid group is made up of Joe Mills, Pamela Pack, Scott Adamson, Kyle Dempster, Heyden Kennedy, Angela VanWiemeersch, Scott Bennett, Cheyne Lempe.

Lucky Monkey - A Cheyne Lempe Video

This video was filmed and edited by Cheyne Lempe.

Cheyne Lempe Sets New Speed Record In Yosemite

Cheyne Lempe, an Edelweiss USA athlete, sets another speed record in Yosemite.

At the not-so-ripe age of 22, Cheyne Lempe headed off alone to climb the Salathe Wall in a day. The result? Cheyne ended up rope-soloing the wall in 20 hours and 6 minutes; a new solo speed record. In fact, Cheyne is now the second person to have ever rope-soloed the Salathe Wall, and is definitely the youngest.

Photo by Cheyne Lempe. A self portrait on the Salathe Wall.

Keeping Things Light With The Cypher Mydas

Cheyne Lempe, notorious for always being on a big wall, shares his thoughts about the Cypher Mydas carabiner.

"For some, a climbing-equipment-weight-reduction obsession may seem slightly ridiculous on single-pitch climbs or shorter length routes.  However, I have learned from climbing first ascents in Patagonia and solo big-wall pushes in Yosemite that the energy spent carrying excess weight for an extended amount of time is significant. The weight that I save while using the Cypher Mydas wire gate carabiner allows me to push myself higher, harder, and faster.

The two main factors that I use when deciding which carabiners to use are weight and clip-a-bility. Weighing in at 24 grams with a strength rating of 23kn, the Mydas is one of the lightest carabiners on the market. The spring tension of the gate is easy to clip, yet is stiff enough to prevent an accidental opening of the gate. The overall size is just big enough so that you won't fumble with gloves on."

--Cheyne Lempe

Photos © Austin Siadak.
See more of his work at http://austinsiadak.blogspot.com/

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Edelweiss Athlete - Cheyne Lempe

Cheyne Lempe is one of those hybrid climber-videographer fellows. Most of the time he has a harness on his waist and a camera in his pack to go climb the world. Other times he’s uploading a fresh new video to Vimeo while concocting a new climbing adventure in his head.

Video: Exposure Vol 1 Teaser

This video teaser features Edelweiss athlete, Cheyne Lempe in Patagonia.

"Go behind the scenes with Chuck Fryberger Films for their newest film, Exposure Vol 1. In this episode we follow Kyle Berkompas down to Patagonia as he attempts to film big wall climbers Cheyne Lempe and Dave Allfrey on their quest up Fitz Roy.

Everything seems to be going well until the climbers who are meant to be filmed don't return to base camp. For 36 hours."


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Shortest Straw Speed Record

The following trip report is from Edelweiss athlete, Cheyne Lempe.

At 4 a.m. my alarm went off... I'm nervously sweating. This climb would be epic blah blah blah.

I’m not going that start his post with a generic starting that sets an eerie mood for my tale of swimming in a sea of granite uncertainty. To be honest, I'm over it. I've climbed more than ten big walls this season, carried way too many haul bags, and don't want to suffer any more.

The Cheyne Lempe Slideshow

During the ninth annual Yosemite Facelift, Edelweiss athlete Cheyne Lempe was one of the headlining athletes presenting a slide show during the evening entertainment. With his slideshow called "Viva Patagonia," Cheyne dived into his story of adventure during the impressive first ascent of The North Pillar Sit Start in Patagonia.

The room went dark, a single spot light illuminated me, and I began to sweat with nervousness. It felt like 110 degrees due to the room being full of people that would surely rip into me for the potentially embarrassing slideshow. I took a deep breath, stumbled over my words, and attempted to express how traveling to Patagonia was one of the most influential experiences of my life.

A Service to El Cap

A gnarled mess of static ropes dangling on the East Ledges descent of Yosemite's El Cap has been a common avenue for those looking to return to the ground from their vertical trek on one of the world's most iconic cliffs.

Edelweiss Athlete Is The Youngest To Solo The Nose In A Day

In 1958, after 47 days, Warren Harding and his team stood on top of Yosemite's El Cap by means of climbing The Nose. This tall and technical route was first thought to be unclimbable, but Harding's team opened a "flood gate" that has now made The Nose to be "The Route of Accomplishment." Many climbers set out to be the first or the fastest to climb The Nose in a certain way.

The Nose is a 31 pitch route on a massive 2,900 foot granite prow and it beacons to be climbed. The first rope-solo climb of The Nose was made by Tom Bauman in 1969. It was Lynn Hill that finally made the first free ascent in 1993, taking her just 4 days to do so. Hill also nabbed the first free ascent in a day in 1994. Even to this day the battle of the male and female speed records continues.

Just recently we received word that one of our Edelweiss Athletes positioned himself as the 9th and youngest person to solo The Nose in a day.

Cheyne Lempe, age 21, spent a total of 19 hours on the route by himself. With a grigri for his solo device, 4 liters of water, and his iPod he rocked his way to the top. Lempe used the 70M Edelweiss Performance 9.2mm rope as he linked the 31 pitches into only 16 pitches.

Patagonia First Ascent - Cheyne Lempe

The mountain wanted to devour me, and hold me in its stomach forever. This route was going to be the longest climb of my life. A vertical net gain of 2000 meters seemed nearly impossible at my ability level. I wanted to climb the route more than I have ever wanted to climb anything else in my life.

Scott and I began climbing The North West Ridge of Aguja Mermoz into The North Pillar of Cerro Fitz Roy. We free climbed up to 5.11, and used points of aid, pendulums, and rappels to navigate through the tricky ridges along with wet and icy cracks. We successfully completed the wild idea to climb one of the longest route in El Chalten.

Climbing has always been a quintessential part of finding purpose. In the seemingly never-ending whirlwind of positive and negative emotions, I found peace in Patagonia.

-Cheyne Lempe