Video: The Hallucinogen Wall - Hayden Kennedy

Edelweiss athlete, Hayden Kennedy and Nik Berry are featured in this inspiring video of them free climbing the notorious Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon of Colorado. It took them a little over 9 hours with no falls while leading and seconding it.

Getting to Know Hayden Kennedy

You’ve heard of his amazing ascents in Pakistan, Patagonia, and even Indian Creek. You’ve seen the videos, headlines, and photos. But do you really know the person behind the name?

We’ve asked Edelweiss athlete, Hayden Kennedy to step off the rock and expose who he really is, what makes him tick, and to share some personal things about himself.

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.

Edelweiss Athlete - Hayden Kennedy

Hayden Kennedy has done it all. From boulders, to bolts, to gear he likes it all. In fact, Kennedy spent his childhood exploring the mountain-west. As a young lad he found a nice balance between climbing, hiking, skiing, and kayaking. It wasn’t until he was 13 when his preference for outdoor sports got very lopsided...meaning that it went super-heavy on the climbing side.

The South Face of The Ogre - An Award Winning Ascent

"One of the 6 winners of the Piolets d'Or 2013. The Ogre is one of the most celebrated of the world's mountains yet until last year had been summited only twice, and never from the south, despite many attempts. The Americans Kyle Dempster, Hayden Kennedy, and Josh Wharton chose a cunning line up the southeast ridge to southeast face to south face. Gaining the upper south face involved a steep traverse across complete rubble and, higher, they overcame hard sections of mixed ground. From a bivouac at 6,900m, Dempster and Kennedy reached the summit but then had to make a difficult descent with an unwell Wharton.

Video by Vinicio Stefanello (Planetmountain.com) & Francesco Mansutti for the Piolets d'Or 2013. Courmayeur, Chamonix - Mont Blanc." -PlanetMountain.com

Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy are both Edelweiss U.S.A. athletes.
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Piolets d’Or Awarded To All Six Nominated Ascents

Photo by Pascal Tournaire.
Courtesy of Piolets d'Or.

A huge “Congratulations!” goes out to all the alpinists that received a Piolet d’Or for their phenomenal ascents during 2012. Among the six ascents that were awarded, Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy’s ascent up the south face of The Ogre (Baintha Brakk) in Pakistan was one of them. Kyle and Hayden are both Edelweiss athletes and live in Salt Lake City, UT and Carbondale, CO.

As reported in the official press release and on various climbing media websites, this year’s prestigious award didn’t go to just one or three ascents but to six:

• Baintha Brakk, a.k.a. The Ogre (7,285m), Pakistan
• Nanga Parbat (8,125m), Pakistan
• Kyashar (6,770m), Nepal
• Muztagh Tower (7,284m), Pakistan
• Kamet (7,756m), India
• Shiva (6,142m), India

In addition to those ascents, a Special Mention was given to two ascents on Cerro Torre—one of them made by Hayden Kennedy—for their honorary ethics of style and respect.

K7 and The Ogre or bust!

Good luck to Edelweiss USA athletes Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy on their attempts on K7 and the Ogre!

They are headed out the door to Pakistan and knowing them, they are out to climb something new or really tough.