La Sportiva News
Wilkinson, Bergman, Ditto and Goodman bag unclimbed Indian Spire
Inspired by a postcard-size photo that Freddie Wilkinson had seen in a shop, Janet Bergman, Ben Ditto, Pat Goodman, and Wilkinson planned to attempt new routes in the Manikaran Spires, southeast of Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Read More...
Golden Climbing Shoes Award Seoul, South Korea
On Friday 7th of November, the first edition of the Golden Climbing Shoes Award will be held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea: an appointment set to become an important annual event in the Far Eastern mountaineering scenario. Thirty journalists from all over the world will elect the Far Eastern athlete to be awarded this first, exclusive title for outstanding performance in both indoor and outdoor climbing competitions. Read More...
Hound Ears Bouldering
Check out the report on the first event of the Triple Crown- Hound Ears, NC Read More...
Alex Honnold Free Solos Half Dome
Alex Honnold made his mark in the Valley again on September 6, 2008 with the first free solo of the Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches) on Half Dome. Perhaps Honnold's greatest achievement prior was his landmark free solo of Moonlight Buttress (V 5.12+, 9 pitches), Zion National Park, Utah. Read More...
La Sportiva Mountain Cup Wraps Up, Vail, CO
The La Sportiva Mountain Cup wrapped up, appropriately enough, in Vail, Colorado, one of the capitals of mountain running in North America. Vail created a special course just for this event, which was greatly appreciated by these runners in particular, who were a "who's who" in the sport; it was like a mountain running convention.
Every top placement - 12 in all - could still change when the gun went off at Sunday 9 AM. The final overall standings reflected the state of the sport today: some very close finishes, plenty of familiar names re-asserting their fitness, as well as new names getting closer to the podium. Read More...
Magic Mushroom in 20 hours- Tommy Caldwell goes huge
20 hours and 2 minutes — that’s how long it took Tommy Caldwell to free-climb Magic Mushroom (VI 5.14a), a strong contender for the world’s hardest big wall, in a single push, leading every pitch Read More...
Sean McColl takes the top spot at the Tour De Bloc Bouldering Championships
For the third consecutive year, Canadian wunderkind Sean McColl took top spot at the Tour De Bloc Bouldering Championships this past weekend (May 18, 2008), having little challenge defeating a strong field of contenders. Read More...
Caldwell and Sjong first free ascent of Magic Mushroom
After working the route for five weeks, Caldwell and Sjong began their free ascent on May 12 at 5 a.m. Climbing ground up in a push, they each freed every pitch, swinging leads. The route is reported as very high quality, and very steep: the top twelve pitches overhang the entire way. Though the 5.14a crux of the Dihedral Wall (VI 5.8 A3, Baldwin-Cooper-Denny, 1962), which Caldwell freed at 5.14a in 2005, is perhaps more difficult than any single move on Magic Mushroom, Magic Mushroom is far more sustained, with eleven 5.13 or 5.14 pitches and nine 5.12 to 5.12+ pitches.
Read More...
Meltzer and McDowell take 2nd & 3rd at the Jemez 50 mile
The Third Annual Jemez Mountain Trail Runs took place under perfect conditions just west of Los Alamos, New Mexico. La Sportiva athletes Karl Meltzer and Nate McDowell took 2nd and 3rd. See the race report here! Read More...
First Ascent of Bat Ears by Sportiva Athletes
Ben Gilmore, Maxime Turgeon, and Freddie Wilkinson have completed the first ascent of the Bat’s Ears, an 11,044-foot peak that was possibly the highest unclimbed major summit in the Alaska Range. Read More...
Colorado Headpoint Gets Four Repeats
The trad-style/headpoint testpiece Must’a Been High (5.13c R), on the Rincon Wall in Eldorado Springs Canyon, Colorado, saw a record four ascents over a three-week period in late February, early March. Read More...
Daniel Woods magic v13
On April, 28 American Daniel Woods, 18, made a first ascent of Metamorphosis (V13) in Switzerland's granite bouldering mecca, Magic Woods.
Woods, who placed third at the Bouldering World Cup ten days prior too his big FA, commented on his 8a.nu scorecard that the roof problem of Metamorphosis is steep and powerful. Read More...
Daniel Woods Takes 3rd in Bouldering World Cup
Daniel Woods finished third in the first bouldering World Cup of 2008, in Hall, Austria. The podium finish was Woods’ best result ever at a European competition. Read More...
2008 REEL ROCK FILMMAKING COMPETITION
The annual REEL ROCK Film Tour is gearing up for it's third season, with 100 or more screenings of the world's best climbing films coming to a city near you this fall. If you have a camera, a computer, and a fresh idea, one of the featured films could be yours!
The first ever REEL ROCK Filmmaking Competition is accepting submissions of short films (3 minutes max) in two categories: Action/Adventure, and Humor/Spoof, through July 15. Judges at Big UP Productions and Sender Films will select the top entries in each category and post them for online voting. The two winners will have their films featured on the REEL ROCK Tour, and will rake in grand prize packages from Windstopper, The North Face, Petzl, Osprey Packs, La Sportiva and Climbing and Urban Climber magazines.
Check out the REEL ROCK site for sample films and submission guidelines, then get those creative juices flowing, fire up the camcorders and laptops, and hit us with your best shot! Read More...
Alex Honnold Free Solos Moonlight Buttress
Alex Honnold Free Solos Moonlight Buttress...it is confirmed...more details to follow. Read More...
Audrey Gariepy cleans up in Icefall Brook Canyon, CA
In under ten days Audrey Gariepy, Caroline George, Jen Olson, Ines Papert and Jon Walsh blasted ten remote ice (up to WI6) and mixed (up to M12) routes, likely all new, in Icefall Brook canyon, Canadian Rockies. After taking a helicopter to the remote area, the five set up base camp within an hour of their farthest objective and climbed from March 11-19. Read More...
Beth Rodden Redpoints Meltdown- 5.14c
After 5 months of working it out, Beth Rodden has redpointed the first ascent of Meltdown (5.14c). Meltdown is the world's hardest traditional rock climb done by a woman. Yosemite National Park, California. Read More...
Lacelle and Gariepy Unearth Huge Ice Walls in Norway
Over two weeks in early February some of the world's best ice climbing talent—Guy Lacelle, Audrey Gariepy and Mathieu Audibert—ventured to Norway with filmmakers Chris Alstrin and Alex Lavigne in search of untapped ice. Even Lacelle, the ice expert who had been to Norway six times prior, was shocked at the quality and quantity of their discoveries. Within two weeks the team of four (Alstrin climbed; Lavigne was filming throughout) established six ice lines, likely all virgin and all at least 250 meters in length. Read More...
Paige Classen and Sean McColl take 3rd in Bouldering Nationals
Huge crowds gathered ti the Spot Gym in Boulder, concluding Season 9 of the American Bouldering Series. Congrats to Paige Classen and Sean McColl for taking 3rd. Read More...
New Englanders Complete Huge Traverse in Patagonia
New Hampsherites Dana “Mad Dog” Drummond and Freddie Wilkinson have done a superb three-day traverse of Aguja Guillaumet, Aguja Mermoz, and Fitz Roy by its North Pillar. The traverse was the culmination of three warm-up climbs, including two new routes or variations, completed during the incredible high-pressure system that settled over the Fitz Roy massif during the second half of January. Read More...
La Sportiva Athletes Jon Cardwell, Emily Harrington, and Pagie Classen send at USA Nationals
Momentum Climbing Gym hosted the USA Nationals Climbing Competition this weekend during the outdoor retailer tradeshow. Competitors put on quite a show for spectators, including super-finals and more! There were more than four hundred people there to watch as many of the top climbers in the USA battled it out. Read More...
Garibotti and Haley Complete Torre Traverse
Rolando Garibotti and Colin Haley have completed the much-discussed—and occasionally attempted—Torre Traverse: the link-up of Aguja Standhardt, Punta Herron, Torre Egger, and Cerro Torre in a single alpine-style outing.
Congratulations! Read More...
La Sportiva Athletes Jonny Copp and Micah Dash win the Mugs Stump Award
La Sportiva athletes Micah Dash and Jonny Copp just won the Mugs Stump Award for an unclimbed granite mountain in Tibet.
Climbing the first ascent of Dojitsenga (5800m), a triangular, alpine rock peak, all free in Alpine Style... The mountain lies between Rawu and Lhagu in the Kangri Garpo range of South Eastern Tibet. The peak has never seen an ascent.
Sean McColl Storms Bishop Bouldering
Since the end of December, La Sportiva athlete Sean McColl has sent Direction (V13) and Xavier's Roof (V12) in the Buttermilks; he also flashed a couple of V11 problems and added V11 sit starts to existing routes at the Sads. McColl completed The Mandala SDS (V13) once the snow melted...Congrats Read More...
Ouray Ice Fest Report
At 2008 Ouray Ice Competition, seventeen competitors qued up in near-zero temps for a go on what was certainly North America’s most unique—and exciting—mixed comp route ever.
Congrats to La Sportiva Athletes- Audrey Gariepy, Will, Mayo, Guy Lacelle and Maxime Turgeon
Read More...
Sir Edmund Hillary Passes Away
Legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary has died at age of 88. Hillary is perhaps the world's best-known climber, thrust into the limelight for his and Tenzing Norgay's first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, an event said by some as one of the finest exploratory achievements of the 20th century. Read More...
Colin Haley Summited Aguja Descomochada, Patagonia
Colin Haley spent Christmas climbing the rarely summited Aguja Desmochada in Patagonia via a partial new route. Colin Haley and Carsten von Birckhahn climbed the Northeast Ridge of Aguja Desmochada, completing “by far the easiest route on this difficult-to-reach summit, but [one that] will likely never become the voie normale.” Read More...
Will Mayo's success on Cannon Cliff, NH
New Englanders Andy Tuthill and Will Mayo have climbed a difficult new mixed route on Cannon Cliff in New Hampshire, 200 feet to the left of Omega (IV 5+) and just right of the Henderson Buttress. Read More...
Chris Sierzant takes 3rd in Triple Crown
La Sportiva athlete,Chris Sierzant, took 3rd at the Triple Crown- the biggest competition in the Southeast. The event is a fund-raiser for the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition and the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition and draws climbers from across the country. Congrats Chris! Read More...
La Sportiva Mountain Runners Chris Lundy and Anita Ortiz Mountain Runners of the year!
La Sportiva Mountain Runners Chris Lundy and Anita Ortiz are both awarded honors by the USATF as Mountain Runners of the Year.
Read More...
Vasya sends 5.15a Jaws II
Vasya Vorotnikov has re-redpointed Jaws at Rumney, New Hampshire, after several key holds broke, giving it a new name (Jaws II) and a whopping big grade: 5.15a.
HOLY WOW! Read More...
Four new route and three new summits for La Sportiva athlete Freddie Wilkinson
An American expedition completed four new routes in the Miyar Valley of India’s Himachel Pradesh mountains, climbing all free and bagging three virgin summits. Read More...
LaSportiva Mountain Running Athletes take 1st in Imogene Pass Run
Bernie Boettcher and Lisa Goldsmith take fist in the Imogene Pass Run. Congrats! Read More...
LaSportiva Trail Runner Tropy Series Down to the Wire
The La Sportiva Trail Runner Trophy Series enters its final month, early summer point-earners hold firmly onto top positions and only 19 races remain in the 2007 Trophy Series calendar. Read More...
Jonny Copp FA on the 19,200-foot “Shafat Fortress” in Kashmir, India.
Jonny Copp made a speedy, alpine-style first ascent of the 19,200-foot “Shafat Fortress” in Kashmir, India. Read More...
Haley and Westman send the Denali Diamond
Colin Haley and Mark Westman climbed the Denali Diamond route on McKinley's southwest face in June 2007. The pair is probably the fifth party to climb this asthetic line. Read more at Read More...
Emily Harrington 3rd in World Cup
Boulder climber placed 3rd in the World Cup in Zurich, Swizerland in June. To read about Emily's success visit Read More...
Daniel Woods nabs FA in RMNP
Daniel Woods has sent a new problem that has thwarrted many a suitor. Jade, known as Green 45, goes at V15. Read more at Read More...
Daniel Woods sends V13+
Daniel Woods has climbed a V13+ in Eldorado Canyon. To see photos and find out more about Suspension Disbelief go to Read More...
Mt Huntington Climbed in Winter
Colin Haley and Jed Brown made the probable first winter ascent of Mt Huntington in the Alaska Range. The pair made a rapied ascent of the West Face Couloir. Read more at Read More...
Ryan Nelson and Crystal Davis Robbins put up new route in Patagonia
February 11th, Ryan Nelson and Crystal Davis-Robbins established The Art of War (3300 feet, V 5.12a A2) on the South Face of Aguja de L's. To read more about the climb go here Read More...
Emily Harrington joins the 14b club
Boulder based climber Emily Harrrington has redpointed Burning Down The House at the Jailhouse crag in Sonora, CA. Read more here Read More...
Stephen Koch puts up a new route on The Grand
Hans Johnstone and Stephen Koch have established a new mixed route on the North Face of the Grand Teton. Squeeze Box (IV M7 A0) is a 1000 foot line splitting a steep granite buttress. read the story and see pics at Read More...
Daniel Woods wins ABS National Bouldering Championship
Daniel Woods has won another ABS Bouldering Nationals at the Earth Treks gym in Maryland on the weekend of February 17-19. Read more at Read More...
Mugs Stump Awards announced
The fifteenth annual Mugs Stump Awards grants have been announced and 3 of the 5 grants have been awarded to La Sportiva athletes and their partners. Among the recipients are new La Sportiva team member Colin Haley, Maxime Turgeon and Bean Bowers. To read more about the awards go to Read More...
Simone Moro attempting winter ascent of Broad Peak
Simone Moro has now reached basecamp on Broad Peak and is set for the summit bid for a winter ascent. Read more at Read More...
Cordes and Haley complete new link up on Cerro Torre
Colin Haley and Kelly Cordes have completed a fast alpine style ascent of a link up of two routes on Cerro Torre. The Masigny-Parkin line to the Col of Hope was strung together with the original 1974 route up the West Ridge to the summit. To read more check here Read More...
Near Miss in Nyainqentanglha
La Spotiva sales rep Mark Wilford along with Jim Lowther and Mark Richey came up just short on an attempt to climb Nenang an unclimbed 22,539 foot peak in far eastern Tibet. Read more and see great pictures here Read More...
La Sportiva launches Zero waste initiative
Here at La Sportiva N.A. Inc in Bouder, CO we have teamed up with Eco-Cycle to become a zero waste company. We will reuse, recycle and compost 90% of the waste from our facility in an effort to reduce our impact on the earth. Read More...
Woods sends in Frogtown
Daniel Woods made an impressive week-long, whirlwind visit to the Virgin River Gorge where he made an onsight ascent of Hell Comes to Frogtown (5.13d) on October 22, as well as ticking the VRG testpiece Necessary Evil (5.14c) in six attempts over four days, on October 28. Read More...
Bean Bowers and friends establish New Route on Mt Moran
Stealing a last bit of summer, Bean Bowers, Greg Collins, and Hans Johnstone onsighted a 5.12 new route on the South Buttress of Mt. Moran in Grant Teton National Park on September 29. Read More...
Daniel Woods sends Ode to the Modern Man V14
In September Daniel Woods sent Ode to the Modern Man a new V14 at Mt Evans. Read More...
Angela Eiter onsights 8B
The Austrian, Angela Eiter onsighted Skyline 8B at Burs, Austria. Read More...