Edu Marín Makes Second Free Ascent of 'Eternal Flame'

Edu Marín, climbing with support from his father and brother, has succeeded in making the second free ascent of 'Eternal Flame' on the Nameless Tower in Pakistan. 

The route was first climbed by Kurt Albert, Wolfgang Güllich, Christof Stiegler and Milan Sykora in 1989. It was 20 years before the Huber brothers would climb the route free in 2009.

Commenting in a post on his Instagram page, Marín laid out the possible unique nature of his ascent: "I have spent 28 days on the wall and I have sent it in a single push. Maybe I am the first climber who has lead all the pitches free climbing the route."

Marín is better known as a sport climber, but he has also climbed extensively in the Alps, completing a number of long, hard rock routes on classic alpine faces. He had previously attempted 'Eternal Flame' in the summer of 2021, but was forced to suspend his efforts due to the weather.

More details on the ascent can be found at Planet Mountain.

Benjamin Védrines Climbs Broad Peak in 7 Hours

French alpinist and mountain guide Benjamin Védrines has reportedly summitted Broad Peak (8051m), his first 8,000m peak, in a time of just 7 hours. Reports indicate that Védrines did not use supplemental Oxygen, had no Sherpa support and descended by paraglider from the summit ridge.

Védrines, a member of the GMHM in Chamonix, has had a very successful year in the mountains. In autumn 2021, he opened a new route on Chamlang with Charles Dubouloz before, in early 2022, completing the so-called 'Winter Alpine Super Trilogy' with Léo Billon and Sébastien Ratel, (more on that here) ahead of a sub-24 hour crossing of the Mont Blanc Massif with Mathéo Jacquemoud in May.

19th Century Matterhorn Drawings Go On Display

On 2 July 2022 a temporary exhibition of drawings from the Musée d'Orsay opened which includes two works by Gustave Doré that will be of significant interest to mountaineers and alpine historians; 'The Conquest of the Matterhorn' and 'The Catastrophe on the Matterhorn' done in August 1865 in pen and ink.

Doré was also responsible for the subsequent lithographs of the Matterhorn ascent, produced in consulatation with Edward Whymper and discussed in this Alpine Journal article of 1995 by Alan Lyall. As you will see from the piece, Lyall had not been able to view these two earlier drawings.

The Exhibition is entitled "Les Arpenteurs de rêves; Dessins du Musée d'Orsay" and is at the Palais Lumière in Evian-les-Bains from 2nd July to 1st November 2022. (Details here). It then transfers to the Musée des Beaux-Arts at Quimper from 15 December 2022 to 13 March 2023. 

The two works may also be viewed in significant detail on the website of the Musée d'Orsay by clicking each of the images below.

Many thanks to Mark Boxer for bringing this exhibition to our attention.

 

 

 

Pou Brothers & Micher Quito Add New Line to Pumahuacanca

Following a number of other recent ascents in Peru's Cordillera Blanca, the team of Iker Pou, Eneko Pou & Micher Quito have made the first ascent of a new route on the South-West face of Pumahuacanca (5,563m).

The 1,000m line was climbed alpine style in a single 12 and a half hour push from the team's high camp. This provided the inspiration for the route's name: 'One-Push'. The trio have described it as "the hardest high mountain route of our career", suggesting a grade of M7/85º/V.

More details are available at Planet Mountain.