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phaedrus
Nov 7, 2004, 1:52 AM
Post #1 of 2
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Registered: Sep 24, 2002
Posts: 3046
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Got this info from LANEX Ropes:
Published Nov. 06, 2004
On Thursday, September 9, 2004 the expedition SHS JAMES Shipton Spire 2004 returned to Slovakia. The expedition party included Igor Koller - leader, Vladimír Linek - assistant, Ivan ila - doctor, Gabo Čmárik, Martin Heuger, Dodo Kopold, Dino Kuráň, Miro Mrava, Jozef Santus and Braňo Turček.
All of the expedition party members are fine. The expedition went off without any problems, thanks in part to the excellent service provided by the agency Blue Sky Treks & Tours. The sporting results reflected the poor weather. It was raining or snowing about two thirds of the time spent at base camp. Locals described it as the worst summer in several years. In spite of this, three members of the expedition managed to reach the summit of Shipton Spire, while another team completed a difficult first ascent and missed finishing a climb of a second new route by only a few dozen meters. In view of these facts we can say the whole expedition was very successful.
Sporting results of the expedition:
Jozef Kopold, Dino Kuráň and Joo Santus achieved the first repetition of the American route called The Khanadan Buttress alpine style in two days. They reached the summit of Shipton Spire, 5852 m, on 15 August at 7:00 p.m. Then they rappelled down until midnight, spent a night in a bivouac and were back at base camp the next day. The authors of the route are the American climbers McMahon and Wharton (2002), and the classification of the climb is VI, 5.11, C1, 1300 m.
Miro Mrava and Braňo Turček achieved the creating of a first ascent in the central part of Shipton Spire. After climbing 1000 meters in an independent line and 17 pitches, they hooked up with a ramp leading to the Spanish route Akelarre. They made the climb on 24 August, 2004. They named it Knocking on the Heaven´s Door. It is classified as 8, A4. Because of the weather and a minor injury to Mrava, they did not go on to the summit.
Gabo Čmárik, Igor Koller and Vlado Linek attempted a first ascent on the right side of the cliff. On 30 August, 2004, the day before the departure from the base camp, they were still making a go of it during a break in the weather, but in the end, 3 meters below some easier terrain and 70 m from the ramp that would have connected them with the American route called Ship of Fools, they ended their attempt. They climbed 17 difficult pitches with a difficulty rating of 8, A3, which represents about 95 % of the way towards a first ascent.
Additionally, the climbers made several other difficult attempts which failed because of poor weather and the climbers´ health problems, like an attempted first ascent of Cat´s Ears, an attempt at re-climbing the American route up Hainabrakk Tower and an attempt at ascending Trango III. The area offers lots of possibilities for more first ascents and has great prospects for a future expedition.
The expedition was financed by SHS JAMES and members of the expedition party contributed. The expedition also received a monetary grant from the Slovak Ministry of Finance. The two main sponsors of the expedition were LANEX (climbing and static ropes) and the importer of the brands KAYLAND (trekking and Vibram footwear) and BUFF (special seamless tubular headwear). All of these products performed brilliantly under the difficult climate conditions, as we will describe in detail in climbing periodicals. Additionally, individual members of the party had their own sponsors, who also merit thanks for supporting the expedition: Alpha Sport, Trek Sport, Yak Steam, Yak a Yeti, port Rysy, Northland Slovakia, Slavosport, portcentrum Gálfy, Samon, Arnox, Raveltik, Salewa, Petzl, Beal, Bridgedale, La Sportiva, and CAMP.
http://www.lanex.cz/.../obrazky/ship001.jpg
http://www.lanex.cz/.../obrazky/ship002.jpg
http://www.lanex.cz/.../obrazky/ship003.jpg
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shiva523
Nov 8, 2004, 1:21 PM
Post #2 of 2
(3404 views)
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Registered: Jul 4, 2004
Posts: 122
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Shipton Spire..what a beautiful climb
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