In 2011 David Burdick, John Frieh and Zac West climbed a new route on the Burkett Needle (~8,500 ft.), a tower on the Stikine Icecap of Southeast Alaska. The route, Repeat Offender (IV 5.9 AI3 M5), was done in three days, Seattle to Seattle. Below, Burdick describes the style of “Smash and Grab” climbing and the preparation that makes such climbs possible.
Climbing in the Alps all winter, I put the Terra Nova Quasar pack and its “Ultra” fabric through an ice-and-granite gauntlet. While the pack is a little worse for the wear, it’s come out on the other side still capable of holding my gear.
First my aim was to reach people who do not know much about mountaineering. Especially those people who would probably never read a thick book about it. If I am successful with this then I hope they would find some interesting information about climbing, winter climbing, the history of mountaineering and also about Polish achievements in climbing.
