UKC

Last week we reported the breaking news that Leo Houlding and team had succeeded on their expedition to climb a new route on Ulvetanna in Antarctica.

We now have more details and excellent photos from Berghaus...

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67777

In reply to UKC News: That looks amazing, top effort!

In reply to UKC News: I'm just amazed at the ability to climb with bare hands at temperatures of -17°C. I get hot aches in the UK summer if the rock's cold.

In reply to UKC News:

Great stuff - looks stunning and I'm sure it required huge amounts of mental and physical endurance.

Anyone know if they climbed this free on trad gear, and any tentative grades given?

In reply to Skyfall: There is a grade on one of the photos. E6 6b 5.12 A2 (C2). No idea why there is both an aid and a clean aid grade [shrugs].

Looks incredible. I wonder how much it would cost to kind of cut this thing off at the bottom and transport it to Scotland somewhere. Plonking it down just outside Livingston would be pretty good for accessability.

In reply to henwardian: that would suggest one or two aid pitches amongst the free climbing.

I'm shocked at them climbing this as a rock climb. I think most parties would have been mixed climbing at those temps.

In reply to Double Knee Bar: not that i can imagine anybody climbing THAT with axes.

Thats a truly inspiring line.

In reply to UKC News:

Absolutely stunning, what an effort! Looking forward to seeing more about this.

In reply to UKC News:

Solid!

In reply to UKC News: Fantastic! I can't believe the scale of the thing. Looking forward to the film - I must have watched the Asgard Project a hundred times!

In reply to Oli Grounsell:

Great achievement and astounding area. I suspect the 'view from the summit' pic is actually from an aeroplane - isn't the peak in the far distance?


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

Yes, just a smidge right of centre. The broad wall down in the right foreground is Holtanna, location of a Huberbaum ridge route, and some others. A direct route up this face is probably the area's Last Great Climb. Hang on a minute, that sounds familiar...

Great job these guys. Major line, hard climbing, day-glo pants. What's not to love?

In reply to UKC News:

Absolutely stunning and inspiring in equal measure, good to see what well funded trips can achieve. Well done to all involved

In reply to UKC News: Great clean climbing, I'm guessing a DVD will follow.

But still amazing climbing and great determination.

In reply to UKC News: Great pics as always Al, top effort.

In reply to UKC News:

F**king incredible stuff.

Looks tremendously beautiful too.

In reply to Jus: Dam you, that is what I was going to say!

In reply to UKC News:

the Hubers have done Ulvetanna too?!

In reply to UKC News: Them be some colourful clothes lol

In reply to LennyJ1: an excellent achievement especially dressed as the teletubbies

In reply to Double Knee Bar:

Yeah, but you would call it either A2 _or_ C2, not both.

In reply to henwardian:

Maybe some pitches involved A2 and some others C2?


Chris

In reply to UKC News:

Looks amazing. I, perhaps wrongly, get the impression that Houlding isn't held in such high regard as... I can't think of the term, climbers who haven't been on Top Gear? Whatever, I don't think you can argue with this, stunning pictures, inspiring.

In reply to Taurig:

I think you'll find Leo is held in pretty high regard! Certainly no-one has said anything to suggest otherwise?

In reply to UKC News: Good effort Leo and team, stunning location and great pics, see you soon.

In reply to Michael Gordon:

I'm probably not phrasing it right, I mean I got the impression he is seen as more of an 'adventurer' who is really good at climbing, as opposed to someone like Johnny Dawes who is an out and out rock climber. Anyway, doesn't matter, I'll buy the dvd for this.

In reply to UKC News: Beautiful line, fantastic pictures. Interesting to note that Robert Caspersen & Tollefsen et al in 2007 climbed straight up the north face. At a time when both ridgelines were unclimbed!

In reply to Taurig: google 'Leo Houlding' and 'Rock Climbing'

In reply to Taurig: Don't be fooled by the fact that Leo is photogenic and media-savvy enough to appear on the likes of Top Gear etc. He is first and foremost a superbly talented technical rock climber. Unlike most he has the vision and the financial resources to get to exotic places most of us can only dream about. Unfortunately the term "adventure" is now synonemous with crappy manufactured challenges (the biggest/smallest/highest XXX on all seven continents etc. etc.) and the media cannot tell the difference. Leo is the real deal. Check out his ascent of the Prophet on El Cap.

In reply to Taurig:

You are making the same mistake that people used to make about Bonnington.

In reply to Derek Ryden:

We discussed this at length last year when the "Asgard apology" was quietly published in the back of Climb, but considering Leo and others on the current team in Antarctica faced criminal charges in Canada for their illegal base jump off Asgard, this was something of a non-story in the UK outdoor media. Maybe not actively hushed up, but they were given a very easy ride, mainly by simply nobody reporting their legal issues with the Canadian govt., which makes me think he is looked on rather fondly here.

In reply to UKC News: Looks like a great achievement, and great to see that big companies are still sponsoring such "adventures".

Wish they'd spend some money on calibrating their colour pallets though. Imagine what Keswick Market Place is gonna look like next winter!

In reply to UKC News:

Congrats to Leo and to the whole great team - Jason Pickles, Chris Rabone, David Reeves, Sean Leary, Alastair Lee!!
All good stuff!