Rjukan Ice climbing

Over in Norway at the moment Guiding on the Ice. Great conditions and good fun. Lots of friends about and very socialable in the evenings. The ice park opens in the gorge and hoping to get a first or second ascent today. Staying athe Climb Inn which is Excellent. Recommending staying with Andre and the team. Fantastic grub and accommodation and a stones throw from the gorge.

'Supa Dupa Coulior'

Twid on summit of Citadel after the first ascent and first ascent f the Supa Dupa Coulior

The east face of the Citadel in the Kichatna Mountains. Three new routes have been added to this face in the last two seasons. The original East Buttress Route (VI 5.9 A3, Black-Embick-Graber-Long, 1976) takes the right-hand skyline of the buttress. The route Off the Wall Madness terminated approximately at A, the juncture with the East Buttress. Routes indicated are as follows: 1. The Super Dupa Couloir (ED4: WI6+, 3,700', McAleese-Sanders-Turner, 2003). 2. Last Cry of the Butterfly (VI 5.10+ A4 80 degrees, 3,700', Belczynski-Kaszlikowski-Tomaszewski, 2003). 3. Off the Wall Madness (VI 5.11a A2, 3,000', McAleese-Turner, 2002). [Photo] Nathan Martin

In May, Stuart McAleese, Ollie Sanders and I climbed a new line on The Citadel in the Kichatna Mountains. The Super Dupa Couloir (ED4: WI6+, 3,700') was twenty-one pitches of ice, most of them Scottish grade V or VI, that took us three and a half days to climb. We went to the area earlier than most parties to take advantage of the good ice conditions. We had tried the line the previous year but retreated due to high temperatures.
The first day we fixed ropes and checked out the route possibilities. The next day we climbed twelve hours then chopped a poor bivy out of an ice ledge. A serious chunk of ice hit Ollie on his shoulder, and he was unable to climb; not wanting to miss out, he resorted to jumaring. Ninety percent of the time we could touch both sides of the gully, and it steepened the higher we climbed. On the last day we climbed more than 200 meters of vertical ice that allowed us to look straight down the entire route. It was the sort of route you wait a lifetime to find. We all stood on the summit with perfect views. The descent was made as it started to snow. After numerous 100-meter abseils through the night, we made the base as it started to snow buckets and reached the tents around 4 a.m.
Over the next forty-eight hours it snowed nonstop, dropping more than a meter of new snow. It cleared for one day, during which we made a lucky escape; it then snowed thewhole of the following week.
— Twid Turner, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom

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'Perfect Storm' Mount Nevermore

MT. NEVERMORE, EAST FACE 

Mike "Twid" Turner

Posted on: December 1, 2004

The east face of Mt. Nevermore, showing (1) Call of the Raven (VI 5.9 A2+, 760m, Houston-Workman-Workman, 1998). (2) Perfect Storm (VI 5.11d A1, 1000m, Lampard-McAleese-Turner, 2004). The east face of Mt. Nevermore can only be seen in its entirety from the west face of Middle Triple Peak. Neither the 2004 nor the 1998 team knew there were two distinct summits to the mountain. The climber in the foreground is Kitty Calhoun, on the first ascent of Ride the Lightning (VI 5.10 A4 WI3, 4,000', Calhoun-Gerberding-Osman-Smith, 1997) on the west face of Middle Triple Peak. [Photo] Jay Smith

After a four-day, snowy wait in April in Talkeetna, Paul Roderick of TAT flew Dai Lampard, Stuart McAleese and me onto the Tatina Glacier in the Kitchatna Spires. It was the third trip Stuart and I had made to this amazing granite area in consecutive years. As usual, we came across nobody else the entire trip.
The four-day storm had totally plastered all the faces with fresh snow; it also made crossing the col from the Tatina Glacier to the Monolith Glacier very dangerous. Once established between the vast west face of Middle Triple Peak and the east face of Mt. Nevermore, we started up on the far right of the kilometer-long east face of Nevermore via a pillar that led straight to the summit. We spent the first couple of days fixing 200 meters, climbing many of the pitches in waterfalls from the melting snow. We then started capsule style up the Face.
On Day 3, the weather worsened, becoming cold and snowy. For five days we climbed in bad weather. The climbing, which followed a continuous crack up steep walls, was on excellent rock, though most of the cracks needed to be cleaned of snow and ice. On Day 8, the weather improved and we made quick progress up fantastic cracks, free climbing all the way. We found a perfect cave, inside which we pitched our small tent, enjoying our first comfortable bivy. The following day we made the summit of Mt. Nevermore by 2 p.m. in fine weather. Although another route exists on this 1000-meter face, the team did not continue to the summit, so we assume our route, Perfect Storm (VI 5.11d A1, 1000m), was the first ascent of the face. The summit of Middle Triple Peak seemed only a stone's throw away.
The weather deteriorated as we abseiled the wall. Not wanting to be stuck in bad weather, we continued through the night, arriving back in base camp at 5 a.m., ten days after leaving. Later the same day Paul Roderick picked us up and deposited us in the Fairview Inn for an evening of festivities.
— Mike "Twid" Turner, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom

'Biff Bash Bosh

'Biff Bash Bosh' was a great climb that Twid and Scultupre Simon Hitchens made in 1997. It was a technical Coulior M7 V. It took 2 days to climb and lots of steep mixed. Simons irst trip to the area. Twid and Simon had previously put up a Big Wall route in Sardinia 'Like A Pig in Shit!' A hard free route with Miles Gibson and Neil Dyer. Still needing some freeing!!! 500m route on the same wall as Hotel Supermonty.

'Off The Wall Bonkers!'

Shadows glacier

Twid's first route in the range was with Stuart McAleese. The team made a Big Wall climb on the Citadel.'Off the Wall Bonkers' was a couple of weeks of effort and some fine climbing. The name came from the 15 days of waiting in a tent for a pick up from the airline. The wait was due to the bad weather in the area. Needless to say the team were getting low on food and fuel! The party after being rescued was a night to remember!

Talkeetna Air Taxis

 

Talkeetna Air Taxis

Twid and Adrian have used Paul Roderick's Talkeetna Air Taxi for over 10 years of Expeditions. He company and pilots run a professional and reliable service. The Planes are the life line for any Expedition to the Alaska Range. They provide access to super remote areas. The flying is dangerous and difficult and Paul and his crew are the best outfit in town. They are used by most of the climbing groups and they specialise in difficult glacial landings. They will drop you off if its possible and if they want nobody will!

The company has a well run office with Sandra and Anne keeping the climbers and pilots well organised. If you are planning on a trip to Alaska drop them an email and book your flight asap. It can be very busy with many flights heading out each day. 

Do take care to watch the weight allowances for the flights bare in mind they are small planes that are travelling at altitude. Weight is important.

Paul Roderick

• If Denali National Park was a 3D chess game, Paul would be the Bobby Fischer of the Park.  He always knows where it's good to land, where all the climbers are and at what point they are in their climb.
• Began flying when he was twelve and started with Talkeetna Air Taxi in 1992 before he took over in 1996.
•  Paul loves to be outside, preferably skiing or climbing with his family. 

Quoted from the TAT web site

Address in US

14212 E Second Street Talkeetna  AK  99676

PO Box 73 Talkeetna, AK 99676

Call:
Direct Line:  (907)733-2218
Toll Free:     (800)533-2219
FAX:             (907)733-1434
Email:
info@talkeetnaair.com
www.talkeetnaair.com

Winter Climbing in the Alps

Kandersteg Giant Ice routes  2011

Both Twid and Adrian are now running Ice Climbing Courses in Cogne, Kandersteg, La Grave and the Alps. Both can be contacted through their emails or by phone.
Ice Conditions at the moment: Ice is presently in good condition in Cogne. Lots of snow has made some ice difficult to get to safely. Arolla also has some good ice climbing.