Climbing Denali's Slovak Direct w/ BD athlete Andy Houseman and Nick Bullock

Climbed Denali's Slovak Direct route in 84 hours, battling epic spindrift, difficult ice and mixed climbing and challenging weather.
by

Black Diamond athlete Andy Houseman, along with his partner Nick Bullock, made a trip to the Alaska Range this past spring where they made the sixth ascent of the massive and infamous Slovak Direct route on the south face of Denali. The route, put up in 1986 using fixed lines over the course of 11 days, is over 9,000 feet tall—making it one of the biggest, most committing lines in the range. The pair climbed the route in 84 hours, battling epic spindrift, difficult ice and mixed climbing and challenging weather. The video below provides a first-hand look at the sheer scale of the route and what it takes to climb such a massive, remote face.

 


0
0

Add your comment

by Anonymous - Already have an account? Login now!
Your Name:

Comment:
Enter the text you see in the image below
What do you see?
Can't read the image? View a new one.
Your comment will appear after being approved.

Related Posts


Just when you thought the producers of “That’s It, That’s All” couldn’t top themselves comes a new breed of snowboarding entertainment. “The Art of FLIGHT” follows Travis Rice, John Jackson, Mark Landvik, Scotty...  more »

Snowboarder Greg Hugunin dropped into Marmot Mountain in Hatcher's Pass January 2, 2015 with a false sense of security about the stability of the snow pack. Soon after he heard a crack and saw a minor avalanche behind him. Read the full article on Alaska...  more »

"Sub-Zero explores the souls of four top Canadian ice climbers and this time we meet John Freeman, a mountain guide and rope access supervisor living in Canmore, Alberta, Canada who was recently in the climbing news for establishing a new route at...  more »

In pursuit of the best that the winter had to offer, the Absinthe crew employed a dual strategy to both hustle & hunker down waiting. In a year of erratic snowfall, there was no other way to slay. But by splitting up and spreading out across the...  more »

Check back for the release of AFTERGLOW's light-suit segment on October 16th and the full film on October 19th Philips Presents Sweetgrass Productions' AFTERGLOW Starring Chris Benchetler, Pep Fujas, Eric Hjorleifson, and Daron Rahlves. Night. It's the...  more »

Speedriding is a high-speed, high stakes mountain sport that fuses elements of skiing and parachute flight. This hybrid approach to the alpine gives its intrepid practitioners access to terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible. In The Unrideables:...  more »

Mt. St. Elias - A sea to summit expedition The south side of Mt. St. Elias, located on the border of Alaska and Yukon Territory, has the longest vertical ski run in the world. From the ocean this mountain shoots up to 18,008'. Janelle Smiley, Jed Porter,...  more »

The Chugach is a renowned range located in the heart of Alaska. An iconic boney ridgeline, steep faces sustained for 1,800 vertical feet and hairy terrain, it symbolizes the essence of big-mountain skiing. Ingrid Backstrom, Jess McMillan and Chris...  more »

Submit your own

Contribute:



Ask a Question