The North Face

Oct 10 | Speaker Series LIVE October 10th - Follow to Win

By The North Face

It's finally here - the Never Stop Exploring Speaker Series LIVE with Jimmy, Renan and Conrad telling their story about the Return to Meru.  

Tonight LIVE from Berkeley California you can watch live on the screen below - or go to www.thenorthface.com at 7pm PST for full covereage.

Video streaming by Ustream 

By following tonight on the Social Stream you can enter to win prizes from The North Face.

 

 

Rules and Regulations:

The North Face Return to Meru Speaker Series Live Stream Giveaway

Sponsored by: The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., Alameda, CA  94502.

{The promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or Google. By participating in the promotion, you are providing your information to The North Face, not to Facebook, Twitter or Google.} 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

1. 1.     Who Can Play? Open only to legal U.S. residents, 13 or older. (If a minor, the consent of parent/legal guardian is required). Persons who live outside the U.S. or persons who are employees of Sponsor, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries and agencies CANNOT participate in the Giveaway. (For the avoidance of doubt, if you are not eligible for the Giveaway, you are still encouraged to watch the live stream broadcast of The North Face’s Return to Meru Speaker Series and participate in the “chat,” except for answering the trivia questions.) Void outside the U.S. and where prohibited. Participation subject to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all respects and not subject to appeal.
2. 2.      How To Play. Watch the live stream broadcast of The North Face’s Return to Meru Speaker Series on October 10, 2012 from 7:00 p.m. PST to 9:00 p.m. PST on-line at www.thenorthface.com, The North Face’s official (U.S.) Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thenorthface), The North Face’s official Twitter page (@thenorthface), as well as other channels. Contemporaneously with the live stream broadcast, Sponsor will host a live streaming social “chat.” Trivia questions will be posted at varying times during the “chat.” The questions concern the initial 2008 attempt and the successful 2011 attempt by The North Face athletes Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker and Renan Ozturk to climb and summit the “Shark’s Fin,” of the Garwhal Himalaya in Northern India.   The first (eligible) person who sends back a tweet with the correct answer to a trivia question (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) and the Giveaway hashtag #MeruLive wins a prize of Sponsor’s choice of either a Radish Mid Layer Jacket (approximate retail value of $230) or a Meru Gore Jacket (approximate retail value of $399). Sponsor will post (4) trivia questions, with (1) prize available per question, during the Giveaway. There is a limit of (1) prize per person.  If the correct answer is not received within (5) minutes of the trivia question being posted during the “chat” (or if the trivia question is correctly answered by someone who is not eligible for the Giveaway [such as, a non-U.S. resident] or if the trivia question is answered correctly but the Giveaway hashtag has been omitted from the tweet), that trivia question will be deemed void and no prize will be awarded in conjunction therewith. Sponsor will include a notice that a trivia question has been voided within the “chat.”
3. 3.       Rules of Play.  There is a limit of (1) tweet per person per trivia question; and, a given person may only use (1) Twitter account to participate in the Giveaway. Violation of these limits will result in disqualification. Do not use the Giveaway hashtag other than to participate in the Giveaway.  DO NOT RESPOND WITH AN ANSWER TO THE TRIVIA QUESTION DIRECTLY TO THE “CHAT” ITSELF. TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A PRIZE, TRIVIA QUESTION MUST BE ANSWERED VIA TWEET ONLY (IF CORRECT ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IS SUPPLIED DIRECTLY TO THE LIVE CHAT, THAT TRIVIA QUESTION WILL BE DEEMED VOID AND NO PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED IN CONJUNCTION THEREWITH.) ALL TWEETS REFLECT SOLELY THE OPINIONS OF INDIVIDUALS POSTING SAME, NOT THE OPINIONS OF THE NORTH FACE/VF OUTDOOR, INC. THE NORTH FACE/VF OUTDOOR, INC. EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY WITH REGARD TO THE CONTENT OF ANY TWEET. Use of automated means of participation will result in disqualification. Any dispute as to the identity of the prize winner will be resolved by Sponsor in its sole discretion, based on the identity of the person who is the registered owner of the Twitter account used to participate in the Giveaway.
4. 4.     Winner Notification. The winner will be notified via direct message on Twitter approximately (5) minutes after Sponsor’s confirmation that the answer in his/her tweet is correct. Be sure that your Twitter privacy settings allow for @thenorthface to contact you via direct message.  If winner cannot be contacted for any reason or fails to respond to direct message from Sponsor/@thenorthface within (2) hours of receipt with his/her name and complete mailing address (in the U.S.) for prize shipment, such winner will be disqualified and will forfeit prize. Sponsor may also require winner to sign and return a prize acceptance form as a pre-condition to receipt of prize; and, failure to do so will result in disqualification and prize forfeiture. In case of prize forfeiture, no prize will be awarded for such trivia question.  
5. 5.     General Restrictions. Colors of jackets are subject to availability; actual prizing may differ from jackets identified/referenced during live stream broadcast and/or “chat.” Prizes will be sent to winners via USPS mail to provided address. If won by minor, prize may be awarded in the name of or to his/her parent or legal guardian. No prize substitution except by Sponsor due to prize unavailability for any reason and then for prize of equal value. No prize transfer. Taxes (if any) and unspecified expenses in conjunction with prize acceptance/use are prize winner’s sole responsibility.  Where legal, by accepting prize, winner (if minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) agrees (and will confirm in writing upon request) to use of winner’s name and image for advertising/publicity/trade purposes by Sponsor without further compensation or notice. By participating, entrant (if minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) releases and agrees to hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, affiliates and subsidiaries, and the directors, officers, agents, representatives, shareholders and employees of any of the above organizations, Mr. Anker, Mr. Chin and Mr. Ozturk personally, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Google, from any and all liability arising from Giveaway. Sponsor’s computer is the official clock for the Giveaway. Sponsor not responsible for late, lost, garbled, incomplete, corrupted, misdirected, delayed or damaged tweets/responses, which are void; for technological, programming, electronic, filtering by functionality of social media networks or other error/malfunction/failure of any kind which interferes with or interrupts the live stream broadcast, “chat,” or Giveaway.  Sponsor’s failure to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute the waiver of such provision. Tampering with Giveaway in any manner will result in disqualification (if applicable) and Sponsor may otherwise seek to protect its rights to the full extent allowed by law.  If Sponsor determines in its sole discretion that Giveaway cannot be conducted as originally planned due to any cause beyond its control (e.g., computer virus/bug, tampering, fraud), Sponsor may cancel, modify or suspend the Giveaway and make the prizes available to be won in a manner that Sponsor in its sole discretion determines is fair, appropriate and consistent with these Official Rules. Notice of such action will be made during the “chat” and/or after @thenorthface.  Any and all disputes regarding any Giveaway or these Official Rules shall be governed by the internal, substantive law of the State of California. Any action must be brought individually (NOT as part of a class action) in federal or state court in Alameda County, California and, in any such action, a person is only entitled to recover actual costs involved in participating in the Giveaway (if any), with all rights to attorneys’ fees and any and all damages (including special, punitive, consequential damages) being expressly waived.
6. 6.     Who won? The Twitter account name of the winners will be posted @thenorthface after prize award.

 

 

 

Sep 30 | Nepal Inspiration

By Renan Ozturk

I'm just returning from a North Face supported expedition to Nepal, reeling in the inspiration of the mountains and culture at the roof of the world.  Nepal is a place I first visited in 2001 as part of an intense language program and I'm been back almost every year for expeditions of all shapes and sizes.  I can honestly say that it has molded my moutain experience as a TNF athethle more than any other place!

This time around instead of focusing on the big projects like the Khumbu Climbing Center, Caves of Mustang or a climbing objective we were lucky to be just zoning in on capturing the beauty of Nepal through film and artwork.  I was humbly working with ultra talented Dave Mossop, one the main founders and creatives of Sherpas Cinema.

Our main goal was to capture footage for Sherpas Cinema new ski feature film that will be realed in the fall of 2013.  Judging by the beauty and aclaim of their last film All.I.CAN it is bould to be utterly mind blowing!  Along with cutting edge ski footage the film will be a creative depiction of intense environmental and social themes that are relevent in this day and age.  For us, Nepal was the ultimate target rich environment to play with for such symbolism.  The fact that we didn't have a big ski/climb objective also allowed us the "dork out" the full extent and go a lot heavier with cutting edge film gear to elevate the visuals we captured :)  

Among the many highlights of our oddysey included shooting with one of the oldest Sherpas of the Khumbu, Karma Tsering (pictured above).  At 80 years old he is one of the happiest and strongest people I know, still hiking the 5 hours to market each week with his Yak to buy goods.  I've known him for years and was still sporting the classic TNF himalayan parka we gave him years ago :)  The special light and moments we captured with him were pure magic! 

Also pictured above (another iphone shot) is a Lama at the Upper Pangboche Monestry, the oldest in all of Nepal.  He gently swung the burning pot of juniper doing his morning Puja (blessing) in the sacred upper chamber, ambling slowing across the old creaking wooden floorboards.  The small skylight window above happened to catch the first rays of sun in weeks, creating a shaft of light, a slintered god beam like I've never seen before in my life.  We rolled the cameras with all our facy equipment in slow motion, not even whipspering during his chants.  After he finished the ritual we exited the monestary and into the glowing the vistas of the high himalaya, stunned to have catptured a few moments that could have been the most epic images of out lives.   

There are no words that can do these experiences true justice, I'm just just trying to share the inspiration with a few photos and then the eventually film :)  Thanks for checking it out and stay tuned!  ~renan

Sep 12 | Reel Rock 7 Launches September 13th

By The North Face

Our friends at Reel Rock Film Tour kick off Reel Rock 7 on September 13th with shows in Orem Utah, Minneapolis Minnesota, Banner Elk North Carolina, and the official premier in Boulder Colorado.  

Reel Rock 7 rolls out a fresh batch of the best new climbing films from Sender Films, Big Up, Camp 4 Collective, Hot Aches, Alstrin Films and more...

 

Find a show near you here: www.reelrocktour.com/calendar/

The Dura Dura

Chris Sharma has been the "king" of sport climbing for 15 years, and has created a mecca for hard routes near his home in Catalunya, Spain. Now, the Czech wunderkind, 19 year old Adam Ondra, has come to Sharma's home turf to take the torch. Sharma and Ondra battle to establish the world's first 5.15c, while Sasha DiGiulian and Daila Ojeda shred women's standards with strong ascents of their own.

The Shark's Fin

Legendary alpinist Conrad Anker nurtured a 20 year obsession with The Shark's Fin, a spectacular unclimbed granite buttress on the 6,310 meter Mt. Meru, in India. In 2008 Anker, with Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, endured a grueling 18 day push to get within hundreds of feet of the summit, only to be turned back. Three years later, the trio makes tough decision to return, despite Anker's deep family ties, and Ozturk's ski accident just six months before the trip, which resulted in a fractured skull, a broken neck, and serious doubts about going back.

Wide Boys

American offwidth climbing has spawned a counter-culture of rough and tumble characters who aren't afraid to bleed their way up a route. So when two proper British lads, Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, crossed the pond to eat up the gnarliest wide cracks in the West -- including the first ascent of the world's hardest offwidth known as Century Crack -- it came as quite a shock.

Honnold 3.0

Alex Honnold has become known as the boldest soloist of his generation. In this dangerous game, how does he balance pure ambition with self-preservation? From highball boulder first ascents to 5.13 free solos, from far-flung trad climbing adventures, to speed records on The Nose, Honnold wrestles with this question in preparation for his biggest adventure yet - the Yosemite Triple. In under 19 hours he climbs Mt. Watkins, El Cap, and Half Dome, 95% of it free solo.

Find a show near you here: www.reelrocktour.com/calendar/

Oct 12 | MERU EXPEDITION 2011 - DISPATCH 5

By Jimmy Chin

After twelve days on the route, we summited the Sharks Fin at 140pm on October 2nd.

Often starting at night, we would climb through the day and back into the night, lost between light and darkness. Time and existence blurred. Always fighting upwards. Always pushing the line. We were momentarily confused when there was finally no place further left to go. Exhaustion and joy canceled each other out on the summit. We were numb for the descent. Another battle. Cold. Survival. After making it back down to our bivy in the sky, we spent a final night at over 20,000ft before we embarked on another 20 hour odyssey of endless rappels. Beefy anchors slowly waned through the day and night until eventually we were all anchoring in and rapping off single pieces. We would all stare, will the single piece of gear to hold as the first person would begin rappelling. "Don't rap off the end of the rope" became the mantra.

The sharp awareness of the void below began to dull as we dumped more and more elevation with each release of the brakehand on our rap devices, jolting ourselves down the ropes. Just like we wondered if there was a top to this thing, we began to wonder if there was a bottom. Down and down we went, through the day, through the night with wet semi frozen gloves. Exhaustion was setting in. Until, finally, we reached the lower snow slopes. As the angle eased off a bit, we down climbed. Slowly at first, facing in, kicking each step as carefully as possible, knowing we were getting sloppy and careless. Then, eventually facing out, stumbling, and soon, running downward towards freedom. We tripped, slid and fell shamelessly down the slope. Twelve days in our harnesses. We finally crossed the final bergshrund dropped the harnesses on the ground. We tossed packs, gear slings, cams, ice axes, screws, everything onto the snow. We were back in the horizontal world and finally free of the Sharks Fin.

Low point: Falling through the portaledge when it snapped in half on the fourth day at 19,000+ ft.

High point: Now

We're back in Delhi a few pounds lighter literally and figuratively. And, we have a few new stories. We're looking forward to sharing some of them when we return.

Starting the travel sequence home tonight.

Thanks for following. Here are a few more pics to chew on.

Oct 04 | UPDATE ON MERU SHARK'S FIN EXPEDITION 2011

By The North Face

Congratulations to The North Face athletes Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk! 

On Sunday October 2nd, the team reached the summit of the previously unclimbed Shark's Fin route on the NW face of Meru (20,700ft).  In the game of high-altitude, big wall mountaineering, the Shark's Fin lies right on the boundary of what is possible.  This win didn't come easily - it was Jimmy and Renan's 2nd and Conrad's 3rd trip to the remote Garhwal Himalaya of India to attempt this route. 

 

Read more about this extraordinary journey at http://www.neverstopexploring.com/blog/contributors/Conrad%20Anker/

Sep 29 | MERU EXPEDITION 2011 - DISPATCH 3

By Conrad Anker

Posted on behalf of Chris Figenshau, Tapovan Base Camp Manager:

September 28th 2011, 9AM

Gazing up from Tapovan Base Camp, I can see a solitary pinhole of light piercing the dark hulking midsection of Mt Meru. The team is safe. Dangling at Camp 2 at 19,000 feet.

After two weeks of traveling, organizing, trekking and humping loads to advanced base camp, Jimmy, Renan and Conrad have managed to scorch their way up the bottom part of this route in a 6 day push. The bottom snow and technical ice pitches were climbed in two days to Camp 1, ‘The Balcony’, which lies below several sections of alpine rock and ice. From there the team climbed, hauled and jugged their way up to Camp 2, a hanging bivy situated below the formidably overhanging Indian Ocean Wall. In the past two days the team has managed to climb, (send), the steepest and most dangerous A4 sections of the wall culminating at the ‘Crystal Pitch’, an overhanging prow of aid climbing in outer space. 

“Ahhhh the Crystal Pitch,” says Jimmy. “It’s out there.” 

Yeah. It sure as hell is.

Tonight the team is preparing to move camp above the 20,000 foot mark. Once at Camp 3, the team plans to make a three or four day push for the summit.   

Having benefitted from their experience on this wall three years ago, the team is moving much faster. Levels are high, and the weather has been exceptional thus far with little to no moisture. . (‘Exceptional’ is a relative term that is not intended to imply comfort.) The team has been fortunate with morning sunshine on the route, but by noon the entire wall is shaded and cold due to its Northeast exposure. So far, good progress has been made each day with no days lost to weather or fatigue. With an abyss of steep, overhanging rock behind them, the team now prepares for the final sections of aid and mixed climbing on their way to the summit. 

Fingers crossed, positive wavelength, incense burning. 

Figenshau clear.

Chris Figenshau, Tapovan Base Camp Manager

Sep 26 | MERU EXPEDITION 2011 - DISPATCH 2

By Conrad Anker

After spending a two days building basecamp and sorting through mountains of  gear, we carried loads up to our ABC below our route on Meru. The clouds and mist parted along the 6 hour trek up to our ABC and we scanned familiar reference points on the route, the filter pitches of steep snow and ice, the alpine ridge, the traverse pitches with the tricky hauling, the overhanging headwall, the House of Cards pitch and others. The route and all its challenges were coming back to us. It was exciting to see the icy blade of granite again after 3 years and our anticipation began to build for what would be in store for us in the days ahead.

We took two rest days at basecamp and are headed up to ABC in the morning. If the weather holds, we should be on the route in a couple of days. 

Sep 19 | MERU EXPEDITION 2011 - DISPATCH 1

By Conrad Anker

Ten years to a child seems like eternity. A decade in the chapter of an adult is one chapter in life. On the timeline of humanity, it is inconsequential. In a cosmic and geologic timeframe it is a period of time so small it is unrecognizable. For Jimmy and I, it is a decade of sharing adventures around the world. One peak, Meru, in the Garhwal Himal, is an adventure we are drawn to.

In 2008, Renan, Jimmy and I battled a 5 day storm, intense cold and difficult climbing to be turned back 100 meters from the summit. After 19 days of toil, we tossed in the towel and retreated. Three years later, we are back to give the line we started another go.

Unfinished business. We all have something that keeps us motivated. These aspirational goals are vital to the human condition. We have the drive to finish something once started.

We departed Colorado, Montana and Idaho as summer was slowly giving way to crisp mornings and the change of color. With the miracle of jet travel, we were pretty much on the opposite side of the globe in a 24 hour window.

Delhi, home to 24 million people is one of the world’s most populous cities. The daily surge of humanity and controlled chaos is always eye opening to the three of us, accustomed to wide open spaces.

As on cue, the monsoon focused its intensity the morning we departed Delhi. The underpasses were flooded while the overpasses provided shelter to the stranded commuters. The heavy rains, while welcome for the people of India, also create difficult travel conditions on the high mountain roads.

The plains of northern India abruptly meet the Himalayas at Rishekesh. The Ganges River exits the youngest and tallest ranges of mountains at this holy city.  Rishekesh was made famous in the eyes of westerners when the Beatles chilled out seeking musical and spiritual enlightenment.

The next leg of the journey is to Utterkashi, a mere 160 km away. We had heard the roads were impassable but tried our luck. We encountered several massive landslides. Most of them had barely been cleared. We bumped along through the chaotic debris with tires inches away from the edge of several thousand foot drops down to the raging rivers. We finally hit an active landslide with trees and boulders rushing by which blocked the tenuous road.

We waited for a day, sitting on the road, and finally decided to take a long questionable detour, costing us a day. After some exciting driving and digging at several other landslides, we reached Utterkashi. Beyond Utterkashi, the roads were impassable by bus, so we switched to the Indian Mahindra jeeps.

We piled into one Jeep and joined the flow of pilgrims headed to Gangotri, the holy gateway village of the Ganges River.  The road seemed to be falling apart around us, but our skilled driver navigated us around seemingly impassable sections of the washed out road. As the sun set, we pulled into Gangotri.

Once in Gangotri, we exploded our gear at our lodge and spent a couple days building porter loads and visiting the temple and some of our old Sadhu friends that we ‘d met in previous years.

One Sadhu, Sunderandan, at 83 years of age, is one of the most devout people in the area. A famed yogi master, in his youth he also took part in several climbing expeditions. During that time he picked up a camera, and along side his yoga practice, Sunderandan pursued a lifetime of photography. We visited him in 2008 and we were happy to spend the afternoon with him again this year. He bestowed upon us a mantra for our expedition and gave us a blessing. It was special to be in the presence of such an enlightened being.

The following morning we shouldered our packs and headed for Topavon, a two day trek away. Along the way we stopped at Galmuk, literally the place where the Ganges spills out of the toe of the Gangotri Glacier. This is the source of India’s most holy river and we encountered several pilgrims and holy men along the way. We paid our respects, and dipped in the ice cold water, knowing the water we touched here would travel and touch many others as it flowed through the rest of India.

After an epic hike above Galmuk and across the glacier with our small army of porters, we arrived at Tapovan. Nestled below Shivling with the Bhagarathis and Meru in the distance, Tapovan would be our basecamp for the next few weeks.

Sep 15 | MERU SHARK'S FIN EXPEDITION 2011

By The North Face

In the game of high-altitude, big-wall mountaineering, the unclimbed Shark’s Fin route on the NW face of Meru (20,700 ft) lies right at the boundary of what is possible. The lower third is classic alpine snow-and-ice climbing; the middle is mixed ice and rock; and the final section is a supremely difficult, overhanging headwall. The Shark’s Fin has drawn many of the world’s top alpinists over the past 30 years, but none of them finished the route.

In 2008, The North Face® global athletes Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk traveled to the incredibly remote Garhwal Himalaya of India to attempt the test piece and nearly succeeded. The team spent 19 grueling days on the wall and encountered some of the most technical high-altitude climbing on earth in unimaginably punishing conditions only to be forced to turn back 100 meters from the summit. Haunted by their unfinished business, the team is returning to Meru in 2011 better prepared and even more determined with one goal in mind. Success on the Shark’s Fin.

Follow their journey!

 

Aug 16 | On Assignment

By Renan Ozturk

As TNF athletes sometimes our biggest job is the tell stories and try to do justice to our fellow athletes. For this piece I worked with our crew at Camp 4 Collective to tell TNF athlete Jimmy's Chin story as he in turn highlights modern day climbing Yosemite for a National Geographic feature story. Thanks for checking it out!  ~renan