The RunOut Podcast

Tag: nepal

  • RunOut #55: Alpinism’s Bright Future and Dark Past

    RunOut #55: Alpinism’s Bright Future and Dark Past

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    Our two returning guests make this one of our strongest episodes yet. First, the great Freddie Wilkinson joins us from his home in New Hampshire to give us the latest reporting on the historic first winter ascent of K2 by a team of 10 Nepali and Sherpa climbers. And we muse about what this ascent portends for the future of cutting-edge alpinism in the greater Himalaya.

    Next, we connect with the great Kelly Cordes to talk about the recent passing of Cesare Maestri at the ripe old age of 91 years old. Maestri, the affectionately named Spider of the Dolomites, was legend and climbing icon in his home of Italy, but his legacy is inextricably linked to all but debunked claims of having completed the first ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959.

    For the Final Bit, Danny Parker serenades us with a song about climbing’s ubiquitous badge of honor—or greatest nemesis—the Gobi. We promise you’ll never go to the desert again without thinking about this song …

    SHOW NOTES

    “One Mountain, Thousand Summits” by Freddie Wilkinson.

    Guiding with Freddie.

    Freddie’s op-ed in the NYT about the first winter ascent of K2.

    “The Tower: A Chronicle of Climbing and Controversy on Cerro Torre” by Kelly Cordes.

    Maestri obit on Rock and Ice.

    Follow Danny Parker’s desert adventures on Insta.

    Photo: Cerro Torre in Patagonia, Argentina on December 28th 2009 // Corey Rich/Red Bull Content Pool

  • RunOut #32: Nims Conquers All

    RunOut #32: Nims Conquers All

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    On October 29th, Nirmal Purja Magar—aka, Nims, as he likes to be called–reached the top of Shishapangma. And with this summit he also achieved a goal that had long been considered logistically, if not physically, impossible: climbing all of the world’s 14 8,000-meter mountains in a single year.

    In fact, Nims needed just seven months to do it.

    8,000-meter peak bagging is sport unto itself. These mountains attract a certain type. Most of us might guess that type to be C-level executives at fortune 500 companies, or perhaps descendants of British colonialists and African safari hunters who razed down black rhinos on Kenyan plains just for fun. There’s a certain European stuffiness to the club of 8,000-meter conquistadors.

    Nims is not really part of that club, which perhaps explains why his style was so heavily critiqued in the aftermath by the in-crowd. Nims used all the means necessary to get the job done: fixed ropes, helicopter rides between peaks and base camps, Sherpa support, and oxygen.

    It’s hard to know what to make of any of this, especially given how little Chris and I fucking care about 8,000-meter climbing. Which is why we brought in some help, our good friend and fellow journalist Freddie Wilkinson, who interviewed Nims at Everest base camp earlier this spring.

    This is Andrew Bisharat, and I’m here as always with Chris Kalous, and you’re listening to the Run Out. Please enjoy our conversation with the always entertaining and informative Freddie Wilkinson.