Get your Shawangunks photographs published.

Skyhorse Publishing seeks stunning shots of the Shawangunks of New Paltz, New York, to use on the book jacket and possibly also as a photo insert for a biography of Hans Kraus, coming out in 2012, by  Susan E. B. Schwartz (the book was previously self-published and was well reviewed in this magazine among other publications).  Photographer will receive credit  and at least several free copies. If interested, please send your images to Skyhorse editor Joseph Svercheck (contact info below):

Joseph Sverchek
Skyhorse Publishing
307 West 36th Street 11th Floor, NY NY 10018
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    ph 212-643-6816 x236

Nico Favresse and Adam Pustelnik have repeated Orbayu, a big-wall route in Spain that was originally given the grade of 5.14c/d by its first ascentionists and subsequently dubbed the "hardest big-wall route in the world." Favresse and Pustelnik, however, believe the crux pitch might be closer to 5.14b or even 5.14a if you are on the tall side.

On the BD Blog, Favresse and Pustelnik jointly write: "First of all we would like to say that Orbayu is an exceptional route and we would like to thank the Pou brothers for their vision for this line and their effort to put it up. ... So since everybody ask us about the grade, we can’t avoid talking about it. Overall the route felt easier than its original grade.  The crux pitch felt definitely easier than 8c+/9a to both of us. We both think it’s no more than 8c… maybe 8b+ if you are not short."

In August 2009, the brothers Iker and Eneko Pou established the 1,500-foot Orbayu, located on Naranjo de Bulnes, Picos de Europa, Spain. At the time, they called it, "the most important route we've ever climbed." The route is run-out and hard, particularly the first four pitches, which are overhanging. The next six pitches share terrain with an old aid climb from 1980, and relay on the ancient protection from that era: wooden pitons, copperheads, micro-friends and nuts. The pitches break down like so: 5.13c, 5.13b, 5.11d, 5.14c/d, 5.13c, 5.10d, 5.10b, 5.8, 5.8, 5.9, 5.8, 5.8.

Favresse and Pustelnik also downgraded the other pitches by one or two letter grades. They took three and four days, respectively, to free the pitches before doing a ground up, in-a-day free ascent.

Sadly, two days after their ascent, on a new-route attempt also on the same wall, Pustelnik broke a hold, ripped three pieces of gear, and fell 60 feet before hitting the ground. He was air-lifted out and is staying at a hospital in Oviedo, in Northern Spain, where he is recovering from a broken sacrum, sternum and L1 vertebrae. He is expected to recover.

Jimmy Chin gives us the behind-the-scene scoop of a photographer in Yosemite. This personal profile of his work showcases him photographing Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson on El Cap's Mescalito, basejumpers leaping off of Half-Dome, Dean Potter highlining over Yosemite Falls, and the general lifestyle in the valley.

Dean Potter discovers beauty in balance:

Yosemite Falls High-Line from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

The latest and greatest viral sport climbing videos.

Years ago, when two young twins wandered along the waterways of their Patagonian homeland, exploring, one found a skeleton of a prehistoric marine seal, a new species.

“They named it Benegassorum,” says Willie Benegas, now an alpinist and mountain guide. “Pretty cool!”

So maybe it is a natural that Willie and his identical-twin brother, Damian, this spring joined forces with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, collecting plant samples on Mount Everest, from which they returned in May.

The brothers were able to find moss samples up to 21,350 feet, and “definitely” enjoyed the process, in which they followed delineated protocols. “We only needed to be careful not to contaminate the samples!” Willie recalls. As for getting them home through customs—don’t ask, don’t tell.

Established only in January of this year by Greg Treinish, 29, of Bozeman, the not-for-profit Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation aims to bring together the scientific community and outdoor athletes and adventurers in cooperative endeavors. Its website has already taken off as a resource,

Many alpinists consider the Alps a range that has been climbed out, but Italian mountain guide Hervé Bamasse would disagree. As part of his "Exploring the Alps" project, Bamasse joined forces with the Basque brothers Iker and Eneko Pou to climb a new route on the Left Pillar of Brouillard, on the "wild" south face of Mount Blanc. For the ascent, Bamasse and the Pous emulated the style of the Mount Blanc pioneer Walter Bonatti, the first to climb the striking granite pillars on the south face in 1959.

"I would define the style as modern-classic; a style that mirrors those of the pioneers, who, to get back home, had to reach the top of Mont Blanc," Bamasse told planetmountain.com. "Hence the name La Classica Moderna. The route is a clean-cut affair, no bolts, climbed in 11 pitches up to 6c [5.11a] with just camming devices and 4 pegs. Established and climbed free and, just like other great classics, continues all the way to the summit of Mont Blanc via the Brouillard [ridge] to total 3300m [10,826-feet] vertical height gain."

In an interview, also posted on planetmountain, Eneko described the Brouillard: "As wild as Patagonia and as big as the Himalaya."

In answer to the question: "Is there still room for adventure in the Alps?" Bamasse gave this intriguing response: "Yes. I think it's up to us to give meaning to our actions and our way of living and interpreting the mountains. There is no such thing as a better or worse thing, but if you're looking for adventure then you can definitely find it out there, even on the mountains close to home. For example by going out of season, in winter, perhaps far away from the cable car or mountain huts, by establishing new routes or repeating existing ones in the style and in line with the philosophy of those who established them."

For the entire interview with Bamasse and the Pous click here.

Check out a short video of Bamasse and the Pou brothers training for the ascent below.

Metalcore (5.14c), a 2007 Dave MacLeod sport route on the radically overhanging Anvil boulder near Loch Goil, Scotland, was recently redpointed by the Scottish climber Alan Cassidy. Matt Pycroft filmed the ascent. Check it out here, and for more on Metalcore, visit ukclimbing.com.

Alan Cassidy - Metalcore 8c+ from Matt Pycroft on Vimeo.

In case you missed it, The video short "BASE Jump Chute Failure," produced by Smitten and sponsored by Rock and Ice, has had a record 330,000 views in the past two weeks. The video shows a giant rope swing set up on a cliff in Australia over a 590-foot chasm. Climber/BASE jumper "Lucky Chance," rides the swing and BASE jumps off the end of it, but his chute doesn't open and he plunges to the ground ... and walks away. Unbelievable until you see it right here:

Adam Ondra is getting closer and closer to becoming the first person to onsight a 9a (5.14d). Last week, the Czech teenager passed through Margalef, Spain, and ticked two 9a's (5.14d's). The first was Era Bella, which he nearly sent first try, but instead settled for the second-go ascent.

The second 9a that Ondra ticked was Chris Sharma's Gancho Perfecto, at the Finestras cave. This one gave Ondra a bit of trouble, however, leading Ondra to suggest a rating of 9a+ for the line.

Adjacent to Gancho Perfecto is the sister line of Mundo Perfecto, Chris Sharma's project, which, once sent, is likely going to be a 5.15c--and perhaps the world's first. In April, Sharma reached a high point on Mundo Perfecto on the same day that he redpointed his nemesis First Round, First Minute (unrated, but said to be 5.15b). However, since that day, Sharma has been unable to reach his highpoint on Mundo Perfecto, likely in part due to the warmer summer weather.

In July, Ondra achieved another 5.14c onsight, with an a vue ascent of L'Avaro at Tetto di Sarre, outside of Aosta, Italy--a route that is "90 percent manufactured," according to Ondra's 8a.nu scorecard. That makes his sixth 5.14c onsight this year.