Jean-Claude Latombe's Mountaineering, Climbing, and Trekking Page

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This webpage shows pictures of some of the climbs and trips I made in/to Central Asia (Nepal, Tibet, Xinjiang, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), South Asia (Indonesia, Andaman Islands, China), Middle-East (Saudi Arabia), Africa (Morocco, Ethiopia), South America (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile), North America (California Sierra Nevada, McKinley, Mexico), etc...

Two quotes that I particularly like:

- ″La solitude est un etincelant et tragique miroir qui refracte toutes les emotions, tous les espoirs, tous les effrois.″ In Fortune Carree, by Joseph Kessel.

- ″Mountaineering draws on many aspects of our character, including, sound judgment, boldness, intelligence, great effort, and faith in ourselves. This total engagement is the source of our greatest reward, and it is where both the joy and the challenge of alpinism lie. We want to feel we have earned our success and survival, that we didn′t just roll the dice and let outer circumstances determine our fate.″ In Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher, by Mark Houston and Kathy Cosley.

Slides (19MB) of a talk Experiences of an amateur climber on high peaks that I gave at the Stanford Alpine Club in 2006.

Slides (17MB) of a talk Central Asia: A land of many mountains that I gave at the Silk Road House (Berkeley) in November 2009.

Slides (12MB) of a talk Second Life that I gave at Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan, in June 2011.

Video of Capuchin, an autonomous climbing robot (12.5MB).

High and moderate altitude, technical and non-technical climbs

• Washington: Rainier (4300m), Baker.
• California: Shasta (4200m; 9 times, including 2 solos of Casaval Ridge), Whitney (4418m; 4 times), Russell (4294m), Dana (3990m; twice), Lamark (4090m), Morgan-South (3987m), Lone Pine, Clyde Minaret, Sill (4314m), Bear Creek Spire (4045m), Agassiz (4235m), Julius Caesar (4023m), Gardiner (3934m), Cotter (3875m), North Peak (3600m), Conness (3600m), Matterhorn (3600m, 7 times).
• New Mexico: Wheeler (4050m).
• Alaska: McKinley (6100m, up to 5000m)
• Mexico: Pico de Orizaba (5636m)
• Ecuador: Cotopaxi (5900m), Cayambe (5800m), Tungurahua (5100m), Rucu Pichincha.
• Bolivia: Pequeno Alpamayo (5600m), Eslovenia (5300m), Pyramida Bianca (5400m), Huayna Potosi (6088m), Illimani (6460m).
• Peru: Cordillera Blanca: Alpamayo (5947m), Huascaran (6768m). Cordillera Huayhuash. Cordillera Vilcabamba.
• Argentina: Aconcagua (6959m).
• Morocco: Toubkal (4167m, 5 times), Mgoun (4068m).
• Turkey: Mt. Ararat (5137m)
• Nepal: Kala Pattar (5600m), Lobuche East (6000m), Ama Dablam (up to 200m from the 6850m summit), over 6,000m in Kanchenjunga area, Makalu (8485m, up to 7000m), Gokyo Ri (5360m), Kyajo Ri (6186m).
• Kyrgyzstan: Khan Tengri (7000m, up to 5900m).
• Xinjiang (China): Muztagh Ata (7546m).
• Tibet: Cho Oyu (8200m, up to 7100m).
• Indonesia: Mt. Binaiya on Seram island (3019m)
• Japan: Fuji.

Rock climbing

• Sport climbing:
• California: Owens Gorge, Bishop area, Rock Creek, Yosemite Valley, Pinnacles, and Joshua Tree.
• Nevada: Red Rocks.
• Washington: Leavenworth area.
• New Hampshire: Rumney.
• Thailand: Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le.
• France: Calanque d'En-Vau and Dentelles de Montmirail.
• Alpine rock climbing routes:
• California:
• Cathedral Peak (Southeast Buttress, 5.7)
• Lone Pine Peak (North Ridge, 5.4)
• Mt. Whitney (East Buttress, 5.8),
• Mt. Russell (Fishhook Arete, 5.9)
• Mt. Sill (Swiss Arete, 5.6)
• Temple Crag (Sun Ribbon Arete, 5.9, Venitian Blind, 5.7)
• Bear Creek Spire (North Arete, 5.8)
• Clyde Minaret (South-East Face Direct, 5.9+)
• Mt. Dana (Third Pillar, 5.10)
• Mt. Conness (North Ridge, 5.6)
• Nepal:
• Ama Dablam (South-West Route, 5.8).

Ice climbing

• California: Lee Vining Canyon, North Peak (North-East Couloir).
• Washington: Mt. Baker (Mustache route).
• Canadian Rockies: Banff and Lake Louise area.
• Peru: Alpamayo (Ferrari route).
• Nepal: Ama Dablam (South-West Route)

Randonnee ski and ski mountaineering

• Matterhorn, California (7 times).
• Mount Shasta, California. (4 times)
• Tour of Mt. Lamark (Sierra Nevada), 1998.
• Sierra Nevada Haute Route, 1998.
• Monarch and Cirque Divides (Sierra Nevada), 1999.
• Great Western Divide (Sierra Nevada), 2000.
• Clarence King and Gardiner Basin, 2004.
• Muztagh Ata (Xinjiang, China), 2000.

Treks

• Indonesia: Central Irian Jaya (exploration of valleys east of Baliem valley), Sulawesi 1994, Sulawesi 2009, trek to Mt. Binaiya on Seram island

• Nepal: Kanchenjunga, Traverse of Nepal
• Morocco High Atlas: Djebel Toubkal, Djebel Mgoun, Djebel Waougoulzat, Taghia-Koucer-Assif-Melloul, High Atlas of Marrakech, Tabant-Mgoun-Imejdag-Taghia-Oussikis, traverse of the East ridge of the Mgoun massif
• Ethiopia: Danakil desert, highlands of Tigray, Siemen mountains
• Kyrgyzstan: Ala Archa, Terskey Alatau
• Central Asia 2004: Aksu and Kichi-Alai (Kyrgyzstan) and Fann mountains (Tajikistan)
• Central Asia 2005: Matcha (Kyrgyzstan)
• Central Asia 2006: Fann mountains (Tajikistan)
• Kyrgyzstan 2008: Visokiy Alay and Western Kokshaal-Too
• Tajikistan 2009: Shakhdara range and Vanch valley
• Pamir 2010: Tanymas river and Abdukagor glacier
• Kyrgyzstan 2011: Traverse of Turkestan range, Teskey Ala-Too
• Peru: Cordilleras Huayhuash, Vicabamba, and Vilcanota
• Argentina: Fitzroy
• Chile: Torres del Paine
• China: Yunnan (Tiger Leaping Gorge)

Other trips

• Summer 1967, a tour of the Middle-East: Turkey, Iran, Koweit, Irak, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
• Summer 1969, from the mouth of the Nile to its source and slightly beyond: Egypt, Soudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania.
• Summer 1970, by car from France to Pakistan and back: Italy, Yougoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
• Spring and Winter 1983, Algeria (Moab, Tassili).
• January 2008, Saudi Arabia (Medain Saleh).
• Sailing across the Andaman Sea.
• February 2010, black and white volcanoes of Harrat Khaybar (Saudi Arabia)

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