Jean-Claude Latombe's Mountaineering,
Climbing, and Trekking Page
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
- 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).
- Bolivia: Pequeno Alpamayo (5600m),
Eslovenia (5300m), Pyramida
Bianca (5400m), Huayna
Potosi (6088m), Illimani (6460m).
- Peru:
Cordillera Blanca: Alpamayo (5947m), Huascaran (6768m). Cordillera
Huayhuash (attempt on Yerupaja). Cordillera Vilcabamba (attempt on
Salcantay).
- 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 (
- Indonesia: Mt.
Binaiya on Seram island (3019m)
- Japan: Fuji.
Rock
climbing
- Sport climbing:
- Nevada: Red Rocks.
- Washington:
Leavenworth area.
- New Hampshire:
Rumney.
- 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:
Ice climbing
- Washington: Mt. Baker (Mustache route).
- Canadian Rockies: Banff and Lake Louise area.
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/Papua 1994
(area east of Baliem valley), Sulawesi
1994, Sulawesi
2009, Mt.
Binaiya on Seram island 2010.
- Nepal: Kanchenjunga
(1994), Gokyo
Lakes, Renjo Pass, and Kyajo Ri (2006), Full
West-to-East traverse of Nepal (2008 & 2011), Traverse
of Dolpo (2012), Taplejung
to Jiri via Lumba Samba Pass, Sherpani and West Cols, and Amphu Lapsta
(2012).
- 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 1973: Danakil desert, highlands
of Tigray, Siemen
mountains.
- Ethiopia
2012: Mekele to Debark via Lalibela.
- Ethiopia
2013: Across the Bale Mountains from Dodola to Harenna Forest.
- Kyrgyzstan 1998: Ala
Archa, Terskey Alatau.
- Central Asia 2004: Aksu and Kichi-Alai (Kyrgyzstan) and
Fann mountains (Tajikistan).
- Kyrgyzstan
2005: Matcha (Kyrgyzstan).
- Tajikistan
2006: Fann mountains (Tajikistan).
- Kyrgyzstan
2008: Visokiy Alay and Western Kokshaal-Too.
- Tajikistan
2009: Shakhdara range and Vanch valley (Pamir).
- Tajikistan
2010: Tanymas river and Abdukagor glacier (Pamir).
- Kyrgyzstan 2011: Traverse
of Turkestan range, Teskey
Ala-Too.
- Peru:
Cordilleras
Huayhuash 2003, Vilcabamba 1997 and 1999, and Vilcanota 1999.
- Argentina: Fitzroy 2001.
- Chile: Torres del Paine 2001.
- China: Yunnan
2005 (Tiger Leaping Gorge).
Some
other trips
- Summer 1967, a tour of the
Middle-East:
- Summer 1969, from the mouth of the
Nile to its source and slightly beyond:
- Summer 1970, by car from
- Spring and Winter 1983,
- January 2008, Saudi
Arabia (Medain Saleh).
- Sailing
across the Andaman Sea.
- February 2010, Saudi
Arabia (black and white volcanoes of Harrat Khaybar).
- April-May 2012, Ethiopia
(Gondar, Lake Tana, and Harar).