Well, the race is over.  S. Korea's Ms Oh Eun-Sun topped out on Annapurna this week, becoming the first woman in history to climb all of the worlds 14 8,000 meter peaks.  Her closest rival in the "race" is a Spanish woman who has expressed doubts about Ms Oh's climb of Kangchenjunga.  Too bad such a great moment is spoiled by controversy.  Yeah, she may have some insufficient proof of summiting but whatever, it's only climbing.  It should be a great moment for Oh, she completed her project and she is stoked.  Now the ethics nazis chime in and discount the validity of her send, that is just a bummer.  Some will hear about Oh and say "thats cool, she's hard", others will ask questions about the style she climbed and chip away at the radness of it.  Climbing is a selfish and pointless activity, we do it for ourselves and to reach a goal and have people discount it is a bummer. Seems some folks have a skewed perspective on reasons for climbing and they project their type-A competitive judgments on the "achievements" of others.  There never seems to be a lack of critics chiming in from the peanut gallery.  Strong work Eun-Sun Oh, you sent it, I'm super stoked for you.

links to articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/freddie-wilkinson/korean-climber-facing-a-m_b_555600.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8646995.stm

If she summits Annapurna, she'll have completed them, although there is some dispute on weather or not she topped out on a couple of the mountains.  Here is a story from the BBC.

 A Korean climber may this weekend become the first woman to scale the world's 14 highest peaks. It's one of the most formidable feats in mountaineering - but doubts have been creeping in about her right to claim the glory.

A year ago three European women were leading the race to conquer all 14 mountains in the world above 8,000m high - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner of Austria, Nives Meroi of Italy and Edurne Pasaban of Spain.

But over four months in 2009 two rival South Korean climbers scaled an astonishing four peaks each, catapulting one of them, Oh Eun-Sun, to the top of the league table.

She is now on the slopes of her final mountain of the 14, Annapurna, with a Korean TV crew, which is planning a two-hour live broadcast on Sunday, when it estimates she will reach the summit.

Nothing can be taken for granted. But if she succeeds it will be a bitter blow to Edurne Pasaban, her nearest rival in the race, who ascended Annapurna herself on Saturday and is about to leave for Tibet to tackle the last peak on her list, Shisha Pangma.

For the full story by Stephen Mulvey, click here

104 new mountain peaks have been removed from the restricted list, and opened up to climbers for the first time. Most fall in the Leh and Ladakh regions, along India's border with both China and Pakistan. Because of their close proximity to the disputed Kashmir region, only ten previous mountaineering expeditions, primarily made up of Indian climbers, have made their way into the region. This means that the vast majority of those mountains have not yet been climbed. Climbers looking to claim a first ascent will find plenty of altitude to challenge them. Many of the peaks top out above 22,000 feet, including Saser Kangri I, II, and III, which stand 24,327 feet, 24,649 feet, and 24,590 feet respectively.

http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-47561120100409

http://www.indmount.org/virginpeakseastkarakoram.html

The Quark is pretty much a different tool with the same name, way lighter with a sliding pommel.  The Nomic has a few minor differences but the major improvement comes from a now modular pick that allows for the attachment of a hammer and adze.  The Ergo is back but completely redesigned with a radically bent shaft that allows for a more natural hand position and an extra pommel and the same adjustable grip as the Nomic.

I met Sylvain in Srinagar Kashmir at K Salama Tailors.  We share the same tailor and love for Kashmir so I thought it was just a matter of time before we cross paths in this Himalayan city.  I walked into the tailor one day to get a fitting for a overcoat and there he was, the man, drinking a Carlsberg at 10am.  We started chatting about the complications of flying helicopters near the disputed boarder of India and Pakistan and soon after I had a beer in my hand as well.  He was returning to Kashmir after a 2 year absence following a helicopter crash in 2007.  Now things were lining up for him and his employees (French mountain guide and Swiss Pilot) to take clients heli-skiing in the Indian Himalaya.  He bases his operation out of the Grand Palace in Srinagar, the former residence of the Maharaja.  Now a 5-star hotel with incredible grounds, the Palace lets him land his helicopters on their lawn and the guests ride powder all day long and return to the lush, warm city in the afternoon.  Over the next few days we were able to hang out, chat, drink and eat.  During dinner one night I thought I'd ask a more personal question, so as everybody got up to go check out the dessert table I asked "Were there ever any lines or mountains you wanted to ski but never had the chance?"  He says with total satisfaction and peace in his voice "No, I got them all"  It made me feel really happy for him, as this peace and satisfaction is something I hope to find.  The perceived accomplishment of skiing radical lines does little to satisfy the soul.  With heavy doses of adrenaline and danger, extreme skiing is more about the thrill than the accomplishment.  The thrill is super addictive and only makes you want to push it even more; steeper, icier, higher until there is only the absurdly dangerous left.  For me, I feel no satisfaction in climbing or skiing ridiculous lines.  I only feel thrill and focus, and relief when it is over. Because I know that luck is just as important as skill.  When things get really rad it is just a roll of the dice on whether or not you make it back. Peace and satisfaction come from something else, I don't know what or where it comes from.  But I hope to find it, just like Sylvain.                Sylvain Saudan Wiki

Jade from Phillip Schaal on Vimeo.

I have been climbing with Phil for 14 years.  We used to crush it in the boulders of Connecticut.  Now we connect every once in a while to have some fun.  While I was on K2 this summer Phil was killing it in the boulder fields of Rocky Mountain National Park.  He sent Jade, V15, after only 3 days of work.  He is the 3rd American to climb the incredible grade of V15.  To see more of Phil's action videos, check his blog at phillipschaal.blogspot.com