UKC

So, we were chatting idly in the pub last night after the wall, and I mentioned I'd recently been reading about Lotus Flower Tower, and described how bogglingly awesome it looked. One of my young oppos chirped up with 'so let's do it'. He then said he had too much stuff planned this year and next to fit it in, but suggested we start planning to go in 2016. Then I realised 2016 is when I reach my half century - and began to wonder whether this would in fact be the perfect way to celebrate. But now I'm wondering, seriously, if part of the reason I think it looks so awesome is that it's so far away and so remote/hard to get to. And I'm wondering, would the actual climbing be massively more awesome than somewhere in Europe - the Marmolada, say, or maybe Norway, which would be much easier (and, importantly, cheaper) to get to. What would you do? (apologies, by the way, for overuse of the word awesome. Should know better at my age...)

In reply to ripper:

Nose of El Cap has to be the all time daddy of ticks.

Lotus Flower Tower looks to be up there as an all round adventure. The remoteness/hard to get to aspect is a great part of the appeal

Troll Wall is tempting but too dangerous IMO - Littlejohns route on Kjerrag near Stavanger sounds fantastic - canoe in?. But it does rain a lot. Same applies to Dolomotes where the Brandler Hasse or Comici route on Tre Cima would be good ticks.

In Alps maybe something on the Grand Capucin or American Direct on Dru if its not fallen down.

In reply to ripper:

Have been on a few great trips but the Lotus Flower really stands out as a proper adventure. It is an amazing blend of being incredibly remote - many more people summit Everest each year than even visit the Cirque of the Unclimbables - but actually quite easy to get to. The route itself is as good as any other I've done, and the headwall is incredible.

But getting a chance just to visit in such a wild, remote, beautiful place for a week or two felt like the most incredible privilege. Well worth the effort.

You need to be pretty solid at E2/3 for the route, most is HVS/ E1 but there are two or three harder pitches, with two near the top of the headwall feeling decidedly uphill. You can easily combine a trip with a big-granite warm-up stop in Squamish.

In reply to ripper:

My 40th birthday party was Stetind in Arctic Norway:
lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2013/09/rock-climbing-in-arctic-norway-narvik.html
lightfromthenorth.blogspot.fi/2013/09/stetinds-sydpilaren-south-pillar.html

An amazing place that is logistically straightforward if not cheap being Norway.

Would love to do Lotus Tower too but I would have to get a bit better - perhaps for my 50th...

My partner from that trip Dave, had also had his 50th party in Arctic Norway a couple of months previously where we got up the highest mountain in Lyngen (and all Northern Norway indeed) but that was ski touring so not so much what you're looking for. Top place all the same.

The West Wall/West Ridge on Stetind is an even bigger tick - 20 odd pitches of climbing up to about E2 granite cracks I think plus some scrambling - it gains over a 1000 mtrs in height! Can't be too many other routes beyond the alps of that size in Europe.

In reply to ripper:

John. Er, bit weird this. Found myself wondering the same - what do you do? Personally been thinking of Alps. YOB 1966!
Can't make next couple of thurs, speak to you at some point.
Chris

In reply to cwarby:

yeah ok - no rush!

In reply to ripper:

I had never heard of this route until your post! You can be forgiven for using awesome.
At least I know now what I want to do on my fiftieth birthday!

In reply to silo:

you see what I mean?
keep it quiet though eh? we don't it getting too common