UKC

Report by Lindsay Griffin for the BMC:

The first major success of the 2011 Pakistan summer season fell to a team of four Russians, who have just made the first ascent of the West Face of Latok III (6,949m).

Climbing in capsule style, Evgeny Dmitrienko, Ivan Dozhdev, Alex Lonchinsky and ...

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=62982

In reply to UKC News:

Looks great.

Anybody care to enlighten me on what 'capsule' style is?

In reply to JH74:

Rather than establishing a series of camps on the mountain, once the next camp has been established you move everything up to it from the one below, then use that as a spring board for establishing the next camp, before moving everything up again. So you've always got the security of a camp below being in place to scuttle back to, but not a whole series of camps/ropes as per 'expedition style'. Capsule style is popular on big wall routes.

In reply to Tom Briggs:

Thanks Tom, that's a great explanation which, despite my genuine overall interest in all things climbing, I had no idea about!

In reply to JH74:

Have a read of Joe Tasker's Savage Arena - that gives a pretty clear view of what is involved.