Mountain Pro: Private Guiding and Instruction

new site up and running

mikebromberg — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:21:20 +0000

I’m working out the kinks of a new site! please let me know what you think.

Integration will be relatively seamless- just a forward from this url to the new site -> http://www.mountainpro.ca

Back in the States!

mikebromberg — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:20:34 +0000

I’ve been back in the good ol’ USA for a week now and have had some exciting adventures including climbing steep limestone at Rifle (I got Spanked!). My next trip is a 12 day “Rock Block” course for Colorado Mountain College held in Vedauwoo, Wyoming.

Anyways, during my travels I had time to put together this quick “mountaineering” oriented flick from my last week of guiding in Cham. Check it out!

I’ve also had some time to get my ducks in a row while transitioning here, and am getting psyched for some great winter offerings both in North America and in the Alps. I also just got a copy of some more advanced video editing software (Final Cut Express), so expect some better quality shorts soon!

Mike

Climbing Mont Blanc via the Trois Monts route

mikebromberg — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:30:02 +0000

Voie Frison-Roche

mikebromberg — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:32:58 +0000

3 Days of Cham Climbing

mikebromberg — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:44:31 +0000

The weather has since taken a turn for the worse, but last week was stellar. My friend Kevin Landolt, a former CMC student of mine turned super motivated and fast partner had some excellent days out climbing beautiful Chamonix granite.

The video below features some super fantastic moderate classics including the Midi-Plan traverse, the Pilier Rouge on the Aiguille de Blaitière and the Voie Contamine on Pointe Lachenal.

Anyhow, I am headed out for another Mont Blanc climb and will report back later next week!

Dolomites and Arco Climbing

mikebromberg — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 20:33:08 +0000

A few weeks ago, Sarah and I were suffering from a little of the “grass is always greener” syndrome and opted for some adventuring away from the alpine paradise of our current backyard. Being that it is the Alps: many countries and their spectacular mountain playgrounds are accessible by only a few hours drive.

We opted to explore an area of the Italian Dolomites known as Val Gardena as well as the sport climbing mecca of Arco. So with no guidebook, no map, a vague plan and a rental car: we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel into italy and then East on the high speed (and expensive!) Autostradas A4 and A5…

Yep. Saying you are going to the “Dolomites” is similar to planning a trip to “the Rockies”. The area is about as large and complex as it is breathtaking. We ended up spending the bulk of our trip in the Passo di Sella (Sella Pass) area exploring long and intimidating (ask Sarah!) rock climbs on the hugely improbable towers as well as some spectacular cragging areas nearby.

After figuring that we had the area pretty recon’d, we headed back towards Chamonix with a semi-planned detour to a town called Arco and the nearby Lago di Garda. Arco is awesome. Although, the area is much better suited to a spring or fall escape, due to the sweltering heat in this lower elevation lake-heavy area, we still had a blast exploring a few of the crags in walking distance from this beautiful pizza and gelato rich town.

Despite the uncharacteristically poor planning on our part, the trip went very smoothly. I was continually inspired by the beauty and the uniqueness of the terrain. All the great climbing and inexpensive Italian cuisine will make this area a perfect destination for future trips in either summer or winter (just imagine those grassy meadows under the towering dolomie peaks in winter!).

Inspired for a spring ski/climbing trip, we returned to Chamonix where I am now excessively, maybe obsessively climbing alpine granite and loving every second of it.

more Cham fun…

mikebromberg — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:02:18 +0000

I’m taking advantage of extremely wet weather here in Chamonix by posting some pics and video from some great adventures in the local mountains. I just returned from another successful Mont Blanc summit working with Mont Blanc Guides. The day was about as clear as they get! Check out the quick vid from the summit-

The previous week friends and I got on some nice rock routes including climbs of the Poeme a Lou route on the Brevent, as well as some great multipitch routes over on the Aiguille du Gliere!

The very popular Aiguille d'Index as seen from the gliere

The Aiguille du Gliere offers a few nice rock routes of about 6 pitches in length. A quick approach from the Index lift (<15min) and you are at the base of the climb. I wore my Acopa Scramblers the entire day as a sort of tribute to the late John Bachar and because when conditions are dry and the approach is short, they are the only footwear I need.

Sarah following the best pitch on the Gliere

Overall, not bad for a crack of noon start! 6 pitches of alpine gneiss…

The next day my friend Farmer and I had ambitious plans to go and climb a route over on the Mont Blanc Massif, but strong winds up high and some off-and-on precip made the high(er) alpine seem less than pleasurable. We opted instead for a lower and less committing option on the Brevent.

Farmer following the first pitch on Poeme a Lou

Perhaps because of the poor weather, this climb was extremely popular and all the parties on the route demanded a slow ascent. Although the weather was somewhat marginal, we managed to finish despite once threading the rope for descent.

Farmer sending the crux of Poeme a Lou

With all the new snow up high and some time off in the work schedule, we are planning to head to warmer and drier climes…stay tuned.

Alpine Exploits

mikebromberg — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:56:43 +0000

Having the perfect blend of work and play in the mountains is something that (I think) every guide struggles with. The lure of more work as well as the necessity of more play, or perhaps vice-versa; is a very delicate balance. Having been careful to not over do it on each end, I’ve had some fun adventures in the mountains over the past several days and wanted a few pics.

After a great Mont Blanc summit day, I’ve seized the opportunity to train and play on some very classic routes. The first of which, the Pyramid du Tacul, is a very popular alpine rock climb that starts with a walk down from the Aiguille du Midi station over towards (or into?) Italy. Having stayed out late the night before and getting a later than necessary start we had to rush back to the station to make the last ride down. What felt like an easy stroll was a somewhat miserable slog to reach the last ride down!

The next day Sarah and I opted to do the classic Papillon Arete on the Aiguille du Plan. This was one of the biggest alpine routes ever for Sarah and the exposed, complex, serrated ridge was spectacular albeit popular. Sarah got her first taste of what it is like to pass multiple parties on a route!

Check out a quickly thrown together slideshow movie below, complete with bagpipes filmed in town announcing our arrival.

Mont Blanc above the clouds.

mikebromberg — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:03:34 +0000

I just got down from a great Mont Blanc summit trip and despite a relatively unfavorable weather forecast, once our team reached 3200m we were above the clouds and basking in the sunlight. A truly great ascent!

: High above the clouds and the Aiguille du Midi

Anyone that dismisses a Mont Blanc ascent as simply a “walk up” hasn’t experienced the long summit day of over 1700m of ascent and the technical Aiguille du Gouter portion. Yes, it’s a long day but the climb to the summit at 4808m (15,774 ft) is worth every step.

: view from high on the climb

San Juan ski short

mikebromberg — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:00:23 +0000

I’m not usually one for season cross-contamination, but this video is a quick reminder of how special the Colorado winter can be.

“Shot and edited in the winter of 2009 in collaboration with the Telluride Visitors Center, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Telluride Ski Resort and Telluride Mountainfilm in hopes of giving viewers a soulful, non-commercial look at the winter experience in Telluride. Filmed & edited by Ben Knight | Music by Explosions in the Sky”

I have no affiliation with T-ride; this just makes me feel good…