American famous climber Kelly Cordes will be invited to present at VASQUE booth, communicate with outdoor enthusiasts at home and aboard during Ispo China 08 as the mountaineering appearance of VASQUE. On February 23, Kelly will attend 2008 Outdoor Retailer Forum(China) and exchange with the present outdoor shop owners ; On 24,he will present 2007 China Outdoor Golden Rhino Awards ceremony; On 25,he will share his climbing stories with climbing fans at Sanfo Zhaoyang Park Outdoor Store.In addition, he will talk with Chinese Mountaineering Association and Shenzhen Mountaineering Association.
Kelly Cordes,39 years old, began climbing late, at age 25, when he moved to Montana for graduate school. As a proponent of lightweight alpinism, he enjoys simplicity in climbing as well as life. He lives in a refurbished chicken coop in Estes Park, Colorado, where he works part-time as the Assistant Editor for the American Alpine Journal and a freelance writer.
Kelley's climbing difficulty is up to 5.12, mixed route's reaches M8.He thought his rich climbing experience in Alaska- 9 climbing events,12 times success of more than 30 times attempts,4 new routes among them laid a good foundation for continually challenging steep peaks around the world.
Azeem Ridge Route，Great Trango Tower
A FEW EXPERIENCES KELLY CONSIDERS PERSONALLY IMPORTANT:
"Azeem Ridge" Great Trango Tower, 6237-6250m, depending on the map, (5.11R/X M6 A2), 1st ascent, with Josh Wharton, July 2004. The route starts on the lower right of the broad southwest buttress, at just under 4000m and climbs to the West Summit, "which was 17 pitches beyond the highest anchors we found from previous attempts. Maybe we went a bit too light, running out of fuel two days into a four-day route. It was a wild adventure, and it felt incredibly committing, with the hardest climbing coming up high."
Nevado Ulta (5875m) in Peru's Cordillera Blanca. "Personal Jesus" (3,300', M7 5.9 70 degrees) on the north face. Climbed in a 22-hour push with Jim Earl, returning to base camp 40 hours after leaving it.
"Going Monk" (4,300', AI6, M6) on the south buttress of Denali with Jonny Copp, first ascent. We named the summit Mount Andrews in honor of a friend killed earlier in the season. AK 2003.
Mount Hunter, AK 2002: We tried to repeat the French Route (FA by Benoit Grison and Yves Tedeschi, 1984) on the incredible North Buttress, and in failing we learned a ton. We sprinted too hard and we blew up - gained 3,000 feet in 12 hours, but that was our high point, and it became a 34-hour epic round trip. Plenty of mistakes.
Mount Huntington, AK 2001: Repeat of the West Face Couloir, but probably the first one-day ascent of the peak. The upper slopes were in horrendous condition, we were terrified, but we climbed the 4,000-feet from base camp to summit in 9 hours (16 hr RT).
Thunder Mountain, AK 2001: Another step in our progression. We put up two routes, "Deadbeat" and "Ring of Fire" on the 3,500' South Face, each in a single push (8 and 17 hours to the summit). "Ring of Fire" was the hardest thing I'd done in the mountains, and sustained.
London Tower, AK 2000: We put up a 3,200' hard new mixed route called "The Trailer Park" in 12 hours to the summit. Going for it on unknown terrain added something.
Moose's Tooth, South Face, 1999: Scott and I climbed "Shaken Not Stirred" and "Ham & Eggs" in 5 hours base-summit (8 hrs RT) each, and realized we could move fast. Things started to click for us.
Canadian Rockies ice, Thanksgiving 1997: My first trip with Scott DeCapio, and we climbed the routes I'd dreamed of doing.
Montana Ice, 1994-1998: Great friends and I pursued anything frozen with reckless abandon, complete with many epics. I thought that's how it was supposed to be. Developed a sense of adventure and trust in myself that has been invaluable since.
Denali, 1994: A buddy and I decided to head to Denali, though I'd only been climbing a few months. Stubbornness got me to both summits, and on that trip I fell in love with the mountains and didn't ever want to leave. I almost blew off coming home to defend my master's thesis.
Cerro Torre Link-up Route