Shangri-La Ski Expedition_Part 1 from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

Kasha Rigby, Giulia Monega and Ingrid Backstrom approaching Redommaine Peak (20,047ft).

I’m back home after a month of hauling 70 lb duffel bags, camera equipment, ski bags, and packs through airports, cities, villages, into the mountains of western Sichuan and back. At the end of it all, between the chaos of modernizing Chinese cities, gnarly jeep rides, packing and repacking of gear, ancient Buddhist temples and solemn Tibetan monks, specialty drinks made of boiled chicken bone liquor, burn your face off spicy dishes, and a lot of walking, Kasha Rigby, Ingrid Backstrom, Giulia Monega and myself were able to climb and make the first ski descent of Redommaine , a 20,000ft peak in the Minya Konka range. A lot can happen in a month. Here are a few of our dispatches from the field.

Read on for Dispatches and more photos.

I recently found myself chasing Sage Cattabriga-Alosa down a mountain in the Sierras, not on skis, but on a mountain bike. While I was relearning the tuck and roll, Sage was bumping airs off rocks and logs and boosting over gaps and boulders. Apparently his creative vision for finding sick ski lines and his special relationship with gravity – that is defying it – applies on a down hill mountain bike too.

Read on for more Down the Mountain and photographs.

Sage Cattabriga-Alosa

Micah Dash, Johnny Copp and Wade Johnson

This has been a heartbreaking week for the climbing community. Johnny Copp, Micah Dash and Wade Johnson were tragically killed in an avalanche while attempting Mount Edgar in an isolated region of Sichuan Province, China. We are all grieving the loss of these amazing climbers and friends who  passed on too soon, but also incredibly thankful for the talent, humor and passion they shared with us, in climbing and in life.

The video below is from Sender Film’s “The Sharp End’” and is a short segment with Johnny and Micah. Check it out. You’ll get an idea of how badass these guys were. Much of the segment was either filmed or edited by filmmaker Wade Johnson. These boys were always out there gettin’er done, always raising the bar and were certainly an inspiration to all of us. They’ll be missed. Rest in peace boys……we’ll be thinking of you.

To read more about Johnny, Micah, Wade and the current situation, check the Adventure Film blog.

To donate to the search and recovery fund, check out the donation site set up by Adventure Film.

Our athlete produced film “Samsara” won the Charlie Fowler Award at Telluride Mountainfilm this last weekend. We are stoked!…especially considering Mountainfilm only hands out six awards in a very competitive field of films during the festival…..and it’s the first film Renan has ever put together and submitted to a film festival. Check out the trailer in the previous post below or view the entire film in the “Meru Shark’s Fin Expedition” section of my Projects page. 

In the esoteric game of high-altitude big-wall climbing, the Shark’s Fin, a blade of pale steep granite deep in the Garwhal Himalaya, lies right at the boundary of what’s possible. The peak’s inaccessible beauty has inspired many of the world’s best alpinists to attempt it over the past 25 years. None have reached the summit.

In September of 2008, Conrad Anker, Renana Ozturk and Jimmy Chin set out to attempt the notorious East Face. The Shark’s Fin has been the setting for numerous climbing epics. Over the course of a 20 day attempt, the climbers faced severe storms, starvation rations, mind riot climbing and had an epic of their own. “Samsara,” a film created and produced by the athletes,  is an unfiltered perspective into a powerful Himalayan climbing experience. 

“Samsara” Trailer from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Mark Synnott rapping back to our wall camp.

Just finished the initial edit from the recent expedition to Borneo. I was shooting for The North Face, Timex and Mens Journal. We spent a few weeks putting up a new route on the steepest big wall I’ve ever been on. The wall was literally overhanging for a couple thousand feet. Here are a couple of the favorites so far…..(If you haven’t had a chance, check out some of the video blogs below too. Those segments are part of a film project that will be put together for an half hour tv show to be disclosed later.)

View more photographs from this expedition.

Borneo Dispatch Video #8 “The Summit” from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Borneo Video Dispatch #7 “The Storm” from renan ozturk on Vimeo.