Fred even makes chubby, cold, weak, and scared freelance writers look good–here I’m leading the first pitch of Field’s Chimney on the lower east face of Longs Peak.
He skis, he climbs, he creates brilliant photographs…Fredrik Marmsater, Swedish legend, all-around good guy, adventure pro. Fred shoots images freelance and sells them to brands like Patagonia, Ibex, and Rab. To get all of his high-quality stuff, he needs to get out there with professional athletes…and the occasional pretender (me).
The gents from Climbing Life Guides work with Rab, the hallowed English gear manufacturer. Eli Helmuth, IFMGA guide and Climbing Life owner, recently got out with his star employee, Mike Arnold, Fred, and me for a couple days of climbing and shooting on Longs Peak. Two weeks ago we got up Alexander’s Chimney (WI4 M4) and this week we took a stab at Field’s Chimney (WI5 M6).
During our day on Alexander’s, I didn’t lead anything, so midway through the day I shouted up to Eli at the belay, “Dude, I’m like an alpine fluffer–I’m just here to keep the boys stoked and performing!” Eli, Fred, and Mike all liked the term, so now we’re hoping Matt Samet will include it in future printings of his fantastic climbing dictionary. We’ll see. I pray it doesn’t end up MY nickname…
On our Field’s day, I led the first pitch and then Mike Arnold got the second–which was way more involved. The route’s definitely going out of condition and what ice remained was pretty sketchy. Great day and I was psyched to get on the sharp end…but I’m also glad Mike and Eli took the second pitch!
We got Fred into position by having him climb as a second on the first rope team. Once in position, the second team would start behind him, using the first leader’s gear and climbing/re-climbing certain sections so Fred could do his magic.
Fred loaned me a couple images for the blog, but held onto his best material in the hopes of selling it to Rab and a few other brands. Drop by his website to check out a full gallery of his work–it’s gorgeous and goes way beyond just climbing.
We’ve had a blast these past couple weeks and who knows where we’re headed next week? Snow’s coming, but it’s not quite time to ski…so we’ll just have to see. Thanks to Fred, Eli, Mike, and Rab for all the good climbing!
