The Fresh Air Traverse

→ info & HD instructions:

Mount Whitney’s East Face is perhaps the classic Alpine climbing route in the Sierra, featuring an otherworldly mix of moderate climbing and breathtaking exposure. I had wanted to climb the East Face from the moment I first summited Whitney—but at the time it seemed like a dream that would permanently remain unfulfilled. Last weekend, I got the chance to give it a try with help from Kurt Wedberg of Sierra Mountaineering International. The experience was extraordinary. For the full report see: climbing Whitney’s East Face.

This also happens to be the first trip where I carried an HD video camera (actually two), so I’m working on a bottom-to-top video of the climb. While you’re waiting for that, here’s a taste of one of the climb’s most famous segments…the ‘Fresh Air’ Traverse.

Some notes on HD: unless your connection speed is very speedy, you’ll likely want to let the video buffer fully before watching. Click the play arrow on the player toolbar, then the “HD” button (which then appears), then immediately hit the pause button. Go have a cup of coffee and let the video load (10-15 mins), then hit play and finally click the rectangle button to expand the view to full-screen. The video should now play smoothly from start to finish.

As you may be guessing, switching from SD to HD video has proven to be a total trip down the rabbit hole. Basically every downstream software/device/system I owned had to be replaced to cope with the file size, plus there’s literally a graduate degree’s worth of standards and compatibility info to learn. So, I’m beat and my operating budget for the rest of the year has been annihilated. But it’s hard to argue with the end result. :)

Posted August 16, 2009 in Climbing, video | 9 Comments

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