Joe Puryear Images

I've created a new photography website for my images. Check it out at www.joepuryearimages.com. This will officially replace CascadeImages for displaying my images. While this is going to be a work in progress, right now you can check out many of my recent images from climbing trips to Nepal and some of my favorite Alaskan pics. All of the images are for sale and easily purchased in a variety of formats. The images are professionally printed by Bay Photo Lab. I hope you enjoy my work.

2010 Labuche Kang Expedition

David and I are once again headed back to the Himalaya. For our latest adventure we will be exploring the remote Labuche Kang Massif in Tibet. The range centers around the highest peak Labuche Kang (7,367 meters, 24,170 feet), which has had once ascent via the West Ridge in 1987 by a Tibetan-Japanese expedition. Nearby are a few more 7,000-meter peaks and many peaks in the high 6,000-meters. Many of these peaks are unclimbed. This little-known range has had only three documented expeditions.

Our plan is to head into the south side of Labuche Kang (aka Lapche Kang, Lobuche Kang, Choksiam) and make our way to below the giant south faces of the massif, where likely no foreign expedition has ever explored.

We'll be posting regular updates on our Climb Tibet Blog: www.climbtibet.blogspot.com, so come back often and check on our progress.

Puryear Picks - Alpine Gear Reviews

Check out my new blog: http://puryearpicks.blogspot.com/! I'm going to start blogging reviews about my favorite climbing gear, clothing, and other accessories that I use in the mountains. You won't necessarily find reviews of the latest and greatest equipment. I'm more interested in the gear that has stood the test of time for me and has worked to successfully get me up big climbs. Check it out and let me know what you think. This will definitely by an evolving process and more content will be added regularly. Read here for my first review of the Petzl Meteor III helmet.

2010 GORE-TEX® Brand Shipton-Tilman Grant

A humongous thanks goes out to W. L. Gore & Associates for awarding David Gottlieb and I a 2010 GORE-TEX® Brand Shipton-Tilman Grant for our upcoming climb in Tibet this fall. This is a true honor for us to receive this award and to be part of an amazing tradition that Gore has upheld for 20 years!

Thank you W. L. Gore & Associates!!!

From the Gore website:

The annual program was established by Gore in 1990 as a tribute to the spirit of adventure embodied by legendary explorers Eric Shipton (b. 1907) and Bill Tilman (b. 1897). Now in its 20th year, the program provides funds to be divided among expeditions that are most in harmony with Shipton and Tilman's philosophies.
Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman are arguably the greatest adventurers of this past century. They believed in traveling in small, compact teams, unburdened by porters and excessive bulk surviving on the bare minimum required to achieve their goal.
Applications are accepted from small, unencumbered teams of friends with daring and imaginative goals. The expedition team must plan to accomplish their feat in a self-propelled, environmentally sound and cost-effective way.
"Even after 20 years, we still find inspiring teams pursuing very ambitious goals. This year’s group includes young athletes in their twenties trying to make their mark along with seasoned teams trying to overcome past failures," said Yvonne Erickson, Gore Fabrics Marketing Leader. "Gore is fascinated by the achievements of the 2010 winners as well as what the next 20 years of the GORE-TEX® Brand Shipton-Tilman Grant program may hold."

First Peak Ascent, Takargo (6,771m), Rolwaling Himal, Nepal

In one of our biggest overall mountain climbing efforts ever, David and I completed the first peak ascent of Takargo (6,771 meters) in the Rolwaling Himal of Nepal via the east face.

The climb was completed in a 12-day effort, without a rest day, round trip from the small Sherpa village of Beding (3,700 meters), where we had spent most of the previous month ice climbing.  Due to the remote nature of the peak, most of the effort was spent on the approach and descent, with just 3 days spent on the mountain itself.  Poor snow conditions and rugged terrain plagued most of the approach, but once on the mountain, conditions turned positive with mostly good snow and excellent ice.

Read about the full ascent on our Climb Nepal Blog: www.climbnepal.blogspot.com

Takargo from the east:  (Photo: JP)

David on the summit ridge: (Photo: JP)

Discovering a new ice-climbing area in the Nepal Himalaya

In February, David Gottlieb and I discovered, explored, and climbed in what may be perhaps one of Asia's greatest ice climbing venues, the Rolwaling Valley of Nepal.  Over the course of the month we climbed over a dozen frozen waterfalls from 2 pitch WI 5 and 6's to a 700-meter WI 4 and everything in between.  The high concentration of ice located just a short distance from the main Sherpa village of Beding was astounding.  And there is much more to be explored, with at least 30 high quality lines and we speculate 50 or more under idea conditions.

Check out the full account of our climbing adventure on our Climb Nepal Blog: www.climbnepal.blogspot.com.

The Nemari Area climbs including Nemari left (WI 5+, 4 pitches) and Nemari Right (WI 5, 5 pitches):














David Gottlieb leading in the 700m Beyul canyon (WI 4).

2010 Mugs Stump Award

I am super psyched to announce that I have received the 2010 Mugs Stump Award for an upcoming climb in Tibet this fall.  One of America's most prestigious climbing awards, this grant will go a long ways in helping David Gottlieb and I follow our alpine climbing and mountain exploration dreams.

I'd like to thank the following companies for granting the award as well as their continued support in keeping the program alive:
Black Diamond, Mountain Gear, Patagonia, Gor-Tex, and Alpinist.

From the Mugs Stump Award website:
More About the Mugs Stump Award
All of the alpine objectives awarded embody the spirit of the late Mugs Stump. Mugs Stump was best known for his first ascent of the Emperor Face on Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies and a triptych of brilliant Alaskan climbs—the East Face of the Moose's Tooth, the Moonflower Buttress on Mount Hunter, and a one-day solo of Denali's Cassin Ridge. He sought out striking and highly technical objectives, preferably first ascents, in some of the most remote mountains of the world. Mugs saw climbing as a celebration of boldness, purity, and simplicity.
Applications are reviewed for how they further the legacy of Mugs Stump with climbs proposed in the spirit of adventure and exploration, and that emphasize light, fast, leave-no-trace climbing. Award applicants are evaluated on the strength of their objective, the strength of their team, and on an objective that raises the bar defining what is possible in alpinism today.