Climbs approached by bicycle

I've heard that the 1938 first ascent of the north face Eiger was completed by some Germans who rode their bikes from Germany to Grindelwald in order to reach the mountain.

Roger Briggs and several others have biked from Boulder to climb Long's peak - the Long's Peak Triathlon.

There is only one man to have gone from sea level to the peak of Mt. Everest without using any motorized transport and guess what, he rode his freaking bike!

What historical ascents have been completed using bicycle and other human powered means of transport? I hear Jim Ericson rode his bike on many of his FAs. Any idea where I can find out more information about this rowdyness?

Any FA done before engines were invented?

Mont Blanc was climb in the 1700s I think so that prob fits the bill.

Kurt Albert did some pretty amazing approaches toward the end of his life. He once walked 400km across Baffin Island to climb Polar Bear Spire.

Now that I think about it, there are a lot of early ascents that would have been done on foot. Pikes Peak was climbed in 1820 by Edwin James. That ascent led to the discovery of Colorado's state flower. Some people think the Native Americans who hung out there in the 1700's may have summited as well but there is obviously no record of that.

Not a first ascent, but I read that Ed Viesturs used to bike 18 miles, climb Mount Rainier, and then bike back all in 11 hours.

superkick wrote:Any FA done before engines were invented? Mont Blanc was climb in the 1700s I think so that prob fits the bill.

Don't forget about horses. Ryan's climbs in CO as well I would bet that most people would travel, as far as they could, by horse back then.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Goran Kropp yet. Bicycled from Sweden to Everest, helped out with a rescue, then climbed the mountain and biked home.

DannyUncanny wrote:I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Goran Kropp yet. Bicycled from Sweden to Everest, helped out with a rescue, then climbed the mountain and biked home.

Actually the OP mentioned him, just didn't name names.

Hermann Buhl approached many of his climbs in the Alps on the single speed bicycle, often over the course of a weekend. No doubt that enhanced his level of fitness considerably.

Someone else recently wrote an article for Alpinist about riding a bike to certain climbs as a way of finding new adventures from things that had become somewhat common place. I want to say he wrote that his trip was inspired by Buhl and he repeated some of his climbs.

In springtime, mountain roads are sometimes mostly snow-free but still gated, so athletic skiers pedal bikes (or Electric-assist bikes) up roads for a higher start to a ski mountaineering tour.

Also people who want to set some sort of record for climbing + skiing like the highest peak in each of three mountain groups in one long day will ride a bike between the trailheads.

I have a memory of reading that when E Whymper was around Chamonix and decided it was time for another attempt on the Matterhorn, he would walk between Chamonix and Zermatt.

Ken

In NH, many of the recently developed crags just about require a mountain bike for at least part of the approach. On foot things would take so much longer.

vimeo.com/24857511

It's pretty amazing what you can get accomplished on a bike. It's one of the reasons I live where I do. I rarely need a car for anything other than climbing. Riding your bike to the crag or into the mountains is awesome, but these days most of my trips are to work, the market, the pub, or a friends house. The gym as well. I ride my bike to all of those places. Aside from climbing trips, I honestly can't remember the last time I was in a car. Maybe in April when I went to my brother's wedding.

The ascents that we've mentioned so far DO NOT fall into the following category, but I think it's funny when people talk about how they can cycle to the crag, yet they drive to work. Silly.

years ago i met 2 brothers from Colorado on the eastside of mt. shasta. They were climbing all of CA's 14ers and travelling to each TH with bikes. Their mom was assisting in a car behind them.

I thought that was a super cool idea.

Welll yes Ryan, but London's a bit different than say Colorado. It's 36 miles from my house to the pub.60 miles to he nearest real rock etc..

DannyUncanny wrote:I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Goran Kropp yet. Bicycled from Sweden to Everest, helped out with a rescue, then climbed the mountain and biked home.

Kopp was the Mack.

Göran Kropp (December 11, 1966 – September 30, 2002) was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer, born in Eskilstuna in south Sweden. He is most famous for his May 23, 1996 solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support, travelling only by bicycle from Sweden and back.

Died later from zippering his pro on a crack route.

john strand wrote:Welll yes Ryan, but London's a bit different than say Colorado. It's 36 miles from my house to the pub.60 miles to he nearest real rock etc..

I used to live in Colorado. Trust me, I know it's different than London. That's why I said "it's one of the reasons I live where I do." I like being able to not drive. It's just one less thing I have to do. Living simply isn't always about living in your van and eating ramen ya know.

It's funny though that you live in Colorado and I am closer to real rock than you. You must have picked the wrong part of the state! ;-) Of course you could say I've picked the wrong part of the world.

Anyways, I drive to climb. It's part of the deal. But I think that if more people made it a real priority to either work where they live or live near where they work, we'd all be better off (our kids certainly would be). If we had been treating oil as a precious resource for the past century, instead of acting like we have an unlimited supply, then you wouldn't live so far away from the pub, or work, or whatever. No one would. Maybe no one should, except for people who can be self sufficient.

I think that when climbers do these big ascents by human powered approach, it is awesome. But let's be real, they aren't really doing much for the environment with this one ascent. What they are doing is proving a point - the same point that I am trying to prove. Life is possible without all of the "things" of the 20th century.

google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q…

My buddies called this the Fowler Tour in honor of the late, great Charlie. Ten Towers I think all approached by bike or raft.

Ryan Williams wrote:Now that I think about it, there are a lot of early ascents that would have been done on foot. Pikes Peak was climbed in 1820 by Edwin James. That ascent led to the discovery of Colorado's state flower. Some people think the Native Americans who hung out there in the 1700's may have summited as well but there is obviously no record of that.

I hear the natives would climb Long's Peak to catch eagles (too bad they didn't have bikes)! Funny how our perception of what an "FA" actually means, as I believe Stettner is "credited" with being first on Long's. But I do appreciate your input regarding the statement one can make by being truly self-sustainable. In today's modern world, it's no longer about just getting there, but by doing things in style like our friend Goran Kropp did; and inspiring others to help put the eco back into ecosystem.

It's Not by bike but I thought it was worth sharing.
mec.ca/AST/ContentPrimary/C…

Peteoria wrote: I hear the natives would climb Long's Peak to catch eagles (too bad they didn't have bikes)! Funny how our perception of what an "FA" actually means, as I believe Stettner is "credited" with being first on Long's. But I do appreciate your input regarding the statement one can make by being truly self-sustainable. In today's modern world, it's no longer about just getting there, but by doing things in style like our friend Goran Kropp did; and inspiring others to help put the eco back into ecosystem.

The Stettner brothers did the first ascent of a route - Stettner's Ledges on the east face. While it may have been the first route on the east face (depends on how you define the east face) it was far from the first route done by whitemen on Longs. Ironically, in the context of this thread, they did it with a bit of style - riding motorcycles across country in~1927 to do it.