SOUTH SIDE ODYSSEY - THE ADAMANTS / AUG 1983

15 days in the Northern Selkirks. That amazing trip with Gustavo Brillembourg happened so long ago now (Aug 83) that it is hard to remember many of the details from our bold adventure into the unknown. Up until the last day when we were resting at the Fairy Meadow hut, we did not see a soul the whole time. On the backside of this range you are truly out there and my guess is that you still won't see many people over there.

I remember mostly the 18 hour days on the two big routes we did in the Gothics region. You get into a flow of maximum energy output and all of a sudden the day is gone. These long routes give you the full alpine feeling of starting before the sun and ending long after its gone down.

The fact that I fell unroped, chin deep into a rather wide crevasse on the Gothics Glacier and that Gustavo pulled me out, gigantic pack and all - like I weighed almost nothing, says alot about how rock climbers are not necessarily alpinists until you learn the trade. With my feet dangling in space and the alpine sac on the back of my backpack, the only thing wedging me at the lip, it was a big reality check. It could have been ugly

All in all I look back on this trip as an ideal only rarely achieved. A good blend of fear, adrenaline, achievement and comraderie. I can live with that.