Monster Tribune3 24-01-2006 10:05 Pagina 1
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Monster tribune3 24-01-2006 10:05 Pagina 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K INTERNATIONAL THE WORLD’S NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BY GRIVEL MONT BLANC EDITED IN COURMAYEUR AND PRINTED IN MORGEX Winter 2006 - n°3 Two newborns in the Grivel family The Family is growing In 2006 two new members have been added to the Monster line. Alp Monster for alpinists, climbers and dry toolers. Lil’Monster for beginners, light weighters, hand protectable. MONSTER ALP MONSTER Once upon a time there was a beast, The most recent revolution, the Monster, comes to A new or more exactly a Monster, that the light in 2004. version decided to start climbing ice and Experts in competition climbing, bouldering, extreme of mountains. All the wise old men of dry tooling, total dry will immediately recognise the Monster Monster for what it is, not a new ice axe, but the with a the village said “ no you can’t climb most efficient extension of their own arm for hooking hammer for the ice and mountains because you’re on the most difficult terrains. The shaft has multiple alpinists, ice climbers not strong enough, you’re a weakling. grips for traction, swings, hand swap-overs, new and dry toolers. Ideal You’re all skinny and flat with positions and interpretations: all power to imagination! substitute for an ice axe humps …. you’re just a Monster! Forged pick with teeth at all angles, straight, inverse, when manageability and But he didn’t give up: he tried and into holes, onto the tiniest holds. Modern design and moving lightweight is new-style graphics make the Monster unique, plus important. Ideal for tried again until he made it. He the multiple presentations letting everybody choose female hands and did it so well that he overcame according to their own personal inspiration. tomorrow’s stars. bits that even the stronger, more And, a last final bit of news, Grivel’s years of It inherits the well proven attractive and broader ones lost experience and huge technological capacity mean Monster and XMonster their grip on. that the price is cut to half than a modern technical technology. Blade in hot ice axe. As an advertising campaign could say: two forged steel. Everybody was really surprised for the price of one! Posterior hammer. New and other Monsters overcame One size: cms 49 MONSTER generation shaft with their shyness and started climbing Weight: 730 gr oz: 25,7 - Patented innovative sublimated graphics. on ice and the mountains. Available in 2 sizes 38/44 to satisfy all the needs of the climbers. The first one was an extremely X MONSTER elegant Monster. He turned up in Weight gr: 550 oz: 19,4 Length 2 version: 38cm. – 44 cm. mimetic gear, in disguise, for this All the accepted rules about climbing Patented. reason he was named XMonster. equipment were upset during the 2004-2005 Then came a skinny one who season by Monster. Lots of Grivel competitors LIL’ MONSTER tried to stop this stampede even using the tool started on the high mountain underhand methods. But the concept was right routes, nicknamed Alp Monster designed and today the less extreme X Monster has for Finally a really delicate, shy and arrived. The shaft is slightly straighter and the anchoring little one appeared, called Lil’ grip is better for vertical walls – the Monster and hooking (Little) Monster straightaway. on the other hand was perfect for overhangs up, on mixed and ice. Ideal – its multi-grip design lets the climber’s for first time ice climbers, Today you will see all four of imagination run wild. A thinner pick for fragile them on ice falls, rock faces and who hate bashing their ice. A shorter pick as the continuity between fingers against the ice and cliffs everywhere. They have a wild pick and shaft can anchor in deep as there’s for who wants to time as everybody learns to love nothing to stop the blade fitting in between maximise the dynamism them and their previous two columns or in narrow cracks. The flexible of their movements. critics sit in the shaft that so many climbers have recently Comfortable to hold, discovered makes anchoring into cracks, background the closed grip including non vertical ones, easier and safer. X MONSTER protects hands against grumbling, ignored Just remember the progress made on changing freezing contact with by everybody from rigid to flexible vaulting poles! The rear ice and painful contact else. is almost a hammer shaped like “nuts”, ideal with rock. It inherits the well proven for anchoring and torqueing in larger cracks on mixed terrain. A hole in the shaft can be Monster and XMonster technology. used to attach a leash. Tiny anti slip claw at the end of the shaft. Modern graphics and New generation shaft with accessible prices for those with limited funds typical of today’s younger generation. CE innovative sublimated graphics. certification as a category 2 PPI. Weight gr: 475 oz: 16,7 Length cm:32. Patented Weight gr: 475 oz: 16,7 Length cm:47 - Patented Interview with Christophe Profit 1987, 12-13 March Christophe Profit climbs the three most famous North Faces of the Alps: the Eiger, the Matterhorn and the Grand Jorasses. Solo in winter in 40 hours. Your first impressions with Monster. Fun…emotion or a bit of both together ? I tried Monster for the first time this winter. I I immediately felt a big wave of emotion climbed quite a lot of ice falls and some because I had the impression of being one goulottes on the South side of Tacul and on the with the mountain. Once I got the Monster in North side of the Aiguille. I found myself at my hands I had so much fun…. Because you ease almost immediately with X Monster. Its need less energy than with « the old piolets » flexible and thin shaft represents a big and you can appreciate the route a lot more. matter! So in January when the high pressure evolution for alpinism. It has been designed arrived the game could start. I had 6 days of following simple rules . Thanks to the flexibility Suggestions for someone just trying Monster food and gas and 15 kgs hardwear for of the shaft it’s much easier to fix the blade for the first time……. A dream comes true climbing. It’s completely different to all the into fixtures, using the body weight instead You have to tame Monster first. Short routes, other solo ascents that I have done. Every of using the arms strenght. The thin shaft when some easy and some mixte will help you single pitch is hard on this route. Even 6b at possible, can cut snowcrust and get an develop a total understanding of the hidden minus 20° Celsius is a nightmare to climb. immediate bite on the underlying ice. potentiality of this precious tool I just had to take one pitch at the time. If I started thinking about what it was like 100 metres higher up, I would go crazy. A big dream is becoming true! 6° International ice climbing competition in Austria X MONSTER on the Monster on the podium again. North of Eiger On January 7th and 8th the 6° Austrian International Ice On 13th and 14th November Manu Ibarra climbing Competition and Jerome Blanc Grass, accompanied by was held in Philippe Collet and Jean-Sé Knoetzer, ph: R.Bosch Kotschach-Mauten. Urs Odermatt won climbed the Eiger´s legendary North Face Ueli Steck winter soloing the male competition using G14 and Air Tech crampons and the and Claudia Colussi “Young Spider” on the won the female brand new X Monsters . The uniform North of Eiger with XMonster competition. Our best thickness of these tools´ shafts, picks and compliments to both blades makes anchoring easier in tricky The “Young Spider” is a modern Alpine athletes who belong route. A2/7 a W16/M7. It meant a lot to me. situations of crusted snow and deep cracks, Since the first ascent,I’ve always dreamt of to Grivel Team repeating this route alone. Because style does giving optimum safety and faster progression. Colori compositi Monster tribune3 24-01-2006 10:05 Pagina 2 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K International Monster Tribune GRIVEL MONT BLANC Send us your MONSTER comments/photos - www.grivel.com Whatever you thought about Monster think again bat-on tiramisu f.o.2.open bat cross long bat f.o.4.open twin f.o.4.inverse f.o.2.closed Marcoz - Morgex grafica/illustrazione: jecodesign.com - d.valentini stampa: Tipografia f.o.4.closed yo-yo Interview with GRIVEL It is also important to remember that some technologies are unbeatable for obtaining the best possible mechanical Grivel has been involved in mountaineering since overall projects? characteristics: hot forging is emblematic in this case. 1818 and after almost two centuries of ice and MADE IN ITALY mixed climbing Grivel has always been an integral Changes and evolution can come about only on the margins, When Oskar Eckenstein, the famous inventor of crampons, part of changes in ice climbing. What is changing in extreme situations and at the very forefront of activity. stepped into the Grivel’s smoky workshop in “Les Forges” in Competitions are certainly on the edge of climbing as a from your point of view? Courmayeur in 1909 the family was already renowned among whole and therefore a logical playground to try out new Someone once said that only he who knows where he comes ideas and, alpinists for the quality of their ice axes.