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“Addictions can be very, very bad but addiction itself is not bad.
It’s a case of what you’re addicted to.
You better live each day like it’s your last, ‘cos one day you’re going to be right”.
Ray Charles.
Link tip a friend
Here’s just a snapshot of why arachnid taxonomy could never compete with the path that Renan’s taken; 3 big, diverse and exciting trips ……
Expedition 1:
The legendary Kingdom of Mustang is a semi-autonomous area on the Tibetan border and it lies in a hidden corner of the Himalayas which has been for decades off-limits to foreigners.
Hundreds of caves litter the landscape but not much is known about why they were created and what may still be inside them but a tip-off from a shepherd led to the discovery of 800-year-old Buddhist murals in a cave complex hidden behind a wall of snow on a cliff above Lo Manthang, the medieval walled capital of the kingdom.
- Zion.
The year before and during their scouting mission, the team that Renan was a part of discovered that in the caves was a rare library of ancient Tibetan texts which included thousands of hand-inked folios stacked in heaps and importantly many of the texts were adorned with beautiful "illuminations" or small paintings.
The paintings which depict Buddha’s life, consist of one mural about 25 ft wide and another 55 smaller panels, are believed to date back to the 12th century and are among the most exciting discoveries of Buddhist art found in recent years.
The team also found manuscripts painted in ink, silver and gold and shards of pre-Christian pottery and the aim of the trip was to return and rescue the texts before looters got to them. Renan, mountaineer Pete Athens and several archaeologists went there; this intro clip from PBS is really interesting and worth a look …..
- Epic descent from FA on the Eye Tooth, Ruth Gorge, Alaska Range.
Expedition 2:
Renan has combined his two key interests of climbing and art; many artists have suffered for their art but few have so literally like RO has on numerous occasions - his trip to the 6,000m Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru in India where they only just missed the summit, being a case in point.
RO, Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker spent 19 days on the mountain and had to -
* cope with spindrift, gear hauling and frost-nip
* 3 guys in a 2 man portaledge
* endure an 8 day storm
* suffer 5 hour belays
* and live on just 10 days worth of food.
Have a look below at the first of the video series on YT; a great example of how to put an adventure doco together; get yourself a decent internet connection and watch all the 15 videos of the Meru trip here
Expedition 3:
Mount Kinabalu at 4095 meters is situated in the east Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo and it’s the highest mountain between the Himalayas and Mt Wilhelmina in Irian Jaya.
The Kinabalu Park was established in 1964 to protect the mountain and its plant and animal life and the terrain stretches from lowland rain forest to montane forest, cloud forest and sub alpine meadow, before finally reaching the peak itself which is bare granite.
- KK summit view.
KK as it’s called is sacred to the locals; they believe that spirits of their ancestors inhabit it and they have traditionally sacrificed a chicken at the top every time someone summits it.
Ultimately this ritual became logistically impossible when the number of climbers reached 20,000 per year and the top began to resemble a KFC slaughterhouse, with rivers of chicken blood, clouds of feathers and the deafening scream of butchered fowl piercing the alpine air.
Now only 7 chickens are killed there each year as a token to the gods when a very young person makes the top - the current youngest summiteer is 3 ……
- Upper part of the route, prominent left slanting crack.
When planning the expedition to join the ranks of the elite 20,000, rumour has it that team members Mark Synnott, Conrad Anker, Kevin Thaw, Jimmy Chin, Alex Honnold and Renan took one look at this video below of crazed Via Ferrata crew about to cross a Class 4 creek hammering off the summit and said:
“The normal route may only be classed as Peu Difficile - or not very hard and suitable for beginners and possibly children but these cats are clearly out of our league”.
True, on paper the guys looked a strong and experienced team but they wisely backed off attempting to mix it with the plastic poncho elite. When they saw how this hellraiser punches unroped into the torrent just above a squillion foot drop, that was enough – the Yanks bailed on the idea of clipping wire rope and monster stainless steel eye/hoop things and opted instead for the safety of what you’ll see below; it’s one of 6 and the whole series is here
Via Ferrata; maybe one day guys ……..
So there you have it, a snapshot of Mr Ozturk – the Pure Turk; you might have seen him during his 19 hour link-up of The Nose of El Capitan, VI, 32 pitches and regular NW face of Half Dome, VI, 23 pitches.
Or on the Grade V free first ascent of the South West Pillar, 5.12r and Italian Pillar, 5.11+, 20+ pitches on the Minaret of the South Howser Tower; both lines climbed alpine style, camp to camp, in one day, with all pitches led and followed free, Bugaboos Provincial Park, B.C.
Or doing the first on-sight free solo of “Lightning Bolt Cracks,” 5.11, North Six Shooter, Indian Creek, UT.
But you’ll definitely see more of him at his site here or updates of what he’s up to on his blog here
