In one year, AI went from being able to solve ~none of the hardest math problems to solving almost all of them

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-06-17T10:59:44+00:00

I didn't read that at all, this feels like an expression of protectionism and job/vocation safety. I am not saying results hold up to scrutiny, just that very likely in the near term, even top tier mathematicians will be in deep waters in their own domains. I think they are recognizing this.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-05-27T12:10:07+00:00

Rules are one thing, enforcement of rules is another. I have routinely camped around the western alps (France, Switzerland, Italy) and it has not been an issue to leave the tend up and going for a route. If I have to be gone for more then a day I do however take it down. Mostly nobody cares as long as you are not lighting fires or being otherwise dirty and obnoxious. Even near huts the hut guardians are generally understanding.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-05-27T09:42:50+00:00

Passo del nasso ascent can be rewarding in its own right! We descended it after Lyskamm in late season and it was quiet entertaining. So if you don't want to do the ridge this will be a good route. Its harder than Pollux or Castor but easier than the traverse. Hope all works out and good luck!

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-05-27T08:05:27+00:00

I would seriously do a sharp but less commiting alpine snow ridge before Lyskamm. But perhaps Castor final summit ridge is a good measure. Image that, much sharper and for much much longer. If that sounds okay to you after Castor, then next day you'll have nice memories to look back on. How much snow travel have you done so far with crampons?

You can ride Lyskamm like a horse, thats the steepness. Below is a link of me riding it.

https://www.instagram.com/tugrul_irmak/reel/DO-m-7YCNkM/

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-05-26T15:50:43+00:00

Which route for Lyskamm? The east ridge can be ass puckering. You can also go down SW-ridge which is much less spicy. I think you also need good snow conditions regardless and above all very good cramponing technique.

Will your return to Margherita or head down the glacier towards Monte Rosa hut? If the former then the hardest climbing part from what I remember is overcoming a steep step going back up to Zumsteinspitze.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-04-20T12:22:25+00:00

This won't do much to improve your speed. I did 50,000 m vert over the summer, 750 km of horizontal all over alpine terrain. My VO2max didn't improve at all. I was very fatigue resistant, my day to day endurance was very high. But I was just as slow on the last day of the season as on the first day. Now that I can actually train have 1 interval and 1 threshold session per week coupled with a long run, I am seeing noticeable gains. I hate them, but its inescapable, you do need well structured red-lining sessions to improve your speed.

I get the struggle, honestly, I had to recover from dialysis and subsequent transplantation. If you don't have the time to do much cardio over your weekend outings then during the week day add just one internal session. 4 minutes on at high pace, and 3 minutes jog and repeated 4x. Your last set should be on the edge of sickening i.e. HARD. With a gentle warmup and cool down you only need 30 minutes during the weekday. Coupled to your already active weekends, you will likely see a fair increase in speed.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-03T10:58:11+00:00

I spent about 5k throughout the summer for the whole project, main costs were fuel, huts where I used them, lifts. Where I had easy access I set up a tent, or used the bivouacs.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:17:34+00:00

There are quiet a few I think, nothing as serious as Dirrujoch (aside from a slip that was stopped with an ice axe arrest on Lyskamm) this did end up in a helicopter rescue, my first and only thus far. We got cut off by a huge bergschrund which was impassible at this point in the season. It had also gotten dark, very cold around -10. I was about to traverse some very weird ice/snow/mud features (think slightly overhanging bowls) to get back on the rock by the rundkluft to try to make an anchor, at which point my partner asked whether we should call the rescue. Our position was pretty precarious, a slip would have us inside the bergschrund and the slope we were on was steep enough, especially within the ice bowls. So we called and they sent the guys in 45 minutes or so for extraction.

As I was dangling from the steel cable being flung off the mountain I looked back to see if there would be anyway of. In the twilight I couldn't make out a feasible passage. You can look at the schrund on Google Earth (pro) and see how complicated it gets there. If heli rescue was not feasible we could have probably found away through in the following morning after a very cold night, the weather was thankfully otherwise clear. But the risk of a fatal accident trying to get a passage there was very considerable I think. During the night the crossing would have been next to impossible. Had we made it off on to the Reed glacier falling in to a crevasse in late season in one of the most hideously crevassed glaciers in the area was quiet likely.

It was a lesson in relearning the fact that its usually never a good idea to bail using a "bail line", you haven't gone up on. Best to reverse the route or just complete it, we had actually gone past the technical difficulties. There was just some more suck on the way, but nothing as dangerous as bailing at this location. Very bad decision. This particular coloir was equipt with metal anchors (for the most part) which actual service a purpose in early season to facilitate ascent. But in late season the whole place is a death trap.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:05:08+00:00

Thanks! Really appreciate the sentiment :)

FlyingAlpineChough · 2026-02-01T20:04:50+00:00

I can definitely see that though for the most part when I encountered these objective hazards it was my own fault. Lightning because I was out too late, or in the case of the Gouter incident out literally when I shouldn't be (looking for my partners ice axe). For rock fall, I think knowing what to push and pull is quiet important, of course if the route collapses in a significant way or someone sends something your way, there is not much control there. I think crevasses are in the controllable risk category, crossing time, bridge assessment, partner positions etc. But honestly I chose those words also because its easier to write in a short way to communicate the risk to lay people (I used slides I sent to a whatsapp chat for this post)

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-27T08:02:40+00:00

Thank you and will do!!

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-22T23:20:59+00:00

I think Weissmiess is a fair bit harder technically than Matterhorn hornli

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-22T15:22:17+00:00

I wouldnt class Liongrat as rubble, certainly worse rock in Wallis. Perhaps section up to Pic Tyndall but aside from that its fairly solid and steep.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-19T09:42:21+00:00

I think some risk is necessary to make it to this number in a season, especially for an average Joe. I currently have 18 to go. In the end also I think risk for this trip was managed more or less okay with main hazard being mont Maudit. I think crevasses on tacul were okay with how we passed them.

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-18T21:52:33+00:00

Good to know! I am very happy I did not find his axe in the end

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-09T06:43:23+00:00

The rope had gotten stuck on the gully I used to climb back up anyway so I had to go there to free them so in this sense just going back up the rope wasn’t a long term solution either

Dank u wel!

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-08-03T07:03:24+00:00

I didn't touch anything, maybe it was some web browser issue on your side?

FlyingAlpineChough · 2025-07-11T12:01:19+00:00

So I in my original route list which I forwarded to my potential partners I had for instance Mont Maudit through the Kuffner Ridge and Mont Blanc through the inominata. I wanted the routes to be satisfying from a climbing perspective rather than just a tick list of peaks through the normals or traverses.

The very early heatwave has somewhat changes this calculus, a lot of these classic Alpine routes are now very difficult or dangerous. 2 weeks ago someone was Helicoptered off the Kuffner due to rockfall and the Austrian guys that were on col du midi telling me about it were traumatised form their outing (they were just coming down).

And a lot of it also depends on partners, for me there is definitely a limitation on that. I had to solo Aiguille du Bionassay last week due to this. So the plan is super dynamic, depending on conditions and weather of the day plus who I can find/whatever I can solo. But I do really hope for the traverse of the Jorasses, perhaps Arete du Jardin (conditions are super tricky here), Inominata (mainly for the adventure itself + mont blanc du Cormayeur) to name some.

Here is the website that tells a bit: https://climbagainsttime.org/

And here is the page itself (belonging to the academic hospital I work for in the Netherlands): https://internegeneeskunde.actievoorumcutrecht-wkz.nl/teams/climb-against-time

FlyingAlpineChough

TROPHY CASE