Roped to Each Other - A Slideshow by Michael Warburton

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An unlikely friendship between an American college student and a Soviet Mountaineering Champion during the Cold War leads to lots of adventures. This program features an account of the 1975-76 Soviet American Mountaineering Exchange between the American Alpine Club and the Soviet Mountaineering Federation and shows climbs from the walls of Yosemite to the Caucasus, Pamir, Tien Shan and Himalaya.

Michael Warburton got his first rope at the age of nine and climbing has shaped his life on and off mountain walls for the last fifty years. Presently a public interest environmental advocate based in Berkeley, his experiences with the power of trust between fellow travellers has shaped both his recreational pursuits and professional life. Beginning with the publication of Uncertainty On A Himalayan Scale in 1985, his scientific and legal advocacy have been aimed at shaping a livable future for all of us.

Photo caption: Michael following the “Roof” pitch on the Salathe Wall on El Capitan, taken by Security Officer Anatoly Nepomnyashchy in September 1975.