Good morning, Stoke Crew. Hope you're all doing well out there. We've got a stacked sendition for you today, a little bit of everything from the outdoor world. Let's not waste any time and get right into it! Yeew!
In today's report
- 🧗 Tommy Caldwell and Siebe Vanhee just free climbed a 1,200-meter wall in Patagonia
- ⛷️ Lindsey Vonn nearly lost her leg after her Olympic downhill crash
- 🏂 Shaun White's Snow League returns to Aspen this week
- 🏔️ Breck's Imperial SuperChair is finally spinning at 12,840 feet
Today's Stoke Story
🧗 One day, one massive wall
🧗 Tommy Caldwell and Siebe Vanhee have completed the first one-day free ascent of the South African Route (5.12c, 1,200m) on the East Face of the Central Tower of Paine in Chilean Patagonia. The American-Belgian duo started climbing at 3:20 a.m. on February 13 and topped out exactly 24 hours later, with both climbers leading and following every pitch free. It's only the third free ascent of the route overall since a South African team first established the line in bolt-free style in 1973-74.
- The route was first freed in 2009 over 13 days using capsule style (climbing by day, rappelling to portaledge camps each night). Only one other team had freed it before Caldwell and Vanhee's push.
- The pair devoted three weeks and three attempts to the project, battling Patagonia's notorious weather volatility. Their single-push strategy meant no portaledges, no fixed ropes, and extremely limited retreat options once committed to the wall.
- Key challenges included 5.12c crux pitches at pitches 14 and 15, a demanding 60-meter 5.11+ offwidth at pitch 18, and a final 250 meters of alpine terrain navigated in the dark after switching from rock shoes to alpine boots.
- A storm moved in immediately after they summited, forcing an eight-hour descent through snow, wind, and poor visibility.Vanhee, a Belgian big-wall specialist, made the first free ascent of Riders on the Storm on this same tower in 2024 over 18 days. Caldwell is best known for the Dawn Wall on El Capitan and decades of redefining big-wall free climbing.
Fun Fact: Tommy lost most of his left index finger in a 2001 table saw accident while renovating his home in Colorado. Who needs all 10 fingers to make a career out of climbing anyways!
Why It Matters: Patagonia's granite towers have historically demanded weeks of siege-style climbing. Compressing a 1,200-meter 5.12c into a single 24-hour push, with both climbers freeing every pitch, represents a fundamental shift in what's possible on these walls.
MOUNTAIN BRIEFING
❄️ Vonn's close call, Paralympics next
🎿 U.S. Ski & Snowboard has nominated 32 athletes to represent Team USA at the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, running March 6-15. The roster includes 11 alpine skiers and six snowboarders across the para disciplines, with 14 first-time Paralympians joining the squad. Athletes will be officially announced to Team USA on March 2.
- Notable returnees include Laurie Stephens, heading to her sixth Paralympic Games with two golds, two silvers, and three bronzes on her resume, and Andrew Kurka, a Paralympic gold medalist in para alpine.
- The U.S. enters with the world's best para snowboard program, having won both the men's and women's Nations Cups this season. Three-time Paralympic gold medalist Brenna Huckaby leads the snowboard contingent.
- Among the first-timers: Saylor O'Brien, an alpine skier born with Spina Bifida, and Jesse Keefe, born without an ankle bone who had his foot amputated at 11 months old and began skiing at age two in Sun Valley.
- This is the first Paralympic Games since para alpine and para snowboard were reintegrated within U.S. Ski & Snowboard, a structural change aimed at providing more unified support to athletes.
Why It Matters: The Paralympics start in just over a week and Team USA is sending a deep, experienced squad. The 14 first-timers represent the pipeline behind the veterans, and the U.S. para snowboard program's dominance of the Nations Cup signals medal contention across the board.
⛷️ Lindsey Vonn revealed that she nearly lost her left leg following her Olympic downhill crash on February 8 in Cortina. Beyond the complex tibia fracture initially reported, the 41-year-old developed compartment syndrome, a condition where excessive pressure can cause irreparable tissue damage. Dr. Tom Hackett performed a fasciotomy and six-hour reconstructive surgery to save her leg.
- Hackett was only in Cortina because Vonn had torn her ACL in a World Cup race before the Games. She also broke her right ankle and required a blood transfusion.
- Vonn, who was leading the World Cup downhill standings, said she has "no regrets".
Why It Matters: One of the most serious injuries in recent Olympic skiing history. The chain of events that kept her surgeon on-site is almost unbelievable. Vonn's competitive career is likely over, but the recovery ahead is its own mountain.
Local Stokelight
🌲 High alpine, halfpipe, and state titles
🏔️ Breckenridge has officially opened the Imperial SuperChair for the season, putting all lifts online and unlocking North America's highest lift-served terrain at 12,840 feet. The 2.7-minute ride gives access to over 400 acres of high-alpine bowls and expert terrain on Peak 8. Serenity Bowl on Peak 6 also opened over the weekend.
Why It Matters: Imperial spinning is the signal Breck skiers wait for. In a low-snow year, all lifts running by late February is a credit to the mountain ops team.
🏂 The Snow League returns to Buttermilk this week for the third event of its inaugural season, with qualifying on Friday February 27 and finals on Saturday February 28. Shaun White's professional snowboarding league launched in Aspen last March and has since held events in China, making this the second time Buttermilk has hosted.
Why It Matters: White is trying to do for competitive snowboarding what other leagues have done for action sports: better pay, a season-long championship format, and an event atmosphere that draws fans beyond the core. Days after the Olympics wrapped, bringing the world's best riders straight to Aspen keeps the momentum rolling. The equal-pay structure and $2.2 million purse are significant for a sport where athletes have historically relied on sponsorships to make a living.
🎿 Summit High School swept both the Alpine and Nordic team state championships.
What else is going on
- Customer sues Specialized alleging deceptive online pricing practices. A California man filed a federal class action lawsuit claiming the bike company added a mandatory $75 "Shipping and Handling" fee at checkout that wasn't disclosed upfront, violating California and Virginia consumer protection laws that require businesses to reveal all mandatory fees before purchase.
- Supreme Court to hear Boulder climate lawsuit challenging oil companies. The nation's highest court will decide whether lawsuits seeking billions in damages from ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy for knowingly driving climate change should be heard in state or federal court, a decision with major implications for dozens of similar cases nationwide.
📚 Trailhead Trivia
What state is the only state to turn down the Olympics?
⚡ Share The Stoke
This newsletter is for mountain lovers, first chair advocates, and the ones who live for type 2 fun. Basically, the type of people whose "five-year plan" is just a list of peaks and routes!
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Answer!
Colorado is the only state to turn down an Olympic Games, specifically rejecting the 1976 Winter Olympics after Denver was awarded them by the International Olympic Committee in 1970. In November 1972, Colorado voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure against public funding, citing environmental concerns and high costs
See you soon,
Tyler
Creator — THE STOKE REPORT
