All rights reserved Support forthis publication has been provided through the National Endowment for the Arts Moving Image Source was developed with generous and visionary support from the Hazen Polsky Foundation This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Mayan Smith-Gobat and Ines Papert climbed a new mixed route up the aesthetic Southwest Buttress of Mount Waddington’s northwest summit in B.C The new 800-metre 20-pitch route goes at 5.11+ WI3 M5 ED1 The following is a story written by Paul McSorley for Gripped magazine’s October/November 2015 issue “This is two-tool country,” I yelled down to my rope-mates as we moved together into one of bergschrunds that guard the western flanks of Mount Waddington I pumped in a screw from a stance on a delicate ice bridge and my headlamp tilted skyward Above rose an overhang of snow that had us barrelled deep my mind drifted to fallen mountain brother Craig Leuben who’d died in a similar feature in the North Cascades during a past guide’s exam After sneaking over the steep flank of the frozen tsunami I ran out easy ground to a rock rib and belayed my partners up on a couple of cams and a munter hitch nausea crested in my throat and I expelled the meagre contents of my stomach onto the uncaring avalanche cone beneath my feet The idea to go climb Mount Waddington had originated several years ago with my friend Andrew Boyd We wanted to try something new on the main peak we had driven to Bluff Lake intent on two distinct objectives Richardson and Kruk rallied into the range by truck raft and foot over the course of a week battling bush Boyd and I waited the same amount of time for a weather window good enough to get a helicopter lift Kruk and Richardson came agonizingly close to topping out on the Southwest Buttress of Waddington’s Northwest Summit and had a grand adventure rafting out the Homathko River to a fixed-wing pickup at Bute Inlet Boyd and I never left the tarmac and drove home empty handed Thank you Mountains for the chance to ditch our Egos and just go climbing. Ines Papert with joy in her heart high on the crown of the Coast Range. @arcteryx @scarpana @julboeyewear A photo posted by Paul Mcsorley (@paulmcsorley) on Sep 25 the “Wadd” once again topped my wish list and with the arrival of my Bavarian friend Ines Papert and Kiwi sender Mayan Smith-Gobat we seized a promising window in the forecast and made the 10-hour trip from Squamish up to Bluff Lake The skies split and we had just enough time to organize our gear before ace Whitesaddle Air pilot Les whisked us onto the otherworldly Dais glacier approaching the range by helicopter is less sporting than the style pioneered by Don and Phyllis Munday back in the 1920s the Mundays made several multi-week forays into Waddington via Bute and Knight Inlets they were rewarded with the first ascent of the Northwest Summit of what was then know-as “Mystery Mountain.” With the utmost respect for the pioneers and those choosing deep commitment over convenience my karma has no issues jumping in the whirly bird I’ve done so much slogging over the years the prospect of a heli-bump doesn’t make me turn my nose up any more than a trans-continental plane ride this new-age mode of travel into the Wadd gives real bang for your buck “A Trango Tower-sized experience for the price of a 12-hour drive from Seattle and a 900-dollar helicopter ride.” we wrestled ourselves from our sleeping bags and choked down some fruits a medley that would not complete its journey through my GI track we made our way to the base of the Southwest Buttress the route Kruk and Richardson had come so close to completing Papert looked me sternly in the eyes and said “You vill let me know if it gets worse ya?” It didn’t and the next several hundred metres of my block flowed quickly over slabs bringing us to the headwall where it was time for the business Smith-Gobat was fired up and she charged the sharp-end like a boss but like any alpine wall there were always mischievous loose bits lurking throughout Papert took over just after the sun hit us and showed her rock prowess by crimping her way across a crux that barred passage to the upper mountain Once we topped out the buttress it was back into mountain mode and I strapped on ‘poons and unsheathed the axes A Cesna-sized Patagonia-style rime ice mushroom hung above our heads shedding chunks of its icy skin We traversed underneath it for a strung-out-pitch of breathtaking sumul-climbing across a 45-degree snow slope Conditions warmed to the point that we could finally remove our puffy layers This was a mixed blessing; it was daytime warming that had rendered the rime ice dangerously unstable and forced Kruk and Richardson to bail I found out some mixed corners and climbed straightforward A climactic multi-pitch au cheval ridge led to a goulotte and topped out on the summit slopes Our collective psyche was still strong and with Papert out front we ambled up the final few hundred metres of snow and ice to the Northwest Summit Unlimited wilderness encircled us and for that moment we were deeply alone in the world with only our shouts of stoke to punctuate the otherwise uncultured landscape A photo posted by Mayan Smith-Gobat (@mayanclimbs) on Aug 29 The descent proved yet again that the tippy top is only the half-way point Onsighting the Angel Glacier added a few grey strands to my mop Active seracs and some obligatory crevasse jumps negated the pleasure of downhill cruise control One more ‘schrund had to be negotiated to gain the West Ridge above the Dais Couloir Darkness caught us just as energy levels were dropping into the red so we bivied in a pathetic scree slope that welcomed us like a cardboard box in a skid row alleyway Sleep eluded us most of the night thanks to a ravenous wind that flapped our bivi shelter until breathing became a challenge and we needed to crack the zipper allowing precious oxygen into our little vacuum A grey dawn had us grumbling off down the Dais Couloir and onto the glacier which thanks to a persistently dry summer provided us with a maze of slots and holes Emotionally and physically fried we reached camp and passed out in the tents for a few hours A quick radio call to Les confirmed our pickup and by around 6 p.m. cruising over the Tiedemann Glacier and back in no time to Bluff Lake Mike King greeted us at his ranch and we toasted our smash ‘n grab mission with beers and a whole lot of laughter Get the digital edition of Gripped for your chosen platform: Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern… Homophobia is a severe problem in many African churches, but not all Christian leaders are infected by it, as Kuchu Times points out At that Ugandan publication, human rights activist Barigye Ambrose recently profiled several religious leaders who preach a gospel of acceptance and love the gender and sexual minority movement has grown into a formidable force fighting for the realization of equality for all citizens This fight has been met by strong resistance from most religious leaders and anti-gay advocates who argue that same-sex relations are a threat to traditional African family values and that they deserve no place in the predominantly Christian Homophobic ideas have united different religious sects Pentecostal and leaders of traditional religions have all united to fight LGBTI rights and preached sermons that label homosexuality as an evil practice among unholy people who need spiritual and sacred cleansing Such rhetoric has led some religious LGBTI Ugandans and their straight allies to denounce or abandon their faiths while others work to spiritually nourish their peers Here we profile leaders and allies of the Ugandan LGBTI community who have kept their faith when religious leaders disowned them God doesn’t focus on gender or sexuality — Brian Byamukama Brian Byamukama is a pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in Mbale district and a human rights defender who works on LGBTI issues He is the founder and Executive Director of Rural Movement Initiative (RUMI) an organization protecting marginalized people in Mbale district Brian is an out bisexual man married to a woman Brian believes there is no fundamental difference between heterosexual and homosexual relationships as long as both are built on love God doesn’t focus on gender or sexuality but rather on the human being Preach the gospel of inclusiveness — The Rev Patrick Leuben Mukajanga is the founder and executive director of Saint Paul’s Voice Centre of Uganda (SPAVOC) a Christian-based NGO that partners with local and international organizations to fight against the discrimination of LGBTI people in Uganda Patrick is an out gay advocate for the rights of sexual minorities and a Christian who has dedicated his life to preaching the gospel of love to those that feel abandoned because of their sexual orientation and gender identity Most religious leaders in Uganda consider same-sex relations evil This has been witnessed during various religious “crusades” in which pastors and other evangelicals call upon the general public to fight homosexuals with all their might because they believe they contradict African family values Patrick advises these leaders to preach the gospel of inclusiveness and to leave judgment to God Patrick was awarded the Makwan Prize for Human Rights in 2013 Patrick said he has been ostracized and attacked by angry residents of his home district of Ibanda in western Uganda and threatened and arrested by police on charges of promoting homosexuality God loves us despite our sins — Diana Sydney Bakuraira better known as “Didi Baks” in the Ugandan LGBTI community a trained paralegal and administrative officer at the Kampala-based NGO Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) she was taught that God loves us despite our sins Although religious persecution of sexual minorities has caused her to question her faith at times Diane uses social media platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook to share scriptures of encouragement with her followers and to encourage them not to lose hope in the face of persecution She does the same offline at LGBTI community gatherings God loves every person — Pastor Samson Turinawe Pastor Samson Turinawe is the founder and director of Universal Love Ministries a charity based in Kampala that preaches for the inclusion of LGBTI persons After his graduation from Life Bible School in 2005 Turinawe ministered in a Pentecostal church as a youth pastor in Bushenyi his congregants started openly discussing sexual minorities and the church that he was administering started expelling suspected LGBTI members Convinced that these members should be heard and understood rather than banished he stood in their defense and eventually parted ways with the church His own banishment from the church inspired Samson to create a space where sexual minorities would be free to express themselves without prejudice and where he could educate religious leaders about the gospel of love tolerance and acceptance of sexual minorities which educates religious leaders on gender identity Samson believes most preachers who spread messages of intolerance towards LGBTI people do so because they lack knowledge about them and that these sensitization programs can help them learn more about SOGIE issues Samson also educates religious leaders on how to contextually interpret the Bible in ways that respect all people God loves all his creatures without discrimination — Bishop Christopher Senyonjo Bishop Christopher Senyonjo is a retired Anglican Bishop in the Church of Uganda who has dedicated his life to defending marginalized people through counseling and spiritual refurbishment programs Paul’s Reconciliation and Equality Centre (SPREC) which aims to reconcile heterosexual and LGBTIQ persons His open declaration for support of sexual minorities prompted the Anglican Church to bar him for supporting what peers consider “ungodly.” This didn’t stop him Senyonjo believes God loves all his creatures without any form of discrimination and this is evidenced in Jesus’ gospel of loving one another For more information, read the full article in Kuchu Times, “Uganda’s LGBTI faith leaders say God’s love is unconditional.” May God richly bless and keepthese men and women as they try to educate others and reach out to the unloved and unaccepted people in the world I see gay people are discriminated,tortured and humiliated once they identify as gay Most of us born in christian families but we found ourselves this way Sometimes its hard and tough to stop the habbit so u just have to accept and pray to God who changes hearts Yes as previously said,one’s sexuality won’t take him to heaven,but its by God’s grace that we are all saved,segrigating the gay people doesn’t mean u are holier than them but accept these people,love them and treat them equally as the other people They are normal people and they also need love God is the chief judge and creator of all the creation,we only live in rejection,isolation yet we are like other human beings Hmmm may God pave way and let his mercy be upon us all cos we depend upon him for he’s our creator Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The Erasing 76 Crimes news site covers the human toll of 66+ countries’ anti-gay laws and the struggle to repeal them Members of the African Human Rights Media Network publish news articles and other media that educate readers about sexual minorities’ struggle for recognition of their human rights Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.