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  • Hard to Explain

    Hard to Explain

    In honor of Veterans Day, we’re sharing this story from Alpinist 87—which is currently available on newsstands and in our online store. In this short fiction story, Ben Davis depicts a mostly silent conversation between military veterans as they make their way up the east face of Longs Peak (Neniisoteyou’u, 14,255′).


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  • Worth the Weight?

    Worth the Weight?

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    This feature story by Michael Gardner originally appeared in Alpinist 77 (Spring 2022). On October 7, 2024, Gardner fell to his death while attempting Jannu East (7648m) with his close friend and longtime partner Sam Hennessey, who made it down safely with another team of climbers. The details of the accident are still unknown and […]

  • A tiny portion of infinite time: The first ascent of Pumari Chhish East

    A tiny portion of infinite time: The first ascent of Pumari Chhish East

    In mid-May, after a particularly chaotic start, dealing with postponed visas, plane cancellations and delayed gear shipments, we landed in Islamabad and I was heading to the most challenging climb of my life so far.

Current Issue

Alpinist 87 | Autumn 2024

Cover: Eddie Taylor digs deep on Moonlight Buttress (IV 5.12+) in Zion National Park, 2021. [Photo] Felipe Tapia Nordenflych

Features


  • Fabulous Roman Candles

    Fabulous Roman Candles

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    [This story originally appeared in Alpinist 87 (Autumn 2024), which is now available on newsstands and in our online store. Only a small fraction of our many long-form stories from the print edition are ever uploaded to Alpinist.com. Be sure to pick up the hard copies of Alpinist for all the goodness!–Ed.] Death is only…


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  • Onward & Upward: A century of women climbing in the Tetons

    Onward & Upward: A century of women climbing in the Tetons

    In late 2022, I learned that The Teton Climbers’ Coalition would be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first female ascent of the Grand Teton the next year, and they were looking for suggestions on how to engage the community. This sparked the nugget of an idea in my storyteller’s brain—I could help mark this…


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  • 1981: Katahdin in Winter

    1981: Katahdin in Winter

    As we moved higher, the fog thickened. Nancy Rich, Helen and I began putting in wands on the off chance we’d be descending this route. As the trail gained the summit plateau, called the Tableland, flat and featureless, the grade eased off and the route was marked by cairns.


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The ALPINIST Podcast

The Alpinist podcast extends our conversations with climbers and community members into a new medium: from fresh interviews to untold stories, and from humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of significant issues in the climbing world today.

Episode 63 | The Alpinist Podcast

Climbing Isn’t Everything: Beth Rodden

Beth Rodden established herself as one of the best rock climbers in the world at the height of her career. Through much of that time, Rodden was quietly struggling with her mental health as she tried to move forward after she and her climbing partners were kidnapped at gunpoint during a trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2000. Now Rodden’s bravery appears in new ways—she’s still a professional climber, but she’s also using her platform to open up conversations about body image, motherhood and finding joy in climbing in a gentler way.

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Episode 62 | The Alpinist Podcast

Graham Zimmerman’s Balancing Act

In this episode, Graham Zimmerman speaks to the need for systemic change when it comes to climate and social issues, and how climbers see those challenges through a unique lens. He reflects on his love for the mountains, and the sense of release and joy they provide him with.

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Newswire


  • Two proposals threaten America’s rock climbing

    Two proposals threaten America’s rock climbing

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    Policy proposals are now being considered by the National Park Service (NPS) and US Forest Service (USFS) that threaten to fundamentally change the way rock climbing is managed. A comment period for these proposals has recently been extended to January 30. It is important that climbers make our presence known and kindly share our perspectives to help non-climbing land managers better understand what we do and how we do it, especially when it comes to climbing in wilderness areas.


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More NEWSWIRES

  • New route on Mt. Dickey, Alaska: Aim For the Bushes

    Over a three-day push from March 31 to April 2, Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau climbed a new route on the east face of Mt. Dickey in Alaska’s Ruth Gorge. They named their line Aim For the Bushes (AI6 M6 X, 5,250′). Rousseau narrates their adventure.

  • Remembering Ed Webster: 1956-2022

    One of climbing’s great Renaissance men, Ed Webster, 66, died of natural causes at his Maine home on November 22. Friend and climbing historian Jeff Achey described Webster as “one of the most important rock climbers of his era, on par, in his unique way, with John Bachar, Henry Barber and Jimmy Dunn.” Webster blazed new routes from Cathedral Ledge to Colorado, to the Utah desert and, with three friends in 1988, to Chomolungma’s Kangshung Face. A route that Reinhold Messner endorsed as “the best ascent of Everest in terms and style of pure adventure.” Beyond the climbs, Webster was…

  • Alpinist hires Abbey Collins as assistant editor

    Alpinist is delighted to welcome Abbey Collins to its team as an assistant editor. She returns to the East Coast from Alaska to work from the magazine’s headquarters in Jeffersonville, Vermont. “Abbey brings a broad skillset to us, from radio to print journalism, and I’m excited about the possibilities she brings to Alpinist, and what this means for the Alpinist Podcast as well as the magazine,” says Editor-in-Chief Derek Franz. “She has reported on difficult stories in her previous jobs, is connected to the Alaskan mountaineering scene, and she is clearly the type of person who embraces challenges with enthusiasm.…

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