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What We’re Reading, 2026 vol. 1
So far this year, we’ve gotten a glimpse into the mind of Reinhold Messner, let Jeremy Collins’ words and sketches transport us around the world and adventured with the Explorer’s Club. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to pick up a copy of Against the Wind, Eventually a Sequoia or Letters from the Edge while we’re busy at work on Alpinist 94. Happy reading!
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Finding Solace in Small Things
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 93, Derek Franz celebrates the humble value of small backwater places that can offer us much more than what meets the eye. He writes: “In recent months, a cluster of humble boulders near a small town where I grew up has given me solace. As a teenager I couldn’t wait to escape that quiet, dusty town. I was unaware of the boulders and so many other things nearby. Now, whenever I have a few hours on a clear ‘winter’ day, I drive half an hour to return to a place I once loathed….…
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The First Free Ascent of Kama Sutra
In this Off Belay story from Alpinist 92, Henry Barber shares a memorable moment from his historic trip to Australia in 1975. After completing the first free ascent of the offwidth roof crack Kama Sutra, he finds himself in a pinch with the real climax of the day yet to come. Barber writes: “I had decided to drop out of a respected business school when I boarded a plane to Australia in 1975. I’d already taken a year and a half off, which was fine with my dad, but quitting now meant that future education would be on my nickel.…
Current Issue
Alpinist 93 | Spring 2026
Cover: Connor Herson works through the “pogo” crux on Drifter’s Escape in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish). Herson completed the first free ascent of the route in July and proposed a grade of 5.15a—meaning it likely consists of some of the hardest trad climbing in the world. Christian Adam
Mountain Standards gear reviews
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New and Improved Wild Country Friends: Clip With Ease While Cruxing Out
Wild Country has made some useful adjustments to their Friends including extendable slings and extra grooves on the lobes. Katie Griffith tested these new Friends over the winter in Joshua Tree and Red Rocks and found the extendable slings using Flow Cord to be noticeably more durable than the previously equipped Dyneema slings.
Features
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Off the Shelf 2025: Alpinist’s Year in Reading
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This year, Sonnie Trotter brought us back to 2006, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), as his fingers flexed against steep granite on the first free ascent of Cobra Crack. We stood next to Mimi Zieman in a whiteout as she waited for her teammates on Chomolungma (Everest) in 1988. Lisa Roderick gave us an intimate look at Denali’s…
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High Places
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 92, Derek Franz writes of his experience climbing in the Swiss Alps with The North Face team last September and learning about everything that went into developing the Advanced Mountain Kit Summit Series 2.0.
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The Wall of Walls
In this On Belay story from Alpinist 91, Will Gadd shares the details of how he and Kirk Mauthner uncovered some of the best ice climbs of their lives close to their homes in Canada. The pair spent three years snowmobiling into the Kootenays, swinging tools into steep ice and skiing through complex avalanche terrain.…
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Triumph Without Will
In this Full Value story from Alpinist 91, Christopher Elliott interrogates the history of climbing in the Brenta Dolomites, the Nazi preoccupation with mountains and the responsibility of individuals in the face of fascism. He writes: “The history of alpinism in the Brenta Dolomites is a dramatis personae of characters who ‘achieved’ things that are…
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Responsibilities of Storytelling
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 91, Derek Franz considers recurring themes and the responsibilities of storytelling, and announces his trip to Nepal. He writes: “Storytelling is at its highest form when done in service to the bigger picture that goes beyond one person’s benefit; when the threads intertwine and connect, creating a fabric,…
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 74 | The Alpinist Podcast
Kelsey Gray – A World of Routes
When Kelsey Gray tells people he grew up in Houston, they immediately think he’s talking about the city in Texas. But he’s actually referring to Houston, Alaska. Though he spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, he didn’t venture into the mountains until later.
He started rock climbing when he was a student at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Around 2008, Gray serendipitously overheard a conversation about how Alaska needed a new rock climbing guidebook. He volunteered for the task. As part of his research for the first edition of the Alaska Rock Climbing Guide, Gray climbed more than 340 routes in one summer. He realized many of them were riddled with old, unsafe hardware and has since dedicated a lot of time and money to replacement.
He’s now published several guidebooks and books of poetry while climbing and developing routes around the world. We connected with Gray while he was in Thailand.
Episode 73 | The Alpinist Podcast
Alita Contreras – Woman Warrior
In this conversation, Alita Contreras discusses the challenges of navigating identity after living in seven countries, and speaks to the incredible biodiversity and climbing communities found in Colombia. We also talk about her involvement in the making of Guerreras, a documentary that takes an intergenerational look at women climbers in Colombia.
Alita guides us through her tactics for visualization, and speaks to how being engaged in a climb is often the only way she can clear her mind of mental clutter.
Newswire
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Heavy is the Hand: New Route on Mt. Dickey’s south face
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From March 27-28, Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau climbed a new route on Mt. Dickey. They named their route Heavy is the Hand (WI6+ M6+ A1, 5,000′).
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Alpine-style ascent of Nanga Parbat with paraglide and ski descents
At the end of June, David Göttler (Germany) and Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein (France), climbed Nanga Parbat (8125m) via the Schell Route on the Rupal Face in alpine style and descended by paraglider (Göttler) and skis after down climbing a few hundred meters from the windy summit. The trio launched from Base Camp at 3600 meters on June 21 and summited on June 24 at approximately 3:30 p.m. Along the way, they established Camp II at 6800 meters and Camp III at 7400 meters while navigating the mountain’s south face. Where the Schell Route meets the Mazeno Ridge, they crossed the Mazeno…
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2025 Grit&Rock Award recipients announced
The 2025 Grit & Rock grant winners were announced in early May.
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Update: Public Land Sell-Offs Removed from House Bill, But Major Environmental Threats Remain
Thanks to community pressure lawmakers removed an amendment to sell off more than 500,000 acres of public land in Utah and Nevada. However, the final bill still poses serious threats.
