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First Ascent

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. No screwing around this time…. On the plane, I packed a single 150-foot 9mm rope. The thin-diameter ropes weren’t rated as single ropes back then, but if my entire kit for six weeks could fit under the plane seat in front of me, it was going south.”

Three Years for Seven Days on Jannu

Alan Rousseau shares the story of the first alpine-style ascent of Jannu’s north face, by a new route, Roundtrip Ticket (AI5+ M7, 2700m), with Jackson Marvell and Matt Cornell in October 2023.

Bachar-Yerian

How do you climb a blank wall without “murdering the impossible”? The author adopts a style that lets him have his pristine adventure and climb it, ground up, too. The result: the Bachar-Yerian, a mental testpiece that still defines boldness and traditional climbing twenty-eight years later.