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Exclusive: Grand Ol’ Oprey
Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece at The Monastery, Grand Ol’ Oprey (5.14), which went unrepeated for nine years, gets an ascent by Andy Raether. An Alpinist TV exclusive.
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Filming, Smuggling and Drinking Coffee: The Higher Ground Tour
Just finished unloading the mini van after 8,000 miles of driving. Sorting through all our dirty camping gear, unpaid bills, scraps of paper with e-mail addresses of new friends–and all the DVDs I smuggled across the border–has been a good reflection on the Higher Ground experience.
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Emilie Lee’s Journal Art
Artist and climber Emilie Lee recently held an exhibition of her art journals for the premier opening of the Rostel Gallery in Dunsmuir, CA. Some of her rich collages were first published in Issue 6 (Spring 2004) as “The Dumpster Diaries,” a colorful slice of Lee’s climbing adventures and the “dirtbag culture.” In Lee’s words:…
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Passion
Last night, I had that cliche dream. I sat meekly in a large class on a subject I knew nothing about. But there at the front of the room stood Sam Findley, my college Latin professor. Prancing before us in the same worn purple corduroys, he drilled his victims on obscure declensions. Be educated, or…
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The Book
So, I have this journal. OK, it’s more like a diary, containing all the things that a little girl’s diary might have: romances and crushes, heartaches, and the occasional “I hate that bitch!” I’ve filled it with days of shopping for shoes and the latest fashion trends. I’ve described dream vacations I wanted to take…
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Exclusive: Arwa Tower
The video expose documenting the first ascent of Arwa Tower’s northeast face (VI M5 5.9 A3), Garhwal Himalaya, India. An Alpinist TV exclusive.
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FiveTen Camp 4 Approach Shoes: Sturdy and Steadfast
My go-to approach shoe for three years has been the La Sportiva Exum Ridge. Sturdy yet nimble, stealthy enough for talus-hopping but rugged enough to endure all the missteps that result in abrasion, the shoe has held tough for me through three summers in the Tetons without blowing out or debilating the tread. It’s a…
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Omega Pacific Link Cams: Transformers to the Rescue!
More than any piece of rock gear I’ve seen advertised over the past few years, I wanted to hate these Omega Pacific Link Cams. All those moving parts and the inevitable dumbing-down of racking-up brought out the Luddite in me. And the cost–about $100 a pop–seemed prohibitive, and the weight…
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MSR 22″ Lightning Ascent Snowshoes: Strong Like Bull
Let’s begin with an understanding. If given the choice either to snowshoe or ski on an approach, I am going to pick skis every time. When guiding on Denali, however, I find that the combination of people’s varied ski skills, and the fact that we are schlepping huge loads up the Kahiltna Glacier, makes snowshoes…
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Black Diamond C3 Camalots: Four-Season Approval
I was looking forward to getting a set of Black Diamond’s new C3 cams since I first saw the prototypes, and when I did, they were everything I expected them to be. They’ve been on my rack for a year now, and have been put to the test in just about every condition imaginable. From…
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Mountain Hardwear Silcox 3/4 Pant: A Cragging Special
Mountain Hardwear has come out with a new 3/4 pant, the Silcox. This pant is made from eighty-five percent nylon and fifteen percent elastane and–when combined with articulated knees and a full-length gusset–has four-way stretch that is ideal for climbing, running, and… well, stretching. I sampled a size medium with a 23 1/2″ inseam, and…
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Therm-a-Rest Prolite 4: You’ll Want to Carry It
I used the cushy Therm-a-Rest Prolite 4 this summer in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, where I was guiding Gannett Peak for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. I cannot say that this was my first Therm-a-Rest experience; I have owned many over the years. But the Prolite 4, the four-season model in Therm-a-Rest’s Fast and…
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Osprey Talon 44 Backpack: A Lightweight, Durable Choice
Weighing in at 1.11 kg, the Osprey Talon 44 is one of the lightest packs for its size on the market. While I welcome any opportunity to lighten my load, I wondered if this svelte pack, when filled with ropes and cams, could hold up to being sat on and thrown on to rocks.
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Petzl Luna Harness: Everything a Woman Wants
In the midst of searching for the right lightweight alpine harness for this season, Alpinist’s call to review the Petzl Luna couldn’t have come at a better time. Out of the slick mesh bag it comes packed in, my first critical look quickly revealed that the harness had the features I desired: lightweight and compact;…
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