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The redesigned Five Ten Quantum: Versatile, high performance climbing shoes
The Five Ten Quantum rock shoes were designed to be an all-around, high performance shoe. Chris Van Leuven tested them on slabs, cracks and steeps, and on a variety of rock types: he scampered up them all, and was so pleased he awarded the redesigned Quantums five stars.
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Jury selects two teams for Piolets d’Or awards this year for 2016 ascents
The Piolets d’Or jury is giving awards to two climbing teams this year for the 2016 first ascents on North Buttress of Nyainqentangla South East in Tibet by Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden of Britain, and the North Buttress of Thalay Sagar in the Indian Gangotri by Dmitry Golovchenko, Dmitry Grigoriev and Sergey Nilov of…
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Two climbers send Switzerland’s longstanding Gondo Crack project (5.14b R) on trad gear
Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher made the first ascents of Switzerland’s Gondo Crack (5.14b R) in early April. The 17-meter line was a 15-year project that thwarted more than one talented suitor, including British trad ace Tom Randall.
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Good news and bad news for public land, and an in-depth look at the politics surrounding Bears Ears National Monument
April is likely to be a pivotal time for the future of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is poised to visit the state soon and make a recommendation to President Donald Trump on whether to rescind the monument as Utah lawmakers are requesting. Meanwhile the Access Fund reports an…
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Julbo Explorer 2.0: A worthy new member to a long, proud lineage of sunglasses
Julbo sunglasses continue to stand the test of time and perform as well as ever with modern technology. The Explorer 2.0, which is complete with photochromic lenses that rarely fog up. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz would have awarded them a perfect five stars if it weren’t for one shortcoming. Four stars.
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The Emperor Jacket: so lightweight and breathable, you’ll hardly know it’s there
Alpinist Fashion Editor Paula Rumpelshorts reviews the latest in alpine outerwear: the Emperor Jacket (so lightweight and breathable, you’ll hardly know it’s there).
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Three Belgian climbers free 1200-meter route on Central Tower of Torres del Paine
Belgian climbers Nico Favresse, Siebe Vanhee and Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll managed to squeak out a 19-day free ascent of the 1200-meter route El Regalo de Mwono–originally VI 5.10 A4 when first climbed in 1991-’92, now 5.13b–on the Central Tower in the Torres del Paine, Patagonia. They had 15 days of rations. The climb is one…
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The Patagonia Hybrid Sleeping Bag: unconventional and efficient
Patagonia introduces a modern version of an old idea for an unconventional alpine sleeping bag–the Hybrid, which is intended to be used with an insulated jacket to avoid redundant layers and save precious space in your alpine kit. Ryan Wichelns awards it four stars.
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On Belay: A Thousand Days of Lapis Lazuli
After ten years as a boulderer, Keita Kurakami attempts what some other local climbers called impossible: a new free route on the daunting 110-meter Moai Face of Mt. Mizugaki. When he succeeded in July of last year, it turned out to be the hardest multipitch trad climb in Japan at 5.14a R/X.
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Wired: Rethinking Mountain Gloom
Dawn L. Hollis challenges the belief in academia that people did not care for mountains until they began climbing them at the end of the eighteenth century. Further, she studies why an institution such as the British Alpine Club would react so strongly against the premise that the love people have for mountains is nothing…
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1935-2017: Big-wall pioneer and world explorer Royal Robbins remembered
Royal Robbins (1935-2017) is remembered as a courageous visionary, from climbing the walls of Yosemite and the Alps, to kayaking raging rivers, and navigating his business, he embodied many lives in the span of his time on Earth and inspired generations, as evidenced by the numerous stories shared by his friends and admirers. Climbing shaped…
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TOOL USERS: The Headlamp
In this Tool Users story from Alpinist 57, Paula Wright shines a light on the evolution of the headlamp. Since some climbers were still carrying flashlights in their mouths as late as the early 1970s, it seems that we have only recently emerged into a more illuminated age.
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The Literature of Ascent
“Literary mountain writing may now be giving way to the selfie,” Stephen Slemon writes in this essay. “But this shift towards the visual media may be opening new ground for the genre of mountaineering literature to change.” Slemon explores climbing’s ties to the written word and how the form of climbing narratives is evolving.
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Four organizations team up to enhance standards for climbing ed, public policy
The American Alpine Club recently announced that it is collaborating with the Colorado Mountain Club, the Mazamas and The Mountaineers “to promote improvements in climbing safety, coordinate stewardship and advocate for climbing areas in the United States.”
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An Innovative Balance of Strength to Weight: Petzl Irvis Hybrid Crampons
Part steel, part aluminum, and with Dyneema cord in place of a metal bar to connect the two halves, Mike Lewis finds that the Petzl Irvis Hybrid Crampons hit a nice balance between durability and lightweight packability. He would have awarded them five stars if not for one shortcoming.
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Full Value: Degringolade
In this Full Value story from Alpinist 56 Sibylle Hechtel recounts a pivotal moment in her climbing career–her first first-ascent, in Canada’s Bugaboos, 1973. She went on to become famous for the first all-female ascent of El Capitan with Beverly Johnson later that year, but her experience in the Bugs taught her “how to get…
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On Belay: Unattached
In this On Belay article from Alpinist 57, Anna Pfaff describes her adventures as she becomes “unattached” from maps, expectations and conventions and learns to find her own way into some of the unknown realms beyond.
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Off Belay: Beyond Conquest
In this excerpt from Alpinist 57 Mailee Hung explores artwork by Richard T. Walker that “casts unease on traditional aspirations” and helps us consider “how to describe the aesthetic experience of climbing beyond this inherited legacy” of alpinists as conquerors.
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Three Italians complete an unfinished route on Cerro Murallon’s east face
Three Italians completed a route up the middle of Cerro Murallon’s east face in early February that was first attempted in 1999. They named their route after a book written by an Argentinian Air Force captain–El Valor del Miedo (M6 A2 90+ degrees, 1000m), which translates as “The Value of Fear.” The 2017 Patagonia summer…
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Alpine Luddites White Light/White Heat backpack: custom-made to contentment
Alpinist Associate Editor Paula Wright puts the Alpine Luddites White Light/White Heat backpack to the test, awarding it four stars. The company takes an a la carte approach to the gear it sells so that minimalists will have only the accessories they want, such as the foam layer that comes in a customizable thickness and…
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Local Hero: Loulou Boulaz
During the 1930s, one woman joined the race to climb the feared north faces of the Alps, venturing into terrain then believed to be reserved for only the boldest (and some claimed the most reckless) men. In this Local Hero from Alpinist 57, Sallie Greenwood looks back on the extraordinary, often-forgotten life of Swiss alpinist…
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Jeff Lowe to receive Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award
Jeff Lowe will receive the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award in April.
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Clark County approves concept plan for development near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Clark County Commissioners allow a 2011 concept plan to proceed for a 5,000-home development on Blue Diamond Hill near Red Rock National Conservation Area, which is a worldwide attraction for climbers. Several more steps remain for final approval and more court hearings are anticipated.
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2017: Ghunsa
Local guide Dawa Sherpa describes what it’s like to live and work near the base of Jannu/Kumbhakarna–a mountain sacred to his culture.
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