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First round of female recipients announced for Grit & Rock First Ascent Expedition Award
The inaugural First Ascent Expedition Award is giving grants to four teams across three categories. The Grit and Rock Foundation created the award last September to “encourage female participation in pioneering alpine ascents and to further the understanding and exploration of the unclimbed peaks.”
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An Interview with David Roberts
Now facing Stage IV throat cancer, David Roberts reflects on his climbing and writing careers in this interview with Michael Wejchert. Roberts is one of the most prolific American climbing authors and has a climbing resume to match his list of titles.
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Arc’teryx, Ibex and Polartec join Patagonia’s movement to pressure Utah over Bears Ears
Arc’teryx, Ibex and Polartec join Patagonia to oppose Utah’s efforts to rescind Bears Ears National Monument. The tactics range from boycotting the Salt Lake City location of the Outdoor Retailer trade show and making financial donations to conservation efforts, to using the trade show as an opportunity to lobby Utah legislators.
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Patagonia withdraws from Outdoor Retailer shows in Utah over threats to Bears Ears
On February 3, Utah legislators moved to rescind Bears Ears National Monument. In response, Patagonia announced the company will stop attending the Outdoor Retailer trade shows hosted twice a year in Salt Lake City, Utah, but the company has no further plans to pull its business from Utah at this time.
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Arc’teryx Alpha SV hard-shell jacket: A haven from the worst storms
The Arc’teryx Alpha SV Jacket is a specialized piece of clothing built for the harshest climbing situations. Drew Thayer put it to the test on a month-long expedition in Alaska and awarded it five stars.
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On the Nose with Hans Florine and Jayme Moye
On the Nose chronicles Hans Florine’s “lifelong obsession” with the most iconic route on El Capitan. Herein, we interview Florine and co-author Jayme Moye about their new book documenting Florine’s pursuit of the Nose speed record.
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Bears Ears, federal lands and the new US administration
Now that President Donald Trump is in office, and a new, Republican majority controls both the U.S. House and Senate, discussions about federal land management and resource extraction have intensified. This article briefly summarizes the current actions that are taking place and the political landscape, especially as it pertains to the new Bears Ears National…
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Our Eiger Drama
In a letter to the editor, longtime Alpinist reader Tad Welch examines our looming environmental crisis from the perspective of a roped team braving the odds on the Eiger Nordwand. He writes, “As we enter what may be one of the darkest times of our country’s history, I feel an obligation to subject my most…
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A slim workhorse: Edelrid Topaz Pro Dry CT 9.2mm rope
The 9.2mm Edelrid Topaz Pro Dry CT is a skinny rope that handles like a mid-weight. Chris Van Leuven has put thin cords to the test before, and he was mostly pleased with this one, awarding it four stars.
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Indian Mountaineering Foundation lowers 2017 permit fees to promote select peaks
The Indian Mountaineering Foundation offers reduced permit fees on 81 select mountains for the 2017 season. The goal is to encourage foreign expeditions and disperse traffic from some of the most popular areas.
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The Glass Mountain: A Fable
During the nineteenth century, Jim Bridger was well known for tall tales about the ranges of the American West. Herein, the modern climbing writer Jeff Long retells Bridger’s attempt on “Glass Mountain,” examining the aspirations and consequences of frontier mythology.
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Jeff Long: The Story Behind “The Glass Mountain”
An interview with climber and New York Times best-selling author Jeff Long on his story “The Glass Mountain,” published in Alpinist 54.
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Alpine Style: Two Austrians make the first ascent of Gimmigela East’s North Face
When Hansjorg Auer and Alex Blumel couldn’t get a permit for their original objective last November they were pointed to Gimmigela East (7005m). It turned out to be a great choice, as they became the first people to approach the mountain from the northern side and climb its previously untouched North Face (M4, 85-degree ice,…
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The Precarious World–The Sharp End, Alpinist 57
At a time when the word precarious is used increasingly to describe many aspects of our current existence, Katie Ives reflects on the differences between confronting risk in the mountains and responding to much vaster political and ecological uncertainties in the US and the world. “I think now, especially with climate change, we are without…
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La Sportiva TX2: Blurring the line between climbing and approach shoes
The La Sportiva TX2 approach shoes shine brightly on fast-and-light rock missions when you need to carry your approach shoes with you on the climb. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz awards them five stars.
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Diving into the Unknown
Four friends spend 10 days doing first ascents in the Purcell Wilderness, British Columbia, and for some it was their first time doing a first ascent.
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Talking Environmentalism at the Summer Outdoor Retailer 2016
At the 2016 Summer Outdoor Retailer trade show, Erin Monahan wonders how far leaders in the outdoor gear industry are really willing to take their commitment to the environment.
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Two Americans climb three new routes in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley
Americans Nik Mirhashemi and Mark Pugliese made three probable first ascents on three peaks in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley on their first trip to the Himalaya last autumn.
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Small Australian-Chinese team explores new ground in Tibet
A team of five friends self-fund an expedition to a rarely visited area of Tibet and climb a previously unnamed 5678-meter peak they named Xialongrezha. They climbed the west face and called their route Standing Room Only (Russian Alpine Grade 5a, Scottish IV, M4, 650m).
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Tom Ballard finishes the year with back-to-back rope-solo ascents
Tom Ballard closes out the year in the Dolomites with a rope-solo first ascent of Dust in the Wind (M8, 100m) and a casual multiday rope solo of the Gogna Route (5.10, 800m) on Marmolada Punta Rocca (3309m), which he finished on New Years Eve.
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Huber, Schaeli and Siegrist complete the second ascent of Eiger’s Metanoia
Thomas Huber, Roger Schaeli and Stephan Siegrist complete the second ascent of Metanoia (VII 5.10 M6 A4, 1800m) on the Eiger North Face (3970m), more than 25 years after Jeff Lowe established the legendary route that became a turning point in his life.
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First ascent of ‘Titanic’ adds another chapter to the Eiger North Face
Tom Ballard and Marcin Tomaszewksi have only climbed together three times, but all those climbs have been first ascents. They added another hard new route to the Eiger North Face in December –Titanic–and Ballard continued his legacy with the mountain that his mother, Alison Hargreaves, had climbed while she was pregnant with him.
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Lives of the Volcano Poets
The author climbs after the volcano poets. This piece originally appeared in Alpinist 40.
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Axe of Contrition
Stevenson contemplates the axe of God in this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 20.
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