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Adamson, Dempster Remembered for Love, Tenacity
Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson were at home in wild and remote mountains. But their sense of passion and commitment spread beyond the bold routes they climbed to the people with whom they shared their lives. On Alpinist.com, Derek Franz writes about the disappearance of the two men on the north face of the Ogre…
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In Memory of Kyle Dempster
On September 3, 2016, the search for Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, missing on the Ogre II in Pakistan, was called off. Here, a friend and climbing partner Scott Robertson writes a tribute to Kyle. We will be working on more stories about Kyle and Scott in the weeks ahead.
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Adidas Terrex Solo Approach Shoe 2016
YOSAR team member Josh Huckaby reviews the Adidas Terrex Solo approach shoes: “The Terrex Solos felt light on my feet, and have just enough support for extended carry outs down the dusty trails around Yosemite National Park.”
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Wind River Universe
Dick Dorworth reflects on the changes that the last forty-five years have brought to the Wind River Range: “On a clear day, the surface of Lonesome Lake reflects the sweeping silver walls of the Cirque of Towers, a glacier-polished mirror to the climber who cares (dares?) to gaze into it and to take those visions…
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Last Unclimbed Wind River
Eminent chronicler of the Wind River Mountains Joe Kelsey searches for the “last Unclimbed Wind River” peak–a quest inspired by an episode with his climbing partner, Paul Horton, on an obscure and seemingly unvisited summit: “As Paul led toward a chimney on the final pitch, he let out an equivocal chuckle…. ‘What?’ ‘A piton.'”
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My Big Scary First Ascent
Before she and Bev Johnson made the first female ascent of El Capitan, Sibylle Hechtel lead her first unclimbed big wall in the Wind Rivers: “Dick handed me our minimal gear, pointed, and said, “Just head up that corner until you get to a good ledge, and set up a belay.’ I gulped.”
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Tower I Ice Couloir, Mt. Helen
Bill Lindberg and I are several pitches up a narrow couloir on the north side of Mt. Helen. A thick, even ribbon of white divides the tawny-grey granite walls that rise steeply above us on either side. The granular, late-season ice accepts the picks of our piolets and rigid crampon points perfectly. Thus far, the…
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Chris Van Leuven’s “Going Home” Selected for The Best American Sports Writing 2016
Chris Van Leuven’s story “Going Home,” which first appeared on the cover of Alpinist 51, has been selected for inclusion in this year’s The Best American Sports Writing anthology.
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Speed, age barriers broken on Tetons’ Grand Traverse
On August 16, Nick Elson set a new speed record for the Grand Traverse in Wyoming’s Teton Range: 6 hours, 30 minutes, 49 seconds. Earlier this month, Lee Sheftel may have become the oldest to complete the traverse.
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Sticking Needles in the Haystack
In 1969, at the age of 18, Jeff Lowe climbs “like a light-footed wolf” on Haystack Mountain.
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Extra Left Klettershoe
After climbing classics every day,” Doug Robinson recalls, “it was easy to assume that the great lines had all been snatched up. Our steps turned homeward, with lingering views of the great Cirque vanishing over Warbonnet’s shoulder. One last wall, Sundance Pinnacle, hesitated our footfall.” In this essay, Robinson recalls his first, first ascent in…
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Wyoming’s Range of Light
Royal Robbins recounts a sojourn to the Winds in 1964: “Two things that you don’t usually find in the Sierra, but that you can expect in the Wind Rivers, are a thick population of mosquitoes and bad weather in the summer. Also, in certain areas you may encounter enormous herds of sheep.”
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Alpinist 55 Mountain Profile Essays | Wind River Range
Read all seven essays by Royal Robbins, Doug Robinson, Jeff Lowe, Raymond G. Jacquot, Sibylle Hechtel, Joe Kelsey and Dick Dorworth from the Mountain Profile of the Wind River Range. –Ed.
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Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 shelter: a lightweight, versatile and rugged pyramid tent
Reviewer Drew Thayer notes, “The Ultamid 4 is currently the lightest option for a spacious, four-person shelter that can adapt to just about any conditions…. It’s a great shelter for backcountry pursuits where versatility and light weight are necessary. And it’s made right here in the USA.”
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Mammut Belay Chain: Strong Personal Tether for Anchoring
Climber and guidebook author Stewart M. Green reviews the Mammut Belay Chain: “Unlike the personal anchor systems made by Metolius, Sterling and Black Diamond that use six links of the same size, the Mammut chain links are of two different sizes. The first three links are 11 inches long, and the last three links are…
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Typologies of Silence
In “Typologies of Silence,” the Sharp End article for Alpinist 55, Editor-in-chief Katie Ives discusses some of the muted stories in accounts of early American mountaineering–as well as the efforts to create a more inclusive history today.
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Between the Earth and the Sky
For our Climbing Life department in Alpinist 55, high school student Kai Lightner writes about his first multipitch traditional climb on Stone Mountain, with Yosemite pioneer Doug Robinson. For more, wide-ranging stories from our print magazine contributors, pick up a copy of Alpinist 55.
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