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  • American Alpine Club’s Annual Award and Benefit Gala resumes in-person event in Denver after two-year hiatus

    The American Alpine Club’s Annual Award and Benefit Gala is returning to an in-person event in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, March 26, but people will still have the option to tune in online this year. Jordan Cannon and Mark Hudon are this year’s keynote speakers, and the awardees are Pat Ament, Sean Bailey, Natalia Grossman,…

  • Russian and Ukrainian climbers speak out against the invasion of Ukraine

    Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, some Russian climbers have publicly spoken out against their country’s aggression. In a country known for reprisals against people who openly oppose President Vladimir Putin’s regime, this act involves personal risk. Meanwhile Ukrainian climbers confront the attacks on their country. The Russian climbing website Mountain.RU posted an…

  • International climbing organizations cancel events in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine

    In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the International Olympic Committee called for the cancellation of all sporting events that were scheduled in Russia and Belarus. In turn, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) have cancelled the World Cup sport and ice climbing…

  • Charles Dubouloz completes the first solo winter ascent of Rolling Stones on the Grandes Jorasses

    From January 13 to 18, Charles Dubouloz completed what is likely the first solo winter ascent of Rolling Stones (5.10 A3, or M8, 1100m) a rarely repeated route on the fabled north face of the Grandes Jorasses above Chamonix, France. He spent six days with five bivies on the wall, pressing on through strong winds…

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Suffering

    In this feature story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 76–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Brandon Blackburn considers some influences that inspired him to climb and seek self validation through risk and suffering. He writes: “The most significant catalyst for my own shift in perspective on suffering came, as…

  • BioLite AlpenGlow Lanterns: Functional mood lighting for your tent, car or campsite

    Mountain Standards Gear Review: Miya Tsudome is a former rock climbing guide who now makes a living as a photographer, and she’s also a van-life veteran who can appreciate camping accessories like the BioLite AlpenGlow Lanterns. She writes: “After I’ve lived with [them] for over six months now, [they have] definitely improved my camping game….…

  • Corrado ‘Korra’ Pesce dies after climbing new route on Cerro Torre with Tomas Aguilo

    On Thursday, January 27, two teams of climbers summited Cerro Torre together after completing two new, parallel routes up the Patagonian tower. But while they were descending, an avalanche injured Tomas “Tommy” Aguilo (Argentina) and killed 41-year-old Corrado “Korra” Pesce (Italy). A rescue effort involved more than 40 people toiling for nearly two days without…

  • Edelrid Neo 3R: A quality rope made with recycled pre-consumer materials

    Mountain Standards Gear Review: Lance Colley tested the Edelrid Neo 3R rope while living and working in Yosemite this past autumn. Colley enjoys speed climbing on big walls and has a few records to his name, and he was able to put some heavy mileage on Edelrid’s new rope design, which is made with 50%…

  • Local Hero: Kim Chang-ho

    In this Local Hero story from Alpinist 75 (Autumn 2021), Oh Young-hoon, former editor of Alpinist Korea, memorializes Kim Chang-ho and his philosophy of “being mountaineering.”

  • Polish duo endures severe cold on big wall for 11 days to complete Frozen Fight Club

    Polish climbers Marcin “Yeti” Tomaszewski and Damian “Dany” Bielecki completed a new big wall aid route in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range on a 700-meter cliff known as the Uli Biaho Gallery. They spent 11 days establishing Frozen Fight Club (M7 A3, 780m) on December 5-16. Frozen Fight Club might be the first big wall route in…

  • Yosemite Dreams

    In this On Belay story from Alpinist 76–which is now on newsstands and available in our online store–our digital editor Derek Franz travels to Yosemite to climb through layers of historical and personal past, and witnesses some history in the making.

  • Dreams of Rising Waters

    In this science fiction story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 76–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Mailee Hung considers the conundrum of climate change in a short essay. Her narrator declares: “I don’t want to go back to the land. I grew up on frenetic cartoons and fake marshmallows…

  • Black Diamond Crack Gloves have it covered from hand cracks to offwidth sizes

    Mountain Standards Gear Review: Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz has been using the Black Diamond Crack Gloves to jam cracks across the west for the past several months. He writes: “I’ve used these gloves in Yosemite, Black Canyon and Utah desert, and also crammed them into some sharp, crumbly choss cracks near my home on…

  • Interview with David Smart, author of the Mountain Profile for Alpinist 76 and winner of 2021 Boardman-Tasker Award

    David Smart’s book, Emilio Comici: Angel of the Dolomites, received the Boardman-Tasker Award for Mountain Literature in November. The biography was published in 2020 and provided some of the inspiration for Smart’s Mountain Profile on the Cima Grande in the Dolomites that was recently published in Alpinist 76. In this feature, an interview with Smart…

  • Sterling Ion R 9.4 XEROS rope: Every filament is dry-treated and made for the alpine

    Mountain Standards Gear Review: Corey Buhay, a member of the US Ice Climbing Team, has been testing the Sterling Ion R 9.4 XEROS rope. The new XEROS technology is the first of its kind in which every filament of the rope is dry-treated, a process that adds a deeply integrated level of protection from water…

  • An excerpt from Chris Kalman’s award winning book, “Dammed If You Don’t”

    Today we’re sharing an excerpt from an award-winning book written by a longtime Alpinist contributor and former intern Chris Kalman and illustrated by Craig Muderlak. “Dammed If You Don’t” is Kalman’s third book and recently won the Mountain Fiction and Poetry category at the annual Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. Book competition jury member…

  • In the Wake

    Alpinist 76 is now available on newsstands in our online store. In this Sharp End essay, our editor-in-chief follows in the footsteps of Harvey Manning up real mountains in the Cascades after years of research to write a book about his imaginary peaks. As she climbs the classic South Face of the Tooth, she recounts…

  • Mountain Hardwear’s Phantom Down Parka: Warm, Lightweight, Compressible

    Mountain Standards Gear Review: IFMGA/AMGA guide Mike Lewis has been using the Mountain Hardwear Phantom Down Parka for several months. He writes: “Its 800 fill down is really warm, making it a good choice for the 6000-meter objectives such as Denali, Aconcagua, Ama Dablam, Cotopaxi, Elbrus–basically, anything that is not an 8000-meter monster…. It appears…

  • Three Ukrainian climbers complete first ascent of fabled Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III

    Three Ukrainian climbers–Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin and Viacheslav Polezhaiko–have just completed the first ascent of the fabled Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III (7555m). Until now, no one had surpassed the high point of 6500 meters that was first reached by British climbers Steve Bell, Nick Colton and Tim Leach in 1981. Balabanov, Fomin and Viacheslav…

  • Doug Robinson’s story from Alpinist 74 wins Banff Book Comp for Mountaineering Article

    A story from Alpinist 74 (Summer 2021)–“Letters to a Young Climber,” by Doug Robinson–was recently selected as the winner of Best Mountaineering Article at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, which is happening this week. The recognition comes with $2,000 and is eligible to receive a $4,000 Grand Prize that will be selected from…

  • American Alpine Club now accepting applications for six grants

    The American Alpine Club (AAC) is currently accepting applications for six grants: the TINCUP Partner in Adventure Grant, the Cutting Edge Grant, the Jones Backcountry Adventure Grant, the McNeill-Nott Award, the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant, and the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award. Deadlines to apply vary depending on the grant, ranging from November 8,…

  • President Biden signs proclamations to restore Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Seamounts Marine national monuments

    President Joe Biden signed an executive order today restoring Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments after former President Donald Trump rescinded the original designations in 2017. Trump’s rescissions had reduced Bears Ears by approximately 85% and Grand Staircase by almost 50%. Biden also reinstated protections in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument…

  • The Many Futures of Alpinism Essays from Alpinist 75

    The following eight essays are part of 18 published in Alpinist 75 (Autumn 2021) for “The Many Futures of Alpinism” feature.

  • Living Maps of Patagonia: Toward a New Future of Exploration

    “The Future of Alpinism,” is the theme of Alpinist 75–which is now on newsstands and in our online store. This special issue includes 18 essays from authors around the globe, along with comments and quotes from many others on the topic. We are sharing eight of these essays online, including this one by Natalia Martinez…