Gwen Cameron
Slildeshow: Wiping El Cap’s Nose
Two climbers recently rappelled the upper reaches of El Capitan to conduct a traditional “Nose Wipe.” They hauled out garbage by the bag-full, but an estimated 500 pounds of debris remains on Yosemite’s best-known route.
Cheyne Lempe Breaks 21-Year Record on Salathe Wall
In just over 20 hours on November 6 and 7, Cheyne Lempe rope soloed the Salathe Wall (VI 5.9 A2, 2,900′, Frost-Prett-Robbins, 1961) of El Capitan, the fastest solo ascent of the route yet made. Shortly after finishing the climb, Lempe produced an edit of his time alone on the wall.
Kinder’s Blunder and the Need to Cultivate our Vertical Gardens
When I was a new teenage climber, I had to talk my parents gently through the mechanics of leading, following and rappelling, but it was their worries that taught me to think beyond the accepted norms of those around me. I came home gushing: my friends were putting up a first ascent from the ground up. Yet my mother didn’t adopt the same enthusiasm….
AAC Publications Online Database: A Clean and (Mostly) Functional Upgrade
In all, the Club’s new publications database will serve as a magnificent improvement over its finicky and frustrating predecessor (though there are still a few deficiencies to navigate). Users will find more of what they’re looking for, and less of what they’re not–presented in clean, readable format.
2013 Everest Report: A Curse, a Fight and the Aftermath
Modern Sherpa climbers have achieved some respect within the commercial guiding community–their status the result of evolving power structures through decades of Himalayan mountaineering. But as we look into the background of the April 27, 2013 outburst in Camp II on the south side of Everest, one discrepancy becomes apparent: the credit and wages Sherpas receive for their work, as compared to that of their Western colleagues, has not caught up to the ongoing risks Sherpas face or to their growing responsibilities.