![George Lowe, during the 1977 first ascent of the Lowe-Kennedy Route on the north face of Mt. Hunter (Begguya, 14,573'), Alaska Range. On an earlier attempt, Jeff Lowe fell near the sun-shadow line. [Photo] Michael Kennedy](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a72-on-belay-falling-into-place-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this On Belay story from Alpinist 72–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–a young Michael Kennedy sets out in 1977 with two of his heroes, Jeff Lowe and George Lowe, on the Alaskan expedition that culminated in the first ascent of the famous Infinite Spur on Mt. Foraker/Sultana. Looking back on that summer, Kennedy recalls how the name of the route grew to represent “far more than the physical dimensions of the climb.”
![[Photos] Michael Kennedy](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/michael-kennedy-acp-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
From August 28 through September 3, 2016, former Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Michael Kennedy shared some photos and stories for the #alpinistcommunityproject about his time in Wyoming’s Wind River Range during the 1970s and 1980s. The series appeared in conjunction with the release of Alpinist 55, which featured the Winds in a story by Paula Wright titled “Silences on the Map.” You can now see Kennedy’s photos and stories consolidated into a single feature at Alpinist.com.
![From Conrad Anker's The City and The Blade in Alpinist 38. Mugs Stump on the Spanish Pillar of Meru North (6450m) in 1988. [Photo] Steve Quinlan](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mugs-1.jpg?resize=540%2C354&ssl=1)
The 25th Annual Mugs Stump Award applications are due November 30 for the 2017 grant cycle.
The worlds within our words.
