![Arne wearing his crack gloves in Yosemite, 2008. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ocun-crack-gloves-1-3.jpg?resize=604%2C400&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz used to make fun of people who used rubber gloves to protect their hands while crack climbing, but now he’s become a convert with the Ocun Crack Gloves. He likes that he can easily take them on or off, as opposed to wearing a pair of tape gloves all day, and no time or materials are wasted by making tape gloves that often expire after a day. Four Stars.
![The east face of Howse Peak, Icefields Parkway, Alberta, Canada. [Photo] Courtesy of Parks Canada](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/howse-peak-folo-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Parks Canada reported in a press conference today that Jess Roskelley, David Lama and Hansjorg Auer started climbing M-16 (VI WI7+ A2) on Howse Peak early Tuesday morning, April 16, summited around 12:30 p.m. and were likely killed in an avalanche while descending the east face of the mountain that day. The bodies were found in a field of avalanche debris on Sunday, April 21.
![David Lama during acclimatizing on Fox Peak, October 2018. [Photo] David Lama/Red Bull Content Pool](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/howse-peak-deaths-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Hansjorg Auer, David Lama and Jess Roskelley are presumed to have been killed in an avalanche while attempting M-16 (VI WI7+ A2) on Howse Peak, located on the Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada. Parks Canada officials confirmed in a press conference today that a helicopter search was conducted and crews observed signs of multiple avalanches in the area and that “there was strong evidence that the climbing party was involved and that the victims were deceased.”
![Kyle Dempster. [Photo] Andrew Burr](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kyle-dempster-packrafting-file-photo.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Four recipients have been selected for the second annual Kyle Dempster Solo Adventure Award. Cassady Bindrup, Gabe Dirksen, Talley Kayser and Max Neale are each receiving $1,000 for solo trips, respectively, to the Scottish Highlands, the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Sierra Nevada Range and Baranof Island, Alaska. Last year, a total of $4,000 was distributed among three recipients.
![Anna Piunova. [Photo] Marko Prezelj](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a65-local-hero-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz profiles Anna Piunova, editor-in-chief of Mountain.ru. Piunova was instrumental in coordinating the helicopter rescue of Alex Gukov from 6200 meters on Latok I (7145m) in July 2018.
![Tom Ballard, left, and Daniele Nardi. [Photo] Ballard, Nardi collections](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ballard-nardi-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The bodies of Tom Ballard, 30, of Britain, and Daniele Nardi, 42, of Italy, were spotted through a telescope above Camp III on Nanga Parbat’s Mummery Rib at around 5900 meters on March 9. A BBC.com story posted today, March 11, quoted Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo as saying there might be a possibility of recovering the bodies.
![A climber rappels in Utah's San Rafael Swell, one of many areas across the country that will soon have wilderness designations if President Donald Trump signs the Natural Resources Management Act, which was passed by Congress on February 26. [Photo] John Easterling](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/san-rafael-swell-pano.jpeg?resize=930%2C272&ssl=1)
Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a historic bipartisan bill titled the Natural Resources Management Act, 363-62. It cleared the Senate, 92-8, on February 12, and it is anticipated that President Donald Trump will soon sign it into law. The legislation combines more than 100 previously existing bills that affect public lands all over the country, and it includes provisions that pertain directly to climbers and climbing areas.
![Derek Franz wears the Mountain Equipment Tupilak 30+ on Hidden Falls (WI4, 3 pitches) in Glenwood Canyon on New Years Eve, 2018. [Photo] Craig Helm](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-tupilak-30-1-2.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz writes of the Mountain Equipment 30+ backpack, “This is the most hardcore rucksack I’ve ever used…. No frills. All utilitarian grit.” Franz reports that the pack is designed for the hardest mountain routes and leaves some convenience to be desired for more casual outings, but the Tupilak is well made for its intended purpose. Five stars.
![Ari Novak on Snow Leopard (HWI 7), Spiti Valley, India. [Photo] Austin Schmitz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/piti-dharr-ice-fest-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The first Piti-Dharr International Ice Climbing Festival took place in India’s Spiti Valley on January 5-15. During the event, Indian climber Bharat Bhushan and Americans Ari Novak and Karsten Delap completed the first ascent of Frozen Diesel (HWI 6+), and Novak and Delap established Snow Leopard (HWI 7, 150m).
![Sam Hennesse. [Photo] Seth Timpano](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aac-cutting-edge-grants-1.jpg?resize=456%2C611&ssl=1)
Sam Hennessey, Chantel Astorga and Chris Wright are all receiving American Alpine Club Cutting Edge Grants this year. Hennessey plans to attempt the north face of Chamlang (ca. 7300m) in the Eastern Himalaya of Nepal with Rob Smith, Seth Timpano and Michael Gardner; Astorga will try Pumari Chhish South (7350m) in Pakistan’s Hispar Karakoram with Anne Gilbert Chase; and Wright is aiming for Link Sar (7041m) in the Eastern Karakoram, Pakistan, with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey and Steve Swenson.
