Derek Franz

Madaleine Sorkin and Mary Harlan raised awareness for the Climbing Grief Fund by climbing two routes in the Black Canyon in a day on October 29. Their intentions to climb a third route were thwarted by rain. In May, a loose flake had resulted in a climbing closure that ended their earlier plans for a “24 Hours into the Black” linkup. Since then, the National Park Service has been studying the flake on South Chasm View Wall, and results are pending for December at the earliest. The flake is currently estimated to have a volume of 3,800 tons, which rivals the massive rockfalls that happened on El Capitan last year.

The American Alpine Club is now accepting applications for its Cutting Edge Grant, the Jones Backcountry Adventure Grant and the Jones Live Like Liz Award–due by November 30. In partnership with the Access Fund, the AAC also recently awarded $10,000 to replace aging bolts at nine US climbing areas.

For the second year in a row, an Alpinist story has been selected for the Best Mountaineering Article Award in the Banff Mountain Book Competition. Alison Criscitiello’s story from Alpinist 59, titled “Contraindications,” was selected for the top prize in this category out of four finalists. “Contraindications,” is about Criscitiello’s close friend Anna Smith, who died at age 31 during an expedition in the Indian Himalaya.

Going light and fast during a short weather window, Japanese climbers Genki Narumi, Yusuke Sato and Hiroki Yamamoto squeaked in a new route on the northeast face of Cerro Kishtwar (6173m) in Himachal Pradesh, India, between September 20-25. They named their route All Izz Well (VI WI5 M6, 1500m).

Two Alpinist stories from 2017 are included on the Notables List for The Best American Sports Writing 2018: Claire Carter’s feature story “To Abandon” appeared in Alpinist 57 and “The Accidental Mountaineer” by Ana Beatriz Cholo appeared in The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 59.