![Derek Franz stays warm at a breezy belay with NW Alpine's Eyebright jacket atop Pitch 4 of Horse and Pony Show (III 5.11d) on the obscure Grizzly Creek Wall in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. [Photo] Craig Helm](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/nw-alpine-eyebright-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz tested the NW Alpine Eyebright ultralight shell jacket, one of the lightest and most durable in its class because of its Dyneema construction. The jacket was structurally and functionally sound but it left some things to be desired when considering the hefty price tag.
![A climber leads Three Strikes You're Out (5.11, 90') on the Battle of the Bulge Buttress in Indian Creek, Utah. The area is part of Bears Ears National Monument where US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is conducting a visit as part of his review of all national monuments designated in the last 21 years--as ordered by President Donald Trump in April. Conservation groups fear the unprecedented review could result in these monuments being rescinded or reduced. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/three-strikes-indian-creek.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s visit to Utah is underway as he begins his review of national monuments following President Donald Trump’s recent executive order. Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are his first tours on a list that now includes 28 monuments.
![Mt. Huntington's South Ridge. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/huntington-south-ridge-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Clint Helander and Jess Roskelley stepped off the plane on Alaska’s Tokositna Glacier April 18 and immediately committed to Mt. Huntington’s South Ridge, which had never been climbed in its entirety until they summited April 23. The ridge is long and extremely committing because of hazards that make retreat a dangerous option. A storm pinned the climbers on the summit without food until April 25, when they were able to descend the West Face Couloir.
![Scott Bennett and Graham Zimmerman are receiving the American Alpine Club's Cutting Edge Award for their 2015 ascent of K6 West (7040m) by a new route on the Southwest Ridge (M6 90 degrees, 1800m) at a benefit celebration in Denver on June 3. The event will also recognize David Morton and Melissa Arnot Reid, Sean and Timmy O'Neill, Doug Walker and Sean Patrick for their contributions to social and environmental causes around the world. [Photo] Courtesy of the American Alpine Club](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aac-climbing-excellence-awards.jpg?resize=540%2C405&ssl=1)
Tickets are now available for the American Alpine Club’s second annual Excellence in Climbing Awards celebration in Denver on June 3. The event will honor several climbers for their contributions to social and environmental causes around the world. In addition, a Cutting Edge Award will recognize an ascent performed in upstanding style. Scott Bennett and Graham Zimmerman are receiving the Cutting Edge Award while David Morton and Melissa Arnot Reid, Sean and Timmy O’Neill, Doug Walker and Sean Patrick are being inducted into Hall of Mountaineering Excellence.
![Ueli Steck on Punta Margherita (4066m), one of six 4000-meter summits along the Italian/French Grandes Jorasses ridge traverse that Steck climbed in a 62-day push to climb all 82 4000-meter summits in the Alps in 2015. [Photo] Courtesy Ueli Steck](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ueli-5.jpg?resize=540%2C366&ssl=1)
Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck was found dead on April 30 near Camp 2 on Mt. Everest (8848m) after he apparently fell while climbing 7861-meter Nuptse to acclimatize for a linkup of Everest’s Hornbein Route with Lohtse (8516m).
![North Six Shooter towers over the valley of Indian Creek, Utah. Just east of Canyonlands National Park, this area is now included in Bears Ears National Monument, which was designated by former President Barack Obama on December 28, 2016. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bears-ears-north-six-shooter.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to review Bears Ears and all national monuments designated in the last 21 years. The order was issued with the promise of “no predetermined outcome,” but his accompanying remarks suggest that his administration expects to make changes to the monuments’ status. The Access Fund, Friends of Cedar Mesa and Utah Dine Bikeyah respond to the threat with statements in support of established monuments.
![Keita Kurakami leads Hakuhatsuki, or Gray Haired Demon, (5.13d R) as a rope solo. After taking a groundfall attempting to redpoint the route as a rope solo, he decided to follow the crack all the way to the top of the cliff instead of ending at the bolt anchors. He named the extended route The Votive Light (5.13d/14a R). [Photo] Kenichi Moriyama](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/votive-light-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Keita Kurakami endures a ground fall before succeeding on the first ascent of another new trad route in Japan. He linked a previously existing 5.13d R called Hakuhatsuki (Gray Haired Demon), which ended at a bolted anchor, to the top of the cliff, calling the new route The Votive Light (5.13d/14a R).
![Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden's North Buttress route (ED+ 1600m) on Nyainqentangla South East. Their descent on the east ridge is marked in green. [Photo] Nick Bullock](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/british-alpinists-1.jpg?resize=768%2C620&ssl=1)
The Piolets d’Or jury is giving awards to two climbing teams this year for the 2016 first ascents on North Buttress of Nyainqentangla South East in Tibet by Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden of Britain, and the North Buttress of Thalay Sagar in the Indian Gangotri by Dmitry Golovchenko, Dmitry Grigoriev and Sergey Nilov of Russia. Honorable mentions go to the Korean team of Cho Seok-mun, Kim Chang-ho, and Park Joung-yong, and Americans Colin Haley and Alex Honnold. Jeff Lowe is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
![Barbara Zangerl carries a cam in her mouth to save energy for placing it during her greenpoint bid of Switzerland's Gondo Crack (5.14b R). The route was bolted 15 years ago and remained unclimbed until the end of March when Zangerl and her partner, Jacopo Larcher, did the first ascents using the bolts. In early April the two then sent the route using removable protection, skipping the bolts and risking huge falls from the crux. [Photo] Richard Felderer](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/gondo-crack-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher made the first ascents of Switzerland’s Gondo Crack (5.14b R) in early April. The 17-meter line was a 15-year project that thwarted more than one talented suitor, including British trad ace Tom Randall.
![Nathan Martinez and Steve Dilk sit atop North Six Shooter in Indian Creek, Utah, in 2013. The area is now included in Bears Ears National Monument. Canyonlands National Park is in the background. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bears-ears-3.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
April is likely to be a pivotal time for the future of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is poised to visit the state soon and make a recommendation to President Donald Trump on whether to rescind the monument as Utah lawmakers are requesting. Meanwhile the Access Fund reports an uptick in political participation that seems to be having an effect on leaders in Washington. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz considers the context in which the monument was created.
