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Derek Franz

Marcin Tomaszewksi leads a pitch during the first ascent of Titanic (M5 5.10c A3 WI4, 1800m) on the North Face of the Eiger (3970m), which he completed with Tom Ballard on November 30 to December 6. [Photo] Tom Ballard

First ascent of ‘Titanic’ adds another chapter to the Eiger North Face

Tom Ballard and Marcin Tomaszewksi have only climbed together three times, but all those climbs have been first ascents. They added another hard new route to the Eiger North Face in December –Titanic–and Ballard continued his legacy with the mountain that his mother, Alison Hargreaves, had climbed while she was pregnant with him.

Shelika (6045m), south face, northeast of Jindong. [Photo] Tom Nakamura

Nakamura unveils hidden mountains of southern Tibet

Eighty-two-year-old Japanese mountaineer Tamotsu “Tom” Nakamura has been exploring and documenting the seldom-visited regions of Tibet for the last 25 years. In this feature he shares photographs of southern Tibet’s “hidden” mountains.

Adam Ondra celebrates on Wino Tower after finishing the most difficult pitches of the El Capitan's Dawn Wall (VI 5.14d). [Photo] Heinz Zak and Black Diamond Equipment

Adam Ondra Frees the Dawn Wall

Adam Ondra sets a new precedent on the second free ascent of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall (VI 5.14d) by blazing up the route in fewer than eight days and leading every pitch.

Junko Tabei climbs Somoni Peak (7495m), formerly known as Communism Peak, in 1985. [Photo] Jaan Kunnap

Junko Tabei, first woman to summit Everest, dies at 77

Junko Tabei was more than the first woman to summit the highest peak on Earth, she was a trailblazer for women in the mountains, a leader for the environment and a person who actively invested in her community all the way up until her death from cancer on October 20.