Nasim Eshqi trained in Bisotun and Baraghan, some of the most famous Iranian climbing areas. She traveled to the Alps, Oman, Armenia, India, Georgia, Turkey and China. She was driven by an irrepressible lust for life, a never-ending energy, techno music, books and “the power of pink.”
Edmund February found success in both the mountains and academia despite being a climber of color during South Africa’s apartheid. In this story from Alpinist 85, Brandon Blackburn interviews February about how he overcame racist norms to pursue his passions, always playing his own game.
In late 2022, I learned that The Teton Climbers’ Coalition would be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first female ascent of the Grand Teton the next year, and they were looking for suggestions on how to engage the community. This sparked the nugget of an idea in my storyteller’s brain—I could help mark this full century of women climbing in the Tetons while sharing my own love of these mountains with a wider audience. The history of climbing here feels like a living, breathing one, where friends and neighbors I see at the trailhead and the grocery store have played a part in shaping its past, present and future. Since the start of 2023 I interviewed nine women who have climbed in the Tetons from the 1950s up until today. Their stories are varied—some have notched superlatives, while others have quietly climbed these peaks without getting their names in the history books.
![A fixed piton offers a lone spot of protection for Nik Berry and Hayden Kennedy on the notoriously spicy Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, 2014. [Photo] Andrew Burr](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a83-sharp-end-1-2.jpg?resize=800%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 83–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz examines the legal landscape and uncertain future for bolts and other fixed anchors that have been used for climbing in designated wilderness areas for nearly sixty years. Legislation such as Protect America’s Rock Climbing Act and America’s Outdoor Recreation Act is necessary, he argues, because “climbing’s place within the law is not, shall we say, fixed.”
In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 81–which is available in our online store–Shehla Anjum shares stories from some of the Pakistani women finding their power amid the country’s high peaks.
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 82–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz considers some of the hardest objectives for today’s alpinists. He writes: “When it comes to the physical limits of the human body, we are constantly wondering what is possible: What is the fastest a human can run, the highest someone can jump?… There will always be those who wonder: What is the limit of human ability on high peaks and technical faces?”
![Tom Hornbein in 2011. [Photo] Claudia Camila Lopez](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tom-hornbein-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
To honor the life of Tom Hornbein, who died on May 6, 2023, at his home in Estes Park, Colorado, at age 92, we are sharing this feature story from Alpinist 73 (2021) by mountaineering historian Maurice Isserman. Hornbein was one of America’s greatest climbers, best known for completing the first ascent of Mt. Everest’s West Ridge with Willi Unsoeld in 1963. He also earned distinction in his long career as an anesthesiologist and advanced research on the effects of altitude on the human body. The American Alpine Club awarded him the AAC President’s Gold Medal twice and bestowed him with an honorary membership and special recognition for service to the club. In this story, Isserman interviews Hornbein about the youthful adventures that led him to the world’s highest peak and the meanings that he still sought in the mountains at age 90.
![Aim For the Bushes (AI6 M6 X, 5,250) on the east face of Mt. Dickey, Ruth Gorge, Alaska. [Photo] Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mt-dickey-aim-for-the-bushes-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Over a three-day push from March 31 to April 2, Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau climbed a new route on the east face of Mt. Dickey in Alaska’s Ruth Gorge. They named their line Aim For the Bushes (AI6 M6 X, 5,250′). Rousseau narrates their adventure.
![[Photo] Angela Henderson](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/meg-oneill-acp-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
From October 24-30, 2016, Meg O’Neill shared some stories and photos with the #AlpinistCommunityProject about her path to alpinism. O’Neill died tragically on April 2, 2023, while ice climbing with two friends on Raven Falls in northeastern Utah when an ice pillar collapsed. On April 4 the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a 34-year-old male was climbing when the ice fell, and that O’Neill, 40, pushed the 21-year-old female belayer out of harm’s way, saving a life at the cost of her own. The 21-year-old was then able to escape and call for help. The male climber was taken off the mountain with serious injuries, according to the sheriff’s press release. O’Neill was Assistant Director of Embark Outdoors, where she passionately carried out the nonprofit’s mission of “empowering refugee young women through outdoor education and sports.” @embark.outdoors posted on Instagram: “Most of our girls have known Meg for half their life. She’d been a mentor to them since 7th grade. She was the heart and soul of this program, as you all well know.” In memory of O’Neill’s vibrant personality, we are revisiting the stories she shared with us in 2016.
![Reinhold Messner holds the Maestri bolts from Cerro Torre that were given to him in Aspen, Colorado, on November 23, 2022. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a81-sharp-end-1.jpeg?resize=830%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 81–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz seeks a balance between safety and boldness. He writes: “Climbing…is full of duality, encompassing a range of contradictory values…. There is a continual tightrope walk between the opposing values of safety and boldness, and the search for optimal balance between the two has always shaped the evolution of our pastime. Questions that seem to have been settled at various times in the past reemerge. There is now a fast-growing population of climbers, with increasing numbers of them going into the mountains strong from gym training but short on outdoor experience. The mindset in which people approach the wild places is changing, and the duality of our values is becoming more pronounced.”
