![Jebel Musa in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, often thought to be Mt. Sinai. [Photo] Mohammed Moussa, Wikimedia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a73-sharp-end-the-end-of-one-beginning-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 73–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives writes, “By learning to see beyond one beginning [to histories of mountaineering], we might recall alternative ways to climb and to live.”
![Jess Roskelley, a 2018 Cutting Edge Grant recipient, is pictured here on Baba Hussein (5800m), Pakistan. [Photo] Kurt Ross](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aac-cutting-edge-grant-2021.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The American Alpine Club (AAC) has announced this year’s recipients of the Cutting Edge Grant: Nick Aiello-Popeo, Matthew Cornell, Ryan Driscoll, Sam Hennessey and Vitaliy Musiyenko will attempt objectives in Alaska and Nepal. Black Diamond is sponsoring the grant this year, and a total of $25,000 is being divvied up between the six winners.
A jury panel chaired by Victor Saunders recently announced the recipients of the 2021 Grit and Rock Award, a grant intended to bolster female participation and leadership in exploration and alpine-style ascents. Teams of any nationality that are led by, or composed mostly of women are eligible. This year’s winners include Sara Jaklic and Marija Jeglic; Lise Billon, Fanny Schmutz Tomasi, Maud Vanpoulle and Camille Marot; Nancy Hansen and Ralf Dujmovits; and a general grant to support female members of the Young Alpinist Team and the French National Female Alpine Team (ENAF).
![The author using the Trango Vergo to rappel down into the Zen Wall near St. George, Utah. [Photo] Catherine Houston](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/trango-vergo-2-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mountain Standards Gear Review: IFMGA/AMGA Mountain Guide Mike Lewis announces that the Trango Vergo has replaced the Petzl Grigri in his kit, awarding the Trango Vergo five stars. He writes: “Having been a die-hard fan of the…Grigri for more than 20 years, I now proclaim that after less than three months of using the Trango Vergo assisted braking belay and rappel device, I am officially a Vergo convert. A light sadness trickles through my body in making this bold statement.”
![The approximate line of Cousin of Death (5.13+, 5 pitches) in northern Arizona. [Photo] Lor Sabourin](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cousin-of-death-arizona-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
On Nov 29, 2020, Lor Sabourin made a no-falls free ascent of the trad-climbing testpiece, Cousin of Death–a five-pitch 5.13+ in northern Arizona (Apache, Hopi, Pueblo and Hohokam territory). Three of the route’s five pitches are 5.13b or harder. Lor’s climb was the first integral ascent of the route.
![Overview of Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll's solo Moonwalk Traverse (Fitz Roy massif, south to north: 5.11, 50° snow/ice, 4000m). [Image] Courtesy of Rolando Garibotti, PatagoniaVertical.com](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/odriscoll-moonwalk-traverse-fitz-roy-1.jpg?resize=930%2C568&ssl=1)
From February 5 to 10, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll soloed Patagonia’s Fitz Roy massif. It was only the second time the technical, 5+ kilometer ridgeline has been traversed since Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold pulled it off in 2014, and O’Driscoll climbed it in the opposite direction, south to north. He dubbed his version the Moonwalk Traverse (5.11, 50° snow/ice, 4,000m).
![Mikey Arnold leading the WI5+ curtain pitch on the Cascade de Bonatchiesse. [Photo] Rob Coppolillo](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/edelrid-starling-protect-pro-dry-rope-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mountain Standards Gear Review: IFMGA guide Rob Coppolillo has been testing a set of Edelrid Starling Protect Pro Dry 8.2mm Twin/Half ropes in Chamonix for the past several months. The Protect design adds a high degree of cut-resistance to the sheath, though it also adds some dollars and grams to the bottom line. After using the ropes on about 50 pitches of rock and 15 pitches on ice, in addition to some deliberate abuse on some sharp edges, he writes: “I think the Starling 8.2 makes a ton of sense on multipitch alpine rock.” Five stars.
![K2 (8611m) is pictured here in summer. The Abruzzi Spur—the route used by all the expeditions this winter—follows the right-hand skyline. [Photo] Svy123, Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/k2-abruzzi-spur-wiki-photo-bw.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Since the 10-person team of Nepali climbers completed the first winter ascent of K2 (8611m) on January 16, there have been two confirmed deaths and three other climbers have gone missing on the mountain. Atanas Skatov (Bulgaria) and Sergi Mingote (Spain) died from falls while descending from lower camps, on February 5 and January 16, respectively. Meanwhile Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto (Chile), Muhammad Ali Sadpara (Pakistan) and John Snorri Sigurjonsson (Iceland) have been missing since February 5, when they were last seen near the Bottleneck at approximately 8200 meters. They are presumed dead. So far there have been multiple helicopter searches while search teams on foot have been halted by adverse weather.
![The north face of the Grand Teton with the approximate route of the North Buttress Direct drawn in red. The photo was taken from somewhere between Teewinot and Mt. Owen while on the Grand Traverse route a week earlier. [Image] Justin Bowen](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grand-teton-north-buttress-direct-1.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Justin Bowen’s dream came true this past August when his research confirmed that a potential route he’d been eyeing for years on the Grand Teton’s north face had somehow remained overlooked by other climbers. He enlisted his friend Mark Jenkins to make the first ascent of the North Buttress Direct (5.10+ R, 14 pitches). Here is his story of their climb and the realization of a long-held fantasy.
![Corey Buhay leads East Vail Falls (WI 3/4) with the Grivel Dark Machine ice tools. [Photo] Erica Givans](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grivel-dark-machine-ice-tools-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
US Ice Climbing Team Member and Ouray Ice Festival gold medalist Corey Buhay has been using the Grivel Dark Machines all season, from Colorado to Cody, Wyoming. In this report, she tells us where the Dark Machines shone, and where they left her swinging for something better. “What a pity that the glorious ease of use existed only for Cody’s steeper pitches. For many of the area’s ice climbs, the crux sections are stitched together with lower-angle WI2-3 gullies and slabs. On those portions of climbs…the arched profile of the Dark Machines proved to be more of a liability than an asset….” 3.5 stars.
