Skip to content
Home » free » Page 20

free

Whitney Clark emerges from a couloir on Carson Peak in California. [Photo] Tess Smith

Lowa Alpine Expert GTX boots: Light, comfortable and sensitive

Whitney Clark used the women-specific Lowa Alpine Expert Gore-Tex boots in her snowy stomping grounds of the Sierra Nevada Range. She appreciated their lightness and comfort. The boots weren’t as warm as she would’ve liked, however, and on one occasion the supposedly waterproof boots soaked through while she was postholing and her feet got wet while her partner’s feet stayed dry. Four stars.

Geof Childs is receiving the H. Adams Carter Literary Award at the American Alpine Club's annual benefit dinner on March 14. The in-person gathering was canceled because of concerns about the Coronavirus pandemic, and the event will be livestreamed online instead. [Photo] Geof Childs collection

Coronavirus concerns prompt American Alpine Club to conduct benefit dinner remotely

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic–which recently reached Colorado–has prompted the American Alpine Club (to make changes to it’s annual benefit dinner (ABD), which is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. This Saturday, March 14, instead of eating steak and prawns while rubbing elbows with climbing legends, guests are now invited to attend the event online as a “Virtual ABD,” starting at 5 p.m. Mountain Time. The livestream will also be open to the public.

The summit ridge of Manaslu (8163m), as featured in the 8000ers.com report. [Photo] Paulo Grobel

The Measure of a Mountain

Looking at the role of summits in climbing history, from the early days to twentieth-century discussions and more recent Himalayan news about inaccurate claims, Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives asks: What is the measure of a mountain?

Matt Cornell climbing Nutcracker (WI5+ M9, 5 pitches)--with a rope and partner--in Montana's Hyalite Canyon. [Photo] Nathan Norby

Matt Cornell free solos Hyalite Canyon testpiece, Nutcracker (M9 WI5+, 450′)

On February 15, Bozeman climber Matt Cornell, 25, free soloed Nutcracker (M9 WI5+, 5 pitches), in Montana’s Hyalite Canyon. Cornell’s solo of Nutcracker was a logical next step after years of soloing in Hyalite, where he began with the classic ice pillars for many seasons before moving on to harder mixed climbs such as Black Magic (5.9 WI5, 140′) and Come and Get it (M7, 165′). He rehearsed Nutcracker many times and cleaned loose rock before his solo, but he did not use tick marks or make any other enhancements to the route. He doesn’t own a car, so he was “riding the bike and hitching rides most days to get up to the canyon,” he said.

Bradley Briggs ascends broken terrain on the Coleman Glacier of Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker), Washington. [Photo] Matthew Tangeman

The melting glaciers of Koma Kulshan

In this story that was commissioned as part of the Covering Climate Now campaign, Ilana Newman and photographer Matthew Tangeman document how melting glaciers have caused drastic changes to some popular climbing routes on Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker) in Washington.

Climbing in Bears Ears National Monument, Ute (Nuu-agha-tuvu-pu) and Pueblo Territories. [Photo] courtesy of Ben Crawford/Access Fund

BLM management plan threatens Bears Ears National Monument while lawsuits continue

This year–2020–is anticipated to be the year for the long-awaited court ruling as to whether President Donald Trump’s reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in December 2017 was legal. There appears to be some hope for the people in favor of reinstating the former boundaries of the 1.35 million acre monument. But as the legal battle plays out, the Trump Administration has ordered the Bureau of Land Management to push ahead with a management plan for the greatly reduced monument, which critics say is “highly flawed.”

The famous Blue Bear outside the Colorado Convention Center, pictured on the first official day of the Winter Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, Wednesday, January 29, 2020. [Photo] Derek Franz

Another Outdoor Retailer, another opportunity to call for political and social changes

As Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz prepares to attend Denver’s third Winter Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, he reflects on the rise of conversations about politics and the environment at the biannual trade convention. A climate rally is planned for Friday afternoon at the conclusion of the show, and a recent update was also announced for the lawsuit defending the original designation of Bears Ears National Monument.