Remembering Sir Edmund Hillary
Forty Kiwi mountaineers raised their axes as one to form the New Zealand Alpine Club’s honor guard when Sir Edmund Hillary’s coffin emerged…
The Fatal Game
After summitting Mt. Everest in 1994, Kiwi guide Mark Whetu and his client Mike Rheinberger are forced to bivouac at 28,800 feet. The next day they try to descend but Rheinberger is stricken with cerebral edema and Whetu must decide whether to stay with his friend on the mountain or save his own life.
Cilao OZ 22 Race Harness: Built for Fast and Light
Every summer in Chamonix, among the 350+ mountain guides working in the valley, there seems to be one piece of gear that becomes eminently popular, and by the end of the season most guides have it. This year it was the Cilao OZ 22 Race harness, which weighs in at an insanely light 3.5 ounces. Easily recognizable by its bright green color, you would constantly see it traversing the range, from glacier slogs across the Valle Blanche to the higher elevations of Mont Blanc.
Red Wine and Climbing
“In amongst the purple Chianti haze, I spot a thin crack in hard rock. Replacing the heel-hook I grab the small wires from my harness and without hesitation bite the green wire. A sickly-battery-taste makes me gag…”