![Michael Kennedy in 1976, after the first ascent of the Ames Ice Hose with Steve Shea and Lou Dawson. [Photo] Michael Kennedy collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a79-sharp-end-2.jpg?resize=798%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 79–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Alpinist’s departing editor-in-chief Katie Ives ponders the fates of climbing publications and says farewell after ten years at the helm of the magazine. She writes: “I am leaving for other paths. The magazine will go on, with your help. And I hope that I will continue to meet you, in the mountains and in our words….”
“When the mountain community…grapples with the accidental death of one of its members,” Anna Callaghan writes, “only one thing is certain: it’s going to happen again.” Through interviews with several climbers who’ve lost loved ones to the mountains, Callaghan explores the ways in which people across the climbing community are banding together to address grief and support the bereaved.
![Madaleine Sorkin during her free ascent of the Dunn-Westbay Direct (IV 5.14-, 4 pitches, 1,000') on the Diamond of Longs Peak (Neniisotoyou'u, 14,255') on August 10. [Photo] Henna Taylor](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/madaleine-sorkin-dunn-westbay-direct-longs-peak.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
On August 10, Madaleine Sorkin, 40, enjoyed a no-falls day on the Dunn-Westbay Direct (IV 5.14-, 4 pitches, 1,000′) on the Diamond of Longs Peak (Neniisotoyou’u, 14,255′) in Rocky Mountain National Park. This makes her the first woman and fifth person overall to free climb the route on lead. The crux pitch is about 270 feet long and requires an 80-meter rope, and the route from Broadway Ledge sits above 13,000 feet in elevation.
![Francois Franz Cazzanelli and Pietro Picco climbing the Aosta Valley Express variation (AI 90° M6 85°, 1400m) up to Camp 2 (ca. 6000m) on the Kinshofer Route on Nanga Parbat (8125m). [Photo] Courtesy of Yodel press agency](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/nanga-parbat-aosta-express-1.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In late June and early July, a group of climbing guides from Italy’s Aosta Valley completed a variation to Camp 2 and a speed ascent on Nanga Parbat (8125m). On June 26, Francois “Franz” Cazzanelli and Pietro Picco climbed a 1400-meter variation up to Camp 2 on the Kinshofer Route (ca. 6000m) in alpine style in a single push from Base Camp. They called the variation the Aosta Valley Express (AI 90° M6 85°). On July 4, Cazzanelli summited the Kinshofer Route from Base Camp (4200m) without bottled oxygen in 20 hours, 20 minutes.
![Annapurna (8091m). [Photo] Wolfgang Beyer, Wikimedia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/annapurna-i.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
A team of researchers has been working for the past several years analyzing summit photos from the world’s highest peaks–particularly on Dhaulagiri (8167m), Manaslu (8163m) and Annapurna (8091m). On July 8, one of them, Eberhard Jurgalski, announced in a report on 8000ers.com that they could only find evidence to confirm ascents to the actual apex of all 14 8000-meter peaks by three people: Ed Viesturs (USA), Veikka Gustafsson (Finland) and Nirmal Purja (Nepal/UK). The research continues and decisions remain about how to handle long-established records.
![Photographer Bob Gaines: Werner [Braun] clowning around, ca. 1983. Scott Cosgrove was there too. Just a great day of fun-in-the-sun free soloing. [Photo] Bob Gaines](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/werner-braun-1.jpg?resize=796%2C620&ssl=1)
Earl Bates traces stories from the 50-year career of Werner Braun, one of Yosemite’s most reticent Stonemasters. Braun retired from his work in the Valley last year and moved to St. George, Utah, with his wife Merry. Braun was among the best free soloists of his generation and ultimately proved himself to be a significant asset to the Park Service and Yosemite Search and Rescue, but you won’t hear him say so. In his typical fashion, Braun continues to shy away from recognition, and that is why some of Yosemite’s best stories may never be told.
![[Photo] Courtesy of Science History Institute](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a78-tool-users-sun-protection-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Tool Users story from Alpinist 78–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Sarah Pickman traces the early development of sun protection. As Western scientists debated the cause of sunburn in the nineteenth century, she explains, some researchers “turned to a community with plenty of experience getting burned: alpinists.”
![Red dots show the route of David Allfrey, White Magro and Graham Zimmerman's new route, The Pace of Comfort (VI 5.10 A3+ M6 70° snow, 3,100') on the northwest face of Kichatna Spire (8,985') in the Alaska Range. [Photo] Oliver Rye](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kichatna-spire-new-routes-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Two new big-wall aid routes reached the rarely visited summit of Kichatna Spire (8,985′) in the Alaska Range within the past few weeks. From May 23 to 27, Americans David Allfrey, Whit Magro and Graham Zimmerman opened a route on the northwest face that they named The Pace of Comfort (VI 5.10 A3+ M6 70° snow, 3,100′). Shortly after, on the east face of the spire, British climbers Mark Thomas and Mike “Twid” Turner completed a route they called Thunderstruck (VI 5.11b A3+, 3,900′) on June 8 after 12 consecutive days of effort.
![Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau at the point where the Slovak Direct joins the Cassin Ridge. [Photo] Jackson Marvell](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/slovak-direct-speed-ascents-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
At 2 a.m. on May 15, Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau topped out on the Slovak Direct (5.9 X M6 WI6+) on Denali (20,310′), completing the route in just 21 hours, 35 minutes. It was a staggeringly fast time, but the record didn’t last long. On June 3, Michael Gardner, Sam Hennessey and Rob Smith fired the route in 17 hours, 10 minutes. All six climbers are friends and expressed happiness for everyone’s success. “The conditions this year are like nothing I’ve seen in 10 years,” Gardner told Alpinist. “People who’ve been climbing there longer than I have are saying the same thing.”
![Katie Ives on Pinnacle Gully, Huntington Ravine, Agiocochook, Mt. Washington, 2012. [Photo] Alan Cattabriga](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a78-sharp-end-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 78–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Katie Ives explores some of the many metaphors of late-season ice. She writes: “Any ice route is a land that appears and disappears, never taking an identical shape twice, leaving ghostly outlines in climbers’ memories of past forms–and posing the question of which ascent might be the last.”
