![Derek Franz wears the Mountain Equipment Tupilak 30+ on Hidden Falls (WI4, 3 pitches) in Glenwood Canyon on New Years Eve, 2018. [Photo] Craig Helm](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-tupilak-30-1-2.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz writes of the Mountain Equipment 30+ backpack, “This is the most hardcore rucksack I’ve ever used…. No frills. All utilitarian grit.” Franz reports that the pack is designed for the hardest mountain routes and leaves some convenience to be desired for more casual outings, but the Tupilak is well made for its intended purpose. Five stars.
![Ari Novak on Snow Leopard (HWI 7), Spiti Valley, India. [Photo] Austin Schmitz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/piti-dharr-ice-fest-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The first Piti-Dharr International Ice Climbing Festival took place in India’s Spiti Valley on January 5-15. During the event, Indian climber Bharat Bhushan and Americans Ari Novak and Karsten Delap completed the first ascent of Frozen Diesel (HWI 6+), and Novak and Delap established Snow Leopard (HWI 7, 150m).
![Sam Hennesse. [Photo] Seth Timpano](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aac-cutting-edge-grants-1.jpg?resize=456%2C611&ssl=1)
Sam Hennessey, Chantel Astorga and Chris Wright are all receiving American Alpine Club Cutting Edge Grants this year. Hennessey plans to attempt the north face of Chamlang (ca. 7300m) in the Eastern Himalaya of Nepal with Rob Smith, Seth Timpano and Michael Gardner; Astorga will try Pumari Chhish South (7350m) in Pakistan’s Hispar Karakoram with Anne Gilbert Chase; and Wright is aiming for Link Sar (7041m) in the Eastern Karakoram, Pakistan, with Graham Zimmerman, Mark Richey and Steve Swenson.
![[Illustration] Andreas Schmidt](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a55-full-value-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this 2016 Full Value story from Alpinist 55, Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz peers into the dark side of the dirtbag dream.
![Kyle Dempster in his elements. [Photo] Andrew Burr](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kyle-dempster-packrafting-file-photo-1.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The application period is now open for the second annual Kyle Dempster Solo Adventure Award. Applications are due by March 15 for trips taking place between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.
![Katie Ives. [Photo] David Swift](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/katie-ives-portrait.jpg?resize=698%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives has been selected as a judge for the 2019 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. The other two judges are Roger Hubank and Tony Shaw. The award will be presented at the next Kendal Mountain Festival in the United Kingdom on November 14-17.
![The author places a Black Diamond Ultralight Express screw in Hyalite Canyon, Montana. [Photo] Jim Menkol](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bd-ultralight-express-screw-1-2-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Hyalite Canyon local Todd Preston tested out the new Black Diamond Ultralight Express screws on some of Montana’s classic ice climbs. He concluded, “For…pursuits where weight savings can be critical, the Ultralights are clearly the new gold standard and I would rate them 5 stars. However, several days of climbing frozen waterfalls using both Ultralights and traditional Express screws revealed some design limitations….” Four stars.
![[Illustration] Andreas Schmidt](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a64-full-value-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Full Value story from Alpinist 64, Quentin Lindfield Roberts confronts the long journey home and the occasionally even-greater dangers of daily life after his climbing partner nearly dies in an accident on Cerro Torre.
![Todd Preston leads Alpha (WI5) with the Black Diamond Reactor ice tools in Hyalite Canyon, Montana. [Photo] Jim Menkol](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/black-diamond-reactor-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Todd Preston is a geologist for the US Geological Survey who has been ice climbing for 20 years. He tested the Black Diamond Reactor ice tools and concluded that the Reactors are ideal for steep ice and cragging, awarding them a solid four stars.
![Scott Coldiron climbs next to the route Raggedy Man. [Photo] Marlin Thorman](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a64-on-belay-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
After recovering from a severe illness in the wake of the Gulf War, veteran Scott Coldiron returns to his long-abandoned climbing dreams–exploring new ice in remote parts of Montana’s Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. In this On Belay story from Alpinist 64, Coldiron traces the formative experiences of his hard-knock childhood, his discovery of what the mountains offered, and how he found his way back to the peaks that first stirred his imagination.
