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Madaleine Sorkin onsighting the crux pitch of Qualgeist (IV 5.12) on North Chasm View Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado, 2012. [Photo] Chris Noble

Three Black Canyon routes in 24 hours: raising money for the Climbing Grief Fund

On Memorial Day, May 28, Madaleine Sorkin and Mary Harlan will descend more than 2,000 feet into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison with the goal of completing three big routes in 24 hours. They intend to climb Astrodog (V 5.11+, 14 pitches), Scenic Cruise (V 5.10+, 10 pitches) and the Russian Arete (IV 5.9+, ca. 1,800′), which will total about 5,700 feet of climbing. It’s all for an effort to raise money for the American Alpine Club’s Climbing Grief Fund, an effort they’re calling “24 Hours into the Black.”

Climber representatives pose in front of the nation's capital in Washington, DC, last week during the Access Fund and American Alpine Club's third annual Climb the Hill event, which included more than 60 delegates. [Photo] Stephen Gosling

Highlights from Climb the Hill 2018

On May 9-11, some of the nation’s most prominent climbers took off their down jackets and donned suits on Capitol Hill to advocate for public lands, outdoor recreation and environmental issues. Nick Mott recaps some of the highlights along with some of the challenges ahead.

Flashback from 2017: (left to right) Sasha DiGiulian, Caroline Gleich, Libby Sauter, Quinn Brett and Katie Boue flex after a Congressional briefing in the U.S. Senate last year. All of them returned to Washington, D.C., this week for the third annual Climb the Hill event. [Photo] Derek Franz

Access Fund, Alpine Club and pro climbers return to lobby Capitol Hill

The Access Fund and American Alpine club are gathering once again in Washington, D.C., this week with a host of high-profile climbers to lobby Congress on a handful of national issues affecting public lands, the environment and outdoor recreation as part of the third annual Climb the Hill event. The list of participants expected to attend this year includes Quinn Brett, Majka Burhardt, Tommy Caldwell, Sasha DiGiulian, Caroline Gleich, Margo Hayes, Lynn Hill, Alex Honnold, Bethany Lebewitz, Mikhail Martin, Maricela Rosales, Chelsea Rude, Libby Sauter, Forrest Shearer, Geoff Unger, Jessica Yang and Alina Zagaytova

From left to right: Danika Gilbert, David Roberts, Doug Chabot and Jeff Jackson. [Image] Courtesy of the American Alpine Club

The American Alpine Club announces 2018 Excellence in Climbing award recipients

Doug Chabot, Danika Gilbert, David Roberts and Jeff Jackson are to be honored at the American Alpine Club’s Excellence in Climbing Celebration in Denver on June 2. Tickets are now on sale for the event, which includes a dinner, auctions, live music and more, with all proceeds supporting the AAC Library and the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum.

Tom Livingstone on the summit ridge of Jezebel after climbing a new route-- Fun or Fear (AI 6 R M6+, 90 degrees, ca. 1200m)--up the mountain's east face with Uisdean Hawthorn. [Photo] Uisdean Hawthorn

British climbers find ‘Fun or Fear’ in Alaska on Jezebel’s east face after attempting north face

Tom Livingstone and Uisdean Hawthorn went to Alaska’s Revelation Range at the end of March, intent on trying a new route on Jezebel’s north face. After several runout pitches on poor snow, they reached a dead end: a giant chimney filled with vertical snow that had no apparent cracks. Consequently, they abandoned their attempt and turned their attention to the mountain’s east face, where they completed a new route called Fun or Fear (AI 6 R M6+, 90 degrees, ca. 1200m) over two days in early April.

[Photo] Kari Medig

Under Pulse

In this Off Belay story from Alpinist 61, Jerry Auld imagines a close encounter with the gears of a massive mechanical system lurching under the surface of a glacier. The tale was inspired by some of his glacier travel in which he once fell into a crevasse and from a 2013 ski circumnavigation of Mt. Logan in Canada’s Kluane National Park. He writes, “When you are in the palm of such a setting, it is hard to not feel the importance of keeping these environments working. I wanted to tell that story–to visualize a wounded Earth that is starting to stall, and how tiny and bewildered we become in that situation.”

The author wearing the Patagonia Micro Puff jacket on Prodigal Sun in Zion last October. [Photo] Derek Franz

Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody: better than down

Alpinist digital editor Derek Franz tested the Patagonia Micro Puff jacket and found that the lightweight, synthetic garment outperforms those of similar weights with down feathers. “It lives up to the hype,” Franz writes. Five stars.