![Ryan Johnson rigging a rappel on an October 2015 attempt on the north face of the Main Mendenhall Tower. Johnson completed this dream line with Marc-Andre Leclerc, but the pair lost their lives on the descent. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ryan-johnson-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Clint Helander remembers the life and prolific climbing career of his friend Ryan Johnson, who went missing and is presumed dead along with Marc-Andre Leclerc after the pair climbed a new route on the north face of the Main Mendenhall Tower in Alaska in early March.
![Marc-Andre Leclerc on the summit of Mt. Robson after soloing the Emperor Face in 2016. [Photo] Marc-Andre Leclerc](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/selphie.jpg?resize=540%2C346&ssl=1)
Climbers Ryan Johnson and Marc-Andre Leclerc, missing in the Mendenhall Towers for about a week, are now presumed dead, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch. We mourn the loss of these two beloved people greatly.
![Hundreds gather outside the venue for the Royal Robbins Memorial held on March 12 in Modesto, California. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/royal-robbins-memorial-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Multitudes gathered in Modesto, California, on March 12, to honor the life of Royal Robbins, who died on March 14, 2017, at age 82 after a long illness. Most climbers are aware of the Robbins’ numerous contributions to climbing but Robbins was much more than just a climber–he was a loving, contributing member of his Modesto community.
A summary of current information regarding the search for climbers Ryan Johnson and Marc-Andre Leclerc, overdue from an expedition to the Mendenhall Towers, Alaska
![Lopsang Tshering Sherpa recalls small perks from mountaineering work: I often came back with clothes that no one else had in Kathmandu. He drank so much tea on expeditions that he was called Tea Lopsang. Now, he grows tea in his village, where everyone calls him Chiya Baje (Grandpa Tea). [Photo] Kapil Bisht](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a61-local-hero-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Local Hero story from the latest issue, Alpinist 61, Kapil Bisht interviews Lopsang Tshering Sherpa, who began his storied career as an expedition worker in 1959 as a kitchen helper on the 1959 international women’s Cho Oyu expedition; three years later he was among those bridging the gap for Lionel Terray and the first ascent of Jannu.
![Wading across the Virgin River in Zion with the Lowa Approach Pro Los in hand. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lowa-approach-pro-lo-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
If Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz had to pick just one type of shoe to wear for the rest of his life, there’s no doubt it would be a pair of approach shoes. The Lowa Approach Pro Los have become his first choice to wear everywhere, all the time. Five stars.
![David Allfrey, Kieran Brownie and Paul McSorley's route, El Abrazo de la Serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent; V 5.11c R/X 660m), on Cerro Pajarito is shown in red, as seen from Cerro Diablo. [Photo] Paul McSorley](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cerro-pajarito-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
On February 1, Dave Allfrey, Kieran Brownie and Paul McSorley completed a new route up the unclimbed northwest face of Cerro Pajarito in the Cerros de Mavecure in Guainia, Colombia. El Abrazo de la Serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent; V 5.11c R/X 660m) was established ground up, onsight, over two trips. The rainforest heat was the crux.
![The author on the approach to Washington Column with Half Dome in the background, 2015. [Photo] Alex McKiernan collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a60-tcl-the-prow-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alex McKiernan suffered a spinal cord injury from a car crash in 2014 and he has slowly regained some use of his legs since then. In this story from Alpinist 60, he details the path of his recovery, and how he climbed a Yosemite big wall in 2016.
![Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka by Bernadette McDonald. Rocky Mountain Books, 2017. 326 pages. Hardcover, $32. [Image] Courtesy Rocky Mountain Books](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/art-of-freedom-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
“‘Art of Freedom,’ is a brilliant work of insight, not only into the life of the great alpinist, but also about the questions that compel us to the mountains in the first place,” writes Alpinist Associate Editor Paula Wright in her feature about Bernadette McDonald’s award-winning biography, “Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka.”
![[Photo] Paul Zizka](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a60-letter-to-editor-1.jpg?resize=923%2C620&ssl=1)
In this letter to the editor from Alpinist 60, Christopher Elliott describes the solar eclipse that occurred on August 21, 2017, and the fleeting “moment of totality” that he and his fellow observers experienced from the top of a mountain.
