![[Photo] John Easterling collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-ascensionist-pack-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 58, Spencer Gray tallies the amount of resources and human labor required to produce the gear that he used to enjoy a single excursion into the mountains. He explains: “I submit this catalogue as proof of something true of much of modern life: the social and environmental cost of reaching these out-of-reach places, and returning safely, is unsustainably high.”
![The La Sportiva Kataki shoes were made for routes like Scene of the Crime (5.12d) on Independence Pass, Colorado. [Photo] Mandi Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-kataki-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Derek Franz stepped into the new La Sportiva Kataki rock shoes and is impressed with their performance on “tiny little nothings.” He found that the shoes functioned well for their intended purpose of climbing vertical to moderately overhanging terrain. Five stars.
![One of the oldest eastern white cedars on the cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. This tree germinated in the year 1134, making it 883 years old today. Climbers likely trimmed the branches on its northern side to make way for a climbing route in 1992. At the time of the photograph, two living branches on the south side of the tree were keeping it alive, though scientists haven't been back to survey whether it survives today. [Photo] Peter Kelly](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/alp58-wired-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Early expeditions often combined the exploration of new heights with a search for rare botanical specimens. More than a century after both natural history and mountaineering fractured into subdisciplines, Associate Editor Paula Wright explores the impacts of climbing’s science gap and the need for a more unified focus on conservation in this Wired story from Alpinist 58.
![This photo taken during the helicopter search on July 1 shows where Mariano Galvan and Alberto Zerain disappeared on Nanga Parbat's Mazeno Ridge. [Photo] Alex Gavan](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mazeno-ridge-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mariano Galvan’s family organized a continued search effort after he and Alberto Zerain disappeared on Nanga Parbat (8125m) June 24. The men are presumed to have died in an avalanche at around 6000 meters while attempting the second ascent of the long, technical Mazeno Ridge. Alex Gavan, who knew the men and was climbing a different route on the mountain at the time of their disappearance, helped organize the primary helicopter search and shared his report and photos with Alpinist.
![[Photos] Michael Kennedy](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/michael-kennedy-acp-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
From August 28 through September 3, 2016, former Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Michael Kennedy shared some photos and stories for the #alpinistcommunityproject about his time in Wyoming’s Wind River Range during the 1970s and 1980s. The series appeared in conjunction with the release of Alpinist 55, which featured the Winds in a story by Paula Wright titled “Silences on the Map.” You can now see Kennedy’s photos and stories consolidated into a single feature at Alpinist.com.
![Mike Lewis wearing the Stetinds with crampons on Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. [Photo] Mike Lewis collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/boreal-stetind-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mike Lewis used the Boreal Stetind boots for six weeks of guiding on snowy mountains in the Pacific Northwest and reports that the boots have some significant shortcomings in technical terrain. In this review he explains in detail why he awarded them two stars out of five.
![A deal was confirmed today that the summer Outdoor Retailer trade show will move to Denver, Colorado, next year. Pictured from left to right are Luis Benitez, director of Colorado's Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; Darrell Denny, executive vice president of Emerald Expositions; Amy Roberts, executive director, Outdoor Industry Association; Governor John Hickenlooper; Mayor Michael Hancock; Nick Sargent, president of SnowSports Industries America; Rachel Benedick, VP sales and service, Visit Denver; Marisa Nicholson, Outdoor Retailer show director; Richard Scharf, president and CEO, Visit Denver; Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne. [Photo] Courtesy of Ground Floor Media](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/outdoor-retailer-summer-announcement-1.jpeg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Colorado officials and Outdoor Retailer executives announced July 6 that Denver will host the huge, lucrative OR Summer Market trade show for the next five years starting in 2018. Denver is also hosting the OR Winter Market in conjunction with the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show, a merger that was announced in May.
![Conrad Anker delivers the University of Utah's graduation commencement speech on May 3. [Photo] University of Utah-Marketing and Communications](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/anker-commencement-speech-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Renowned alpinist Conrad Anker delivered the University of Utah’s graduation commencement speech and received an honorary doctorate on May 3, 2017. This is a copy of his speech, which considers the current and future challenges faced by Earth’s citizens, and the responsibility we have to address these global problems.
![Nanga Parbat's Diamir Face with the Mazeno Ridge extending toward the foreground. [Photo] Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mazeno-ridge-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mariano Galvan and Alberto Zerain are presumed to have died in an avalanche at around 6000 meters on Nanga Parbat (8125m). The two climbers had gone missing on June 24 while attempting the second ascent of the long, technical Mazeno Ridge.
![John Easterling makes his way up to Teepee Col on the Grand Teton with the Patagonia Ascensionist backpack. [Photo] John Easterling collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-ascensionist-pack-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
John Easterling used the Patagonia Ascensionist 40-liter backpack for backcountry ski-mountaineering, desert climbing and a few things in between. He was initially skeptical of the pack’s minimalist internal frame, but he found that the pack had the right balance between burliness and weight for technical day climbs or light overnight trips, and he awarded it four stars.
