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[Photo] Courtesy of Takeshi Tani and Toshiyuki Yamada

Japanese team completes first ascent of Kangchung Nup’s NW face in Nepal

After several attempts by other talented climbers in recent years, two alpinists from Japan completed the first ascent of the Northwest Face of Kangchung Nup (6089m) in Nepal. Takeshi Tani and Toshiyuki Yamada estimated the difficulty of their 900-meter route–which they climbed, round-trip from Gokyo village from April 21 to 24–to be ED1: M5 WI4/AI4. “It was really dry conditions this spring, which is safer than usual because there was less avalanche hazard,” Tani said. “We found a beautiful ice strip middle of the NW face and climbed pretty much straight up to permanent ice. Great conditions like snice make everything different.”

Ukrainian mountaineer Alina Kosovska during her trek of the Transcarpathian Route in 2022. She finished the route on February 14, becoming the first person to complete it in winter. [Photo] Courtesy of Alina Kosovska

Ukrainian alpinists share stories of life amid the Russian invasion

From fighting in active combat on the front lines, to scrambling to find food and supplies, to struggling to find a refuge for their families abroad, Ukrainian climbers have had their lives turned upside down by the Russian invasion. Three of them share glimpses into what their day-to-day existence looks like amid war.

Clint Helander and Andres Marin on top of Golgotha (8,940') in Alaska's Revelation Range after completing the first ascent of Shaft of the Abyss (VI AI5 R M5 90° Snow A0, ca. 4,000'). [Photo] Courtesy of Clint Helander

Clint Helander, Andres Marin complete their “dream route” on Golgotha in Alaska’s Revelation Range

On March 25, Clint Helander and Andres Marin stood on top of Golgotha (8,940′) in Alaska’s Revelation Range after completing the first ascent of Shaft of the Abyss (VI AI5 R M5 90° Snow A0, ca. 4,000′). They had previously attempted the route three times together in 2016, 2017 and 2018, reaching a high point about halfway up in 2017 with Leon Davis before a crampon broke.

Grit and Rock Award

2022 Grit and Rock Award recipients announced

The recipients of the 2022 Grit and Rock Award for female first ascents have been announced. This year’s winners include Priti and Jeff Wright (USA); Lise Billion, Maud Vanpoulle (France) and Raphaela Haug (Germany); Nadine Lehner, Isidora Llarena and Rebeca Caceres Lente (Chile); plus a general grant to the French National Female Alpine Team (ENAF). The grant is intended to bolster female participation and leadership in exploration and alpine-style ascents. Teams of any nationality that are led by, or composed mostly of, women are eligible.

Chomolungma (Everest), Lhotse and Nuptse as seen from Kala Pattar.

Pandemic Impacts of 2020 and 2021 Raise Questions for Adventure Tourism

Nepal halted on-arrival tourist visas for the majority of foreign visitors and canceled all spring mountaineering expeditions. The country wouldn’t reopen until August 2020, just in time for the post-monsoon trekking season. As climbing journalist Holly Yu Tung Chen looks back on the impacts of the pandemic on the economies and health of mountain communities in Nepal, she observes some of the ongoing questions of how to make adventure tourism more responsible and sustainable in a precarious era.

Laura Tiefenthaler smiles during her solo ascent of the Eiger North Face on March 25.

Laura Tiefenthaler Solos the Eiger North Face

On March 25, 2022, in an impressive 15-hour push, the 25-year-old Austrian Laura Tiefenthaler became the second known woman to solo the Heckmair Route on the Eiger-and thus the second known woman to solo the iconic Eiger North Face–thirty years after Catherine Destivelle’s historic solo of the route. (Two other women, Alison Hargreaves and Evelyne Binsack soloed the nearby Northeast Face by the Lauper Route during the 1990s.)

The Carpathian mountains, where Ivan Malkovych grew up.

I Gaze at My Mountains

In “I Gaze at My Mountains” (translated by Mark Andryczyk and Yaryna Yakubyak), a Ukrainian poet and children’s book publisher, Ivan Malkovych, evokes the intense significance of the Carpathian mountains, where he grew up–and where tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have fled during the ongoing Russian invasion of their country. We are republishing the poem here, along with links with lists of some of the many ways to help Ukrainians.

Climbers follow the aptly named route Beongae (5.10d, 123m) on Ulsanbawi, Seoraksan National Park, South Korea. [Photo] Choi Suk-mun

Haunted by Venus

For more than two decades, Choi Suk-mun has climbed around the world, including first ascents on giant Himalayan peaks; yet he remains haunted by a five-pitch rock route back home in South Korea.

Olympic silver medalist Nathaniel Coleman climbs Wrist Rocket (V9), his favorite route in Little Cottonwood Canyon, which would be impacted by the proposed tram or expanded bus lanes that are being considered by the Utah Department of Transportation as preferred alternatives for future transit in the narrow canyon. [Photo] Tim Behuniak

Climbers rally against proposed tramway and expanded bus lanes in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon

A big decision that was anticipated to be made this April has been pushed back to summer after the continued outpouring of comments regarding the future of Little Cottonwood Canyon just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The decision facing the Utah Department of Transportation is whether to proceed with one of two plans: build a massive tramway along the length of the canyon to serve the ski areas, or widen the road for expanded bus service. The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and other groups say those plans are too focused on the ski resorts during the winter and that there are other options that would better preserve the climbing and access to other parts of the canyon while protecting the natural environment and beauty of the area.

Carlo Traversi places protection on Magic Line (5.14c), Yosemite Valley. [Photo] Christian Adam / Black Diamond

Carlo Traversi is first to have sent both Magic Line and Meltdown (5.14c) in Yosemite

Carlo Traversi has once again proven himself as one of the best all-around rock climbers in the world, with his recent redpoint of Yosemite’s Magic Line (5.14c) on February 27. Traversi is the fourth person to send the route, and the third to do it placing all the thin gear on lead. This ascent also makes him the only person to have sent both Magic Line and Meltdown, another thin crack in Yosemite (first climbed by Beth Rodden in 2008) that has earned the grade of 5.14c.