![Tom Ballard makes the first ascent of Dust in the Wind (M8, 100m), Val di Fassa, Italy, while rope-soloing. [Photo] Tom Ballard](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ballard-rope-solos-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Tom Ballard closes out the year in the Dolomites with a rope-solo first ascent of Dust in the Wind (M8, 100m) and a casual multiday rope solo of the Gogna Route (5.10, 800m) on Marmolada Punta Rocca (3309m), which he finished on New Years Eve.
![This aerial shot shows the magnitude of the Eiger North Face (3970m). Metanoia (VII 5.10 M6 A4, 1800m) takes a central line up the shadowy face. [Photo] Archive Metanoia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/metanoia-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Thomas Huber, Roger Schaeli and Stephan Siegrist complete the second ascent of Metanoia (VII 5.10 M6 A4, 1800m) on the Eiger North Face (3970m), more than 25 years after Jeff Lowe established the legendary route that became a turning point in his life.
![Marcin Tomaszewksi leads a pitch during the first ascent of Titanic (M5 5.10c A3 WI4, 1800m) on the North Face of the Eiger (3970m), which he completed with Tom Ballard on November 30 to December 6. [Photo] Tom Ballard](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/eiger-titanic-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Tom Ballard and Marcin Tomaszewksi have only climbed together three times, but all those climbs have been first ascents. They added another hard new route to the Eiger North Face in December –Titanic–and Ballard continued his legacy with the mountain that his mother, Alison Hargreaves, had climbed while she was pregnant with him.
![[Photo] Alberto Cafferata/Wikipedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/david-stevenson-tcl-18.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this work of short fiction from Alpinist 18, Stevenson weaves a tale about a driftless climbing guide balancing his successes “against an unwritten page of his climbing resume, against the darkness.”
![Snowy Range Medicine Bow Mountains from Bellevue, Colorado. [Photo] Wikipedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/david-stevenson-tcl-20.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Stevenson contemplates the axe of God in this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 20.
![Mount St. Helens [Photo] Lyn Topinka/Wikipedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/david-stevenson-tcl-18-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The author climbs after the volcano poets. This piece originally appeared in Alpinist 40.
![The author wears the VOORMI River Run Hoodie while climbing Animal Magnetism (5.11) in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. [Photo] Luis Felipe Ossa Rodriguez (aka Lucho Salsa)](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/river-run-hoodie-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The VOORMI River Run Hoodie keeps Chris Van Leuven comfy in all kinds of conditions, from rainy trails and toothy offwidths to social scenes. He awards it five stars.
![[Photo Bryce Brown]](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/acp-recap-1.jpg?resize=640%2C620&ssl=1)
This week, we’re sharing an assortment of social media posts from the Alpinist Community Project in 2016. In this collection we’re resharing photos from Bryce Brown, James Rushforth, Michael Kennedy, Abhijeet Singh, Jeremy Joseph, Jenny Abegg and Forest Woodward, Tamotsu Nakamura and Caroline Treadway.
Brad Rassler interviews author James Edward Mills about current events and the disparity of opportunities for minorities to try outdoor activities like climbing.
![[Photo] Drew Thayer](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/valandre-sleeping-bag-2-1.jpg?resize=813%2C527&ssl=1)
Drew Thayer describes the Valandre Shocking Blue Neo Sleeping Bag as “the Cadillac” of cold-weather sleeping bags. But all the added features increase the weight and the price compared to other cold-weather bags. Four stars.
