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El Hermano (ca. 4,500), Chile. In 2014 Libby Sauter's team mostly followed the sun-shadow line, and then cut to the right a few hundred feet from the top. [Photo] Doug Tompkins

Beyond the Dusk: El Hermano, Andes, Chile

After the death of her brother Michael in June 2012, Suzanne Ybarra noticed a reference to a mysterious “El Hermano” amid his files, along with photos of a massive unclimbed wall. In 2014 one of Michael’s friends, Libby Sauter, organized an expedition to make the first ascent and complete his dream.

Ines Papert, Jarmila Tyrill, Jewell Lund, Pat Deavoll, Natalia Martinez, Kei Taniguchi, Silvia Vidal, Han Mi-sun (front) and Chae Mi-sun.

Freedom in the Hills

For decades, female alpinists have made extraordinary ascents from remote big walls to storm-swept peaks. In an article from Alpinist 52 (Winter 2015), Charlotte Austin explored some of the lingering barriers of the past and the growing potential for the future.

Andrew Boyd climbs Flight of the Challenger (5.12c) in Squamish, British Columbia, circa mid-1990s. [Photo] Rich Wheater

The Vision of Andrew Boyd

Drew Copeland considers how Andrew Boyd has quietly influenced the Squamish climbing scene in the last twenty years with his bold first free ascents and visionary lines.

Brady Robinson

Public Lands and the Future of Advocacy: An Interview with Brady Robinson (Part I in an Interview Series)

On November 16, 2016, the Access Fund released a statement in response to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, “What Will the Trump Administration Mean for Climbing?” We’ve since followed up with Brady Robinson, executive director of the Access Fund and chair of the Outdoor Alliance, to learn more about his thoughts on the broader future of environmental issues and public lands–and the roles that climbers might play in helping to conserve wild places.

Don Frache's mural Chamber of Jewels (acrylic on canvas, 1984)

The Shining Mountains

Popular books recount the early days of Canadian mountaineering as a story of epic discoveries. In this story from Alpinist 50, historians Zac Robinson and Stephen Slemon examine what often gets left out: the extent to which the “explorers” relied on the prior geographic knowledge of Indigenous guides.