![[Photo] Seth Langbauer](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tcl-seeking-space.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Seeking Space – The Climbing Life
An unexpected encounter on a hillside in New Mexico leads Jane Jackson to reconsider the environmental impacts of climbers and the conservation of public lands.
![From Conrad Anker's The City and The Blade in Alpinist 38. Mugs Stump on the Spanish Pillar of Meru North (6450m) in 1988. [Photo] Steve Quinlan](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mugs-1.jpg?resize=540%2C354&ssl=1)
2017 Mugs Stump Award Opens for Applications November 10
The 25th Annual Mugs Stump Award applications are due November 30 for the 2017 grant cycle.
![Hanniah Tariq, founder of High Altitude Sustainability Pakistan. [Photo] Vanessa Beucher](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/local-hero-hanniah-tariq-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Local Hero: Hanniah Tariq
Vanessa Beucher writes about Pakistani activist Hanniah Tariq, founder of High Altitude Sustainability Pakistan, an organization dedicated to the well-being of expedition workers, their families and the mountain environment.
![The Hi Q Luxe Pro Pull On's durable water-resistant coating and super durable fabric meant it was tough enough to climb both rock and ice in a variety of conditions. Here, Alexander Kenan takes it for a test spin on this ice curtain to the left of Spiral Staircase (WI4) in Vail, Colorado. [Photo] Travis Fried](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/montane-hi-q-luxe-pro-pull-on-review-2-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Montane Hi Q Luxe Pro Pull On: Breathable enough to approach, warm enough to belay
Corey Buhay finds the Montane Hi Q Lux Pro Pull On jacket to be a versatile piece of equipment for staying warm and dry in the mountains. She awards it four stars out of five.
![The South Face of Brammah II (6425) with Chris Gibisch and Jeff Shapiro's route, Pneuma (VI AI4, M5, 1300m), and bivy site are marked in red. [Photo] Chris Gibisch](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/new-route-on-the-south-face-of-brammah-ii-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
![The Emperor Face of Mt. Robson (3959m), where Barry Blanchard, Eric Dumerac and Philippe Pellet made the first ascent of Infinite Patience (VI 5.9 M5 WI5, 2200m) in 2002. Fourteen years later, Marc-Andre Leclerc soloed it. [Photo] Jeffrey Pang](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mount_robson_twilight.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Off Route and Out of Time – The Sharp End, Alpinist 56
Back in April 2016, Canadian alpinist Marc-Andre Leclerc described his solo of the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson: “My thoughts had reached a depth and clarity that I had never before experienced. The magic was real…. I was deeply content that I had not carried a watch with me to keep time…. I felt more at peace than I would have had I been counting my rate of kilometers per hour.” In the Editor’s Note for Alpinist 56, Katie Ives looks at the complex relationship that has long existed between evolving visions of mountaineering and the measurement of space and time.
![Alex Megos gets a grip on Fight Club (5.15b) at Raven's Crag near Banff, Canada. Megos made the first ascent of the route in August, establishing the country's first 5.15 as well as the second 5.15b in all of North America. A few days later Megos flashed The Path, a 5.14 R trad route. [Photo] Sonnie Trotter](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/alex-megos-fight-club.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
An interview with Alex Megos about the cross-disciplines of sport vs. trad climbing
Climbing phenom Alex Megos considers himself a “sport climber,” but that self-designation didn’t stop him from racking up to flash The Path, a 5.14 R trad route in Canada. Chris Kalman asks Megos what he thinks about the emphasis climbers put on various definitions of ascent, such as bouldering, sport climbing and trad climbing.
![Josie McKee leading the last block to the top of Lost Arrow Spire on Day 2. [Photo] Quinn Brett](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tour-de-ditch-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
![Masha Gordon of the UK is the founder of The Grit & Rock First Ascent Expedition Award [Photo] Masha Gordon collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/new-climbing-grant-for-female-first-ascents-1-1.jpg?resize=742%2C620&ssl=1)
![Kyle Dempster and Bruce Normand in Shuangqiao Valley, Siguiang Shan Mountains, Sichuan, China. [Photo] Andrew Burr](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/the-mountain-stories-of-kyle-dempster.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Edges of Maps: The Mountain Stories of Kyle Dempster
At the time of his disappearance on the Ogre II, Kyle Dempster was one of the most promising mountain storytellers of his generation. Alpinist editor-in-chief Katie Ives looks back at some of work, and wonders about the writer he might have become.