![Sunset from below Mt. Sill, after Vitaliy Musiyenko stopped early because of 30+ mph winds (Miwok, Mono/Monache, Shoshone and Paiute land). [Photo] Vitaliy Musiyenko](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/goliath-traverse-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
From August 2 to 10, Vitaliy Musiyenko made the first traverse of Goliath–a linkup of gargantuan proportions along the Sierra Crest, in California’s Sierra Nevada Range. Over the course of eight days Musiyenko covered approximately 32 miles of mostly technical terrain, 80,000 feet of elevation gain, and 60 summits above 13,000 feet, including eight Fourteeners. It may be the longest ridge traverse in the Western Hemisphere.
![Half Dome (Tisayac), Yosemite National Park, California, Miwok, Ahwahneechee, Paiute and Mono lands. [Photo] David Iliff. License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/wfeature-a75-tcl-some-dreams.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist 75 will be available on newsstands soon. In the meantime, we’re offering a preview of The Climbing Life section, with a story by Douglas Brockmeyer about a 1970s magazine photo that inspired him to become a climber (and thus changed the course of his existence), poems by Katherine Indermaur about the fourth-century pilgrim Egeria and her ascent of Mt. Sinai, and fiction by Erin Connery that explores some of the many ways people think about high cliffs and walls.
![Nina Williams--who is sponsored by Gnarly Nutrition--climbs in the background of the author's BCAA supplement at Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/gnarly-nutrition-bcaa-supplement-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mountain Standards Gear Review: Digital Editor Derek Franz has been using the Gnarly Nutrition Pre and BCAA (branched chain amino acid) dietary supplements for the past year. Though unable to definitively say how much of a difference, if any, the supplements have made for his fitness, he writes: “What I do know, is that my fitness has been on an upward roll lately, and Gnarly has been one of many ingredients along the way, so I can’t discount it.” As with most any dietary supplement, Franz notes, there can be serious side effects if they aren’t used properly. Four stars.
![Hiking out to Wonder Lake after reaching both summits of Denali (20,310') via the Cassin Ridge and skiing down the Northwest Buttress to the end of the Peters Glacier. [Photo] Mike Gardner collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mike-gardner-alaska-spring-2021-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Between late April and the end of May, Mike Gardner and Sam Hennessey added a new line on Denali’s Isis Face that they dubbed Anubis (Alaska Grade 6: AI5 M6, 6,900′); ascended the classic Bibler-Klewin on the North Buttress of Begguya (Mt. Hunter); and then finished by climbing Denali’s Cassin Ridge in deep snow with their friend Adam Fabrikant, reaching both summits of the mountain before skiing and walking a long way back to the nearest road This report is Gardner’s summary of their time in the range.
![Vasu Sojitra. [Photo] Jason Thompson](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a74-local-hero-vasu-sojitra-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Local Hero story from Alpinist 74–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Dani Reyes-Acosta celebrates the community-building work and mountain adventures of ice climber and backcountry skier Vasu Sojitra, co-founder of the Inclusive Outdoors Project.
![The line of Cerveza, Pan y Acido (ED: 90 degrees, 700m) on the south face of Concha de Caracol (5640m) with the location of the open bivy marked near the top. [Photo] Courtesy of Anna Pfaff](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cerveza-pan-y-acido-1.jpeg?resize=631%2C620&ssl=1)
On July 13 and 14, Andres Marin, Anna Pfaff and Alex Torres completed a new route on Concha de Caracol (5640m) in Peru’s Cordillera Vilcanota. Cerveza, Pan y Acido (ED: 90°, 700m), which translates as “beer, bread and acid,” is the second route on the mountain’s south face. The climbers weathered an open bivy below the summit at 5500 meters and Marin and Pfaff suffered some frostbite on their feet, from which they are currently recovering.
![Nejc Zaplotnik in Makalu Base Camp, October 1975. [Photo] Viki Groselj](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a74-nejc-zaplotnik-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
As one of the first ascensionists of the West Ridge Direct of Chomolungma (Everest), Slovenian alpinist Nejc Zaplotnik (1952-1983) was among the great climbers of the twentieth century. To many, however, he is best known for his lyrical memoir, The Way (“Pot” in Slovenian), which gave voice to the dreams of his generation and beyond. In this feature story from Alpinist 74, mountaineering historian Bernadette McDonald recounts some of the key moments and mysteries of his vibrant life and shares translated passages of his book that still reverberate today.
![Chantel Astorga takes a stoked selfie during her solo ascent of Denali's Cassin Ridge. [Photo] Chantel Astorga](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/chantel-astorga-cassin-ridge-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
At 8 p.m. June 14, Chantel Astorga became the first woman to solo the Cassin Ridge on Denali (20,310′), completing the route in just 14 hours and 39 minutes. Generations of alpinists have considered the Cassin (Alaska Grade 5, 5.8, AI4) a formidable and coveted objective. Astorga, who works as an avalanche forecaster in Idaho told Alpinist, “I don’t generally solo big routes…. Time alone in the mountains has always been powerful for me in ways I can’t explain. I guess I simply just wanted to feel what it was like to be alone on a technical route in the big mountains and the Cassin Ridge seemed like a perfect fit.”
![Baruntse (7129m): the red line shows Heavenly Trap (ABO+: VI+ M6+ 80°, 1300m) and the blue line shows the descent route. Dots indicate bivies. [Photo] Marek Holecek collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/baruntse-heavenly-trap-1.jpg?resize=930%2C571&ssl=1)
On May 21, two-time Piolet d’Or recipient Marek “Mara” Holecek and fellow Czech climber Radoslav “Radar” Groh set out to climb a new route on the west face of Baruntse (7129m) in Nepal’s Hunku Valley. They packed food for six days–they were on the mountain for ten. After several storm-bound days on the way up and down, they encountered dangerous avalanche conditions at 6000 meters, near the end of their descent, and they were evacuated by helicopter, having completed Heavenly Trap (ABO+: VI+ M6+ 80°, 1300m). They dedicated the route to their friends Petr Machold and Kuba Vanek, who went missing during an attempt of the wall eight years ago.
![Perry Beckham on East Pillar Direct in 1993. [Photo] Greg Child](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a74-mp-essay-greg-child-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 74–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Greg Child recounts the first ascent of the East Pillar Direct on Slesse (Selisi) with Perry Beckham in 1993. To read more history about this 2429-meter peak in British Columbia, check out Tami Knight’s Mountain Profile in Issue 74.
