![Lauren Shartell refines moves on the Lightning (M12+/M13-) in the Rigid Designator Amphitheatre, Vail, Colorado, the day before she redpointed the route on November 8. She's now the second US woman to send the climb as well as the grade of M13-, but she suggested downgrading the route to M12+. [Photo] Courtesy of Kyle Barker](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lauren-shartell-on-the-lightning-1.jpg?resize=853%2C620&ssl=1)
Lauren Shartell sent the Lightning in Vail’s Rigid Designator Amphitheatre on November 8. In doing so, she became the second US woman to climb the mixed ice and rock route. Corey Buhay chronicles Shartell’s unlikely start to climbing and her hurdles to success.
After Alpinist 72 went to press, we found that reproductions we had printed of historical images from a 1970s-era magazine appeared to contain some offensive and anti-LGBTQA+ writing. As a result of lapses in communication, caused in part by struggles to adapt to a remote workflow during the pandemic, no one from our editorial staff had reviewed those images before we went to press, and we were unaware of the content of the words (which none of the staff had read). We sincerely regret our oversight in printing these images, and apologize for the harm they may have caused. We are taking steps to ensure that this kind of oversight will not occur again in the future.
![Emily Harrington leading the Golden Desert pitch (5.13a) near the top of El Capitan. [Photo] Jon Glassberg, Louder Than 11](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/emily-harrington-golden-gate-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Late on November 4, Emily Harrington climbed over the lip of El Capitan (Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La) in the dark; she’d free climbed all 41 pitches of Golden Gate (5.13b, 3,000′) in 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds, becoming the fourth woman to free climb El Cap in a day, and the fourth person (and first woman) to free climb Golden Gate in a day. She succeeded in spite of a sideways fall near the top that left her with a bloody head wound–and after a fall during an attempt in 2019 that sent her to the hospital. “I pulled over the final lip at 10:30 p.m. in disbelief….” She wrote on Instagram.
![Priti and Jeff Wright atop K6 Central (7100m). [Photo] Priti and Jeff Wright collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/k6-central-first-ascent-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Early last month, a Jeff and Priti Wright, a husband-wife team from Seattle, Washington, completed the third ascent of K6 West (7040m) and the first ascent of K6 Central (7100m) on October 8 and 9, respectively, and in alpine style. They returned the way they came: back up and over K6 West. The peaks are in the Pakistan-administered side of the Karakoram Range.
![Mt. Forbes (3612m) with the East Face line (M4 WI3) climbed by Quentin Lindfield Roberts and Alik Berg drawn in red. [Photo] John Scurlock](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mt-forbes-east-face-fa.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The east face of Mt. Forbes (3612m) in the Canadian Rockies has presented a proud and obvious objective for generations of climbers, but it only just recently saw its first known ascent, on October 2, when Quentin Roberts and Alik Berg scampered up a direct line they are simply calling the East Face (M4 WI3+). The two made the round trip from October 1 to October 3. “People have been looking at that face for a long time,” Roberts told Alpinist. “It is just way back there and hard to gauge conditions…. There are a few faces like this left in the Rockies, but everything has to line up well if you want to do them!”
A group of publishers and editors who oversee consumer and B2B outdoor media titles have formed the working group Outdoor Media for Inclusion (OM4I) to provide more opportunities for journalists and contributors who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and members of other marginalized communities. OM4I aims to advance representation for people of color and others previously marginalized in the outdoor industry.
![Topo of Running in the Shadows (VI AI5 M6 A0, 2000m),, Emperor Face, Mt. Robson. [Photo] Uisdean Hawthorn](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/running-in-the-shadows-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Between September 30 and October 2, Ethan Berman (US) and Uisdean Hawthorn (Scotland) completed a new line on the Emperor Face of Mt. Robson (3954m), the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Their climb, Running in the Shadows (VI AI5 M6 A0, 2000m), follows a distinctive gully on the right side of the face.
Three film festivals are holding virtual events in the coming weeks: the 5Point Film Festival is October 14-18; Banff Mountain Film is October 31 through November 8; and No Man’s Land is hosting a variety of virtual events throughout October into November.
![A screenshot of the Climb the Hill panel that took place on Zoom, Wednesday, September 23. The discussion focused on public lands and the environment. Normally, Climb the Hill is an in-person event that takes place annually in Washington, DC. This year was a virtual gathering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clockwise, from top left to right, are professional climber Alex Honnold, gym owner Abby Dione, pro climber Tommy Caldwell, Congressman Joe Neguse, Access Fund Policy Director Erik Murdock, and American Sign Language interpreter Norma Villegas. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/climb-the-hill-2020-panel-1.jpg?resize=930%2C608&ssl=1)
As with so many other events around the world, the American Alpine Club and Access Fund’s annual Climb the Hill event was held virtually this week. Two discussion panels were open to the public on September 23 and 24. They focused on public lands and the environment; and on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The featured panelists were Congressman Joe Neguse, and climbers Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Abby Dione, Meagan Martin, Margo Hayes, Kai Lighter and Katie Boue. Access Fund directors Chris Winter and Erik Murdock also participated, and American Sign Language interpreters were provided.
![Noah McKelvin and Luke Negley after pounding a birthday-cake flavored protein shake with Finger Fanger (5.10a, 500') looming behind them on the north face of Pikes Peak, Colorado. [Photo] McKelvin/Negley collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pikes-peak-transcendental-linkup-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
On August 22, Noah McKelvin (28) and Luke Negley (20) climbed five major formations on Colorado’s Pikes Peak in a single push. On the way they racked up five routes with difficulties up to 5.12a totaling 2,400 feet of technical terrain, most of which is around 12,000 to 13,000 feet in elevation. Their car-to-car time was 21 hours, with 16 hours spent climbing. They called it the Transcendental Linkup.
The Banff Mountain Book Competition released the long list of contenders for various categories on September 15–two stories from Alpinist magazine are being considered for Best Mountaineering Article: “Denali, A Universe,” by Jan Harper-Haines, first published in Alpinist 67 (Autumn 2019), and “Melting Giants,” by Benjamin Ribeyre and Erin Smart, Alpinist 68 (Winter 2019-20).
![This image shows the five books that are on the shortlist for the 2020 Boardman-Tasker award. [Image] BoardmanTasker.com](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/boardman-tasker-shortlist-2020.jpg?resize=750%2C620&ssl=1)
Five books are on the shortlist for the Boardman-Tasker Award this year, and Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives is concluding her two-year term limit as a judge. There were 22 entries this year from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. The award will be presented at the Digital Kendal Mountain Festival on November 21.
