Ham and Eggs, Community-Style
Unusual conditions in the Central Alaska Range one season leaves the classic Ham and Eggs (V 5.8 AI4) slathered in snice and yielding only to a collective, siege-style effort by the growing community of climbers at its base.
The Cobra: Memories of its First Ascent
High-desert climbing pioneer Jimmie Dunn recounts the quirky Cobra’s first ascent on a sizzling April day in 1991 when “even the ants [were] lying low” in Utah’s Fisher Towers. He bids farewell to the now-collapsed formation that was enjoyed by so many fellow desert rats over the years.
Experts Ask: Are We Loving Our Mountains to Death?
A quorum of mountain experts gathered in Golden, Colorado, to sift through the mounting social, economic and environmental challenges that have grown with the increasing populations of outdoor recreators across the world. Brad Rassler reports back.
Fun with Routelines: Results from a Ridiculous Facebook Contest
We drew routelines on the Paramount Pictures logo and asked our Facebook fans to tell stories of the routes’ fictional first ascents. Here are some of our favorite responses.
The Ultimate Linkup in Washington’s Stuart Range
After climbing more than 4,000 vertical feet of technical terrain up to 5.12 and hiking 20 miles in less than 24 hours, Blake Herrington and Jens Holsten recount their Ultimate Linkup in Washington’s Stuart Range.
In Memory of Charlie Porter (1951-2014)
“All his life, [Charlie Porter had] defied the odds on rock walls and oceans, from Yosemite to Antarctica. It seems improbable to imagine him knocking on the door of a hospital on the grid-square streets of Punta Arenas. Ashes in an urn, energy into dust….”
The Gloaming: Charlie Porter in Tierra del Fuego
“If you started climbing in the early 1970s, you couldn’t help being aware of the Porter phenomenon, the meteor that flashed so briefly across the climbing firmament only to vanish. I knew about the famous El Cap big-wall climbs with their evocative hippy names, and the legendary Mt. Asgard solo…But I met Charlie much later, completely out of context….”