![Keita Kurakami leads Hakuhatsuki, or Gray Haired Demon, (5.13d R) as a rope solo. After taking a groundfall attempting to redpoint the route as a rope solo, he decided to follow the crack all the way to the top of the cliff instead of ending at the bolt anchors. He named the extended route The Votive Light (5.13d/14a R). [Photo] Kenichi Moriyama](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/votive-light-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Keita Kurakami endures a ground fall before succeeding on the first ascent of another new trad route in Japan. He linked a previously existing 5.13d R called Hakuhatsuki (Gray Haired Demon), which ended at a bolted anchor, to the top of the cliff, calling the new route The Votive Light (5.13d/14a R).
![Brette Harrington leads an offwidth choked with ice and sugar snow in the vicinity of Pitch 9 on Riders on the Storm (VI 5.12d/5.13 A3, 1300m), Torre Central, Torres del Paine, Patagonia. She used a variety of tricks to make progress, including aid moves off her ice axes. [Photo] Drew Smith](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/riding-the-storm-5.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mayan Smith-Gobat returns to the Torres del Paine in Patagonia to attempt a complete free ascent of Riders on the Storm (VI 5.12d/5.13 A3, 1300m) on the Torre Central, which she came close to accomplishing with Ines Papert in 2016. This year the weather dashed all hopes for a complete ascent, but Smith-Gobat and Brette Harrington summoned all their reserves and went up the icy wall anyway. Here Smith-Gobat relates their journey inward, upward and downward.
![Rob Kepley on Dos Equis (5.10b), Cathedral Spires, South Platte, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/five-ten-quantum-1-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The Five Ten Quantum rock shoes were designed to be an all-around, high performance shoe. Chris Van Leuven tested them on slabs, cracks and steeps, and on a variety of rock types: he scampered up them all, and was so pleased he awarded the redesigned Quantums five stars.
![Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden's North Buttress route (ED+ 1600m) on Nyainqentangla South East. Their descent on the east ridge is marked in green. [Photo] Nick Bullock](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/british-alpinists-1.jpg?resize=768%2C620&ssl=1)
The Piolets d’Or jury is giving awards to two climbing teams this year for the 2016 first ascents on North Buttress of Nyainqentangla South East in Tibet by Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden of Britain, and the North Buttress of Thalay Sagar in the Indian Gangotri by Dmitry Golovchenko, Dmitry Grigoriev and Sergey Nilov of Russia. Honorable mentions go to the Korean team of Cho Seok-mun, Kim Chang-ho, and Park Joung-yong, and Americans Colin Haley and Alex Honnold. Jeff Lowe is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
![Barbara Zangerl carries a cam in her mouth to save energy for placing it during her greenpoint bid of Switzerland's Gondo Crack (5.14b R). The route was bolted 15 years ago and remained unclimbed until the end of March when Zangerl and her partner, Jacopo Larcher, did the first ascents using the bolts. In early April the two then sent the route using removable protection, skipping the bolts and risking huge falls from the crux. [Photo] Richard Felderer](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/gondo-crack-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher made the first ascents of Switzerland’s Gondo Crack (5.14b R) in early April. The 17-meter line was a 15-year project that thwarted more than one talented suitor, including British trad ace Tom Randall.
![Nathan Martinez and Steve Dilk sit atop North Six Shooter in Indian Creek, Utah, in 2013. The area is now included in Bears Ears National Monument. Canyonlands National Park is in the background. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/bears-ears-3.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
April is likely to be a pivotal time for the future of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is poised to visit the state soon and make a recommendation to President Donald Trump on whether to rescind the monument as Utah lawmakers are requesting. Meanwhile the Access Fund reports an uptick in political participation that seems to be having an effect on leaders in Washington. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz considers the context in which the monument was created.
![The author enjoys the Julbo Explorer 2.0 sunglasses on a backcountry ski run in Colorado. Mt. Sopris (12,966'), left, Capitol Peak (14,131') and other summits in the famous Elk Range are visible in the background. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/julbo-explorer-2-main-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Julbo sunglasses continue to stand the test of time and perform as well as ever with modern technology. The Explorer 2.0, which is complete with photochromic lenses that rarely fog up. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz would have awarded them a perfect five stars if it weren’t for one shortcoming. Four stars.
![For illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary in color, specs and corporeal dimension. [Image] Robin Earle](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/emperors-jacket-spoof-1-1.jpg?resize=500%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Fashion Editor Paula Rumpelshorts reviews the latest in alpine outerwear: the Emperor Jacket (so lightweight and breathable, you’ll hardly know it’s there).
![El Regalo de Mwono on the Central Tower, Torres del Paine, Patagonia (VI 5.13b, 1200m) was first climbed in the early 1990s by Paul Pritchard, Sean Smith, Noel Craine and Simon Yates and rated VI 5.10 A4. [Photo] Courtesy of Nico Favresse, Siebe Vanhee and Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/el-regalo-de-mwono-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Belgian climbers Nico Favresse, Siebe Vanhee and Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll managed to squeak out a 19-day free ascent of the 1200-meter route El Regalo de Mwono–originally VI 5.10 A4 when first climbed in 1991-’92, now 5.13b–on the Central Tower in the Torres del Paine, Patagonia. They had 15 days of rations. The climb is one of the hardest big wall free climbs in the Great Ranges.
![The author before a night at a large shelter outside Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. A roaring wood stove inside meant I could get a comfortable night's sleep with just a light synthetic jacket as my top layer. [Photo] Ryan Wichelns](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-hybrid-sleeping-bag-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Patagonia introduces a modern version of an old idea for an unconventional alpine sleeping bag–the Hybrid, which is intended to be used with an insulated jacket to avoid redundant layers and save precious space in your alpine kit. Ryan Wichelns awards it four stars.
