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Wendy Teichmann, Andrea Rankin, Gertrude Smith and Helen Butling assemble at camp as they prepare for an attempt on the unclimbed Mt. Saskatchewan in 1967. [Photo] Courtesy Andrea Rankin

1967: Summer on Mt. Saskatchewan

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Andrea Rankin recounts the women’s expedition to climb Mt. Saskatchewan in 1967, which was Canada’s centennial year. Rankin writes: “The Alpine Club of Canada coordinated with local and federal governments to organize the country’s largest-ever mountaineering endeavor, with more than 200 climbers attempting peaks in the Steele Glacier area, and 52 climbers attempting first ascents in the St. Elias Mountains.” Rankin’s team was one of four that was assigned to each of the thirteen unclimbed peaks in the Centennial Range.

The author linking moves on Magnetar (5.13d) at Rifle Mountain Park, Colorado, last May. [Photo] Karissa Frye

Lowa Rocket: climbing shoes made for heel/toe hooking

After extensive testing, Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz reports that the Lowa Rockets are best suited for toe- and heel-hooking, with a secure fit that ensures they won’t slide off the heel. Franz had trouble finding a size to fit his foot comfortably, however, and there is some bagginess over the top of the big toe. Three stars.

The north buttress of Mt. Kennedy as seen during the 1935 National Geographic Society Yukon Expedition. At the time, Bob Bates wrote that he hoped the peak would be called Mt. Washburn. It was known as East Hubbard until it was renamed for President Kennedy in 1965. In his years as director of the Boston Museum of Science, Washburn hung an enlarged version of this photograph on his office wall. [Photo] Bradford Washburn, Bradford Washburn collection, Museum of Science

1972: Rivers that Flow Back to Mountains

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Anna Chiburis documents some of the Indigenous cultures and stories associated with the St. Elias Range, specifically within the area of Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy. “Areas such as Wrangell-St. Elias were not an empty wilderness devoid of civilization,” she writes. “Indeed, the Tlingit had developed a culture that had layered their land with profound meaning.”