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Laura Tiefenthaler smiles during her solo ascent of the Eiger North Face on March 25.

Laura Tiefenthaler Solos the Eiger North Face

On March 25, 2022, in an impressive 15-hour push, the 25-year-old Austrian Laura Tiefenthaler became the second known woman to solo the Heckmair Route on the Eiger-and thus the second known woman to solo the iconic Eiger North Face–thirty years after Catherine Destivelle’s historic solo of the route. (Two other women, Alison Hargreaves and Evelyne Binsack soloed the nearby Northeast Face by the Lauper Route during the 1990s.)

The Carpathian mountains, where Ivan Malkovych grew up.

I Gaze at My Mountains

In “I Gaze at My Mountains” (translated by Mark Andryczyk and Yaryna Yakubyak), a Ukrainian poet and children’s book publisher, Ivan Malkovych, evokes the intense significance of the Carpathian mountains, where he grew up–and where tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have fled during the ongoing Russian invasion of their country. We are republishing the poem here, along with links with lists of some of the many ways to help Ukrainians.

Climbers follow the aptly named route Beongae (5.10d, 123m) on Ulsanbawi, Seoraksan National Park, South Korea. [Photo] Choi Suk-mun

Haunted by Venus

For more than two decades, Choi Suk-mun has climbed around the world, including first ascents on giant Himalayan peaks; yet he remains haunted by a five-pitch rock route back home in South Korea.

Olympic silver medalist Nathaniel Coleman climbs Wrist Rocket (V9), his favorite route in Little Cottonwood Canyon, which would be impacted by the proposed tram or expanded bus lanes that are being considered by the Utah Department of Transportation as preferred alternatives for future transit in the narrow canyon. [Photo] Tim Behuniak

Climbers rally against proposed tramway and expanded bus lanes in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon

A big decision that was anticipated to be made this April has been pushed back to summer after the continued outpouring of comments regarding the future of Little Cottonwood Canyon just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The decision facing the Utah Department of Transportation is whether to proceed with one of two plans: build a massive tramway along the length of the canyon to serve the ski areas, or widen the road for expanded bus service. The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and other groups say those plans are too focused on the ski resorts during the winter and that there are other options that would better preserve the climbing and access to other parts of the canyon while protecting the natural environment and beauty of the area.

Carlo Traversi places protection on Magic Line (5.14c), Yosemite Valley. [Photo] Christian Adam / Black Diamond

Carlo Traversi is first to have sent both Magic Line and Meltdown (5.14c) in Yosemite

Carlo Traversi has once again proven himself as one of the best all-around rock climbers in the world, with his recent redpoint of Yosemite’s Magic Line (5.14c) on February 27. Traversi is the fourth person to send the route, and the third to do it placing all the thin gear on lead. This ascent also makes him the only person to have sent both Magic Line and Meltdown, another thin crack in Yosemite (first climbed by Beth Rodden in 2008) that has earned the grade of 5.14c.

Katie Ives, on the North Face (the common name for the northwest face) of Gothics, Adirondacks. [Photo] Kevin B. MacKenzie

Of Thin Ice

In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 77–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives looks back on autumn climbs and ponders the allure and haunting symbolism of early season ice.