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Ichimura and Yokoyama at the end of Day 6 on the upper pitches of the Slovak Direct. [Photo] Yusuke Sato

The Giri-Giri Boys

Ten years ago, in May 2008, an unassuming group of five Japanese climbers who jokingly dubbed themselves the Giri-Giri Boys caught the world’s attention for their bold and visionary enchainments in the Alaska Range. This story by Katsutaka Yokoyama about that expedition originally appeared in Alpinist 26 (Spring 2009), simply titled “The Giri-Giri Boys.”

Morning view of Trisul (7120m), Nanda Devi (7816m) and Nanda Kot (6861m), from Kaser Devi in the Garhwal Himalaya of India. [Photo] Coni Horler

Silences at Dawn

In this Sharp End essay from Alpinist 63, Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives contemplates the varying meanings of awe as she delves into mountain darkness and solitude in search of peace.

Honouring High Places: The Mountain Life of Junko Tabei by Junko Tabei and Helen Y. Rolfe, translated by Yumiko Hiraki and Rieko Holtved. Rocky Mountain Books, 2017. Hardcover, 396 pages, $32.

“Honouring High Places”: A Lifetime of Exploring “Unforgiving Terrain”

“Honouring High Places”–the final book authored by Junko Tabei, who died in 2016 at age 77 and was the first woman to summit Chomolungma (Everest)–is now available and is a finalist for a Banff Book award. Alpinist Assistant Editor Katherine Indermaur writes of the book: “Though there are many lessons to take away from Tabei’s life, perhaps the most important is not just how and what she climbed, but also how and what she accomplished as a mountaineer when she wasn’t climbing….”

A view of Nanda Devi (7816m) from snow camp on Devistan I (6678m) at about 6100 meters. [Photo] Suman Dubey collection

An interview with Suman Dubey about his memories of the 1961 Indian expedition to Nanda Devi

With Alpinist 63 and Part II of the Nanda Devi Mountain Profile now on newsstands, we bring you this interview with Suman Dubey, who became a member of the 1961 Indian expedition to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in India’s Garhwal Himalaya when he was an undergraduate student in Delhi. Nanda Devi is a sacred peak significant to locals for embodying Hindu Goddess Nanda, and a difficult one for mountaineers due to its being surrounded by a ring of high peaks that make up the Sanctuary’s border.

[Photo] Derek Franz collection

Safety Means More than a Good Belay

American Alpine Club President Deanne Buck and Club CEO Phil Powers share their perspective as to why the results of a recent survey about sexual harassment and sexual assault within climbing communities should be taken seriously by everyone.

Tim Auger as a young man. [Photo] Gord Irwin

Remembering Tim Auger

Tim Auger died on August 9, 2018, in Banff, Alberta, at age 72. The following story is an excerpt from a feature by Brandon Pullan titled “Homage” that appeared in Alpinist 42. Auger was an influential Canadian climber who served Parks Canada for approximately three decades. One of his most famous first ascents was the University Wall on the Chief at Squamish with Dan Tate, Glenn Woodsworth and Hamish Mutch in 1965-66.

The Askari Aviation helicopter landing on Nanga Parbat. [Photo] Courtesy of Denis Urubko

A retrospective on the second winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, the heroic rescue and the logistical and financial challenges of helicopter operations in Pakistan

Elisabeth Revol and Tomek Mackiewicz completed the second winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in alpine style on January 25, but they got into trouble on the descent as a storm was building. What unfolded over the next several days became a demonstration of heroism and solidarity in the international mountain community, as people from different nations worked together to try to help the stranded climbers. It also raised questions about modern rescues in remote mountains–about the limits of possibilities; about best practices in a digital and increasingly technological age; and about disparities between which groups of people receive the most help.

End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood by Jan Redford. Counterpoint Press, 2018. Hardcover, 344 pages, $26.00.

‘End of the Rope’: Courage and Humor on the Cliffs and on the Ground

Jan Redford’s new memoir, “End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood,” takes the reader on her journey of rebelling against her family and society’s expectations, navigating relationships and loss on her own terms and pursuing the potential she knows she has despite obstacles. It’s the work of a vulnerable and hard-earned courage, open to trial and error on a climb as well as on the ground.