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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.

Janusz Klarner arrives on the summit snowfield of Nanda Devi East in 1939. Nanda Kot is visible in the background. [Photo] Jakub Bujak collection

1939: The Eye of the Storm

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 62, Julia Pulwicki translates Janusz Klarner’s account of the first ascent of Nanda Devi East in 1939 by Klarner’s Polish team. This essay is part of an extensive two-part feature by Pete Takeda that includes other essays by various authors as well as this one.

Yasushi Yamanoi after a climb of Heaven (5.12d), Yosemite, in 2012; the missing digits were amputated a decade prior, after an expedition to Gyachung Kang (7952m). [Photo] Ryota Kumagai

To Look the Bear in the Eye; The Life of Yasushi Yamanoi

In this story from Alpinist 62, Sartaj Ghuman chronicles the adventures of Yasushi Yamanoi. At 53 years old, Yamanoi has survived multiple epics in the mountains. He remains a talented climber despite lost fingers and toes, broken teeth and bones and other severe injuries. He is on the long list for the 2018 Piolets d’Or for a first ascent he did last year with Takaaki Furuhata of a 5970-meter peak in India’s Zanskar Range. Ghuman was their liaison officer and, after meeting Yamanoi, he wanted to write about the low-key man who has been making significant high-altitude first ascents for decades–in pure alpine style.

Sunny Stroeer on Aconcagua (6962m). [Photo] Sunny Stroeer collection

Full Circle: how and why Sunny Stroeer became the first woman (and third person) to finish Aconcagua’s 360 Route in a solo push

Sunny Stroeer became the first woman (and third person) to complete Aconcagua’s 360 Route in a solo push last February. For this story, Emma Murray asked Stroeer how she went from being a student who rarely ventured outside town–even when Stroeer lived in Switzerland’s “outdoor capital of the world”–to an ambitious outdoor athlete, and what motivates her to keep pushing her limits.

Kim's early days in the North Cascades. [Photo] Thomas Matthiesen collection

A dusty box of golden memories: photos from the life of Kim Schmitz (1946-2016)

Savannah Cummins befriended the legendary alpinist Kim Schmitz in recent years when they were living in Jackson, Wyoming. Schmitz gave Cummins a box of old photos shortly before he died in a one-car accident in September 2016 at age 70. Rick Ridgeway, John Roskelley and Jack Tackle assisted in identifying some of the images, and in honor of Kim’s memory, we share some of his collection with you now.

Twin Peaks, Doug Peak, and Sawtooth Peak rise amid the peaks of the Wal'wa-maXs. [Photo] Joe Whittle

Adventures on the Turtle’s Back

In this story from Alpinist 62, “Adventures on the Turtle’s Back,” Joe Whittle, an enrolled tribal member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and a descendent of the Delaware Nation, spends time in canyons and mountains that Indigenous people call home. Kanim Moses-Conner, Bobby Fossek, Len Necefer, Mia Ritter-Whittle and Brosnan Spencer join him on a shared journey to connect with the land and their Native American heritage in the Wal’wa-maXs, Oregon.