At a time when the American climbing population is becoming increasingly diverse, Georgie Abel examines the extent to which current instructional climbing books represent people of different genders and races.
![[Illustration] Jeremy Collins](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a54-pemako-1-scaled.jpg?resize=887%2C620&ssl=1)
In this story that first appeared in Alpinist 54 as part of a series titled “A History of Imaginary Mountains,” Harish Kapadia recalls a journey inward while visiting a mystical Himalayan land known as Pemako. Kapadia, 72, received the 2017 Piolets d’Or-Asia Lifetime Achievement Award on November 3 in Seoul, Korea. He is the first Indian to receive the recognition.
![The Arjuna Group seen from the southwest. (1) Polish route (Barszczewski-Dasal-Skierski, 1983) up the central pillar of the west face. (2) All or Nothing (Cesen-Novak-Prezelj, 2017). Both the 1983 and 2017 routes lead to the main summit. (3) The west face of the south summit (Bender-Piasecki, 1983). This summit was first climbed by Poles in 1981 (Bartos-Otreba-Puzyrewski) up the broad couloir to the right of the west face and then the southeast ridge (approximately the right skyline) to the summit. [Photo] Marko Prezelj](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aaj-arjuna-report-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, Urban Novak reports on two new routes that he established with Marko Prezelj and Ales Cesen this past June. They acclimatized with a Grade ‘D’ route on Peak 6013, and then got lucky with a weather window that allowed them to complete their main objective, the west face of Arjuna (ca. 6250m). They named their route All or Nothing (ED+ M7+ WI5+ A0).
![Paul Ramsden descends the east ridge of Nyainqentanglha Southeast (7046m) in Tibet after completing the first ascent of the peak via the North Buttress with Nick Bullock in 2016. [Photo] Nick Bullock](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/threshold-shift-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Nick Bullock recounts his first ascent of the North Buttress of Nyainqentanglha Southeast in Tibet with Paul Ramsden in 2016, and his subsequent return from Tibet to England to help his aging father. Back home, Bullock confronts the death of his mother, the loss of climbing friends and the uncertainties of Brexit. This story first appeared in Alpinist 57 and was recently named the best Mountaineering Article of the year at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.
![Hayden Kennedy and Inge Perkins [Photo] Inge Perkins collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hayden-inge-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz recounts memories of the lives of his friends Hayden Kennedy and Inge Perkins after their recent deaths in Montana.
![Hayden Kennedy, Marko Prezelj and Manu Pellissier descend into shadows after the first ascent of Light Before Wisdom. [Photo] Urban Novak](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hk-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
“Light Before Wisdom”: In this article from Alpinist 54, Hayden Kennedy shared moments of laughter and uncertainty from his 2015 ascent of the east face of Cerro Kishtwar with Marko Prezelj, Urban Novak and Manu Pellissier.
![Franek Knez on the first ascent of Hudieva Zajeda/Diedro del Diablo (5.10 A2 90 degrees, 900m), Fitz Roy (3405m), with Silvo Karo and Janez Jegli in 1983. [Photo] Silvo Karo](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/knez-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
On October 6, Slovenian alpinist Francek Knez passed away. During the course of his lifetime, Knez completed over 5,000 international climbs, including the first ascent of Hell’s Direttissima on the east face of Cerro Torre. Bernadette McDonald profiled the visionary and reclusive mountaineer in Alpinist 52: “He seemed to draw energy from the natural landscape, tending his soul and feeding his imagination. Or maybe he garnered strength, not from the landscape, but from his inner core.”
![The HEAT group doing what they love—Hiking Every Available Trail. [Photo] Teresa Baker](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/changing-faces-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
As she recalls her own experiences as a woman of color who enjoys the outdoors, Teresa Baker interviews members of various organizations who strive to help a wider range of people experience the mountains, forests and cliffs–not just the typical faces most often seen in media and ad campaigns. “By coming together to create a more inclusive industry,” she points out, “we can better guard against the threats to the environment that affect not only outdoor recreation, but our communities as a whole.”
![Anna Smith climbs High Plains Drifter (5.11c, 2 pitches) on the granitic Third Peak of the Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia. [Photo] John Price](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/alp59-contraindications-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this story from Alpinist 59, Alison Criscitiello recalls her friendship with the late Anna Smith, a climber who sought a life of spontaneity and freedom in wild places.
![Khumjungar Himal (a.k.a. Khamjung, 6759m), one of the highest peaks of the Damodar, seen to the north from the approach up the Labse Khola towards the Teri La. This south-facing aspect of the mountain has not been attempted. [Photo] Paulo Grobel](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aaj-unclimbed-nepal-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, French guide Paulo Grobel reports on his explorations of Nepal’s Damodar Himal, north of the Annapurna group, and the first ascent of a subpeak of Himlung Himal, a popular 7,000er north of Manaslu. This story provides a sneak-peak from the 2018 AAJ.
