Desert Visions
Left to Right: Bryan Becker, Ed Webster, Brian Shelton and Stewart M. Green at the base of Supercrack in 2008. [Photo] Stewart M. Green collection
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Weekly Feature
Three Years for Seven Days on Jannu
Alan Rousseau shares the story of the first alpine-style ascent of Jannu’s north face, by a new route, Roundtrip Ticket (AI5+ M7, 2700m), with Jackson Marvell and Matt Cornell in October 2023.
Into the Darkness We Go
With her friend Eliza Earle, Sara Aranda heads into the Wind River Range of Wyoming to watch the solar eclipse of 2017—and finds herself journeying into the darkness beneath existence itself.
Playing his own game: An Interview with Edmund February about coming of age as a climber during South Africa’s apartheid
Edmund February found success in both the mountains and academia despite being a climber of color during South Africa’s apartheid. In this story from Alpinist 85, Brandon Blackburn interviews February about how he overcame racist norms to pursue his passions, always playing his own game.
Onward & Upward: A century of women climbing in the Tetons
In late 2022, I learned that The Teton Climbers’ Coalition would be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first female ascent of the Grand Teton the next year, and they were looking for suggestions on how to engage the community. This sparked the nugget of an idea in my storyteller’s brain—I could help mark this full century of women climbing in the Tetons while sharing my own love of these mountains with a wider audience. The history of climbing here feels like a living, breathing one, where friends and neighbors I see at the trailhead and the grocery store have played a part in shaping its past, present and future. Since the start of 2023 I interviewed nine women who have climbed in the Tetons from the 1950s up until today. Their stories are varied—some have notched superlatives, while others have quietly climbed these peaks without getting their names in the history books.
![A fixed piton offers a lone spot of protection for Nik Berry and Hayden Kennedy on the notoriously spicy Hallucinogen Wall in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, 2014. [Photo] Andrew Burr](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a83-sharp-end-1-2.jpg?resize=800%2C620&ssl=1)
Climbing in Wilderness
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 83–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz examines the legal landscape and uncertain future for bolts and other fixed anchors that have been used for climbing in designated wilderness areas for nearly sixty years. Legislation such as Protect America’s Rock Climbing Act and America’s Outdoor Recreation Act is necessary, he argues, because “climbing’s place within the law is not, shall we say, fixed.”
Power on the Peaks
In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 81–which is available in our online store–Shehla Anjum shares stories from some of the Pakistani women finding their power amid the country’s high peaks.
Contemplating the Next Impossible
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 82–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz considers some of the hardest objectives for today’s alpinists. He writes: “When it comes to the physical limits of the human body, we are constantly wondering what is possible: What is the fastest a human can run, the highest someone can jump?… There will always be those who wonder: What is the limit of human ability on high peaks and technical faces?”
![Tom Hornbein in 2011. [Photo] Claudia Camila Lopez](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tom-hornbein-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
What’s Past is Prologue: Tom Hornbein’s Winding Road to Chomolungma
To honor the life of Tom Hornbein, who died on May 6, 2023, at his home in Estes Park, Colorado, at age 92, we are sharing this feature story from Alpinist 73 (2021) by mountaineering historian Maurice Isserman. Hornbein was one of America’s greatest climbers, best known for completing the first ascent of Mt. Everest’s West Ridge with Willi Unsoeld in 1963. He also earned distinction in his long career as an anesthesiologist and advanced research on the effects of altitude on the human body. The American Alpine Club awarded him the AAC President’s Gold Medal twice and bestowed him with an honorary membership and special recognition for service to the club. In this story, Isserman interviews Hornbein about the youthful adventures that led him to the world’s highest peak and the meanings that he still sought in the mountains at age 90.
![Reinhold Messner holds the Maestri bolts from Cerro Torre that were given to him in Aspen, Colorado, on November 23, 2022. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a81-sharp-end-1.jpeg?resize=830%2C620&ssl=1)
Between safety and boldness
In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 81–which is now on newsstands and in our online store–Derek Franz seeks a balance between safety and boldness. He writes: “Climbing…is full of duality, encompassing a range of contradictory values…. There is a continual tightrope walk between the opposing values of safety and boldness, and the search for optimal balance between the two has always shaped the evolution of our pastime. Questions that seem to have been settled at various times in the past reemerge. There is now a fast-growing population of climbers, with increasing numbers of them going into the mountains strong from gym training but short on outdoor experience. The mindset in which people approach the wild places is changing, and the duality of our values is becoming more pronounced.”