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Lungaretse (5870m). [Photo] Camilo Lopez

On Belay: Unattached

In this On Belay article from Alpinist 57, Anna Pfaff describes her adventures as she becomes “unattached” from maps, expectations and conventions and learns to find her own way into some of the unknown realms beyond.

[Image] Richard T. Walker. the fallibility of intent #1, 2015; cut-out archival pigment print; 32 x 48 in. Walker's work teeters between the humorous and melancholic, juxtaposing the sublime with what it means to be imperfect and ultimately human, wrote Amy Owen in a California Gatehouse Gallery brochure. Courtesy, Richard T. Walker

Off Belay: Beyond Conquest

In this excerpt from Alpinist 57 Mailee Hung explores artwork by Richard T. Walker that “casts unease on traditional aspirations” and helps us consider “how to describe the aesthetic experience of climbing beyond this inherited legacy” of alpinists as conquerors.

Loulou Boulaz. In the 1930s, Boulaz was “the only woman in the race for the big north faces,” historian Rainer Rettner writes. “She was met with a lot of distrust by men.” [Photo] Sallie Greenwood

Local Hero: Loulou Boulaz

During the 1930s, one woman joined the race to climb the feared north faces of the Alps, venturing into terrain then believed to be reserved for only the boldest (and some claimed the most reckless) men. In this Local Hero from Alpinist 57, Sallie Greenwood looks back on the extraordinary, often-forgotten life of Swiss alpinist Louise “Loulou” Boulaz.

The north face of Kumbhakarna, above local settlements. Some names of local expedition workers are absent from written records. For a few in this article--Penuri, Ungati and Tumba--where we couldn't find other sources, we relied on climbers' memories, and it's possible the real names might be different. [Photo] Javier Camacho Gimeno

2017: Ghunsa

Local guide Dawa Sherpa describes what it’s like to live and work near the base of Jannu/Kumbhakarna–a mountain sacred to his culture.

Valery Babanov on the alpine-style first ascent of the West Pillar (aka: "Magic Pillar"), with Sergey Kofanov, in 2007

2007: Open

Russian alpinist Sergey Kofanov recounts his 2007 encounter with the “cosmic cold” shoulder of Jannu, when he and Valery Babanov made the first ascent of the West Pillar in alpine style.

A photo of Manhattan from the author. On the connection between the landscapes of the wild and Manhattan, Brown writes, I remember the poet John Haines looking at me like I was crazy when I told him I was leaving Homer to move to a big urban jungle. He shuddered and said, 'I don't know how you can do that.' But what Alaska and Manhattan had in common was, again, a kind of intensity. And the same river running through them both. [Photo] Chip Brown

Poetry Feature: Chip Brown

In an Alpinist exclusive poetry feature, award-winning outdoor writer Chip Brown imagines the landscape of the Yukon within the sounds of the city, and in an interview he reflects on the connection between climbing and poetry.

Shomi Suzuki atop Kumbhakarna in 1976. [Photo] Naoe Sakashita

1976-2016: Jannu Remembrances

The great Japanese mountaineer Naoe Sakashita looks back on the first complete ascent of the north face of Jannu / Kumbhakarna to the summit of the 7710-meter Himalayan peak, and on his friendship with teammate Nobu-yuki Ogawa.

Kiwi climbers Lynn Crawford and Ian Jowett below the high camp in 1975.

1975: New Zealand Expedition Jannu North Face

In 1975 New Zealand climber Graeme Dingle joined an expedition to the legendary Wall of Shadows on Jannu / Kumbhakarna, a 7710-meter peak in Nepal. High on the mountain, he looked up at an immense ice formation that seemed about to collapse. “You can’t tell me those cliffs are safe,” he said. “This is as far as I’m going.”