Chasing the Ethereal on South Howser Tower
There are only a handful of days in a climber’s life where weather, conditions and partner line up like the planets aligning to create a rare event: a magical first ascent.
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Weekly Feature
Yosemite Hardwomen: An El Cap Speed Ascent Debrief
An interview with Valley speed climbers Quinn Brett, Libby Sauter and Mayan Smith-Gobat.
The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains
In 2006, Barry Blanchard wrote “The Calling” for Issue 15. In writing his new memoir, The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains, Blanchard used the Alpinist feature story as a springboard to continue exploring the climbs and partnerships that developed from his childhood musings growing up in Calgary.
Barbara Washburn: Accidentally Adventurous, Deliberately Brave
As a mother, wife, climber, cartographer and self-described “accidental adventurer,” Barbara Washburn was the antitheses of a ’40s housewife. “Sometimes [my] home would be in an igloo, at 12,000 feet, sharing Tang-flavored fig pudding with my husband; or as the lightest climber going first to test the cornices on a narrow exposed ridge; or staring out at summit views that no one else had seen.”
The Patagonia Climbing Season is Coming
As the austral summer approaches, videographer and climber Tad McCrea reminisces about climbing seasons past and offers a bit of advice to climbers everywhere: “[S]cour the interwebs for cheap airfare, unearth your passports, patch your gear and pack your bags.”
Amazing Grace: A Tribute to Brian Delaney
Patrick Horne remembers his friend Brian Delaney, a New England climber who transformed his ambling gait into graceful movement whenever he touched rock.
The Sunlit Ledge
A regular illustrator for our print magazine, Jamie Givens advises how to begin the monumental task of following your dreams. “Start with what you love,” he says. “Most people don’t realize that the knowledge they have about something that they are passionate about, the years spent memorizing information, physical skills developed, expertise, is all a marketable commodity.”
Surviving the Best Pitch in the Pickets
Blake Herrington adds his own saga to the story of Picket Range climbing.
Early Season in the Mt. Blanc Massif: A Photo Gallery
Fred Degoulet and Benjamin Guigonnet lead the charge into a promising winter season in the Mont Blanc massif, and come back with photos.
Lessons from 40 Years of Accidents: An Interview with Jed Williamson
Jed Williamson is retiring after four decades as the editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering. Having dedicated some 5,000 hours to the journal, he may know more about North America’s climbing accidents than anyone else on the continent.