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  • The Unclimbed

    In this story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Ana Beatriz Cholo faces a difficult choice: Following an unexpected cancer diagnosis, she must decide if she is willing to forgo her long-dreamed-of expedition to Denali to reunite with her estranged father. She…

  • Peak Refuel Meals: setting a high bar for freeze-dried food

    Clint Helander recently discovered a new personal standard when it comes to freeze-dried food. In this review he explains why Peak Refuel meals are in a different category from other backcountry food products that he has tried over the last 20 years. Five stars.

  • David Guterson’s book “Turn Around Time” applies mountaineering themes to youth, aging

    Sarah Boon reports that David Guterson’s new book Turn Around Time applies the mountaineering concept as “a metaphor for life.” The book-length series of prose poems cover “the themes of youth, aging and compassion for the elderly,” Boon writes. “It also investigates the boundaries between reality and myth, and common sense and imagination in the…

  • Two Alpinist stories receive honorable mentions in Best American anthologies

    Two stories from Alpinist 62 (2018) have been selected for the “Notables Lists” for Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing, respectively: Sara Ann Aranda’s Full Value story, “Into Darkness We Go,” and Joe Whittle’s Wired story, “Adventures on the Turtle’s Back.”

  • Unparallel Up Lace: A new company presents a new take on a familiar shoe

    Chris Kalman checks out a little-known shoe company named Unparallel that makes climbing shoes eerily similar to the well-known designs made by Five Ten. He found that even Unparallel’s proprietary rubber is similar to the famous Stealth C4 rubber that Kalman has loved for many years. The fit and sizing of the Up Lace felt…

  • American Alpine Club CEO Phil Powers to step down in summer 2020

    American Alpine Club CEO Phil Powers announced yesterday, October 1, that he plans to retire after 14 years. He will remain CEO until this winter, then he will step back and continue working with the organization as a senior advisor until next summer. The goal is to transition to new leadership by summer 2020.

  • Alpinist 67 Mountain Profile Essays | Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy

    Read the essays from our Mountain Profile about Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy in the St. Elias Range of Alaska and Canada.

  • 1998: The Pugilist at Rest

    In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Barry Blanchard relives a couple of new routes that he explored with Mark Wilford in 1998 on Mt. Alverstone in the St. Elias Range. He recalls one particular moment: “I lay raw and exhausted, shouldered to…

  • 1996: The Wall of Arctic Discipline

    In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Jack Tackle writes about his time on the north face and north ridge of Mt. Kennedy, which culminated in a freezing epic with Jack Roberts in 1996 when they lost a crampon and spent nine days…

  • Lowa Rocket: climbing shoes made for heel/toe hooking

    After extensive testing, Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz reports that the Lowa Rockets are best suited for toe- and heel-hooking, with a secure fit that ensures they won’t slide off the heel. Franz had trouble finding a size to fit his foot comfortably, however, and there is some bagginess over the top of the big…

  • 1967: Summer on Mt. Saskatchewan

    In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Andrea Rankin recounts the women’s expedition to climb Mt. Saskatchewan in 1967, which was Canada’s centennial year. Rankin writes: “The Alpine Club of Canada coordinated with local and federal governments to organize the country’s largest-ever mountaineering…

  • 1972: Rivers that Flow Back to Mountains

    In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Anna Chiburis documents some of the Indigenous cultures and stories associated with the St. Elias Range, specifically within the area of Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy. “Areas such as Wrangell-St. Elias were not an…

  • The Shadow’s Edge

    In this feature from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Claire Giordano shares stories and paintings that depict her search for hope in an era of melting ice, endangered glaciers and climate crises. After recovering from a severe childhood illness, she grew up to become a mountaineer and…

  • Human Dimensions of Climate Change in the Himalaya: An interview with anthropologist Pasang Yangjee Sherpa

    Alpinist Managing Editor Paula Wright interviewed Pasang Yangjee Sherpa for the Alpinist Podcast in 2017 and followed up with her again this month. Born in Kathmandu, Yangjee Sherpa is an anthropologist who specializes in the human dimensions of climate change in the Himalaya. She says that “mountaineers are really well equipped to be advocates for…

  • Climbers join activists worldwide in demand for action on climate crisis

    Climbers and activists are meeting this week in Washington, DC, to lobby Congress on a host of issues, including the climate crisis, energy development and leasing reform, recreation access and enhancement, and public land management agency funding, in addition to recreation and conservation land designations such as the ongoing legal battle over national monuments that…

  • Mystery Ranch Scepter 50: a comfortable pack for hauling loads in the mountains

    Whitney Clark tested the Mystery Ranch Scepter 50 backpack in Patagonia and in the Sierra Nevada Range. She reports that the pack provides a comfortable suspension system and is great for hauling loads. “I think that the Scepter 50 does really well if you have just the perfect amount of gear, but it does not…

  • Jean (Jene) Crenshaw, cofounder of Summit magazine, dies at 95

    Jean (Jene) Crenshaw–the cofounder of Summit magazine, the first monthly publication dedicated to climbing in the US–died September 2 in Big Bear, California, at age 95. She was preceded in death by her close friend and Summit cofounder Helen Kilness, who died at age 96 in 2018.

  • Two Alpinist stories included on the longlist for Banff Mountain Book Competition; Boardman Tasker shortlist also announced

    Two stories from Alpinist 66 are on the longlist for Best Mountaineering Article in the 2019 Banff competition: “13 Feet Under” By Jayme Moye, and “Magic Line,” by Lonnie Kauk with Paula Wright. The shortlist for the Boardman Tasker Award is also announced.

  • Scarpa Maestro Mid: A worthy all-around shoe that rivals the TC Pro

    Chris Kalman put the Scarpa Maestro Mid through the paces on different styles of climbs to see how they compared to his La Sportiva TC Pros, which have set the standard for this type of shoe for several years. Kalman notes some differences between the shoes, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and concludes…

  • Friends complete Hayden Kennedy’s vision on Mt. Hooker: Gambling in the Winds (V 5.12+)

    In 2015, Hayden Kennedy and Whit Magro spent a week in Wyoming’s Wind River Range establishing a route over new terrain over halfway up the northeast face of Mt. Hooker. On the last day of their trip, they free climbed to Der Minor Ledge, 800 feet from the top of the wall, where they traversed…

  • Sea to Summit Alpha Pot Cookset 2.1: Light, compact, self-contained and user friendly

    Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz tested the Sea to Summit Alpha Pot Cookset and awarded it five stars for its “lightweight, compact, self-contained and user friendly” design.

  • Simon Richardson and Ian Welsted complete first ascent of Waddington’s West Ridge

    On August 3-7, the Scottish alpinist Simon Richardson and Canadian alpinist Ian Welsted made what is likely the first complete ascent of the West Ridge of Mt. Waddington in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and possibly the first traverse of the mountain (from Fury Gap to Rainy Knob) as well. “The crenellated upper west…

  • Benjamin Billet and John Kelley complete first ascent of Chhopa Bamare (6109m)

    This past winter, from February 9 through March 3, Benjamin Billet, of France, and John Kelley, of Alaska, completed the first ascent of Chhopa Bamare (6109m) in Nepal. They summited on February 28 and named their route Seto Hi’um (TD: M4 WI4 1150m), which translates as “white snow” in Nepali. Kelley had made two previous…

  • Fall during ski descent on Gasherbrum VII results in dramatic rescue from 6300m

    On July 20 Cala Cimenti, of Italy, became the first person to stand on top of 6955-meter Gasherbrum VII. Cimenti’s elation, however, was soon cut short. His partner Francesco Cassardo–who had decided not to continue to the top in order to save strength for their ski descent–was injured in a massive fall shortly after putting…