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  • Alpinist story receives Best Mountaineering Article Award at Banff Book Competition

    For the second year in a row, an Alpinist story has been selected for the Best Mountaineering Article Award in the Banff Mountain Book Competition. Alison Criscitiello’s story from Alpinist 59, titled “Contraindications,” was selected for the top prize in this category out of four finalists. “Contraindications,” is about Criscitiello’s close friend Anna Smith, who…

  • Japanese climbers complete a new route on Cerro Kishtwar’s northeast face

    Going light and fast during a short weather window, Japanese climbers Genki Narumi, Yusuke Sato and Hiroki Yamamoto squeaked in a new route on the northeast face of Cerro Kishtwar (6173m) in Himachal Pradesh, India, between September 20-25. They named their route All Izz Well (VI WI5 M6, 1500m).

  • Ride the Wind; Wind River Range, Wyoming

    In this On Belay story from Alpinist 63, Szu-ting Yi recounts an attempt she made with her husband Dave Anderson to traverse 100-plus miles of the Wind River Range while climbing all 43 of its peaks that rise along the Continental Divide (and that are named in 2015 USGS maps). What started as a whimsical…

  • Climbing Addicts Chalk Blends In

    A review of Climbing Addicts “Yosemite Gray” and “Wall Street Gold” Chalk prompts a treatise on climbing chalk by Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz. He found the camouflaged chalk to be as effective as anything else he’s used, and the grey and brown varieties blend in well with a range of rock types, including limestone,…

  • “As Above, So Below” uses fiction to explore the realities of risk and relationships

    About four years ago, Chris Kalman found himself struggling with heavy emotions while living with his girlfriend and her father who was dying of cancer. Kalman started writing what became a 103-page novella titled “As Above, So Below.” The fictional story weighs on matters of death, grief, risk and family relationships.

  • Two Alpinist stories selected for Notables List in Best American Sports Writing 2018

    Two Alpinist stories from 2017 are included on the Notables List for The Best American Sports Writing 2018: Claire Carter’s feature story “To Abandon” appeared in Alpinist 57 and “The Accidental Mountaineer” by Ana Beatriz Cholo appeared in The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 59.

  • The Giri-Giri Boys

    Ten years ago, in May 2008, an unassuming group of five Japanese climbers who jokingly dubbed themselves the Giri-Giri Boys caught the world’s attention for their bold and visionary enchainments in the Alaska Range. This story by Katsutaka Yokoyama about that expedition originally appeared in Alpinist 26 (Spring 2009), simply titled “The Giri-Giri Boys.”

  • Silences at Dawn

    In this Sharp End essay from Alpinist 63, Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives contemplates the varying meanings of awe as she delves into mountain darkness and solitude in search of peace.

  • Foehn Brise Pant: Warm, comfortable and highly functional

    Foehn is a new, small clothing company based in Quebec, Canada, that came on the market this year and has a touching backstory. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz tried the company’s flagship item, the Brise Pant, and found them to be well made for climbing and moving around in the mountains. Four stars.

  • Andres Marin makes a fast solo of Great Trango Tower after two other ascents with David Allfrey and Anna Pfaff

    Andres Marin recently capped a successful trip to Pakistan with teammates Anna Pfaff and David Allfrey by soloing the American Route on Great Trango Tower (6286m)–base camp (ca. 4000m) to base camp in less than 12 hours–on August 22 after he had climbed that route and Eternal Flame on Nameless Tower (6239m) with his partners…

  • “Honouring High Places”: A Lifetime of Exploring “Unforgiving Terrain”

    “Honouring High Places”–the final book authored by Junko Tabei, who died in 2016 at age 77 and was the first woman to summit Chomolungma (Everest)–is now available and is a finalist for a Banff Book award. Alpinist Assistant Editor Katherine Indermaur writes of the book: “Though there are many lessons to take away from Tabei’s…

  • An interview with Suman Dubey about his memories of the 1961 Indian expedition to Nanda Devi

    With Alpinist 63 and Part II of the Nanda Devi Mountain Profile now on newsstands, we bring you this interview with Suman Dubey, who became a member of the 1961 Indian expedition to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in India’s Garhwal Himalaya when he was an undergraduate student in Delhi. Nanda Devi is a sacred peak…

  • Two Alpinist stories are finalists for a Banff Mountain Book Competition article award

    The annual Banff Mountain Book Competition recently announced the nominees long-listed for recognition in several categories–out of the four articles under consideration for Best Mountaineering Article, two are from Alpinist: Alison Criscitiello’s story from Alpinist 59, titled “Contraindications,” and James Edward Mills’ story from Alpinist 60, “The Force of the Soul: Hugues Beauzile.”

  • Americans and Belgian make first ascents of two 6000m peaks in Pakistan

    In what proved to be a month of strikingly optimal weather, Americans Jess Roskelley and Kurt Ross teamed with Belgian Nelson Neirinck to explore climbs in the Kondus Valley of northeast Pakistan from July 15 to August 15. They completed new routes on a 5800-meter tower and two 6000-meter peaks, which were all previously unclimbed.

  • Safety Means More than a Good Belay

    American Alpine Club President Deanne Buck and Club CEO Phil Powers share their perspective as to why the results of a recent survey about sexual harassment and sexual assault within climbing communities should be taken seriously by everyone.

  • Out from the Shadows: Sexual Harassment and Assault in Climbing Communities

    From April 16 to July 4, in collaboration with other national climbing organizations and magazines, we undertook a survey on the topic of sexual harassment and assault in the climbing world. In this article we share some of the results.

  • The passing of two legends: Tom Frost and Jeff Lowe

    Yesterday, August 24, was a fateful day for the climbing world, as two of America’s greatest climbing legends and icons passed away–Tom Frost and Jeff Lowe. Frost died of cancer at a hospice center in Oakdale, California, and Lowe died several hours later in Colorado after suffering from a prolonged illness that has been described…

  • Tom Livingstone recounts the experience of climbing Latok I

    Tom Livingstone, Ales Cesen and Luka Strazar recently became the first climbers to summit Latok I (7145m) from the north side, climbing most of the fabled North Ridge before traversing to the south side of the mountain where they continued to the top. Upon returning home, Livingstone shared details about their ascent and what it…

  • Sea to Summit Ultralight Air Mat: For a good night’s sleep in the summer backcountry

    The Sea to Summit Ultralight Air Mat is a summer backcountry mattress that can pack down to the size of a large burrito and that inflates to provide 2 inches of air cushion. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz found it to be so comfortable he awarded it a perfect rating. Five stars.

  • Alaskans complete a 2,500-foot 5.11 route on Caliban in Arrigetch Peaks

    Gus Barber, Lang Van Dommelen and Chris Williams recently established a 2,500-foot first ascent of a Grade IV+ 5.11 on the east face of Caliban (ca. 6,400′) in Arrigetch Peaks in Gates of the Arctic National Park.

  • Remembering Tim Auger

    Tim Auger died on August 9, 2018, in Banff, Alberta, at age 72. The following story is an excerpt from a feature by Brandon Pullan titled “Homage” that appeared in Alpinist 42. Auger was an influential Canadian climber who served Parks Canada for approximately three decades. One of his most famous first ascents was the…

  • Latok I summited by a variation of the North Ridge

    After 40 years of thwarted attempts, the North Ridge of Latok I (7145m) has been climbed by Slovenian climbers Ales Cesen and Luka Strazar, and British climber Tom Livingstone.

  • A2: The Highest Mountain in the World (1819)

    In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 62, Stewart Weaver documents the early mapping of Nanda Devi and the initial belief that it was the highest mountain in the world.

  • A retrospective on the second winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, the heroic rescue and the logistical and financial challenges of helicopter operations in Pakistan

    Elisabeth Revol and Tomek Mackiewicz completed the second winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in alpine style on January 25, but they got into trouble on the descent as a storm was building. What unfolded over the next several days became a demonstration of heroism and solidarity in the international mountain community, as people from different…