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Sterling WorkPro: A static rope that is supple with a high strength-to-weight ratio
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz recently used the Sterling WorkPro static line to haul a 100-pound bag on his first solo big wall. The WorkPro was supple, strong and durable–everything you’d want from a static rope. Five stars.
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The Raven at the Door
In this Full Value story from Alpinist 60, David Stevenson gets caught in a storm returning from a hut trip in Alaska and suffers a heart attack, forcing him and his partner to spend a cold night in a shallow snow cave. In the aftermath he discovers a new significance to a haunting experience that…
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Black Diamond ATC Pilot: A solid one trick pony
Chris Van Leuven used the Black Diamond ATC Pilot to catch gear-ripping falls and liked its simple design and smooth rope handling so well that it became his go-to belay device for single-pitch cragging. Five stars.
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Still Distant Temple: Zoroaster, Grand Canyon
In this On Belay story that first appeared in Alpinist 60, Jeff Snyder writes of completing a first free ascent of the Southeast Face of Zoroaster Temple (III 5.11+ R, 520′) in the Grand Canyon with Zach Harrison and Blake McCord. The climbing was dangerous and crumbly in a hot desert, but Snyder discovers an…
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Strange Days: A look back on the previous 11 months surrounding Bears Ears National Monument and a glance at the future
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz documents the 11-month saga over Bears Ears National Monument, which was recently reduced by 85 percent of its original size by President Donald Trump, along with Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument, which was reduced by half of its 1.9 million acres. A series of lawsuits that are expected to reach the US…
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Mountain Equipment Xeros 7-degree F down sleeping bag: Among the best in its class
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz used the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down bag in warm, sweaty conditions as well as cold, wet ones, and the bag kept him remarkably dry and comfortably warm. “I have never experienced a more efficient sleeping bag,” he reports. Five stars.
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Larcher and Zangerl make a rare free ascent of El Cap’s Magic Mushroom (5.14a) at the end of another busy season for the Big Stone
It’s been another productive season for climbers on El Capitan: Jacopo Larcher and Barbara Zangerl made a rare free ascent of Magic Mushroom (VI 5.14a, 2,900′) on El Capitan, topping out on December 10 after an 11-day push from the ground. Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds set a new speed record on the Nose on…
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Innovative Approach: Using paragliders to attempt high peaks in Nepal’s Langtang Himal
In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, Antoine Girard documents an experiment that utilized paragliders to approach peaks in Nepal’s Langtang Himal that tend to be inaccessible because of difficult approaches or objective hazards. Girard and his partner, Julien Dusserre, landed at 6200 meters on Shalbachum (6707m), where they planned to climb alpine-style…
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National legal fight begins after Trump alters Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Monuments by more than half
On December 4, President Donald Trump signed two proclamations to shrink Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments by more than half of their current acreage. Changes to other monuments are expected to come, and a handful of lawsuits have been filed in response to Trump’s action since December 4.
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Sterling Fusion Nano IX: A versatile rope that is light and dry
Whitney Clark takes the Sterling Fusion Nano IX along for some rugged granite adventures in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 9mm rope can be used as a thick half-rope or a skinny single rope, and features Sterling’s new DryXP treatment, which exceeds the UIAA certification of less than 5 percent water absorption, keeping…
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La Meije Mountain Profile: An interview with author Erin Smart
Alpinist 60 completes our two-part Mountain Profile of la Meije–a mountain often referred to as the Matterhorn of the Dauphine Alps. In this article, we interview Erin Smart, the author of the Mountain Profile, about the process and the quirky stories she encountered from the mountain’s slopes.
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Vanishing Uplands
Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives recounts the lives of Austin Post and Edward LaChapelle and their contributions to the study of glaciers and snow, including their influential 1971 book Glacier Ice, which contained words that now read like early warnings of the impacts of climate change: “Much of modern civilization exists by virtue of a delicate…
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Trump heading to Utah and is expected to reduce size of two national monuments
President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday, Dec. 4, and he is expected to announce plans to slash the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is organizing rallies at the Utah capitol on Saturday, Dec. 2, and Monday, Dec. 4, to…
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Niels Tietze Remembered
Libby Sauter reflects on the life of her friend and fellow Yosemite Search and Rescue teammate Niels Tietze after he was found dead at the base of Fifi Buttress in mid-November. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Tietze made friends and climbed all over the world, picking up a wide array of jobs that included…
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Through the Telescope
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 60, Associate Editor Paula Wright tells the story of a lasting partnership between two leading female alpinists and their adventures on la Meije in the late 1800s.
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A feminist review of climbing how-to guides
At a time when the American climbing population is becoming increasingly diverse, Georgie Abel examines the extent to which current instructional climbing books represent people of different genders and races.
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French team completes new route on Nuptse’s south face
On October 14-21, Helias Millerioux, Benjamin Guigonnet, Frederic Degoulet completed a risky new route on Nuptse’s south face in mostly alpine style, fixing only two short sections. The overall technical difficulty of their as-yet-unnamed route weighs in at M5+ WI6, 65° snow, 2342 meters. For Millerioux and Guigonnet, this was their second attempt on this…
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#AlpinistCommunityProject Flashback: Quinn Brett
From August 6-12, 2017, Quinn Brett shared some stories and photos for the #alpinistcommunityproject about some climbing adventures and places that were formative in her career. Based out of Estes Park, Colorado, Quinn is a climbing ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park and has become known for her big-wall speed and free climbs in Zion…
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Cartography of Prayers: Pemako
In this story that first appeared in Alpinist 54 as part of a series titled “A History of Imaginary Mountains,” Harish Kapadia recalls a journey inward while visiting a mystical Himalayan land known as Pemako. Kapadia, 72, received the 2017 Piolets d’Or-Asia Lifetime Achievement Award on November 3 in Seoul, Korea. He is the first…
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Women’s expedition explores new routes in India’s Zanskar Range
Anna Pfaff reports on her expedition to northern India’s Zanskar Range with Savannah Cummins and Lindsay Fixmer at the end of August. The team only saw five days with feasible climbing conditions and 19 days of rain, snow, hail and wind, but they still managed to complete one first ascent and reached high ground on…
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Slovenians establish two new routes in the Kishtwar Himalaya
In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, Urban Novak reports on two new routes that he established with Marko Prezelj and Ales Cesen this past June. They acclimatized with a Grade ‘D’ route on Peak 6013, and then got lucky with a weather window that allowed them to complete their main objective, the…
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Registration open for American Alpine Club’s Annual Benefit Dinner
Tickets are now available for the American Alpine Club’s annual benefit dinner weekend on February 23-24 in Boston, Massachusetts. This year’s event will honor the 40th anniversary of the first American ascent of K2. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner–an Austrian who became the first woman to summit all 14 8000-meter peaks without bottled oxygen or high-altitude porters when…
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World renowned alpinist and climbing pioneer Fred Beckey dies at age 94
Fred Beckey, one of the most prolific alpinists the world has ever known, died October 30 at age 94 in Seattle, Washington.
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