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  • Sarah Uhl–Rear View Mountains

    “I’m self-taught, my friend” says illustrator Sarah Uhl over heavy static from the road on her way back to Carbondale, Colo. from Hood River, Ore. “I started making illustrations about a year ago.” Her work has appeared in the latest issue of Alpinist, various projects for The American Alpine Club, Mountain Flyer Magazine and on…

  • The Mysterious Case of Beka Brakai Chhok

    8000ers.com, historian Eberhard Jurgalski describes the uncertain elevations of Beka Brakai Chhok’s three peaks as “truly one of the most confusing subjects in the history of High Asian research.

  • A House of Stone and Snow

    In which our editor travels to California to meet the women who founded America’s first monthly climbing magazine, Summit, in 1955.

  • Unclimbed

    Nearly twelve years after Alpinist’s first “Unclimbed” feature, Kelly Cordes reminds readers that there are still plenty of vertical mysteries. Damien Gildea, Kyle Dempster, Tamostu Nakamura, Mayan Smith-Gobat, Harish Kapadia, Pat Deavoll and Clint Helander share a few examples.

  • Letters | A Man out of Time: Eric Bjornstad (1934-2014)

    Stewart Green pens an elegy for Eric Bjornstad (1934–2014), author of Desert Rock, climber of sandstone spires and lover of open spaces.

  • North Face of Cerro Torre Gets First Integral Ascent

    Between February 2 and 3, Colin Haley and Marc-Andre Leclerc–despite a constant barrage of falling ice, which bloodied Leclerc’s knuckles–completed the first integral ascent of Cerro Torre’s north face. Haley notes their route’s six new pitches “are mostly covered in rime ice about 90 percent of the year, and under those conditions would be extremely…

  • Interview with Reinhold Messner

    Alpinist’s Digital Editor Chris Van Leuven sits down with legendary alpinist Reinhold Messner on February 2, 2015, to talk about rock climbing, high-altitude climbing, Messner’s castle and mountaineering museum, and his well-known climbing partner Peter Habeler.

  • Kahtoola MICROspikes: Instant Traction Control

    Mary Williams considers climbing approaches and descents at Rocky Mountain National Park a necessary evil. For improved traction, she wears micro spikes to cross icy terrain. “I have used [them] with light hiking boots, my ice-climbing boots, running shoes, and even a few times over my ski boots,” she writes.

  • 26 Tool Users: The Jensen Pack

    Described by the famous mountaineering writer David Roberts as a man “for whom no expedition was long enough,” Don Jensen spent years creating the perfect homemade gear for his epic excursions. Brad Rassler tells the story of the rare “Jensen Pack,” a relic of its creator’s intense climbing and quiet ingenuity.

  • Free Mud

    Alpinist’s Digital Editor met with Stevie Haston at the 2015 Winter Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City to talk about his love for the Utah desert. As a follow-up to the interview, we’re republishing Haston’s account of completing the Titan’s first free ascent, via the 1,000-foot Sundevil Chimney (5.13a).

  • Searching for Jensen

    Alpinist’s intern from last summer, Brad Rassler, goes on a quest to learn about fallen mountaineer, mathematician and pack designer Don Jensen.

  • The Petzl Sum’Tec: Hard Working Mutha’

    Alpinists know that a tool capable of performing well in a variety of mediums and serving a variety of tasks is, indeed, quite pleasing. All the time. The Petzl Sum’Tec tools go a long way toward accomplishing that.

  • Completing the Puzzle: New Facts About the Claimed Ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959

    Rolando Garibotti, with help from Kelly Cordes, uncovers new evidence about where Cesare Maestri and Toni Egger were during Maestri’s claimed ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959. “Maestri’s photo of Toni Egger was in fact taken on the west face of Perfil de Indio, a small tower north of the Col Standhardt, between Agujas Standhardt…

  • Kevin Jorgeson: The Last Day on the Dawn Wall

    Alpinist’s Digital Editor Chris Van Leuven visits with Kevin Jorgeson at the Outdoor Retailer show on January 22 to discuss the last day of the Dawn Wall, Day 19, Jorgeson’s battle with the 5.12 flare on Pitch 29, and the final moments before reaching the top.

  • Face Time with Wild Man Stevie Haston

    Alpinist sits down at the Outdoor Retailer trade show to interview Stevie Haston, the UK powerhouse known for his bold, standard-setting climbs across all genres, hair-raising desert-tower free ascents on rock barely more solid than mud and his blunt-spoken manner. Now living on the Maltese island of Gozo, Haston still whips out 1,500-pull-up training days…

  • Colin Haley and Marc-Andre Leclerc Make First Ascent of La Travesia del Oso Buda (aka the “Reverse Torre Traverse”) in Patagonia

    From January 18 through 22, Colin Haley and Marc-André Leclerc made the first ascent of what had been dubbed the “Reverse Torre Traverse,” a south-to-north enchainment of Cerro Torre, Torre Egger, Punta Herron and Aguja Standhardt in Argentine Patagonia. They called their route, first attempted by Bjørn-Eivind Årtun and Chad Kellogg in early 2012—and which…

  • Minnesota Adventurer Lonnie Dupre Completes first January Solo of Denali

    After 90 days spread over four attempts, Lonnie Dupre, from Grand Marais, Minnesota, became the first person to make a January solo of Denali when he completed his ascent of the West Buttress.

  • Salewa Wildfires: Blister-Free Hikers That Climb Surprisingly Well

    I’m one of those guys who have a different pair of shoes for every situation and will debate my options to an embarrassing extent. Over a year ago, while searching for a good all-around pair of approach shoes, I tried a pair of Salewa Wildfires.

  • French Team Makes First Traverse of the Seven Sisters, Sierra du Fief, Wiencke Island, Antarctica

    Six French climbers make the first traverse of the Seven Sisters in the Sierra du Fief, Wiencke Island, Antarctica over three days in late November 2014, encountering committing terrain and steep, technical snow and ice hard above the Southern Ocean.

  • Bob Craig: Remembering the 1953 K2 Expedition

    Alpinist contributor Bob Craig passed away at age 90. He’s legendary for his role in the 1953 K2 expedition and the attempt to rescue team member Art Gilkey. The following story was originally published in Alpinist 37.

  • Free at Last: Caldwell, Jorgeson Top Out the Dawn Wall

    After seven years work and 19 days spent on the side of El Cap, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson have freed El Cap’s Dawn Wall (5.14d) in Yosemite Valley.

  • Mike Dewey: The Art of Observation

    Longtime Yosemite climber, and mixed-medium artist Mike Dewey expresses his love for the walls and climbing community on canvas and stone.

  • Video: Fitz Traverse

    Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold travel to Patagonia to find the limit of their capabilities, and “do the kind of stuff [they] see in Alpinist Magazine.”