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Italian alpinist Matteo Bernasconi killed in avalanche while ski-mountaineering
As travel restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic continue, climbers around the world connected remotely through Facebook on May 17 to raise their glasses in a toast to the life of Matteo “Berna” Bernasconi, a highly regarded Italian alpinist who died in an avalanche while ski-mountaineering in northern Italy on May 12. He was 38 years…
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Labyrinths of Granite and Ice
In this story from Alpinist 69–which is currently available in our online store–Graham Zimmerman writes of his adventure on Link Sar with Steve Swenson, Mark Richey and Chris Wright. They traveled to the Kaberi Glacier in the Karakoram Range of Pakistan In the summer of 2019 to climb the 7041-meter peak that they had dreamed…
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Rab Muztag GTX Jacket: A worthy high-end shell that is light and durable
Alaskan climber Clint Helander generally prefers softshell jackets instead of hardshells when climbing and skiing, but the Rab Muztag GTX Jacket proved to be an exception. He writes, “I have always appreciated the ability of softshells to breathe and stretch while I methodically plod up steep snow slopes. In my mind, Gore-Tex jackets were still…
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A Climbing Quiz
In this story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 69–which is now available in our online store–Bosley Sidwell (or was that Steve Jervis?) poses some trivia questions. Think you’re versed in climbing lit and historical ascents? Take the quiz and find out!
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Climbers, cavers, high-rise workers help clean debris from rooftops after Zagreb earthquake
On March 22, a Sunday morning, Croatia’s capital city of Zagreb was in the end of their second week of lockdown to address the COVID-19 pandemic when citizens awoke to 5.5-magnitude earthquake that was soon followed by an almost similarly strong aftershock. In the aftermath, toppled chimneys and dangerous debris crowded the rooftops of so…
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Film festivals are offering free online viewings; here’s what we’re watching
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the United States and the world, stay-in-place orders have forced a change of plans for all kinds of public gatherings. That includes film festivals, some of which are now offering free online viewings. Here we’ve gathered some links to free film fests and videos that we think may be…
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Mountain Profile Essays from Alpinist 69 | Mont Blanc
Read the essays from our Mountain Profile about Mont Blanc.
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Plan B: Business as Unusual
In the midst of economic uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, Height of Land Publications CEO and President Adam Howard addresses our magazines’ readers, contributors, advertisers and retailers. He writes, “We’ll continue bringing you the great stories, art and photography to which you’ve become accustomed…. We’re cutting checks and taking submissions according to Plan A…. We’re…
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Sharon Wood’s book “Rising” is a reflection of her 1986 ascent of Chomolungma (Everest) and a male-dominated culture then and now
In 1986 Canadian mountaineer Sharon Wood and her teammate Dwayne Congdon reached the summit of Mt. Everest (Chomolungma) via a variation to the difficult West Ridge route. Herein, Sarah Boon reviews Wood’s 2019 memoir, “Rising,” which follows Wood along her path to becoming the first North American woman to stand atop the storied peak. “Wood’s…
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Mountain troops rope up and strengthen bonds during the Partnership for Peace program in Switzerland
In this story, US Army Mountain Warfare School officer Nathan Fry shares his experience with the NATO Partnership for Peace Program that took place in Switzerland in the summer of 2019. “At a time when international relationships seem to be fracturing, engagements such as the Partnership for Peace mountaineering course have taken on a new…
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The Ahwahnee Brunch Retrospective (starring “Roger” & “Ed” in an eating contest of stupendous proportions)
In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Tami Knight shares some background about the inspiration of a cartoon that she created many years ago, titled “Roger and Ed at the Ahwahnee Brunch.” She writes, “Roger is an amalgamation of the climbers I knew at that…
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2018: Ultra Royal Traverse of the Mont Blanc Massif
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Ben Tibbetts writes of completing the Mont Blanc Royal Traverse with Colin Haley in 2018. The 41 kilometer route along the mountain’s main axis was first attempted by Kilian Jornet and Stephane Brosse in 2012, but ended when…
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Walter Bonatti: Citizen of Mont Blanc
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Claude Gardien recounts Walter Bonatti’s checkered relationship with Mont Blanc. Gardien writes: “Again and again, on mountains around the world, he’d lived through the hell of alpinists, when the elements unleash and everything becomes suffering, tragedy, grief. On…
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Climbing rock–yes, touching real rock–can potentially spread the coronavirus
Virologists agree that COVID-19 can remain infectious on rock, and that climbers who touch common holds on the stone–or any surfaces–have an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus. “If someone carrying COVID-19 touched rock–or coughed or sneezed on it–there’s clear evidence suggesting that, yes, COVID-19 may be contracted via contaminated rock or plastic,” said Levi…
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1912-1913: Paul Preuss
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–David Smart recounts the bold endeavors of Paul Preuss to complete the longest ridge traverse in the Alps, and his final season of climbing in 1913.
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1876: A Winter’s Tale
In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Alpinist Deputy Editor Paula Wright describes the first winter ascent of Mont Blanc in 1876, by Mary Isabella Straton, Jean Charlet, Sylvain Couttet and Michel Balmat. “Women are capable of everything,” historian Charles Durier later wrote in his…
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Lowa Alpine Expert GTX boots: Light, comfortable and sensitive
Whitney Clark used the women-specific Lowa Alpine Expert Gore-Tex boots in her snowy stomping grounds of the Sierra Nevada Range. She appreciated their lightness and comfort. The boots weren’t as warm as she would’ve liked, however, and on one occasion the supposedly waterproof boots soaked through while she was postholing and her feet got wet…
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Nolan Smythe killed in rockfall while climbing Logical Progression on Mexico’s El Gigante
Nolan Smythe of Moab, Utah, was killed on March 6 while climbing Logical Progression (VI 5.13, 2,800′) on El Gigante in Mexico’s Basaseachic Falls National Park. He was standing on a ledge that collapsed and cut his rope. His body was recovered March 10.
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Coronavirus concerns prompt American Alpine Club to conduct benefit dinner remotely
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic–which recently reached Colorado–has prompted the American Alpine Club (to make changes to it’s annual benefit dinner (ABD), which is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. This Saturday, March 14, instead of eating steak and prawns while rubbing elbows with climbing legends, guests are now invited to attend the event online…
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The Measure of a Mountain
Looking at the role of summits in climbing history, from the early days to twentieth-century discussions and more recent Himalayan news about inaccurate claims, Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives asks: What is the measure of a mountain?
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Matt Cornell free solos Hyalite Canyon testpiece, Nutcracker (M9 WI5+, 450′)
On February 15, Bozeman climber Matt Cornell, 25, free soloed Nutcracker (M9 WI5+, 5 pitches), in Montana’s Hyalite Canyon. Cornell’s solo of Nutcracker was a logical next step after years of soloing in Hyalite, where he began with the classic ice pillars for many seasons before moving on to harder mixed climbs such as Black…
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Climbing Grief Grant application period is now open; 10 apps received within first 24 hours
The application period for the Climbing Grief Grant through American Alpine Club and the Climbing Grief Fund is now open. The grant “offers financial support for individuals directly impacted by grief, loss, and/or trauma related to climbing, ski mountaineering or alpinism.” Ten applications were received within the first 24 hours. Only 15 grants are budgeted…
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Something Yet Higher: Charles Madison Crenchaw Exhibit Opens at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum
“Something Yet Higher,” an exhibition featuring African American mountaineer Charles Madison Crenchaw, opened at the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum on February 6. Crenchaw was the first Black man to summit Denali in 1964, an accomplishment that remains relatively obscure despite its historic significance. James Edward Mills curated the exhibit.
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The melting glaciers of Koma Kulshan
In this story that was commissioned as part of the Covering Climate Now campaign, Ilana Newman and photographer Matthew Tangeman document how melting glaciers have caused drastic changes to some popular climbing routes on Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker) in Washington.
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