Skip to content
Home » free » Page 20

free

Bradley Briggs ascends broken terrain on the Coleman Glacier of Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker), Washington. [Photo] Matthew Tangeman

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.

Climbing in Bears Ears National Monument, Ute (Nuu-agha-tuvu-pu) and Pueblo Territories. [Photo] courtesy of Ben Crawford/Access Fund

BLM management plan threatens Bears Ears National Monument while lawsuits continue

This year–2020–is anticipated to be the year for the long-awaited court ruling as to whether President Donald Trump’s reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in December 2017 was legal. There appears to be some hope for the people in favor of reinstating the former boundaries of the 1.35 million acre monument. But as the legal battle plays out, the Trump Administration has ordered the Bureau of Land Management to push ahead with a management plan for the greatly reduced monument, which critics say is “highly flawed.”

The famous Blue Bear outside the Colorado Convention Center, pictured on the first official day of the Winter Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, Wednesday, January 29, 2020. [Photo] Derek Franz

Another Outdoor Retailer, another opportunity to call for political and social changes

As Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz prepares to attend Denver’s third Winter Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, he reflects on the rise of conversations about politics and the environment at the biannual trade convention. A climate rally is planned for Friday afternoon at the conclusion of the show, and a recent update was also announced for the lawsuit defending the original designation of Bears Ears National Monument.

Following in the footsteps of the famous Cascade Range guidebook author Harvey Manning. [Photo] Katie Ives

In Search of Lost Peaks

In this Sharp End story from Alpinist 68–which is currently on newsstands–Alpinist Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives goes in search of a secluded alpine basin to retrace the steps of a famous guidebook author, Harvey Manning.

Bob Craig (left) and Dee Molenaar in Seattle, 2011. [Photo] John Scurlock

A Visit with Dee Molenaar (1918-2020)

Dee Molenaar died January 19 at age 101. In honor of his inspiring life, we are sharing a profile written by Michael Ybarra for the Climbing Life section of Alpinist 36 (Autumn 2011). Sadly, Ybarra preceded Molenaar in death, when he died in the summer of 2012 while climbing solo in California’s Sierra Nevada Range. Both men are dearly missed.

Avalanches kill hundreds in Kashmir

We are sad to report that a series of avalanches has devastated villages in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Steve Swenson, a climber and author who is very familiar with the area, has provided Alpinist with some description about the hazards villagers face in these mountains.

Wayne Merry while engaged in Alaskan glacier mapping for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1958. [Photo] Dick Long (Wayne Merry collection)

Wayne Merry (1931-2019): Yosemite legend, teacher and loving steward of wild places

Steve Grossman chronicles the adventurous life of Wayne Merry, who passed away at home in Atlin, British Columbia, early on October 30, 2019, after suffering from prostate cancer. He was 88. Merry completed the first ascent of the Nose on El Capitan with Warren Harding and George Whitmore in 1958. He went on to oversee the foundation of Yosemite Search and Rescue and the Yosemite Mountain Shop, and eventually settled in Canada where he continued his work as an educator and steward for wild places.

The south face of la Meije (3983m) and the upper Etancons Valley, with the Glacier Carre covered in snow during spring, Massif des Ecrins, France. [Photo] Manu Rivaud

Melting Giants: La Meije, Massif des Ecrins, France

For 141 years since its first ascent, mountaineers from around the world traveled to climb la Meije in the Massif des Ecrins of France. Meanwhile, the permafrost that held its stones together was melting. On August 7, 2018, rockfall destroyed much of the normal route. In this On Belay story from Alpinist 68, two locally based guides–Benjamin Ribeyre and Erin Smart–recount a search for a new way up the peak amid the uncertainties of the planet’s future.