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End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood by Jan Redford. Counterpoint Press, 2018. Hardcover, 344 pages, $26.00.

‘End of the Rope’: Courage and Humor on the Cliffs and on the Ground

Jan Redford’s new memoir, “End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood,” takes the reader on her journey of rebelling against her family and society’s expectations, navigating relationships and loss on her own terms and pursuing the potential she knows she has despite obstacles. It’s the work of a vulnerable and hard-earned courage, open to trial and error on a climb as well as on the ground.

Janusz Klarner arrives on the summit snowfield of Nanda Devi East in 1939. Nanda Kot is visible in the background. [Photo] Jakub Bujak collection

1939: The Eye of the Storm

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 62, Julia Pulwicki translates Janusz Klarner’s account of the first ascent of Nanda Devi East in 1939 by Klarner’s Polish team. This essay is part of an extensive two-part feature by Pete Takeda that includes other essays by various authors as well as this one.

Mike Lewis holds the Nemo Chogori 3-person Mountaineering tent in its compression stuff sack. [Photo] Chris Wood

Filling the Gap: NEMO’s three-person Chogori Mountaineering tent

Mike Lewis finds that the three-person Nemo Chogori Mountaineering tent provides a good in-between option between lightweight tents and expedition tents. The former don’t fare as well against the harsh conditions typically found high on a mountain, and the latter are too bulky and heavy to be ideal for fast-and-light missions. The Nemo Chogori filled the niche for Lewis, who awards it four stars.

Yasushi Yamanoi after a climb of Heaven (5.12d), Yosemite, in 2012; the missing digits were amputated a decade prior, after an expedition to Gyachung Kang (7952m). [Photo] Ryota Kumagai

To Look the Bear in the Eye; The Life of Yasushi Yamanoi

In this story from Alpinist 62, Sartaj Ghuman chronicles the adventures of Yasushi Yamanoi. At 53 years old, Yamanoi has survived multiple epics in the mountains. He remains a talented climber despite lost fingers and toes, broken teeth and bones and other severe injuries. He is on the long list for the 2018 Piolets d’Or for a first ascent he did last year with Takaaki Furuhata of a 5970-meter peak in India’s Zanskar Range. Ghuman was their liaison officer and, after meeting Yamanoi, he wanted to write about the low-key man who has been making significant high-altitude first ascents for decades–in pure alpine style.