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Derek Franz on the rim of the Black Canyon in 2020 after finishing a route during which he wore his new Black Diamond Crack Gloves for the first time. [Photo] Morgan Williams

Black Diamond Crack Gloves have it covered from hand cracks to offwidth sizes

Mountain Standards Gear Review: Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz has been using the Black Diamond Crack Gloves to jam cracks across the west for the past several months. He writes: “I’ve used these gloves in Yosemite, Black Canyon and Utah desert, and also crammed them into some sharp, crumbly choss cracks near my home on Colorado’s Western Slope, and they’re holding up well, much better than I predicted based on how thin they felt when I first tried them on…. I found these puppies to perform well in thin hand cracks as well as for offwidth teacup fist jams.” Five stars.

Book cover: Emilio Comici: Angel of the Dolomites by David Smart. Hardcover. Published September 1, 2020, by Rocky Mountain Books. 248 Pages. $32.00 CAD.

Interview with David Smart, author of the Mountain Profile for Alpinist 76 and winner of 2021 Boardman-Tasker Award

David Smart’s book, Emilio Comici: Angel of the Dolomites, received the Boardman-Tasker Award for Mountain Literature in November. The biography was published in 2020 and provided some of the inspiration for Smart’s Mountain Profile on the Cima Grande in the Dolomites that was recently published in Alpinist 76. In this feature, an interview with Smart explores topics related to Emilio Comici: Angel of the Dolomites, the Cima Grande profile and Smart’s writing and climbing career.

The author was thankful for the slick sheath of the Sterling Ion R 9.4 XEROS rope, which helped reduce rope drag on long pitches in the Tetons without the gummy feel that is characteristic of so many dry-treated ropes. [Photo] Noah Bergman

Sterling Ion R 9.4 XEROS rope: Every filament is dry-treated and made for the alpine

Mountain Standards Gear Review: Corey Buhay, a member of the US Ice Climbing Team, has been testing the Sterling Ion R 9.4 XEROS rope. The new XEROS technology is the first of its kind in which every filament of the rope is dry-treated, a process that adds a deeply integrated level of protection from water absorption. Buhay writes: “While I haven’t been using the rope long enough to vouch for its long-term durability, the new XEROS technology exceeds expectations on all counts so far. If you’re looking for a rope that’s meticulously dry-treated and reliable in all conditions, the Ion R 9.4 XEROS is a safe bet.” Five stars.

Book cover: Dammed If You Don't by Chris Kalman, illustrated by Craig Muderlak. $24.99.

An excerpt from Chris Kalman’s award winning book, “Dammed If You Don’t”

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from an award-winning book written by a longtime Alpinist contributor and former intern Chris Kalman and illustrated by Craig Muderlak. “Dammed If You Don’t” is Kalman’s third book and recently won the Mountain Fiction and Poetry category at the annual Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. Book competition jury member Pete Takeda wrote: “Kalman’s third book asks a very topical question: Can we love a place to death? Kalman answers this question with a spare quality that evokes a bit of James Salter. His portrayal of a lush, pristine Chilean valley is immediate and profound. His writing is peppered with the intimate details that also bring the characters, their foibles, and struggles to life. Their dilemmas soon become our dilemmas. Perhaps the best thing about ‘Dammed If You Don’t’ are the plot twists, building to a final scenario that is plausible, disturbing, and strangely uplifting.”

Betty Manning, descending the Tooth, ca. 1950s. [Photo] Courtesy of Claudia Manning

In the Wake

Alpinist 76 is now available on newsstands in our online store. In this Sharp End essay, our editor-in-chief follows in the footsteps of Harvey Manning up real mountains in the Cascades after years of research to write a book about his imaginary peaks. As she climbs the classic South Face of the Tooth, she recounts his descriptions of formative experiences in 1947 that helped inspire his efforts to preserve the land from threats of timber and mining development. Seventy-four years after Manning’s ascent, Ives strains her eyes through a haze of smoke to catch a glimpse of the range as Manning may have seen it. She writes: “While I trace more of Harvey’s hikes, I also think of what it means to write about beloved and imperiled things: to cross the arched back of a glacier and feel how much it is both living and dying, its meltwater murmuring in hundreds of voices between the blue walls of crevasses. To walk through the green shadows of giant moss-strung trees that, one hot summer day, might burst into flame.”

Mike Lewis wears the Phantom Down Parka on a cold day of ice climbing in the Colorado backcountry last winter. [Photo] Yaroslav Lototskyy

Mountain Hardwear’s Phantom Down Parka: Warm, Lightweight, Compressible

Mountain Standards Gear Review: IFMGA/AMGA guide Mike Lewis has been using the Mountain Hardwear Phantom Down Parka for several months. He writes: “Its 800 fill down is really warm, making it a good choice for the 6000-meter objectives such as Denali, Aconcagua, Ama Dablam, Cotopaxi, Elbrus–basically, anything that is not an 8000-meter monster…. It appears that few products compare to the Mountain Hardwear Phantom Down Parka in terms of its warmth-to-weight ratio at 619 grams (20 oz.)” Five stars.

A screenshot of a publicist's Facebook post announcing the upcoming media briefing for Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin and Viacheslav Polezhaiko's first ascent of the Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III (7555m). [Photo] Derek Franz

Three Ukrainian climbers complete first ascent of fabled Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III

Three Ukrainian climbers–Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin and Viacheslav Polezhaiko–have just completed the first ascent of the fabled Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III (7555m). Until now, no one had surpassed the high point of 6500 meters that was first reached by British climbers Steve Bell, Nick Colton and Tim Leach in 1981. Balabanov, Fomin and Viacheslav had only 12 days of food and took 18 days for the ascent and descent. After diverting from their original descent plan, they were eventually picked up by helicopter at 5000m.

[Image] Banff Mountain Book Competition

Doug Robinson’s story from Alpinist 74 wins Banff Book Comp for Mountaineering Article

A story from Alpinist 74 (Summer 2021)–“Letters to a Young Climber,” by Doug Robinson–was recently selected as the winner of Best Mountaineering Article at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, which is happening this week. The recognition comes with $2,000 and is eligible to receive a $4,000 Grand Prize that will be selected from a pool that includes seven other category winners on November 5. A book by Alpinist contributor Chris Kalman, “Dammed If You Don’t,” won the Mountain Fiction and Poetry category. A grand-prize winner among the eight categories will be selected on November 5. Meanwhile, the film “Dream Mountain,” of which Alpinist is a sponsor, was selected for the for the 2021/22 Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour.

This photo was taken on a trip to Venezuela that was supported by an American Alpine Club Live Your Dream Grant. [Photo] Blake McCord

American Alpine Club now accepting applications for six grants

The American Alpine Club (AAC) is currently accepting applications for six grants: the TINCUP Partner in Adventure Grant, the Cutting Edge Grant, the Jones Backcountry Adventure Grant, the McNeill-Nott Award, the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant, and the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Award. Deadlines to apply vary depending on the grant, ranging from November 8, 2021, to January 31, 2022.

A screenshot from the livestreamed event outside the White House on October 8 as President Joe Biden signed the proclamations restoring the protections to Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine national monuments as set by President Barack Obama. Biden handed out the pens he used to the people gathered behind him. [Photo] Derek Franz

President Biden signs proclamations to restore Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Seamounts Marine national monuments

President Joe Biden signed an executive order today restoring Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments after former President Donald Trump rescinded the original designations in 2017. Trump’s rescissions had reduced Bears Ears by approximately 85% and Grand Staircase by almost 50%. Biden also reinstated protections in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument after Trump’s 2020 decision to open it to commercial fishing. Bears Ears NM was originally designated at 1.35 million acres by President Barack Obama in 2016, and Grand Staircase was set at 1.9 million acres by President Bill Clinton in 1996.