From February 11 to 25, 2021, 1430-meter Cerro Huinay was climbed by four Chilean climbers: Nicolas Gutierrez, Pancho Herrera, Sebastian Rojas and Hernan Rodriguez. The 1000m, 25 pitch 5.12 A2+ was the first ascent of the wall–one of the biggest in Chilean Patagonia.
Alpinist is proud to announce the recent partnership with Mountain Journal in Seoul, South Korea, to launch Alpinist Korea–a magazine that prints Alpinist stories translated into Korean, as well as some original articles by Korean authors.
The American Alpine Club (AAC) is now accepting applications for its new Catalyst Grant, a program intended to support underrepresented groups, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals. The application deadline is May 31 and the winners will be announced in June.
The American Alpine Club (AAC) announced the formation of their Climb United initiative in February of this year. In March, Alpinist participated in a meeting of the Climb United Route Naming Task Force, which was formed to try “to build the best publishing practices to avoid harm caused by discriminatory or oppressive route names,” according to the AAC’s website. The AAC will host a public forum on the draft guidelines on April 21 at 6 p.m. MDT.
![This copyrighted topo shows the route of La Chaltenense (5.11+, 500m) on Fitz Roy. The playlist of songs on the left corresponds to the pitches where they were played. Patagonia guidebook author (and creator of this image) Rolando Garibotti said he came up with the idea after learning that first ascensionist Jon Griffin had carried speakers and played music on almost every pitch. [Image] © Rolando Garibotti @rolo_garibotti @patagoniavertical](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fitz-roy-la-chaltenense-topo-patagonia-vertical-930x620.jpg)
On March 3, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll and Jon Griffin completed the first ascent of a 350-meter offwidth that splits Fitz Roy’s south face. They topped out at 3:40 a.m. on March 4 and shiver-bivied on the summit for a few hours before heading down. Both suffered frost-nipped toes. They named the crack La Chaltenense (5.11+, 500m) in homage to El Chalten where the Belgian and American have been living for more than a year.
![Jess Roskelley, a 2018 Cutting Edge Grant recipient, is pictured here on Baba Hussein (5800m), Pakistan. [Photo] Kurt Ross](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aac-cutting-edge-grant-2021-930x620.jpg)
The American Alpine Club (AAC) has announced this year’s recipients of the Cutting Edge Grant: Nick Aiello-Popeo, Matthew Cornell, Ryan Driscoll, Sam Hennessey and Vitaliy Musiyenko will attempt objectives in Alaska and Nepal. Black Diamond is sponsoring the grant this year, and a total of $25,000 is being divvied up between the six winners.
A jury panel chaired by Victor Saunders recently announced the recipients of the 2021 Grit and Rock Award, a grant intended to bolster female participation and leadership in exploration and alpine-style ascents. Teams of any nationality that are led by, or composed mostly of women are eligible. This year’s winners include Sara Jaklic and Marija Jeglic; Lise Billon, Fanny Schmutz Tomasi, Maud Vanpoulle and Camille Marot; Nancy Hansen and Ralf Dujmovits; and a general grant to support female members of the Young Alpinist Team and the French National Female Alpine Team (ENAF).
![The approximate line of Cousin of Death (5.13+, 5 pitches) in northern Arizona. [Photo] Lor Sabourin](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cousin-of-death-arizona-1-930x620.jpg)
On Nov 29, 2020, Lor Sabourin made a no-falls free ascent of the trad-climbing testpiece, Cousin of Death–a five-pitch 5.13+ in northern Arizona (Apache, Hopi, Pueblo and Hohokam territory). Three of the route’s five pitches are 5.13b or harder. Lor’s climb was the first integral ascent of the route.
![Overview of Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll's solo Moonwalk Traverse (Fitz Roy massif, south to north: 5.11, 50° snow/ice, 4000m). [Image] Courtesy of Rolando Garibotti, PatagoniaVertical.com](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/odriscoll-moonwalk-traverse-fitz-roy-1-930x568.jpg)
From February 5 to 10, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll soloed Patagonia’s Fitz Roy massif. It was only the second time the technical, 5+ kilometer ridgeline has been traversed since Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold pulled it off in 2014, and O’Driscoll climbed it in the opposite direction, south to north. He dubbed his version the Moonwalk Traverse (5.11, 50° snow/ice, 4,000m).
![K2 (8611m) is pictured here in summer. The Abruzzi Spur—the route used by all the expeditions this winter—follows the right-hand skyline. [Photo] Svy123, Wikimedia Commons](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/k2-abruzzi-spur-wiki-photo-bw-930x620.jpg)
Since the 10-person team of Nepali climbers completed the first winter ascent of K2 (8611m) on January 16, there have been two confirmed deaths and three other climbers have gone missing on the mountain. Atanas Skatov (Bulgaria) and Sergi Mingote (Spain) died from falls while descending from lower camps, on February 5 and January 16, respectively. Meanwhile Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto (Chile), Muhammad Ali Sadpara (Pakistan) and John Snorri Sigurjonsson (Iceland) have been missing since February 5, when they were last seen near the Bottleneck at approximately 8200 meters. They are presumed dead. So far there have been multiple helicopter searches while search teams on foot have been halted by adverse weather.
