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[Photo] Height of Land Publications

Backcountry.com battles small businesses over trademark

The news of Backcountry.com suing smaller companies for using the word “backcountry” in their titles has led to inquiries about the status of Alpinist’s sister publication, Backcountry Magazine. Height of Land Publications Editorial Director Tyler Cohen, formerly editor-in-chief of Backcountry, wrote the following story that includes a statement from HOL CEO Adam Howard. So far, Backcountry Magazine has not been included in these lawsuits and Height of Land Publications stands in solidarity with the smaller companies that are being impacted.

Paragot receiving the Piolets d'Or Lifetime Achievement (aka Walter Bonatti) Award in 2012. Rossana Podesta, Bonatti's partner of 30 years, is on the right. [Photo] Courtesy of Pascal Tournaire

Robert Paragot (1927-2019): An Old Man’s Lesson

Robert Paragot, a highly influential alpinist and Fontainebleau boulderer, passed away at his home near Paris on October 24 at age 92. French climbing journalist Claude Gardien reports that Paragot continued to be involved in the climbing community up until his death: “He was a great climber and a very nice man.” Chris Schulte, an American climber who has referred to Fontainebleu as a “second home,” summarized Paragot’s career: “Exceptionally well rounded, Paragot achieved many difficult and historic ascents in the Great Ranges of the earth, from the north faces of the Drus and the Grand Capucin in the Alps, to first ascents on Aconcagua and Huarascan in South America, as well as Mustagh Tower, Jannu, and Makalu in the Himalaya.” In honor of his life, we’re sharing a story from Alpinist 12 (2005) in which Paragot recounts the very beginning of his climbing career.

Denali (20,310') in the Alaska Range. [Photo] Bradford Washburn Collection, Museum of Science

Denali, A Universe

In 1913 Walter Harper, an Irish-Athabascan climber, became the first person to stand on the summit of Denali, soon joined by teammates Harry Karstens, Robert Tatum and Archdeacon Hudson Stuck. In this Wired story from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Harper’s grandniece, Jan Harper-Haines, shares a few family histories of his short, but remarkable life.

The author's father, Ricardo Cholo, in Cogua, Colombia, January 2018. [Photo] Ana Beatriz Cholo collection

The Unclimbed

In this story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Ana Beatriz Cholo faces a difficult choice: Following an unexpected cancer diagnosis, she must decide if she is willing to forgo her long-dreamed-of expedition to Denali to reunite with her estranged father. She first wrote about her ambitions to climb Denali in a story for Alpinist 59 (2017) titled “The Accidental Mountaineer.”

[Cover] Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest. David Guterson. Illustrations by Justin Gibbens. Mountaineers Books. Hardcover, 144 Pages. $21.95.

David Guterson’s book “Turn Around Time” applies mountaineering themes to youth, aging

Sarah Boon reports that David Guterson’s new book Turn Around Time applies the mountaineering concept as “a metaphor for life.” The book-length series of prose poems cover “the themes of youth, aging and compassion for the elderly,” Boon writes. “It also investigates the boundaries between reality and myth, and common sense and imagination in the outdoors. Illustrations by Justin Gibbens enhance the whimsical nature of the book.”

The Unparallel Up Lace resemble the well-known Five Ten Anasazi Lace in design and performance. [Photo] Chris Kalman

Unparallel Up Lace: A new company presents a new take on a familiar shoe

Chris Kalman checks out a little-known shoe company named Unparallel that makes climbing shoes eerily similar to the well-known designs made by Five Ten. He found that even Unparallel’s proprietary rubber is similar to the famous Stealth C4 rubber that Kalman has loved for many years. The fit and sizing of the Up Lace felt slightly different to him compared to the Anasazi, however. Four stars.