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The Lines Between. Watercolor on paper. Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia. [Artwork] Claire Giordano

The Shadow’s Edge

In this feature from Alpinist 67, which is now available on newsstands and in our online store, Claire Giordano shares stories and paintings that depict her search for hope in an era of melting ice, endangered glaciers and climate crises. After recovering from a severe childhood illness, she grew up to become a mountaineer and an artist, using her climbs and her paints to explore the fragility of both wild landscapes and human life. With this collection of mountain watercolors, she searches for hope in an era of melting ice, endangered glaciers and climate crises. “We walk the line between shadow and light,” she writes, “and we slowly move forward.”

This photograph of the Himalaya was taken from the International Space Station in 2004. Visible from left to right are: Makalu, Chomolungma (Everest), Lhotse and Cho Oyu. [Photo] Courtesy of NASA, Wikimedia

Human Dimensions of Climate Change in the Himalaya: An interview with anthropologist Pasang Yangjee Sherpa

Alpinist Managing Editor Paula Wright interviewed Pasang Yangjee Sherpa for the Alpinist Podcast in 2017 and followed up with her again this month. Born in Kathmandu, Yangjee Sherpa is an anthropologist who specializes in the human dimensions of climate change in the Himalaya. She says that “mountaineers are really well equipped to be advocates for talking about climate change…because of the kind of intimate relationship mountaineers have with the natural landscape, with mountains, snow and glaciers…. So I would like mountaineers to speak more about it and share what they know with the public.”

Mt. Mizugaki, Japan. [Photo] E64, Wikimedia

Namesake: Izumi (“The Spring”)

In this Namesake story from Alpinist 48 (2014), Katsutaka “Jumbo” Yokoyama–an original member of Japan’s famous Giri-Giri Boys, who have become known for their bold and visionary ascents–writes about the first ascent of a route he named Izumi (“The Spring”) on Mt. Mizugaki.

Underland: A Deep Time Journey.

Mountaineering in reverse: Tales from the Underland

“A peak can exercise the same irresistible power as an abyss,” Theophile Gautier wrote in 1868. Robert Macfarlane’s new book Underland explores the landscapes below our feet where, as Sarah Boon writes in her review, “people appear to find something similar in caves to what they experience in the mountains–clarity of thought and vision.”

She Explores. [Photo] Katie Ives

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Outdoor Media Landscape: A Note from the Editors

As they praise the publication of She Explores–a 2019 anthology of women’s outdoor stories and photos–Alpinist editors Katie Ives, Paula Wright and Derek Franz write, “We felt struck by two thoughts: how rare outdoor publications like this book, with such a variety of women’s images and voices, were in the past; and how much the field of outdoor literature still needs to broaden to include the vast constellations of under-represented and long-silenced voices today.”

Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La (El Capitan) with Half Dome in the background, Yosemite. [Photo] Murray Foubister, Wikimedia

The Story of Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La

The following story is an Ahwahneechee creation story of Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La (El Capitan) as told by Julia Parker, an Ahwahneechee descendant of Yosemite Valley, mother of climbing legend Ron Kauk and the grandmother of Ron’s son, Lonnie Kauk. This story originally appeared as a sidebar to a feature about the Kauk family, Lonnie’s childhood in Yosemite and how he made the first redpoint of his father’s route “Magic Line,” for which the story is named.

On April 5, 2018, three skiers were caught in an avalanche while ascending Sentinel Pass in Alberta, Canada. When the snow settled, Michelle Kadatz, pictured, came to rest beneath thirteen feet of debris. [Photo] Tim Banfield

Thirteen Feet Under

Last April, as she scouted ice climbs deep within Canada’s Banff National Park, Michelle Kadatz was engulfed by an avalanche that swept her 650 feet down slope and buried her at a depth far beyond the reach of her partners’ avalanche probes. While entombed thirteen feet under, she experienced something that seemed as improbable as her eventual rescue. One year later, Jayme Moye recounts Kadatz’s accident.

Lonnie Kauk on Magic Line (5.14c). Jim Thornburg

Magic Line

The son of legendary climber Ron Kauk and Ahwahneechee descendant Lucy Parker, Lonnie Kauk has long felt a deep connection to the rocks of his home in Yosemite Valley. In this oral history recorded by Alpinist Managing Editor Paula Wright and featured as the cover story for Alpinist 66, Lonnie, friends and family recount his journey from growing up beneath the granite cliffs of Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La (El Capitan) to making the first redpoint ascent of his father’s Magic Line, once considered the most difficult single-pitch climb in the Valley.

Sunrise over Hells Canyon and Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains as seen from the Wal'wa.maXs (Wallowa Mountains) of Oregon. [Photo] Joe Whittle

Gifts

In this Off Belay story from Alpinist 65, Joe Whittle shares a creation story that was told to him by a Nez Perce elder, Allen Pinkham. The story led Whittle to consider his relationship with nature more closely. He writes: “As I listened, I understood that recognizing the sovereignty of other elements in the world–including rocks, plants and water–can weave sustainability into a culture.”

Muhammed Ali Sadpara. [Photo] courtesy of Alex Txikon

Muhammad Ali of Sadpara

In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 62 (2018), Amanda Padoan profiles Muhammad Ali of Sadpara, Pakistan, after he completed the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat with Simone Moro (Italy) and Alex Txikon (Spain) in February 2016. Padoan writes: “Sponsorship never materialized for Ali, however, as it did for his European companions. He doesn’t question why, not out loud. Back in Sadpara, he says he has too much to occupy him: wheat to thresh, potatoes to dig, cattle to feed, walls to mend, roofs to patch and children to educate.”