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The Arjuna Group seen from the southwest. (1) Polish route (Barszczewski-Dasal-Skierski, 1983) up the central pillar of the west face. (2) All or Nothing (Cesen-Novak-Prezelj, 2017). Both the 1983 and 2017 routes lead to the main summit. (3) The west face of the south summit (Bender-Piasecki, 1983). This summit was first climbed by Poles in 1981 (Bartos-Otreba-Puzyrewski) up the broad couloir to the right of the west face and then the southeast ridge (approximately the right skyline) to the summit. [Photo] Marko Prezelj

Slovenians establish two new routes in the Kishtwar Himalaya

In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, Urban Novak reports on two new routes that he established with Marko Prezelj and Ales Cesen this past June. They acclimatized with a Grade ‘D’ route on Peak 6013, and then got lucky with a weather window that allowed them to complete their main objective, the west face of Arjuna (ca. 6250m). They named their route All or Nothing (ED+ M7+ WI5+ A0).

Paul Ramsden descends the east ridge of Nyainqentanglha Southeast (7046m) in Tibet after completing the first ascent of the peak via the North Buttress with Nick Bullock in 2016. [Photo] Nick Bullock

Threshold Shift

Nick Bullock recounts his first ascent of the North Buttress of Nyainqentanglha Southeast in Tibet with Paul Ramsden in 2016, and his subsequent return from Tibet to England to help his aging father. Back home, Bullock confronts the death of his mother, the loss of climbing friends and the uncertainties of Brexit. This story first appeared in Alpinist 57 and was recently named the best Mountaineering Article of the year at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.

Franek Knez on the first ascent of Hudieva Zajeda/Diedro del Diablo (5.10 A2 90 degrees, 900m), Fitz Roy (3405m), with Silvo Karo and Janez Jegli in 1983. [Photo] Silvo Karo

A Mysterious Lonely Path: The Life of Francek Knez

On October 6, Slovenian alpinist Francek Knez passed away. During the course of his lifetime, Knez completed over 5,000 international climbs, including the first ascent of Hell’s Direttissima on the east face of Cerro Torre. Bernadette McDonald profiled the visionary and reclusive mountaineer in Alpinist 52: “He seemed to draw energy from the natural landscape, tending his soul and feeding his imagination. Or maybe he garnered strength, not from the landscape, but from his inner core.”

The HEAT group doing what they love—Hiking Every Available Trail. [Photo] Teresa Baker

The Changing Faces of the Outdoors

As she recalls her own experiences as a woman of color who enjoys the outdoors, Teresa Baker interviews members of various organizations who strive to help a wider range of people experience the mountains, forests and cliffs–not just the typical faces most often seen in media and ad campaigns. “By coming together to create a more inclusive industry,” she points out, “we can better guard against the threats to the environment that affect not only outdoor recreation, but our communities as a whole.”

Anna Smith climbs High Plains Drifter (5.11c, 2 pitches) on the granitic Third Peak of the Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia. [Photo] John Price

Contraindications

In this story from Alpinist 59, Alison Criscitiello recalls her friendship with the late Anna Smith, a climber who sought a life of spontaneity and freedom in wild places.

Khumjungar Himal (a.k.a. Khamjung, 6759m), one of the highest peaks of the Damodar, seen to the north from the approach up the Labse Khola towards the Teri La. This south-facing aspect of the mountain has not been attempted. [Photo] Paulo Grobel

Unclimbed Nepal: The Explorations of Paulo Grobel

In this guest feature from the American Alpine Journal, French guide Paulo Grobel reports on his explorations of Nepal’s Damodar Himal, north of the Annapurna group, and the first ascent of a subpeak of Himlung Himal, a popular 7,000er north of Manaslu. This story provides a sneak-peak from the 2018 AAJ.

Henry Duhamel [Photo] Public Domain

Inaccessible (1853-1917)

Henry Duhamel was an influential figure in the early exploration of la Meije, one of the last, great unclimbed Alps in the Massif des Ecrins in France. This essay by former Vertical editor Claude Gardien–part of Erin Smart’s Mountain Profile in Alpinist 59–recounts Duhamel’s rich life as an inventor and explorer who never quite attained international fame and who died after slipping on ice in a military barracks during World War I, but who nevertheless helped usher in a new age of French mountaineering and skiing.