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A view of the Southeast Face of Link Sar from base camp with the line of the first ascent. [Photo] Mark Richey

Labyrinths of Granite and Ice

In this story from Alpinist 69–which is currently available in our online store–Graham Zimmerman writes of his adventure on Link Sar with Steve Swenson, Mark Richey and Chris Wright. They traveled to the Kaberi Glacier in the Karakoram Range of Pakistan In the summer of 2019 to climb the 7041-meter peak that they had dreamed about. For Zimmerman, the expedition was a chance to learn from some of the most experienced Karakoram mountaineers and challenge some of his own youthful assumptions about alpinism, risk and life.

[Cartoon] Kendra Allenby

A Climbing Quiz

In this story from The Climbing Life section of Alpinist 69–which is now available in our online store–Bosley Sidwell (or was that Steve Jervis?) poses some trivia questions. Think you’re versed in climbing lit and historical ascents? Take the quiz and find out!

Cover: Rising (2019). Sharon Wood. Mountaineers Books. Hardcover, 272 pages. $24.95

Sharon Wood’s book “Rising” is a reflection of her 1986 ascent of Chomolungma (Everest) and a male-dominated culture then and now

In 1986 Canadian mountaineer Sharon Wood and her teammate Dwayne Congdon reached the summit of Mt. Everest (Chomolungma) via a variation to the difficult West Ridge route. Herein, Sarah Boon reviews Wood’s 2019 memoir, “Rising,” which follows Wood along her path to becoming the first North American woman to stand atop the storied peak. “Wood’s book is a window into the world of women in climbing at a time when many still considered women to be inferior mountaineers,” Boon writes.

The author Nathan Fry and his fellow classmates approach the Chli Bielenhorn, located near the famous Furka Pass (Furkastrasse) road during the 2019 NATO Partnership for Peace Program in Switzerland. [Photo] Tyler Casey

Mountain troops rope up and strengthen bonds during the Partnership for Peace program in Switzerland

In this story, US Army Mountain Warfare School officer Nathan Fry shares his experience with the NATO Partnership for Peace Program that took place in Switzerland in the summer of 2019. “At a time when international relationships seem to be fracturing, engagements such as the Partnership for Peace mountaineering course have taken on a new value in creating a shared appreciation for other cultures,” he writes.

[Cartoon] Tami Knight

The Ahwahnee Brunch Retrospective (starring “Roger” & “Ed” in an eating contest of stupendous proportions)

In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Tami Knight shares some background about the inspiration of a cartoon that she created many years ago, titled “Roger and Ed at the Ahwahnee Brunch.” She writes, “Roger is an amalgamation of the climbers I knew at that time in Yosemite…. Ed, on the other hand–Ed Spat to give his full name–was a real guy.” In addition to her story, she has also updated the cartoon in full color.

Vivian Bruchez at the Col de Bionnassay. [Photo] Ben Tibbetts

2018: Ultra Royal Traverse of the Mont Blanc Massif

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Ben Tibbetts writes of completing the Mont Blanc Royal Traverse with Colin Haley in 2018. The 41 kilometer route along the mountain’s main axis was first attempted by Kilian Jornet and Stephane Brosse in 2012, but ended when a cornice collapsed and killed Brosse. In this story, Tibbetts confronts his own setbacks and fears after being involved in two avalanches.

The Italian face of Mont Blanc, showing, from left to right, Brouillard Ridge Integral (Cosson-Henry-Salluard-Zappelli, 1973); the Innominata Integral (Gugliermina-Gugliermina-Proment-Ravelli, 1921). [Photo] Mario Colonel

Walter Bonatti: Citizen of Mont Blanc

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Claude Gardien recounts Walter Bonatti’s checkered relationship with Mont Blanc. Gardien writes: “Again and again, on mountains around the world, he’d lived through the hell of alpinists, when the elements unleash and everything becomes suffering, tragedy, grief. On Mont Blanc, he’d also known a few moments of ineffable beauty–as if he’d encountered that formidable privilege, as the writer Georges Sonnier suggested, of ‘contemplating the eye of the god.'”

Ugo di Vallepiana on the first ascent, with Paul Preuss, of Pic Gamba on the Peuterey Ridge in 1913. [Photo] Paul Preuss / Courtesy David Smart

1912-1913: Paul Preuss

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–David Smart recounts the bold endeavors of Paul Preuss to complete the longest ridge traverse in the Alps, and his final season of climbing in 1913.

Ines Papert at the Glacier des Pelerins in front of the slopes of Mont Blanc during her attempt at a historical reenactment of Mary Isabella Straton's first winter ascent, with two guides, in 1876. [Photo] Thomas Senf

1876: A Winter’s Tale

In this Mountain Profile essay from Alpinist 69–which is now available on newsstands and in our online store–Alpinist Deputy Editor Paula Wright describes the first winter ascent of Mont Blanc in 1876, by Mary Isabella Straton, Jean Charlet, Sylvain Couttet and Michel Balmat. “Women are capable of everything,” historian Charles Durier later wrote in his book, Le Mont-Blanc.