On July 25, 1986, Japanese mountaineers made the first ascent of Hattal (ca 5,650m; H18 on the Sakamoto sketch map of the area) as well as unnamed Peak 5,550m in the Zanskar region.There has always been some confusion as to the location of Hattal,...
For years my brother Silvestro and I had the east pillar of Kishtwar Shivling in mind, and finally in the autumn of 2015 we found two friends—Nicola Binelli and Luca Cornella—to join us. We had the support of a local agency and four fantastic guid...
Jorge Martinez and I flew to Lukla and then, using no porters, carried all our gear to Pangboche over two days. From there we went up the Mingbo Valley (Nare Glacier on the HMG-Finn map), south of Ama Dablam, to a camp at 4,800m. Subsequently we m...
Jorge Cuadardo, Angel Salamanca, and Javi San Miguel arrived in Nepal in late April, and during their time in the Khumbu the weather was bad, with lots of snow and poor visibility. Prior to their arrival they had carried out some acclimatization i...
Two people were injured on August 1 by rockfall at the crag known as the Golf Course. The two had just arrived at the crag and were gearing up, and had not yet put on their helmets. Shoebox-size rocks came down, striking the two individuals. One w...
In February I soloed a couloir that zigzags up the central east face of Basin Mountain (13,240’), visible from the town of Bishop, which I believe to have been unclimbed. I climbed solo with ice tools and crampons. The route is comprised of steep ...
My first climb in Yosemite was over 20 years ago, and in the months and years I’ve spent there since I’ve mostly repeated existing routes. Meanwhile, I’ve spent many months of my life in faraway places, exploring for new route possibilities. I had...
I always knew that my wife, Heather Baer, and I would do a classic, signature new route in the Sierra Nevada, somewhere. But if somebody told me that route would be within spitting distance of the Regular Route on Fairview Dome, I would have calle...
Fifi Buttress is the impressive formation just right of Leaning Tower, first climbed in 1960 by Steve Roper and Richard McCracken. In 1980, Chick Holtkamp and Randy Russell climbed Vortex, which Russell freed with Eric Zschiesche in 1982 (IV 5.12)...
Over the summer, Steve Bosque and I walked up to Ribbon Falls to start a new line in the back left corner of the amphitheater (approximately 100’ left of the start of Sky People). As the falls raged, unable to look up, we prepped our gear and put ...
In January 2004 a letter arrived from William Bueler in Colorado (author of the Roof of the Rockies climbing history) with a brief description, maps, and pictures of his reconnaissance of Balagezong (5,545m) the previous year. I knew of this soari...
The south face of Mt. Broderick saw a number of new routes in 2015. Alec Zachreson and I established Thugz Mansion (V 5.10 A2) in the spring. Thugz Mansion is a varied line that ascends from the valley between Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick. The ro...
Inspired, in part, by the new wave of Grade V big-wall climbs in Yosemite Valley featured in recent AAJs, Tim Tuomey and I established a new route on Atlantis Wall this summer. The south- facing, ca 1,000’ wall is located on Broad Dome, along the ...
The reports began trickling in before we even got on the plane to Anchorage—shoulder-deep snow on the glacier, rivers of spindrift, and helicopter evacs due to avalanche danger. The snowiest spring in recent memory had left the Alaska Range buried...
At 3:56 a.m. on June 16, Jacek Struk of the two-person Polish MJ Expedition, which was located at 17,200 feet (high camp) on the West Buttress Route, called Comm Center by satellite phone. Struk reported that his partner was experiencing respirato...
On May 11, two members of Team Kodiak made a summit bid from 17,200 feet on the West Buttress. Conditions made progress slow. The team reached 19,800 feet before retreating and spent the night out during the way down, not returning to high camp un...
In late July, Gaelen Engler and I climbed a probable new route up Prusik Peak’s south face, finding crack systems that led to the top. Our route started far right of other recorded routes, and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cli...
Several years ago, Jon Pobst spotted a continuous link-up of cracks on the left side of Prusik Peak’s south face, just left of Solid Gold. Approaching the route on a Sunday evening, after a full day of climbing, neither of us had any expectations....
On September 12, Darin Berdinka and I completed the first ascent of the Mile High Club (700’, III 5.10a) on a striking 5,280’ subsummit of Morning Star Peak in the Headlee Pass area. The route offers seven pitches of excellent face climbing and ex...
Around midday on February 21, Braden Downey and I drove to Fish Lake and the start of Chiwawa River Road, only to find it closed more than 20 miles from the trailhead. In hindsight, we probably should’ve checked on this minor detail before loading...