Photo by Jake Holland Mountains and clouds are intrinsically connected: Steep mountain faces create thermals of rising air, and thermals create clouds. For the alpine climber engulfed in ethereal whiteness, rapidly forming clouds may bring mo...
Bivouac at 5,700 meters below one of the ice barriers on the east buttress of Jirishanca. Photo by Drew Smith. I’ve been home from Peru for several months—plenty of time to reflect on my experience on Jirishanca in July with Josh Wharton. Whi...
A rickety cart lurches down cobbled streets toward the Huaraz indoor market, its driver hidden behind a heaping payload of dead pigs and chickens. Iodine-yellow snouts poke skyward, and waxy bird-bushels sway on display. I step behind the cart a...
The inspiration for this “Know the Ropes” article originated from a recent change in my professional life. I’ve had the privilege of working in the National Park Service as a climbing ranger for almost two decades. After a couple of seasons on M...
This is my second year of editing Accidents. I haven’t been involved with this book long enough to grasp all the larger trends, but I did see some emerging patterns in 2022. Climbing is becoming ever more popular, and with that comes accidents rel...
The AAC and Rocky Talkie partnered again in 2023 to solicit nominations for the annual Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Awards. These awards recognize standout rescues performed by volunteer SAR teams in the previous year, with the goal of driving g...
On April 13, a group of ski tourers was on a multi-day traverse on the Wapta Icefields and had planned to climb the southeast side of Mt. Des Poilus (3,161m/10,370’). In clear and calm weather, they ski-toured up the glacier and then bootpacked up...
On April 12, Parks Canada visitor safety responded to an SOS activation on the north face of Mt. Walker (3,303m/10,837’) above the Freshfield Icefield. A group of four ski mountaineers had camped and skied in the area for several days. On the 12th...
At about 7:30 p.m. on March 31, Jenny Lake rangers received a cell phone call from a solo backcountry skier. The skier said he was on top of the East Prong (just east of Mt. Owen) and could not continue due to white-out conditions and the technica...
On July 9, Eric Richtmyre (35) and Shiona Martin (23) summited Sahale Mountain and Boston Peak under clear skies. As they descended, Richtmyre was on a splitboard and Martin on skis. Martin, a mountaineering guide and former EMT, wrote ANAC, “Afte...
On February 12, a large (R4, D2.5) skier-triggered avalanche occurred on the lookers-right slide path in the Angel Slides area on the shoulder of Wright Peak (4,587’). This slide path faces northeast and was created as a result of Tropical Storm I...
On Saturday, March 26, a 25-year-old male took a 500-foot fall while attempting to descend the skier’s left side of Chute. The patient reported that the fall was due to one of his ski bindings releasing in the upper part of the run. Videos showed ...
On the morning of March 4, around 11:30 a.m., a skier triggered an avalanche while descending Sluice in Tuckerman Ravine. They were caught, carried about 300 feet, and came to rest on top of the debris pile above Lunch Rocks, but were not buried a...
In May 2022, Skier 1 (male, 38) and Skier 2 (47) started from the Quandary Peak trailhead at 7:18 a.m. They intended to ski the south gully, a.k.a. Cristo Couloir, on Quandary Peak (14,271’). Both were experienced backcountry skiers. The forecast ...
One climber was killed and another seriously injured while attempting to climb the off-limits volcano Popocatépetl, the fifth-highest summit in North America. The active volcano erupted on June 22, and according to official reports, a group of fo...
This occurred on June 1 on Hals-und Beinbruch (7 pitches, 5.8). On the fourth pitch, just after several meters of more engaging vertical climbing, a large rock measuring approximately one meter by one meter by 10 centimeters dislodged and pulled o...
This incident occurred on April 24, around 2 p.m., as a female climber, age 27, was leading a dihedral on Post Scriptum (5.11d) in the Marshmallows Sector. The footholds were slippery, and as she held a gaston (a thumb-down grip on side-pull hold)...
On August 12, a party of two climbers left the Hind Hut to ascend the north ridge of Mt. Assiniboine (AD 5.5). By late morning, they had reached one of the steeper upper steps at about 3,500 meters (11,482’). The pair had soloed everything up to t...
Married couple Daniel Heritage (28) and Emma Heritage were midway up a popular multi-pitch route called Mother’s Day Buttress (8 pitches, 5.6) on Cascade Mountain. Leading the fifth pitch, Daniel chose a more difficult (5.8) variation up a steep c...
On October 5, two climbers were on the eighth and final pitch of Tonka (5.10d) on Tunnel Mountain when the leader fell sideways, hitting a small ledge. The climber sustained an injury to their lower leg and ankle and was lowered back to the belay,...