A very difficult new free route on the east face of Jebel Rum (1,754m) was redpointed in February 2017. In 2014, climbers Eliav Nissan (Israel-USA) and Elad Omer (Israel) began work on the 14-pitch, roughly 1,800’ route. Over two winters and seemi...
In mid-September, I arrived in El Chaltén to meet up with my friend Marc-André Andre Leclerc. Our goal was twofold: to climb Torre Egger and to film Marc-Andre as he re-enacted the mind-blowing solo of the peak that he’d accomplished just a week b...
When you’re 20 years old, living in Yosemite and climbing every day, the Earth seems to spin a bit slower. Time seems stretched out and relaxed as you rope up with a friend on another big day. In 1984 I tied in with Scott Cosgrove for our first bi...
Nicholas Bayard Clinch III was born in Evanston, Illinois, on November 9, 1930. Nick grew up mainly in Dallas, with high school years at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, influenced by his father’s and grandfather’s careers in the mili...
Lowell Thomas Jr., an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Mountaineering Club of Alaska and longtime AAC member, passed away in Anchorage on October 1. His long life was filled with extraordinary adventures and accomplishments. He was born in London, ...
It’s been months since Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson disappeared while attempting a new route on the Ogre II (Baintha Brakk II) in the Karakoram. The Utah climbing community is still reeling; two of our most promising climbers—but, more imp...
For months I have been mired in sadness after learning of the untimely and shocking death of my good friend Jim Detterline. Jim was best known as the legendary Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) climbing ranger who climbed 14,259-foot Longs Peak ...
Woodward “Woody” Kingman died from stroke complications at age 91 on December 29, 2016, near his home in Belvedere, California.Woody is well remembered as a gentle and strong, principled man whose generosity of spirit and unfailing optimism earned...
Between July 21 and 25, Polish alpinists Artur Paszczak and Adam Pieprzycki made what is likely the fastest crossing of the complete Tatra Ridge by a roped pair. The two took 106 hours 38 minutes to travel from Zdziarska to Hucianska Pass, across ...
In July 2015, after climbing a new route on Asatiani with Giorgi Tepnadze, I was surprised by a fine morning on July 15 and hurriedly packed a rucksack for a long traverse. (I carried 7mm and 9mm ropes, some gear, a little bit of kitchen and bivou...
In September 2015, Giorgi Tepnadze and I climbed a new route on the north face of Agmashenebeli (3,854m, one of the highest peaks in the Chaukhi), which we dedicated to Alexander Ruchkin, who had recently been killed in Peru. Davit Agmashenebeli (...
After staying a few days in the Ratsek Hut, Giorgi Tepnadze and I hiked up to the Korona Hut, a demotivating place due to its poor condition and interior design. We first went to the foot of Free Korea Peak to inspect a route we planned to try on ...
In April a group of aspirant guides underwent UIAGM training in the mountains of Bolivia, during which time they spent nearly two weeks visiting the Quimsa Cruz. They repeated several lines, and the Bolivian instructor Roberto Gomez, along with gu...
In November 2015, Italians Marco Maggioni, Paolo Marazzi, and Simone Pedeferri completed a 400m route up the El Chamán (Shaman) face at El Salto. The route was started about two decades earlier by Mexican climbers Paco Medina and Alex Patino. The ...
In early 2017, Pete Fasoldt and Jonathan Schaffer established a nine-pitch sport route on the northeast face of Pico Independencia, between the older routes La Norte and Directisima. “The route was bolted ground-up, sussed top-down, and subsequent...
Rolando Larcher, one of my regular traveling companions, suggested the idea of climbing in Mexico. After some research on the Internet, Rolando was drawn to a stunningly beautiful wall in Huasteca Canyon and, without knowing anything about it what...
Kim Schmitz was a force of nature and life. I first met him in the Tetons, in 1979, during a trip to climb the east ridge of the Grand. He came roaring out of his tent cabin on the old Guides’ Hill and his presence was stunning. His piercing stee...
On January 3, the AAC lost one of its past presidents, Jim Henriot. He will be much missed by all who knew him, on or off the mountains. A distinguished attorney, an outstanding outdoorsman and mountaineer, a wise counselor, a loyal friend, a le...
Glen Dawson was born on June 3, 1912, in the Mt. Washington area of northeast Los Angeles, the same birth year as his two most notable climbing partners, Jules Eichorn and Dick Jones. The Sierra Club was then only 20 years old, John Muir was s...
Toward the end of the day on November 19, I started up a 5.10c trad route called Star Action in the Trapps. At the crux, I went for the jug but fell off. Though it should have been a short, clean fall, my leg slid along the rope and intersected a ...