Internationally, John Jackson is probably best known for being a member of the 1955 British expedition that made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga. He also was first reserve for the 1953 Everest team. Prior to this, during World War II, he first b...
David Graells leads the second pitch of Shoma Chan (175m, WI4+) north of Hushe. Photo: Rafa Vadillo Collection Following reports about ice climbs that friends and I developed in the Nubra Valley in India (see AAJ 2024), we received a message ...
Photo-topo of the route called Orgasmo Multiple on the south face of Ocshapalca. Photo: Marek Radovský. On May 30, Slovak climbers Marek Radovský and Juraj Švingál climbed a tower they named Tauar (ca 4,600m, approx. 8°55’52.36”S, 77°33’09.56...
From July 3 to 6, Basque brothers Iker Pou and Eneko Pou, alongside Micher Quito from Peru, completed a difficult new route up the southeast face of Nevado Copa (6,188m). Named Puro Floro, the 1,000m climb featured mixed climbing difficulties up t...
Photo-topo of the 2024 route A la Sombra de la Duda on the south face of Nevado Copa. Photo: GEAN Expedition. In May, I was part of a team of young climbers of the French National Alpinism Excellence Group (GEAN) that climbed in Peru. Followi...
Jonathan Sage on top of Taulliraju. Photo: Tucker Merrill From July 10 to 12, 2023, Tucker Merrill (USA) and I climbed a new line on Taulliraju Sur (ca 5,400m), the highest summit on the lower southeast ridge of the Taulliraju massif. We then...
Each of us has a dream drawer. Mine is overflowing with images of walls, all over the world. From time to time, I take one of these images and hang it on the wall, starting a journey that will transform a dream into reality. Chiara Gusmeroli and ...
The 2024 ski descent on Great Trango, with Trango Tower on the left. The skiers climbed and descended more or less along the 1984 route on the north-northwest face. Photo: Erich Roepke / The North Face On May 9, on their second attempt in two...
The little-known Shimshak Mountains, southeast of Shigar, are described in a booklet published in 2021 by Janusz Majer and Jerzy Wala. From this information, it appeared that only two valleys—Ghoro and Kiris—had been visited by trekkers and mounta...
Looking northwest in 2011 from the dividing ridge between the North and South Sosbun glaciers at the snow crest of Sokha Brakk. In front is the east face of Nameless Peak. Photo: Joanna Nowosadzka. On September 4, 2011, an all-women team of P...
Markel De La Fuente, Oier De La Fuente, Josu Linaza, and I planned an expedition to the Sosbun Valley similar to my 2023 trip to Ladakh (AAJ 2024), where we had a base camp close to a variety of rock walls. We opted to visit the South Sosbun Glaci...
The upper north-northwest ridge of Virjerab Sar. Photo: Virjerab Sar Expedition A small, multinational team left Shimshal on July 17 with the intention of ascending the Virjerab Glacier to its head, reaching Virjerab Pass, and from there maki...
Murilo Lessa and I visited the Ghujerab Valley, north of Shimshal, in September, with a view to attempting peaks around Dih Sar from their north side. After a three-day trek via Boesam Pass (5,000m), a base camp was made at the herder settlement o...
In a photo taken from the team’s second belay on Leaning Tower Direct, Jordan Cobb is attempting the third pitch prior to Levi Wilkins’ fatal accident. The key 0.4 Camalot placement (behind Cobb’s leg) is marked by the yellow arrow. Photo by Jak...
It’s an unsettling thought, but carabiners can, on rare occasion, unclip from bolt hangers. When the bolt is clipped from right to left and the hanger angles down to the right, tension on the quickdraw can raise the carabiner and lever the gate ...
The south face of Stone Mountain with climbers seen on (left to right) Rainy Day Women (5.10a R) and No Alternative (5.5). The historic Grand Funk Railroad (5.9-) follows a line of barely visible “railroad” dikes on the right side of this photog...
On June 13, a male climber (41) sustained a leader fall on Raunchy (5.8) and sustained minor injuries. After the fall, it was determined that the patient, a diabetic, was hypoglycemic. The extent to which hypoglycemia contributed to his fall, or i...
In May 2023, a Gunks climber was bitten by an eastern copperhead. This pit viper is endemic to eastern North America and favors deciduous forest and mixed woodlands, where it may occupy rock outcroppings and ledges. Photo: Selbymay | Wikimedia ...
During the 2023 season in the Mohonk Preserve, there were numerous climbing-related incidents that resulted in either lower- or upper-extremity injuries. Much effort has been put forth within the climbing community to help educate climbers on safe...
The Prow is a prominent formation of not-so-high-quality granite in the Sandia Mountains. Bad rock quality and poor route selection played roles in an accident on November 25. Photo: Anna Brown. On November 25, Brian Beyer (male, 25) was clim...