Photo: Knut Pohl/Powderguide Out of Western Europe in the late 1960s and early ’70s, a new form of alpinism was dawning: that of skiing down—after climbing up—terrain formerly thought of solely as climbs. While names such as Vallençant and B...
John Rupley died on July 20 from pulmonary arterial hypertension and cardiac failure, the result of chemotherapy-induced pulmonary fibrosis. A leading American alpinist from the 1950s through the ’70s, he also was a productive researcher and teach...
Bob Kamps (left) and Dave Rearick preparing for the first ascent of the Diamond in 1960. NPS Photo Pioneering free climber, mathematician and teacher, long-distance cyclist, master woodworker, self-taught classical guitarist, aspiring astrona...
Photo by Cameron M. Burns On July 28, 1992, John Middendorf and Xaver Bongard reached the summit of Great Trango Tower, a massive shield of rock in the Karakoram. They had spent the previous 18 days climbing the east face, fighting poor weath...
Photo by Liz Leightner “Let me say it,” he whispered through a grin. “You’re young, and you’ll have plenty of time to blow things up in the future. I should handle this one.” We were discussing a difference of opinion in climbing policy, muc...
Photo of Chris Jones on North Twin in the Canadian Rockies, 1974, by George Lowe. During his and Chris Jones’s fifth night on the 5,000-foot north face of North Twin in the Canadian Rockies, George Lowe’s mind raced, aware the two might not ...
On March 23, 2024, my hero passed away. TM Herbert was the quintessential Yosemite climber. Born in Utah, TM grew up in Southern California, and found climbing in 1957, when he was in his early 20s, and it became his lifelong passion. He started ...
Photo by James Golomb Dr. Frederick Golomb often said, as his children recall, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.” Depending on which way things went at several major junctions, Dr. Golomb might well not have survived to say it. As a young...
Photo by Sam Hennessey “To live till you die is to live long enough.” —Lao Tzu Dear Michael, your life wasn’t nearly long enough for us. Heavy shock and grief swept our community on October 7, 2024, with the tragic news that Michael had fal...
Photo by Jimmy Chin David Breashears, who died at his home in Massachusetts on March 14, at age 68, had an outsized influence on many people’s lives, including mine. His endeavors as an incredibly bold and visionary climber and alpinist were ...
Using a Micro Traxion on a fixed rope, Miles Fullman works to free the aid pitches climbed earlier on the lower east face of Mt. Loki. The hardest of these pitches is estimated to be free climbable at 5.12+. In back are the north (left) and sout...
Sorcerer’s Apprentice Left (5.11c) climbs two pitches up the shaded, left-facing corner. A lone climber fell to his death in spring of 2024 while retrieving a stuck rappel rope. Photo: Eric Dixon On the evening of April 21, Grand County Searc...
The Kor-Ingalls Route on Castleton Tower climbs the shaded cracks on the right side of the formation. First climbed in 1961 by Layton Kor and Huntley Ingalls, it is included in Steve Roper and Allen Steck’s Fifty Classic Climbs of North America....
Everything about Eclipse (5.12c/d) is classic, except for the third clip. In February 2024, Brian West fell from near this spot, ending up in the hospital—he was not wearing a helmet. Here we see the helmeted West on an earlier attempt. He has t...
Pete Korpics on an early attempt on See Spot Run. He recalls, “I was very familiar with this famous and dangerous route, as I’d been attempting it for several years.” Photo: Pete Takeda On January 22, I (Pete Korpics, 35) was attempting to c...
Spencer Drewelow demonstrates how, while clipping an anchor in Spearfish Canyon, he fell and the rope amputated his pinkie. Reattachment surgery was successful, as was the follow-up leech therapy. His finger ultimately survived, and he is climbi...
A rescuer approaches two stranded climbers after they took the wrong descent and got their ropes stuck on a recessed anchor. Immediately prior, the pair had watched another party rappel off the same incorrect anchor, get their rope stuck (yellow...
An injured climber being evacuated from the base of Picnic Lunch Wall at Smith Rock. After this climber suffering a debilitating leader fall, he and his partner fixed their rope and rappelled two pitches to the base, thereby facilitating a faste...
On December 22, at 4:51 p.m., I was dispatched to a stuck climber at Smith Rock State Park. A female climber was stuck about 40 feet above the ground on the final rappel from a route called First Kiss (5 pitches, 5.7). She was climbing with a male...
In April 2024, an 18-year-old climber tumbled into this fumarole after taking a long fall on Mt. Hood. He was discovered wedged between the rock and snow. His father/climbing partner can be seen descending (red circle) above. Photo: Ben Sleister...