As part of a large Kazakh national team expedition, Grigoriy Chshukin (leader), Leonid Krupa, and Roman Shesternin climbed a new route up the rocky west face of Gronky Peak (5,050m), above the East Kyzyl Asker Glacier. The trio made the ascent on ...
The line of the 2022 route up the northwest face of Verniy Peak. The rock wall is about 700 meters high and was climbed capsule style, with six nights in four portaledge camps. Other routes are not shown. In July 2022, seven members of a Kaza...
Grigoriy Chshukin leading the first steep ice pitch during the 2024 attempt on a new route on the west face of Verniy Peak. On July 1, Evgenii Murin (Russia), Maxim Popov (Kazakhstan), and I, along with photographer Denis Lukyanchuk, rode fro...
A traverse of the Ak-sai Horseshoe, an arc of 15 peaks encircling the Ak-sai Glacier, has long been considered one of Central Asia’s most elusive alpine objectives. With many difficult summits and ridgelines known for their sharp exposure and tech...
Andreas Parparinos traversing pitch eight on the west face of Zeus in the Gissar Range. Photo: Constantinos Andreou I had Tajikistan on my list for 2024, and I’d started to look into various ranges for possible first ascents when I came acr...
Panoramic view of the Fann Mountains from high on Energia Peak on May 1. The prominent peak on the left is Chimtarga (5,489m). Photo: Brody Leven Admittedly, all I knew about Tajikistan was that it’s the most mountainous country on Earth, wit...
Foreshortened view of the northeast face of Sterntinden with the line of the first ascent and bivouac marked. Despite spending a lot of time winter climbing in Lofoten, Stian Bruvoll and I had never bivouacked on a route there. In March, we ...
In September 2024, Dave MacLeod and Calum Muskett (both from Scotland) opened a probable new route called Line Dancing (E5 6b) on the left side of Stetind’s southwest face. After one attempt cut short by high wind, the two returned and completed t...
Andrea Fiocca traversing toward the exit from under the serac on the northwest face of Hvannadalshnúkur. The round-trip from the car took 19 hours. Photo: Matteo Meuci Collection. Located along the rim of the Öræfajökull crater, Hvannadalshn...
On August 20, a fall killed four people climbing Pico de Orizaba (5,636 meters), Mexico’s highest peak. The climbers were roped together above 5,000 meters on the Jamapa Glacier when one of them fell, dragging the other three down the mountain. T...
On March 14, a friend (the belayer) and I (Liu Yuezhang, 26) headed to Time Wave Zero (2,000’ III 5.12a or 5.11 A0) in El Potrero Chico to check out the approach and prepare for a full attempt a few days later. Our plan was to try the first two pi...
At 12:20 p.m. on June 13, a party of two requested a rescue from Mt. Cory in Banff National Park. The party was three pitches up a rock route called Hoka Hey! (9 pitches, 5.9) and had just completed a sustained 5.8/5.9 corner pitch. The party felt...
When Adam Laycock fell free of the fourth-pitch rappel anchor (intersection of orange and red lines) on the Gmoser Route on Mt. Louis, he miraculously stopped on a ledge 35 meters below (blue arrow), after tangling in the rappel ropes. Photo: Pa...
Michelle Dvorak and Kurt Ross (yellow circle) await rescue high on the Greenwood-Locke Route on Mt. Temple. This route has seen only a handful of winter-conditions ascents, and Dvorak would have been the first female to join that list. Photo: Pa...
At 1 p.m. on September 17, a solo climber was descending Mt. Collier (3,215 meters) via the Collier-Victoria col. While transitioning from the rocky terrain below the col to icy slopes leading down to the Lower Victoria Glacier, the climber lost t...
On September 3, two pairs of experienced climbers were stranded high on Oubliette Mountain’s east ridge (450 meters, 5.9) after inclement weather moved in. The two pairs spent the night in an unplanned bivouac but were prepared with warm clothing ...
Injured ice climber (lower yellow circle) at the base of Xena in the Storm Creek area of Kootenay National Park. The ice dam that broke, flushing the climber into a long fall, is marked at the top of the route. Photo: Conrad Janzen, Parks Canada...
The Chinese Puzzle Wall, illuminated above, was the scene of an iPhone SOS rescue in September 2023. Tricky route-finding, loose rock, and pulled protection factored into an accident that struck two world-class climbers. On serious and remote ad...
Mt. Logan (foreground) from the north. Teams entering the St. Elias Mountains must be self-sufficient. Logan can go for years without a successful ascent. The King Trench route, scene of a May 2023 rescue, ascends from the right. Photo: Jack Fr...
Dakota Walz and Natalie Afonina simul-rappel after establishing a new line (5.10 R/X) on a sandstone tower in Chad’s Ennedi region. Photo by Bosco Bonilla. Mid-November of 2024 found me and four friends in two Land Cruisers, hurtling at brea...