In October, Ricardo Hernandez and I traveled to the Torres del Brujo (a.k.a. Sierra del Brujo), in the VI region of Chile. We started up the University Glacier until the point where it intersects the Mañke Glacier—a two-day approach. It took one a...
On January 10, 2016, Argentine climbers Lissandro Arelovich and Glauco Muratti ascended an unclimbed 4,905m peak above Quebrada Potrero Escondido. They departed on January 7 from Punta de Vacas, making three camps west of the peak before beginning...
On November 14, Argentines Adrían Petrocelli and Ramiro Casas departed from Punta de Vacas, trekked along Quebrada Tupungato, and camped in Quebrada Potrero Escondido at ca 4,100m. The next day they continued to the foot of unclimbed Cerro Colorad...
Mt. Parofes is a 5,845m volcano that rises between Pissis and Bonete in Argentina’s La Rioja Province. It was said to be the highest unclimbed American summit, until Máximo Kausch (Argentina), Jovany Blume, and Pedro Hauck (both Brazil) ascended i...
Volcán Granada (5,697m) is a volcano in the Puna region, a highland desert zone near the point where Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina meet. It was first ascended by Incas long ago for ceremonial purposes. On June 21, Argentine climbers Agustín Piccol...
Over two days in September 2014, Ryan Brooks and I free climbed a new route on the big- wall sector of Cannon Cliff in Franconia Notch. The route ascends seven pitches over roughly 800’ and contains some of the best and worst Cannon has to offer. ...
In September and October 2014, Ben Collett and Rob Smith climbed two moderate new ice/ mixed routes in the Longs Peak area. Smith’s Route (III M5) ascends the gully left of Zumie’s Thumb in the east cirque of Longs Peak. Duncan Did It First (800’,...
In July, Pete Walka and I completed Highway to Heaven (11 pitches, 5.8) on Storm Point in the Tetons. As reported in AAJ 2015, the route ended at a high point I dubbed Tranquility Point. Upon returning in 2015, we found a free route to reach the t...
In February and March, Scott Coldiron and partners climbed two long new routes in the Cabinet Mountains. On February 22, Coldiron and Christian Thompson climbed Blackwell Falls (900’, WI5 M4), a mostly ice route below the northeast side of A Peak ...
I first climbed in the Fisher Towers during my freshman year of college. During the next three years, I gradually climbed one tower after the other, learning from each success and failure, until I had done them all. My most profound failure was on...
I started working on this climb with Mary Harlan, when we climbed and cleaned the first two pitches of Sucker Punch (AAJ 2014) and this route (located just right of Sucker Punch on the northwest face) over two days. I added the remaining hardware ...
In early November, Nikki Smith, Matt Tuttle, and Angela VanWiemeersch climbed a new ice route in Henry’s Fork Basin, below King’s Peak (13,528’), on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains. The climb, Trivium (100’, WI4), is significant for its 10-...
On October 30, Matt Mower and I made what is likely the first ascent of Castle Dome. From the West Rim, we rappelled into the saddle between the West Rim and Castle Dome. We eventually reached the southeast corner, where one can look down onto Zio...
Over four days at the beginning of April, Matthew Mower and I completed the first ascent of Ivins Mountain (7,049’) by its west face. This peak is located on the west side of the park, and is considered one of the most remote mountains in Zion. To...
In the early 1990s—back when I was running around in romper suits—Conrad Anker tried a big-wall climb on the Temple of Sinewava, just left of the wall’s large waterfall. He and Doug Heinrich climbed five pitches before retreating. While rappelling...
Last summer I worked as a backcountry ranger in Sequoia National Park in California. Sequoia is a vast playground of granite peaks, domes, and beautiful alpine country. Near the northern boundary of the park are the incredible climbing areas of Va...
The east face of Castle Rock Spire was first attempted in 1949 by John Salathé and Jim Wilson; the direct crack system is obvious. However, it took 64 years for the route to see a complete ascent (AAJ 2014), at 5.9 C1. When Daniel Jeffcoach mentio...
In mid-April, Adam Burch and I teamed up to finish a route I had started on Lower Tokopah Dome in 2014. Below-average precipitation during the winter allowed us to complete the approach without encountering any snow. The climbing itself was fun an...
While climbing the Prism and Saber Ridge earlier in the summer I noticed two attractive, unclimbed domes to the west on the same ridgeline, above Tamarack Lake. Local climbers had dubbed these the Choss Boobs. The larger of the two domes was quite...
For a climber, finding a direct line from the bottom of the peak to a spire-like summit is equivalent to winning a lottery. Emilio Comici’s most famous quote is, “I wish some day to make a route, and from the summit let fall a drop of water, and t...