Skiing across the quickly melting sea ice, Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry head toward Stewart Lake. Photo by Erik Boomer. The first time I remember hearing about Baffin Island was in 2009 when I met Sarah McNair-Landry on the kite-surfin...
This year's review comes among the author’s growing awareness of the importance of respecting previous use of the land that we climb on. Whether it is appropriate to name and claim climbs will occupy more of the author’s thoughts and efforts in ye...
From May 23–27, David Allfrey, Whit Magro, and I established a new alpine big-wall route on the northwest face of Kichatna Spire (8,985’) in the Alaska Range. The Kichatna Mountains are a small clutch of exceptionally steep peaks 70 miles west ...
On August 2, Aaron Harris and I shouldered heavy packs and started the pleasant hike toward Dewar Creek Hot Springs and ultimately Wall Tower. Two days later, we were settled into one of the nicest alpine campsites we’ve had the privilege of visit...
When Brent Nixon started insisting he had an idea for what would be the longest sport route in North America, I told him to stuff it. As I looked up at the notoriously loose, convoluted architecture of Marble Canyon’s golden walls, it was obvious ...
With a sidelining injury plaguing my A and B plans for the summer, I decided to poke around close to home. For a warm-up and to test my tweaky shoulder on easier ground, I headed up to the Place Glacier with Natalie Afonina to check out a small do...
In late September 2020, while exploring the main southeast face of Whiteside Mountain, Brian Barwatt and I discovered and climbed two phenomenal pitches high on the wall, left of Route Doctors (700’, 8 pitches, III 5.12 R, Bayne-Heuermann, 1994) a...
We set off from the airstrip in Talkeetna, totally psyched for the challenge waiting for us high up above the Shadows Glacier. Mike “Twid” Turner and I would have to dig deeper than ever before on past big wall trips—it was just the two of us, a...
Over two days in March, along with Pat Cooke and Seth Fisher, I pieced together the first free ascent of Across the Great Divide, an old aid line on Cannon Cliff. The route travels along the wall that forms the left side of the famous Black Dike (...
The northeast face of Lady Mountain (6,945’) soars over Zion’s Emerald Pools Trail and dominates the view from the Zion Lodge. This monstrous face had held my attention for years, both because it is one of the tallest in the park and because it ha...
Deep in the drainages and up the sandy scree slopes of Oak Creek, Landon McDowell and I wandered below the cliffs in mid-October, itching for an adventure. When we saw a horizontal roof 400’ off the ground, we knew we’d found it. It was about 300’...
The 2022 route on the northwest face of Karun Koh. The first ascent, in 1984, was by the west-southwest ridge, along the right skyline. Photo by Kenro Nakajima. In the winter of 2021, Kazuya Hiraide and Takuya Mitoro planned to attempt Karun ...
The Southwest Face (a.k.a. The 51st, 1,500’, 13 pitches, V 5.11+) on Mt. Kinesava, Zion National Park, Utah. Mt. Kinesava is named after the Paiute god of trickery. Photo by Andrew Andraski Named after the Paiute god of trickery, Mt. Kinesav...
There is a ledge 250’ off the ground on the north face of Tucupit Point, and below the ledge is a wide vertical wall, devoid of even the smallest seam. Above are several crack systems that continue 1,000’ to the summit, and hold what I hoped would...
After realizing that Redfish Lake Creek was too high to cross to reach Elephant’s Perch during a trip in early June, Sara Morrow and I opted to backtrack and climb a pinnacle we’d spotted along the canyon rim earlier in the approach. We scrambled ...
The Northwest Buttress line (1,200m, 5.11-) on Mt. Temple. Photo by Dane Steadman. In mid-September, I drove up to Canmore from my home in Wyoming, intent on a month of fall alpine climbing. The summer had been unusually hot, but I figured it...
The first time I saw the north face of Table Mountain (6,265’), I got pulled over for driving too slowly. Nearly 1,000’ tall, it was the largest continuous rock face I had seen in the Tucson area. Viewed from the city, from the south, Table Mounta...
In the early morning alpenglow, Red Rock comes alive. Every morning that I drive the loop road, my eyes trace the skyline back and forth. Watching the features, tracking the shadows as they dance. There are many distinct features that pop out, but...
View to the north over Red Rock. The peaks’ vertical relief averages around 2,000 feet. The HURT started with (A) White Rock Peak and crossed (B) Bridge Point, (C) Mt. Wilson, (D) Black Velvet Peak, and nearly 20 other summits before finishing a...
From April 16 to 18, Zach Dugan and I climbed a probable new route on the east face of Peak 11,300’. During an impeccable weather window, we climbed the route in 39 hours round-trip from our base camp on the Ruth Glacier. On the evening of the ...