Top bivouac at around 6,000m during the first ascent of Korada North. The pyramid in the background is Drifika (6,447m). Photo by Tim Exley On August 28, Tim Exley, Tom Seccombe, and I made a one-day walk up the Nangma Valley to establish ba...
(A) Qtang Sar and route of first ascent. (B) Sakwa Sar and route of first ascent (Forever Young). (C) Subsummit of Gunj-e-Sar [named Yad Sar, 6,015m, and reached in 2017 via the line shown here, by Ross Davidson and Karim Hayat. (D) The south ...
I fell under the spell of the west face of Baruntse (7,152m) in 2001 during an expedition to attempt Kyashar, about 20km to the southwest. As I stared at the 1,300m face of interlacing snow, ice, and rock features, I began looking for lines of wea...
Over seven days in October, Matt Glenn and I climbed the northeast pillar of Tengkangpoche (6,487m; this formation has long been called the north pillar, but much of the climbing faces northeast). We acclimatized by sleeping progressively higher u...
From October 28–30, Nejc Marčič and I succeeded on the first ascent of the 1,700m northwest face of Chobutse (6,685m). The peak was first climbed in 1972 via the east ridge/face, approached from the north, by Germans Gustav and Klaus Harder, Pet...
An expedition to the Greater Ranges marks the end of the three-year cycle of the Spanish National Mountaineering Team. Here they gain experience with altitude and learn how to operate carefully and safely in remote ranges. Choosing the south side ...
On October 4, six French alpinists—Charles Dubouloz, Damien and Fanny Tomasi, Aurélien Vaissière, Benjamin Védrines and Symon Welfringer—arrived at a 4,970m base camp in the Hongu Valley, below the north face of Chamlang (7,319m). In 2019, Véd...
On April 9, Matt Meinzer and I made the first free ascent of Witch Doctor (1,400’, IV 5.11+ R) on the southwest face of Notch Peak, after numerous earlier trips to establish the line. The route is located to the right of (and is independent of) th...
If you claim a first ascent in the Beartooths, chances are that some “Montana Hardman” already climbed the route decades ago. Nobody knows who was first because the local ethic of not reporting climbs ensures the exploits of the past are lost in o...
He Lang and Liu Yang attempted the north face of Siguniang North (Yangangzi, 5,900m) in August 2020, planning to traverse the summit and continue up the north ridge of Siguniang (6,250m). They began their ascent on August 20, and by the end of the...
The upper south face of Pik Voennyh Topografov with the line of Impromptu (2021). Photo by Anatoly Dzhuliy Pik Voennyh Topografov (Military Topographers Peak, 6,873m) is the third-highest mountain of the Tien Shan. Prior to 2021, only three r...
Expeditions to the Indian Himalaya from other countries were nonexistent during 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, from time to time, Indian nationals were allowed to travel within the country. Winter climbing on the higher peaks...
Sumdo lies on the banks of the Spiti River, has a large military base, and is an important strategic point between the districts of Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur. To its east lie many unclimbed peaks of the Southern Zanskar Range, north and south o...
A view of all four summits of the Kang Yatze Group from Hangkar to the northwest: (A) KYI, (B) KYII, (C) KYIII, and (D) KYIV. Photo by Sonam Yangjor On August 1, Sonam Yangjor, Stanzin Wangial, and I made the first documented ascent of Kang Y...
In May 1983, Ernie Borjon, Dan McCabe, and I climbed the prominent west-facing gully that rises above the Ruth Glacier between London and Werewolf towers. [This gully was climbed again 13 years later by Manu Guy and Manu Pelissier (France), who na...
Tetnuldi (4,860m) is a beautiful peak in the Svaneti region of Georgia. The mountain’s classic route is the south ridge, and the pyramidal west face is very attractive; its white profile can be seen from many places, even from Svaneti’s administra...
We had a fantastic trip to the Caucasus in June, undoubtedly helped in our goals by some very good weather. Our primary objective was to climb the main (south) summit of Ushba (4,710m), starting from the south via the Ushba Glacier. Our group cons...
Aaron Livingston, belayed by Karl Kvashay, leading pitch 12, the crux pitch of the Skeleton Key (1,400’, 15 pitches, V 5.13a), during the first free ascent. Photo by Katy Stark Brandon Gottung and Karl Kvashay started up what would become Ske...
The route line of Hit by a Wheeler (also known as the Marvell-Wharton) on the northeast face of Wheeler Peak, Nevada. Photo by Josh Wharton In winter 2021, like many of us, I was hungry for a traditional adventure, one that didn’t involve N-...
On September 10, Steven Grunwald, 24, was reported missing by a friend. His car was found parked in the Glacier Gorge parking lot in Rocky Mountain National Park the same day. Grunwald was last seen on August 28 and his exact plans were unknown, b...