Fred Beckey’s 100 Favorite North American Climbs. Fred Beckey. Introduction by Barry Blanchard. Patagonia Books, 2011. 350 pages. Color photos. Hardcover. $79.95.Fred Beckey’s 100 Favorite North American Climbs is the culmination of 75 years of mo...
Mt. Teddy, First Ascent, and Mt. Logan, Hummingbird Ridge, Thunderbird Variation. Paul Claus flew Christian Zinsli and I to base camp on the Seward Glacier at 1800 meters on May 28. Two days later, we had established Camp I at 2400 meters directly...
The American Alpine Club grants program provides resources for climbers and explorers to attempt new challenges, conduct scientific research, and push the envelope of human accomplishment in mountain and polar environments.For more information on ...
Another Level“Explorers of the Infinite” asks a basic question: Why?Maria CoffeyAsk mountaineers why they are compelled to climb, and more often than not their answer is, “Tt makes me feel alive.” But what does this mean? And what is it about this...
This Game of Ghosts. Joe Simpson. The Mountaineers, Seattle, 1994. 320 pages, black-and-white photographs. $24.95.Joe Simpson’s second volume of autobiography is just as exciting and impressively written as its predecessor, Touching the Void, his ...
Chakachamna Peak, south face to near summit. Fred Beckey had his eye on a prominent 7,530' peak in the Neacola Mountains for many years, but it remained entombed in his infamous “Black Book.” The peak is located three miles south of Lake Chakacham...
Balti Place Names in the KarakoramH. Adams CarterMUCH of the eastern Karakoram lies in Baltistan, a region inhabited by Muslims who speak a Tibetan dialect. Having been converted to Islam half a millenium ago, the Baltis speak a language which is ...
FALL ON FROZEN SCREE, FALL INTO CREVASSE, FAILURE TO FOLLOW ROUTE, CLIMBING ALONE, INADEQUATE CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT, INEXPERIENCEOregon, Mount Hood, South Side and Cathedral RidgeIn late August, Bob Considine (38) was visiting Oregon from Missour...
La Esfinge, East Face, Free Ascent. Ralph Ferrara and John Reyner freed the 1985 route on the east face of La Esfinge on August 14-15. They had attempted the route in June, managing four pitches. It is possibly the second free ascent of the route;...
Eclipse Glacier area, various ascents. One of the Alpine Club of Canada’s centennial activities was a ski mountaineering camp in the Icefield Ranges of the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon. The early June camp had 16 members, and we climbed 12 mountains...
FROSTBITE, FAILURE TO REWARM EXTREMITIESAlaska, Mount McKinleyOn May 23, 1984, Doug Hansen (age unknown) reached the summit via Mount McKinley’s West Buttress. During the ascent, Hansen’s feet were numb, but he did not stop to rewarm them. On his ...
(Editor’s note: With great regret we can not publish the whole article for reasons of space. We apologize to the author for having to leave out sections and hope the transitions will not be abrupt or confusing. The reader may wish to fill in det...
FALL ON ROCKCalifornia, Yosemite Valley, Manure Pile ButtressOn May 23, Irene Appelbaum (41) and Ricardo Lagos (28) climbed the Nutcracker (five pitches, 5.8) on Manure Pile Buttress, with Ricardo taking all the leads. On the final pitch, he place...
Gongga Shan Tragedy. An extraordinary tale comes from an attempt on Gongga Shan by Japanese from Hokkaido led by Akio Kawagoe. The 24 men and one woman established Base Camp on the Yan-Tsöko Glacier on April 4. Camp V was placed at 22,575 feet on ...
Knud Rasmussens Land, 2006 ascents. In August 2006 Jennifer Escott, Jonathan Hunter, Nick Mills, and I visited Knud Rasmussens Land, landing on the icecap at N 69°38.9', W 27°44.0'. This spot was the base camp for an out-going expedition from the ...
HACE AND HAPEAlaska, Mount McKinley, West ButtressOn June 8, the “AAI-1 -Taylor” expedition arrived at base camp to start their ascent of the West Buttress. The team arrived at the 14,200-foot camp on the evening of June 14, which is very close to...
EARLY in the war various members of the American Alpine Club were eager to see the U. S. Army develop considerable numbers of mountain troops and troops trained for cold weather operations. In this way it was hoped that warfare both in mountainous...
An Italian-Swiss team comprising Simon Gietl, Daniel Kopp, Roger Schali, and photographer/climber Thomas Ulrich made the first ascent of the spectacular east face of Grundtvigskirchen, a huge granite wall rising 1,325m from a point not far above t...
ROBERT KENNETH BRINTON1915-1996Robert Brinton, born in Los Angeles on January 9, 1915, was a pioneer California rock climber and skier with a contagious enthusiasm and a sprightly sense of humor. As a boy he was active with the Trailfinders, which...
Chacraraju Oeste, The Lord of the Towers, to middle summit. On July 8 and 9 Marjan Kovac and I (both from Slovenia) and Aritza Monasterio (Basque, living in Huaraz) opened a new route, The Lord of the Towers (ED+) on Chacraraju Oeste (6,112m), nor...