Bongalong (600’, 5.5 A1) was established by Jerry Brown and Rod Smythe in 1966. Knowing how obscure the lower left side of the east face of Longs Peak is, and that this route was established before the free-climbing era, I thought it might be low-...
In late October, Wenny Sanchez and I climbed a new route on Aguja El Marinero (ca 3,300m). This fine wall is located in Cajon de Arenales in the Mendoza Range, outside of Tunuyan, a granite canyon that has seen much recent development on its 200-4...
In October, my girlfriend Wenny Sanchez and I climbed a new route in a remote part of Argentina’s Central Andes: the Cordillera de Ansilta. The area is reached from the town of Barreal, in San Juan Province, and then by following harsh and rugged ...
In late August, Rafael Caceres, Nicolas Navarette, Carla Perez, and I climbed a new route on a pillar to the right of the main east-southeast face of Kyzyl Asker (5,842m), reaching the upper northeast ridge. We were accompanied to base camp by fel...
In 2009, Sergey Nilov and I were part of a relatively large Belorussian-Russian expedition with the goal of a new route on Kyzyl Asker (5,842m). As an acclimatization climb we made a new route on the northwest face of beautiful Pik Vernyi (AAJ 201...
At approximately 11:40 a.m. on July 12, I greeted a solo climber as I was rappelling Chicken Delight on the Barber Wall at Cathedral Ledge with a client. I observed that the solo climber had just rappelled Double Vee/Jolt on a static line, and app...
Between October 11 and October 25, Tsuyoshi Nagai (82), Tadao Shintani (70), and I (79) drove 4,500km between Bayizhen and Lhasa, as well as north of Lhasa, to photograph various lesser-known mountains. A perfect blue sky warmly welcomed us ...
I led a four-man team from the Gakushuin University Alpine Club to the Lenak Valley, having seen a picture of L15 (6,070m) in Kimikazu Sakamoto's AAJ 2012 report. We were fascinated by its elegant shape, and by a snow ridge on the left side of the...
On January 17 a party of 12 was ascending Central Gully in Huntington Ravine in four teams when one rope team triggered a soft slab avalanche. The avalanche swept over the three other rope teams, carrying one to the bottom of the gully. This team ...
Castle Dome (10,800’), in Kings Canyon, has been on my list of places to visit for quite a while, with good-looking rock, a high adventure factor, giant approach, and only one recorded climb: Silmarillion (IV 5.10), established by Mark Menge and J...
In August, Whit Magro and I completed a free version of the Boissenault-Larson Route (VI 5.11 A4, 1979), which we called Hook, Line, and Sinker (1,800’, V 5.12). We accessed Mt. Hooker from the Big Sandy trailhead using horses. The horses dropped ...
I’m never too surprised when I get an email from John Frieh showing the weather in some obscure part of Alaska. He is one of the best in the country at finding a weather window and capitalizing on it. I trust his judgment and just go along for the...
The 2014 Salvesen Range Expedition was an interesting winter experiment that completely failed to achieve any of its stated objectives. However, it remained hugely enjoyable, and we managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by transferring...
In June, Alan Rousseau and I flew into the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier between guiding trips on Denali to see what we could get done. With huge amounts of snowfall and warming temps, we ruled out all routes with snow above them.We decid...
After reaching the Kain Hut around midnight on October 10 and sleeping in past our alpine start, Tim McAllister and I hiked out toward the Howser Towers intent on some winter-conditions climbing. Sighting excellent conditions, we chose a line to t...
In July, Colin Moorhead, Max Tepfer, and I completed a difficult new free climb on the Supercave Wall (a.k.a. M&M Wall) over the course of four days: the Tiger (1,000’, IV 5.12b). This south-facing, semi-alpine wall is truly an amazing gem, lo...
Tokopah Valley is an overlooked gem tucked within the west side of Sequoia National Park. While it’s known primarily for the 1,000’ Watchtower, towering over Tokopah Falls, the north side of the valley holds several beautiful granite formations wi...
This is a story of people meeting terrain. It’s a love story—this terrain is hot. The adventures are wild and timeless. The red lines are still being drawn. Many have fallen for this massif, seduced by the pleasure of dancing with its peaks. From ...
The word “remote” is no longer forbidding to mountaineers. Jet travel is relatively cheap and easy, and can quickly get you to any corner of the world. But getting close is one thing. Real accessibility is another story entirely. Planes land in P...
Out of the shapeless mass that is the past, moments stand out like still photographs. I remember driving through the concrete canyons of Calgary’s downtown one spring morning in 2005 and deciding that, yes, I’d go with Steve Swenson to Pakistan. U...