My Path to ParadiseFinally, a direct route on Cerro Torre’s east face.Ermanno SalvaterraI clip another copperhead, then two rivets, and finally reach the last belay station of Cerro Torre’s headwall. A few more moves up icy rock and I am there. Ha...
At 2:30 p.m. on October 29, Michael Lerjen, my brother Samuel, and I stood on the summit of Pasang Lhamu Chuli. We were not exactly full of joy. Pasang Lhamu Chuli hasn’t got an easy way off down the backside. Like the Matterhorn, once you reach t...
Washington, Mt. Rainier—Ingraham Glacier—On September 1, the collapse of a large mass of snow and ice into a hidden crevasse above the 13,000 foot level of the Ingraham Glacier on Mt. Rainier resulted in the death of a novice climber, William Haup...
FALL/SLIP ON SNOW—New Hampshire, Mt. Washington, Tuckerman’s Ravine. On Saturday, May 8, Scott Whinnery (25) hiked with two companions to Tuckerman’s Ravine for a day of skiing. Scott was a professional ski patrolman and was considered an excellen...
After an expedition to Dolpo, Tamotsu Ohnishi’s Osaka Alpine Club expedition returned to Kathmandu, and some members flew home. The remaining six left for a trek up the Buri Gandaki on October 7. Before Nyuk (Ngyak) they turned right and headed up...
Aguja de la Media Luna. Robyn Bunch and I ascended the standard East Face route on this rock spire below Cerro Torre during the first week of February, 1996. It is an 11-pitch rock route directly above the Norwegian Bivy and follows obvious corner...
Ships Prow, Sarchasm. As reported in last year’s volume, Pat Adams and Jim Redo climbed the three-pitch Bologna Pony (5.12c) on Ships Prow. This was one of the hardest climbs in the Park until Tommy Caldwell upped the ante with a 120-foot direct s...
Satopanth, Northeast Ridge. The expedition consisted of 12 members with two high altitude porters. We established Base Camp in Vasuki Tal at 4900 meters on July 3, 1995, Camp I on the Sundar Glacier at 5400 meters on July 7, and Camp II on the nor...
Artesonraju, Southeast Face, and Pisco Oeste, from Laguna Parón. Since it is not possible to get to the other end of Laguna Parón on foot, we crossed it in a rubber boat we were lucky enough to borrow. Base Camp was at the far end of the lake. On ...
Texas Tower has a big reputation, as it is one of the tallest pure sandstone towers in the desert southwest. The only existing route, first climbed in 1987 by Tim Toula and Kathy Zaiser on the west face, still seems to see as many failures as asce...
North Face of North Early Winter Spire. This new route, the second on the imposing North Early Winter Spire, is almost on the opposite side from the original climb of 1951. It is an excellent 400-foot climb on good granite. On August 31 Joe Hieb a...
P. 5400m, Ascent. It was reported that a five-man German team (Markus Aigneherr, Martin Grziwarsch, Bernd Illguth, Christian Schultes and Florian Siemer) climbed the north pillar of a 5400-meter rock spire above the Biafo Glacier. They established...
Mount Temple, North Face in Winter. Barry Blanchard and I climbed a winter route on the north face of Mount Temple from March 16 to 18. We believe it is a new line. It had been tried twice earlier in the season by two other teams which were thwart...
FALL ON ROCK, PROTECTION PULLED OUTOregon, Smith Rock, Crack of InfinityOn June 3, Rod Lucas (45) was leading Crack of Infinity, a 5.10b trad route rated three stars, requiring gear to three inches, according to Alan Watts’ Climbers Guide to Smith...
It was reported that Albino Pon and Rodman and Marcus Garcia put up the 11-pitch Spanish Harlem (a.k.a. The Prow, 5.11+ A1) over 13 days on Cerro E1 Gavilan near E1 Portrero Chico. The route was established ground-up and is mostly naturally protec...
Sangemar Attempt, Batura Mustagh. A four-man Japanese party led by Yoshihisa Tagawa failed to climb Sangemar (6949 meters, 22,800 feet) after reaching 20,375 feet from Camp III on July 17. Their attempt was from the Muchichul Glacier. (More inform...
T. M. Griffiths and the writer, with Gordon Williams leading, made the second ascent of Teakettle Mountain (13,725 ft.) a beautiful peak east of Cirque Mt. It was not particularly difficult, except for the last 600 feet. The peak has an excellent ...
SLIP, FALL FROM TOWER, INADEQUATE BELAY British Columbia, Expo 86-Alberta PavilionOn June 17, 1986, the daily demonstration climbing of the Alberta Pavilion at Expo 86 had been suspended after a Calgary woman fell and broke her left ankle while sc...
Mana Peak Attempt. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation selected 18 women and 18 men with me as leader to try out the climbers and their gear for next year’s Everest expedition on Mana Peak (7272 meters, 23,858 feet). Mana Peak was first climbed b...
Half Dome, Tis-Sa-Ack Climbed by a Paraplegic. Mike Corbet and paraplegic climber Mark Wellman, who serves as a Yosemite Park Ranger, climbed the Tis-Sa-Ack route on Half Dome, reaching the top on September 16 after 13 days on the wall. They suffe...