In early 2017, Pete Fasoldt and Jonathan Schaffer established a nine-pitch sport route on the northeast face of Pico Independencia, between the older routes La Norte and Directisima. “The route was bolted ground-up, sussed top-down, and subsequent...
Rolando Larcher, one of my regular traveling companions, suggested the idea of climbing in Mexico. After some research on the Internet, Rolando was drawn to a stunningly beautiful wall in Huasteca Canyon and, without knowing anything about it what...
Kim Schmitz was a force of nature and life. I first met him in the Tetons, in 1979, during a trip to climb the east ridge of the Grand. He came roaring out of his tent cabin on the old Guides’ Hill and his presence was stunning. His piercing stee...
On January 3, the AAC lost one of its past presidents, Jim Henriot. He will be much missed by all who knew him, on or off the mountains. A distinguished attorney, an outstanding outdoorsman and mountaineer, a wise counselor, a loyal friend, a le...
Glen Dawson was born on June 3, 1912, in the Mt. Washington area of northeast Los Angeles, the same birth year as his two most notable climbing partners, Jules Eichorn and Dick Jones. The Sierra Club was then only 20 years old, John Muir was s...
Toward the end of the day on November 19, I started up a 5.10c trad route called Star Action in the Trapps. At the crux, I went for the jug but fell off. Though it should have been a short, clean fall, my leg slid along the rope and intersected a ...
An experienced local climber, age 68, was leading Peak Season in Harlem (5.8/5.9), a nine-bolt sport route, in June. He attempted to take a rest by hanging at the ninth bolt, but when he sat back on the rope, he fell to about the height of the fou...
Situated between Pangnirtung and Kingnait fiords on Baffin Island’s Cumberland Peninsula, 35 kms northeast of the village of Pangnirtung, is a rugged, glaciated group of alpine peaks: the Gateway Glacier complex. Here, glaciers have carved an impr...
In 1995, a Russian-Swiss team made a long exploratory journey through the eastern end of the Western Kokshaal-too. The team was Otto Chkhetiani, Vadimir Nikitin, Dmitry Oborotov, and Felix Weinstein, all from Moscow except for Weinstein, who is Sw...
After a trip to the Terskey Ala-too with Callum Nelson, he had to return to Europe, so I decided to continue alone to the At-Bashi. With my excellent ITMC driver Sasha, I came in from the south and chose a final destination as we approached: the K...
Top alpinists have two main “practice climbs” within Japan to prepare for the Himalaya. “Pachinko” involves a linkup of 200m to 600m walls and mixed ridge climbing in the Mt. Hotaka region. Pachinko means “pinball,” and the climbs are so named b...
The Mirror Wall (center) has only one known route, climbed in 2010. The Citadel is at left and Great Sail Peak to the right. David “Pelut” Palmada and I flew to Baffin on April 27, 2010, and traveled by snowmobi...
Red line: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2016). Yellow line: Apocalypse Now (2015). Will Mayo Collection On March 7, 2015, Anna Pfaff and I completed Apocalypse Now, a traditionally protected mixe...
In August 1999, Jonny Copp and Mike Pennings climbed a new line on the 3,200’ west face of North Howser Tower. They called their route Armageddon (VI 5.11+ A2) and free climbed most of it. “Arghh,” Copp wrote in AAJ 2000, “a pecker and a blade; da...
The Minaret is a gorgeous prow shaped like a rocket ship that leans against the south side of South Howser Tower. Despite having made many trips to the Bugaboos, I’d never climbed on it. In August, Maury Birdwell, Leo Houlding, Jesse Huey, and I p...
During late April and early May, an expedition of the Groupe Excellence Alpinisme National, a mentorship program of the federation of French alpine clubs (FFCAM), led by Mathieu Détrie, Frédéric Gentet, and Christophe Moulin, completed several new...
I had intended to try the unclimbed east face of Kang Nachugo (6,737m) in 2015, but the massive earthquake prevented access to the region and forced us to change our objective to the north face of Kantega, on which we were unsuccessful. A year lat...
Nangamari I (center) and II (left). The 2016 first ascent of Nangamari II gained the col between the two peaks, then followed the northeast ridge. In 2013 the Kanzai section of the Japanese Alpine Club had discussi...
On May 3, at approximately 11:30 p.m., a climber notified park rangers that his climbing partner might have sustained a broken leg during a rappelling accident while descending from the route Sons of Yesterday. The patient was located on a belay l...
John R. Filsinger of Clearfield, Pennsylvania, died September 24 at the age of 95. He was married to Marjorie Filsinger from 1949 until her death in 1977. In 1980 he married Elaine (Guildalian) Filsinger, who survives him. He is also survived by h...