At the start of May, Rajesh Gadgil, Ratnesh Javeri, Vineeta Muni, Roshmin Mehandru, and I arrived in Leh, hoping to make an attempt on Shahi Kangri (6,934m). The mountain had never been attempted, so the approach was largely unknown, though Google...
Giorgos Margaritis, Petros Tolias, and I, from Greece, arrived in Leh during mid-August, and after acclimatizing with an ascent of Stok Kangri (6,123m), we traveled by jeep to Sumur in the Nubra Valley. Our aim was to make the first ascent of Nya ...
Between September 26 and October 2, Ian Dring and I (both U.K.) made the first ascent of Peak 5,755m in the upper Miyar Valley. We climbed the 1,300m north spur via a route we named Crocodile Rock (ED, 21 pitches between III and 6a+ A0).Peak 5,755...
In the last few years eastern Kishtwar has been on the radar of an increasing number of climbers, drawn to a paradise of unclimbed granite walls and peaks. I already knew about the 5,618m unclimbed peak called Gupta, so I was determined to get the...
The attractive pyramid of Gangstang (6,162m) is most often climbed by its southwest ridge, the route of the first ascent, approached from the Gangstang Glacier to the east. The east ridge was climbed in 2001 by a Japanese team supported by Sherpa ...
In 2011–12, Kishtwar National Park reopened after a nearly 20-year hiatus. Before then, the area had seen very little activity, but the potential for unclimbed lines and mountains has drawn a number of expeditions over the last few years. We were ...
Savandurga is situated 60km west of Bangalore, at 12°55'12.47"N, 77°17'35.39"E. It is among the largest monoliths in Asia, reaching an altitude of 1,226m.The first successful ascent of the main south face was made over two days in October 1984 by ...
Zsolt Torok and I flew to Lukla and acclimatized on the southeast ridge of Kyajo Ri (6,189m, Holby-Kear, 2005). On October 26 we flew to the Makalu-Barun region, where our objective was unclimbed Peak 5 (a.k.a. Saldim or Saldim Ri) on the border w...
On November 1 the Ukrainian team of Vitaly Golev, Yuri Kilichenko, Maxim Perevalov, Peter Poberezhnyi, and Yuri Vasenkov climbed a new route on Ombigaichen (6,340m), the beautiful, fluted peak that lies between Ama Dablam (6,814m) and the Mingbo L...
On November 6, Ben O'Connor Croft and I (U.K.), Joshua Jarrin (Ecuador), Pasang Bhote Sherpa, and Ang Phurba Sherpa (Nepal) made the first official ascent of Kangchung Shar (6,063m), a peak on the list of 104 summits newly approved by the Nepal go...
On October 15, Simon Yates and I descended from Renjo Pass and arrived in Gokyo. The place was fully packed with guided trekking groups, and there was a nonstop, rescue-insurance-fueled helicopter shuttle to Lukla, continuously evacuating stricken...
In November, Conrad Anker and I traveled to the Khumbu. Just like the year before, our goal was Lunag Ri, an unclimbed 6,895m peak. In November 2015, we had failed to reach the summit during a three-day weather window, reaching a high point about ...
In November, I led a 13-member team to attempt Karbu Ri (White Peak, 6,010m GPS), which I named after a reconnaissance to the area in April the same year. This peak lies on the Nepal-Tibet border at the head of the Rolwaling (a.k.a. Ripimo Shar) G...
In the autumn, Furtemba Sherpa and I embarked on an expedition with permits for unclimbed Langdung (6,357m) and Omi Tso Go (6,381m), both situated above the remote and stunning Rolwaling (a.k.a. Ripimo Shar) Glacier. A four-day trek brought us fro...
Warnings Against Myself: Meditations on a Life in Climbing. David Stevenson. University of Washington Press, 2016. Hardcover, 248 pages, $29.95.We’re all well-accustomed to trip reports and lyrical, upbeat “finding myself” stories, among other var...
On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite’s Most Iconic Climb. Hans Florine, with Jayme Moye. Falcon Guides, 2016. Hardcover, 240 pages, $25.Hans Florine is one of the great rock climbers of our generation, having reached that echelon primar...
Sixty Meters to Anywhere. Brendan Leonard. Mountaineers Books, 2016. Paperback, 176 pages, $16.95.Brendan Leonard is a relentless machine. He blogs (semirad.com), designs T-shirts, posters, and memes, and he writes books about outdoor adventures. ...
The Bold and Cold: A History of 25 Classic Climbs in the Canadian Rockies. Brandon Pullan. Rocky Mountain Books (Canada), 2016. Hardcover, 264 pages, $45.The Bold and Cold is not a guidebook, nor a picture book, but it is essential reading and dre...
Rock Queen. Catherine Destivelle. Hayloft Publishing, 2015. Paperback, 228 pages, £12.Catherine Destivelle’s memoir Rock Queen spins the yarns of her most famous ascents—pioneering a solo new route on the Dru and soloing the north face of the Eige...
The Pen Y Gwryd Hotel: Tales From The Smoke Room. Edited by Rob Goodfellow, Jonathan Copeland, and Peter O’Neill. Gomer Press, Wales (U.K.), 2016. Hardcover, 278 pages, £14.99.Impossible, you say! That the Beatles, George Mallory, Ed Hillary, Tenz...