Li Yuan, Zhang Xiaohui, and Zheng Chaohui made the first official ascent of the north summit of Zhalaqueni, reaching the top on January 27, 2013. The three spent three and a half days climbing directly up the east face by a new line they named E...
In 2012 I set up Summit Outdoor School, a nonprofit organization providing free courses to Chinese villages, outdoor, and university clubs. Our aim is to train local people to become guides or instructors in their mountains, and in order to ...
On May 3 Karim Adouane (France), Jon Otto (USA), Su Rongqin (a.k.a. Asu, China), and I made the first known ascent of Xiao Xuebaoding (32°38’29” N, 103°53’16” E,), a peak we referred to as Little Xuebaoding, the second highest in the Min S...
On November 5, Christophe Dumarest and I made the probable first ascent of Pt. ca 5,600m at the end of the southwest ridge of Chang-gou (a.k.a. Lara Peak, 5,700m). This rocky summit is situated immediately north of Siguniang North at 31°07’2...
The imposing east face of Pico Italia is unmissable to anyone climbing Huayna Potosi; the steep, 500m granite face forms a fortress-like barrier along the western edge of the Huayna Potosi Glacier, and casts an alluring orange-obsidian glow in ...
Ian Cartwright and I made a one-day approach from Shiva basecamp at 3,850m in the Tarundi Valley into the high subsidiary valley to the east. Our goal, the pyramidal peak at the head of this valley, while not particularly high, is the highes...
In September, Joanna Campbell, Michael Cocker, John Kentish, Paul Padman, Michael Pinney, Stuart Worsfold, and I, all members of the Alpine Club, traveled by way of Joshimath to the Semartoli Valley. A joint Indo-British expedition had visi...
We were a modest group of four climbers: Dr. Jeff Dolinsky, his wife, Joan, and me, all from Canada, along with Andy Selters (USA). We were accompanied by climbers Kunzang Sherpa (sirdar) and Arvind Raman (LO), two climbing staff, Nangang Bh...
Our Indo-British expedition comprised Satyabrata Dam (Indian leader) and me (British leader), Paul Figg, Simon Yearsley (both U.K.), Dan Singh Harkotiya, Tashi Phunchok, and Konchuk Thinless (India), the British artist Rachel Antill, and lia...
In November 2012, Oriol Baró and I climbed two new routes, one on Cerro Moyano, the other on Cerro Norte. These two mountains lie between Lago Argentino, Lago Viedma, and the Upsala Glacier in Argentine Patagonia, Los Glaciares National Park...
This route is certainly one of the best first ascents I have ever done, especially given the enormity of the wall. While I was unsure how difficult some sections would be, the route looked fairly obvious and of good quality. In 2012 I attemp...
After doing two first free ascents in the Torres del Paine [see Chile section] Stephane Hanssens and I headed back to El Chaltén. (We had already been there in December and climbed the Ragni route on Cerro Torre.) On our last three days in South...
Three years ago, at a round table in Lecco, Italy, Mario Conti and Carlo Aldè showed Matteo “Berna” Bernasconi and me a few photos of the west face of Torre Egger. This little information was enough for Berna and I to tackle the challenge of ope...
On February 21, Sarah Hart and I made the first ascent of the west face of Mojon Rojo, calling our route El Zorro (700m, 5.10 A1). The west face of Mojon Rojo, while of modest altitude, is quite striking from the Niponino bivouac, and I had w...
From January 24–26, 2013, Chad Kellogg and I made the second ascent of Cerro Torre’s Corkscrew route: a link-up that climbs the first two-thirds of the southeast ridge, traverses across the hanging icefield on the upper south face, and then f...
Pomiu was first climbed in October 1983 by Ted Vaill’s American team, via a fairly direct line up the south face (5.10c, fixed ropes). Liam Lahr, Eric Perlman, and Alan Steck reached the summit, followed a day later by Robert Schneider, Brock...
In late July, Ye Feng, Zhang Yunping, and I climbed a new line up the southwest face to reach the south-southwest ridge. It was an enjoyable and yet tormenting 52 hours, as we were hit by various calamities. On the approach one of our guid...
On October 24 and 25, Jérôme Para and I made the first ascent of the ca 700m northwest face of Daogou (the higher and easterly of the two Daogou peaks). [However, see the correction below.] On the 23rd, it took nine hours to walk from the main S...
In August 2010, Li Yue and I spent 10 days exploring five different side branches of the Shuangqiao Gou. In late July 2011, I returned with Ye Feng, Wu Peng, and Gong Xiaorui and spent another 10 days walking up the Shuangqiao and then aro...
Iza Czaplicka, Ilona Gaweda, Bartlomiej Klimas, Joanna Klimas, my husband Adam Rys, and I, all from Poland, spent from August 15–September 1 in the Miyar. There were few days without rain, which meant that while short routes were manageable,...