In September, Victor Saunders and I made the first ascent of Yawash Sar I (6,258m), a shapely peak at the head of the Koksil (a.k.a. Shop Dur) Glacier, located in the Khunjerab Group of the Ghujerab Mountains, very near the frontier with China. [I...
Zdeněk Hák traversing the western flank of the south spur of Batura V between camps 1 and 2, en route to the first ascent of Muchu Chhish. Sanglamamar is in the background. Photo: Jaroslav Bánský. I had planned to visit Afghanistan’s Hindu Ku...
Looking for a route on the west ridge of Sachban Sar. Photo: Takemi Suzuki. At the end of the summer, Ryo Masumoto, Takaaki Nagato, Takemi Suzuki (photographer and filmmaker), Katsutaka “Jumbo” Yokoyama, and I drove via Ishkoman to the Karamb...
Alex Manoliu and Ionuț Papa from Romania reached the Ak-su Valley in early July, hoping to repeat the famed Perestroika Crack on Slesova Peak and possibly to establish a new line of their own. When poor weather kept them off Perestroika Crack for ...
In late May, I completed a new route on the north face of Angels Landing. Civil Disobedience (1,250’, 10 pitches, V 5.9 A3) takes a direct, independent, and rather sheer path immediately right of the historic Lowe Route (1,200’, 12 pitches, V 5.10...
Sean McLane leading pitch eight (the second of three M9 pitches) on The Penitent Path, a week after redpointing the 12-pitch route. Photo: Jon Jugenheimer. After about 20 days of work over two months, Jon Jugenheimer and I completed what cou...
In August 2024, friends and I established two routes on Ptarmigan Mountain (12,324’) on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). I first came across the Ptarmigan Towers while flipping through Richard Rossiter’s RMNP guidebook; I hike...
The Lone Eagle Cirque, on the west side of the Continental Divide in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, is known for breathtaking views, beautiful alpine lakes, and the classic north face of Lone Eagle Peak (11,946’), climbed by brothers Joe and Paul St...
Mitchell Steinman following the 5.11+ first pitch of the 1978 route Pipeline. Photo: Stefanos Apostle In early September, Mitchell Steinman and I spent about a week in the Cirque of the Moon. After the 12-mile approach and its four river cros...
The line of Peavine Palace (3,000’, IV WI6 M7), high above the Peavine Cabins in the Chitistone Valley, Wrangell Mountains. Photo: Ethan Berkeland Jonathan Koenig and I first acquainted ourselves with the Chitistone Valley in March 2022 and q...
Paweł Haldas climbing in rough conditions on the south face of the Mooses Tooth. Photo: Marcin Tomaszewski. When Paweł Hałdaś (Poland) and I set off for Alaska in February, we had no definite plans but two areas on our radar: the Kichatna mas...
The long left-trending ramp at the start of Sports (4,660’, Alaska Grade V, 5.10 A1 AI4 M6 90° snow) terminates in a cave that pinches down to a chimney. Michael Telstad aims for the light on the other side. Photo: Eli Spitulnik Michael Telst...
Gašper Pinti leading one of the best pitches on The Great Wall, on the south face of Mt. Dickey, on the second day of the climb. Photo: Tom Livingstone On April 2, Paul Roderick slowed the Otter plane and we landed in a whoosh of snow. Gašper...
In the Teton Range, it's hard to assume that any feature you see wasn’t already climbed decades ago. But several years ago, after spotting a line on a clean swath of an east-facing wall on the Grand Teton, just right of the classic route Gold Face...
A bomber stainless-steel wedge bolt, similar to this, was implicated in an accident when the nut loosened and fell off during a fall. ardour | Wikimedia In the late afternoon of May 28, Jesse Han (25) and friends were sport climbing at Sundow...
On July 30, we were a party of six trying to crag at Cathedral Ledge after a night of pouring rain. We decided to get a late start to let the routes dry out. Since the Barber Wall is the highest crag at Cathedral and gets sun, we thought it would ...
On Sunday, May 28, at 6:30 p.m., Matt Allen (24) was leading Retaliation (3 pitches, 5.9) on the Barber Wall. He took a fall while leading pitch two, pulling out a cam and two lower pieces of gear. His resulting fall was 50 feet and near fall fact...
On Sunday, January 28, at noon, Ryan Cooper (21) fell about 30 feet while leading pitch one of the classic Repentance ice climb (3 pitches, WI5) at Cathedral Ledge. His fell was stopped by an ice screw and his belayer. Upon impact, his crampon sna...
When Jeff Gerner fell while following a long pitch in Red Rock, rope stretch generated enough speed and distance to cause a displaced ankle fracture when his foot clipped a small ledge. The rugged terrain necessitated a helicopter extraction. Ph...
Brandon Wanthal leading pitch four during the first ascent of Chilly Dogs. Photo: Chase Krumholz. On July 4, Chase Krumholz and I established a 1,000’ rock climb on the south face of Storm Point. The route lies about 300’ east of the popular ...