For five packed seasons, from 2018 to 2022, my main mate, Chase Leary, and I established hard multipitch first ascents on some of the best climbing formations in the High Sierra. In the northern Sierra, we looted the Incredible Hulk, establishing ...
The east face of Mt. Hunter, showing the original Diamond Arête (yellow line, Donini-Tackle, 1985) and One Way Out (red line, Gardner-Hennessey-Smith, 2024). The 2024 climbers intended to continue straight up the rock wall to gain the upper arêt...
Cody Winckler climbing a sustained M7 crack to bypass a snow mushroom on the first day of his and Dane Steadman’s first attempt on In the Shadow of the Wall (1,200m, AI6 M7). Photo: Dane Steadman. The last 100m had been the wildest alpine cli...
Naseer Baig I (ca 6,100m, left) and II from the northeast with the first ascent routes. The climbers reached Naseer Baig II first (yellow line, mostly hidden), then traversed to the higher summit on the left after a bivouac in the col. Photo by ...
Genya Takenaka climbs through the First Rock Band on the Cassin Ridge, with the Kahiltna Peaks in the center background. Photo by Toranosuke Nagayama. The Cassin Ridge, the famed south buttress of Denali (Mt. McKinley), rises from Kahiltna No...
Mt. Russell from the southeast, rising above the Dall Glacier. (1) Drummond-Wilkinson (2017). (2) Hennessey-Westman (5,700’, 50° ice, 80°+ rime ice, 2024). (3) East face (Auble-Townsend, 1989). (4) Northeast ridge (Brown-Hauck-Jablonowski- Kensl...
The North Face Direct on Phole (6,652m, a.k.a. Pholesobi), seen from Merra Peak. The summit immediately left is Sobithongie. The summit of Jannu is out of picture to the left. Photo by Hidesuke Taneishi. The ridge extending west from Jannu cr...
The northeast face of Pandra. (1) Peine Plancher (2017). (2) A Piece of the Sun (2024). (3) Taniguchi-Wada attempt (2016). Photo by Suguru Takayanagi. “Mr. Hagiwara, what mountain is this?” The question was asked by Kei Taniguchi as she l...
The Sharphu Peaks from the east. (A) Sato Peak. (B) Sharphu III. (C) Sharphu V. (D) Sharphu I. (E) Sharphu II. (F) Sharphu VI. Photo by David Bacci. On October 30, a Korean expedition led by Jo Moon-yong, with three Sherpa climbers, claimed t...
Steep rock on the west face of Ama Dablam. Photo by Nikita Balabanov. In the autumn, Nikita Balabanov and I started a long-term project on Makalu, aiming to establish a new route in alpine style. Before departing for Nepal, we assessed the od...
Khangri Shar (6,792m, 28°1’10.86”N, 86°48’52.81”E), which lies on the Nepal-Tibet frontier between Pumori and Chombu, is a difficult peak with no recorded ascent. It was brought onto the permitted list in 2002 and has been attempted a handful of t...
Hungchi seen from the west, with the traverse (left to right) and bivouacs marked. The left skyline is the northwest ridge, and the summit on the left is Tharke Kang (6,710m), climbed in 2017 via its northwest ridge. The Japanese ascent of Hungc...
Kyajo Ri from the northeast. (1) Southeast ridge (5.9 AI3, Hobby-Kear, 2006). (2) Stealing Beauty (6b A3 M6, Belousov-Kopteva, 2013). (3) Butterfly Effect (2024). (4) Attempt on the northeast face (Fortune-Rowe, 2011). (5) Attempt ending on the ...
(A) Nangpai Gosum I. (B) Lungsampa. (C) Nangpai Gosum II. (D) Peak 7,488m. (1) Approximate line taken by the 2024 expedition to the plateau and up the south-southwest ridge of Cho Oyu. (2) The south-southwest pillar of Lungsampa, climbed many ti...
The north face of Langdak with Bande Organisée (left) and the original route, soloed by Andy Parkin in January 2011. Photo by Antoine Rolle. After travel complications caused by intense flooding in Nepal, Antoine Rolle, Mathieu Stephan, and I...
The northeast face of Tengkangpoche (6,487m). (1) Nick Bullock’s descent route in 2003. (2) Sunshine Spring Roll (Gephart–Perry Johnson, 2024). (3) Love and Hate (Bullock, 2003) to east ridge. (H) Nick Bullock’s high point on the east ridge afte...
Jack Morris on the second bivouac (ca 6,400m) on the northwest face of Linkhu Chuli II. Behind are smaller peaks of the southern Rolwaling. Photo by Nathan White. After arriving in the Rolwaling in October, Connor Holdsworth, Jack Morris, Dav...
The upper section of the northeast pillar of Chobutse. The climbers gained the final ridge, facing the camera, by the snow and ice slope left of the rocky triangle in lower right. Photo by Wadim Jabłoński. In October 2023, Maciej Kimel and I ...
Damien Nicodemi navigating a fun but grainy crack on the fourth pitch of Felsic High Road on Mt. Langley. Photo: Emma Kluge. On August 25, Emma Kluge and I climbed a new route on Mt. Langley (14,026’) in the southern Sierra. For a couple of y...
Looking up Arctic Lake Wall. In August, Daniel Dunn, Rett English, and I visited Arctic Lake Wall and climbed a new route up the center, aiming for the left side of the wall’s largest roofs. We took a line to the left of Arctic Beast (700’...