In September and October I led a multinational team to the Adi Kailash range of Eastern Kumaun. This massif is wedged between the Kali Ganga, Darma Ganga, and Kuthi Yankti valleys, and between the Nepalese and Tibetan borders. The range contains a...
Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see th...
Prompted by Sergi Ricart, a guide, photographer, and great friend since adolescence, Sidarta Gallego and I decided to forgo our main mountain guiding season and head for Zanskar. Our objective was a peak we knew only as "Tapion," a photo of whi...
On April 22, Dave Barker, Phil Booth, Ken Hopper, Rory Sellar, and Paul Vardy (U.K.) made the first known ascent of Lumba Sumba Peak (5,740m), the most easterly and lowest of a collection of three summits sometimes called the Three Sisters. The ...
In May, David Mayta and Robert Rauch made a rapid ascent of the southeast ridge of Pico Italia (ca 5,750m) followed by the south ridge of Huayna Potosi (6,088m).They started from the Casablanca Base Camp (ca 4,700m) by Zongo Lake, and 12 hours lat...
From April 8 to 27, Sergio “Tiny” Almada and I climbed in Candameña Canyon in Parque Nacional Cascada de Basaseachic, likely making the first ascent of a 1,000m wall. The west-southwest-facing wall is situated directly across from the well-known E...
The Parque Nacional Cumbres de Monterrey is a large area of limestone big walls in northeastern Mexico. The park is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental, in the state of Nuevo León, and is accessed from the city of Monterrey. [See AAJ 2002 and AAJ...
Exploring new lines on peaks deep in the backcountry rarely makes someone a stronger climber, right? At least I didn't think so.Having read about Bubbs Creek Wall from multiple internet threads, I wanted to see it for myself. This wall has five es...
In May, Andres Marin and I made a short but exhilarating expedition into the Central Alaska Range. Our goal was to explore the East Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier for new routes. Despite its proximity to Kahiltna Base Camp in the Southeast Fork, the...
In March, Carrie Wang and I climbed two peaks comprising the “last of the Western Chugach Mountains.” The Western Chugach includes all peaks with at least 500' of prominence south of the Knik River Valley and west of the west fork of Twentymile Ri...
In April and May, Kieran Parsons and I were fortunate to make the first ascents of three summits between Mt. Abbe (8,250’) and Mt. Bertha (10,204’) in Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska. The most exciting of these was Peak 8,290’, which...
In 2013 I sailed single-handed across the Atlantic from the U.K. to Newport, Rhode Island, and from there to Nanortalik in South Greenland. There, I was joined by Harald Fichtinger (Austria), and we explored Greenland's east coast between 61° an...
An unclimbed 7,000m peak? Yes, but then maybe no. Yes, because until July 24 no climber had set foot on the ca 7,129m summit of Kokodak (a.k.a Kokodag) Dome. No, because the prominence of Kokodak Dome with respect to neighboring Kokodak Peak (...
On May 6, a lone climber with 22 years of experience headed out to the Banana Lake climbing area. The pull-off is four kilometers down a logging road, and the walk to the cliff is one kilometer. Between 9 and 10:30 a.m., the climber did some route...
A party of three was ski touring over a number of days from Peyto Lake to Sherbrooke Lake on the popular Wapta Traverse. The group left Balfour Hut around 11 a.m. on the morning of March 12, and crossed over the Balfour High Col (approximately 3,0...
On July 6 about 6 a.m., a party of three left the parking lot to climb the southwest ridge of Uto Peak (2,927 meters). They had some difficulty with the steep snow on the approach to the Uto– Sir Donald col, due to very lightweight footwear, and t...
Around 2 p.m. on March 24, a party of three began a ski descent of the southwest slope below Sifton Col. It was a mild, clear day with light winds. Two members of the group remained at the top of the slope, while one skied down to assess condition...
On July 13 a climber dislodged a rock on pitch four of Kid Goat, which struck his belayer on the left ankle, fracturing it. The injured climber phoned for a rescue after a self-assessment. While Kananaskis Public Safety (KPS) was responding, the p...
The climber had prepared to rappel from the top of a sport route. As the rappeller descended she removed the upper three quickdraws. Shortly after that, the climber fell to the ground and landed on her back. It was noted that the rope ends were un...
On July 21 a party of three was climbing Gooseberry, a seven-pitch, 5.7 rock route. The lead climber was on pitch three when he dislodged a loose handhold. He fell approximately 10 meters and landed on his back, sustaining injuries. One partner cl...