Mount Kenya. Sixty years ago, Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman spent an amazing fortnight climbing in the Mount Kenya massif. They made the first ascents of Midget Peak, Point Pigott, Point Peter and either Sendeyo or Tereri. Their greatest achievemen...
Payu Attempt. Our expedition was composed of Joan Llasera, Franz Ludwig, Fredi Puig, Josep Raich, Jorci Selga, Joan Vinyoli and me. We placed Base Camp on July 23 at 3950 meters at the foot of Payu above the terminal moraine of the Baltoro Glacier...
Mount Dido, first ascent of South Ridge. During a SAR training exercise in February 2002, Thai Verzone and I had the opportunity to make the first ascent of the South Ridge (IV 5.9) of Mt. Dido (1,976m) in the Olympus Range of Victoria Land’s Dry ...
Jangyaraju and Copa. On July 18 Brian J. Gregory, John D. Stanley and I climbed Jangyaraju (18,619 feet). From camp above Collón on the northwest side below the snowline at 14,000 feet we reached the summit in nine hours with fair snow conditions....
FALL ON ROCK, FAILED TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT, CLIMBING ALONE, EXCEEDING ABILITIESUtah, Little Cottonwood CanyonOn June 5, 1989, Larry Irvine (40) was climbing “Call It What You Please” (5.8) alone, using a self-belaying device c...
FALL ON SNOW, UNABLE TO SELF-ARREST, CLIMBING ALONE, EXCEEDING ABILITIESOregon, Mount Hood, SouthsideOn October 19, Chris Biddle (30), a novice climber, lost his footing at 10,900-foot elevation while descending the Southside Route. Unable to self...
Everest Hang Gliding. We arrived in Base Camp on September 8, but because of confusion with the Chinese and the yak drivers, we didn’t establish Advance Base at 5500 meters until September 16. On the 19th, Camp I was placed at 6000 meters. We bega...
Coast Mountains of British Columbia, South of Bella Coola. If there is any doubt as to the accessibility of the area south of Bella Coola, the arrival of Houston’s 1955 convertible removed such doubt. The road is dirt for some 300 miles. If one do...
STRANDED, INEXPERIENCED NON-CLIMBERSNew Hampshire, Mount Washington, Huntington RavineOn May 24, 1991, two male students from the University of New Hampshire (one who was to graduate the very next day) hiked into Huntington Ravine on Mount Washing...
Mountaineering Club of Alaska. In February, Mark Miraglia and Dolly Lefever climbed the Northeast Ridge of Mt. Tasman in New Zealand. Dolly’s climb is thought to be the first ascent of this peak by someone with artificial hips. Meanwhile in Alaska...
K2 North Ridge Attempt. We started from Rawalpindi in Pakistan on May 11, crossed the Khunjerab Pass and reached Kashgar on May 16. We were six climbers: Gérard Bretin, François Marsigny, Pierre Royer, Frédéric Valet, my wife Annie and I. Jacques ...
Wyoming RockiesTeton RangeWeather and seasonal conditions were both good during 1939, and a large number of ascents (163) were reported to the Park Naturalist at Jenny Lake. All the major peaks except Buck Mountain were climbed at least twice, the...
Colorado, Devil’s Thumb—On Sunday, August 7, 1955, John Auld (16), Jim Auld (19), and Sheldon Schiager (18) drove from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to the Boulder area intending to climb the Maiden, a popular rock formation famous for the spectacul...
Fisher Towers, Echo Tower, Phantom Spirit. On September 2-3, Dave Goldstein and I made a hammerless ascent of Phantom Spirit on Echo Tower. Someone had probably done it before, because it wasn’t super hard, but it was still a terrific route.Dougal...
FROSTBITE, INADEQUATE CLOTHING, DEHYDRATION, FAILURE TO DESCEND, INEXPERIENCEAlaska, Mount McKinleyOn June 7, 1993, Juliane Manelshagen (29), along with Eier Helmut and Hermann Pinggera, left the 14,200 foot camp on the West Buttress, establishing...
Ama Dablam, northwest ridge, first ascent. A British expedition arrived below the mountain in October and based themselves in the flesh-pots of Pangboche with the aim of attempting the unclimbed northwest ridge of 6812m Ama Dablam. First off the m...
Great Trango Tower Attempt. Under the leadership of Antonio Perezgrueso of Spanish Television, Fernando Cobo, Jon Lazcano, Guillermo Banales and Máximo Murcia came to within three or four rope-lengths of completing a new and difficult route on the...
Saser Muztagh, Plateau Peak (7,287m), attempt. The name “Plateau Peak” is something of a contradiction: the mountain is massive and wears a permanent ice cap. Despite several attempts, by 2009 the peak still remained unclimbed. Our five- member In...
OVERDUE, DIFFICULTY FOLLOWING ROUTE, POOR CONDITIONS—SNOW, INEXPERIENCE, FROSTRITEAlberta, Rocky Mountains, Mount Edith CavellOn September 30, G. M. (30) and partner (39) climbed the East Ridge of Mt. Edith Cavell (3363 meters). The route was in p...
K2 Attempt. Wojciech Kurtyka and I had hoped to climb a new route on the west side of K2. We got to the normal Base Camp at 5100 meters on May 26. The route to Advance Base at 6200 meters is very long and we had engaged two porters to help carry t...