Jannu, Wall of Shadows, Ascent. Athol Whimp and Andrew Lindblade made a rare alpine- style ascent of the north face of Jannu (a.k.a. Kumbhakarna, 7710m) in the Nepal Himalaya during the spring. The pair went to Jannu to attempt its stunning unclim...
On May 23 two Japanese climbers, Jiro Kurihara (33) and Junya Shiraishi (28), were reported a day overdue after they left Denali Base Camp in an attempt to climb Mount Frances a few days prior. NPS rangers took a recon flight around Mount France...
Colque Cruz Group, Cordillera Vilcanota, 1974. The British Commonwealth Andean Expedition consisted of Dr. Jeff Boyd, Howard Dengate and me, Australians; Mike Browne, Jim Jolly, Miss Jos Lang and Keith Woodford, New Zealanders; and Arthur Twomey, ...
Beka Brakai Chhok, south peak, first ascent. Last summer I traveled to the Baltar Glacier for the second time, hoping to complete the first ascent of Batura II (7,762m) with Hervé Barmasse. But I had not realized that a Korean expedition also woul...
Mount Kimball, Alaska Range. In June a party from the Alaska Alpine Club, consisting of Charles Deehr, Finley Kennel, and me, attempted unclimbed Mount Kimball (9680 feet), which is located on the Mount Hayes A-2 quadrangle. We were flown into the...
Teram Shehr Ice Plateau traverse. The Indian-Japanese East Karakoram Expedition, consisting of five Indian and five Japanese mountaineers, undertook a long traverse of the Eastern Karakoram valleys between May 8 and July 9. We achieved a lot, cove...
In July Julien Christe, Alexandre Gal, Jérôme Gottofrey, and I headed for Kyrgyzstan to attempt the northwest face of Pik Vernyi above the Kyzyl Asker Glacier. We had climbed in this region during 2004 and seen the face, but we didn’t have the equ...
Annapurna I Attempt. A 9-man Austrian expedition led by Gerd Gantner attempted Annapurna I (26,545 feet) over the unclimbed “Fang.” Base Camp was set up at 13,780 feet on March 24 and two days later the Sherpas quit, complaining of poor food, clot...
Attempt on Mount Russell, Alaska Range. Our attempt to make the second ascent of Mount Russell (11,670 feet) by a new route, the northeast ridge, came to nothing. Our group consisted of Don N. Anderson, Robert H. Bates, Lawrence Carter, Russell Ma...
Free Climbing, 1980James D. BridwellTHE REALM of 5.13 is here. In just a few short years the standards of free climbing have shot upward at a speed consistent with the climbing-population explosion. The climbs of today are not only more difficult,...
Mountains and Mountaineering in Yezo, JapanKenneth P. KirkwoodYEZO, better known as the Hokkaido, is the second largest island of Japan, being a projection of Japan Main Island and a bridge to Saghalien Peninsula. Only slightly smaller than Newfou...
FALL ON ROCK, SEVERED ROPE, PLACED NO OR INADEQUATE PROTECTION, NO HARD HATWest Virginia, Seneca Rocks, La Bella VistaOn the morning of July 11, Ian Shevill (42) and his partner Brian (20’s) were climbing La Bella Vista, a two-pitch 5.10a trad cli...
Trango Tower, free ascent; Trango Monk, second ascent. After an unsuccessful expedition to the Trango group in 2004 with 26-year-old Matevž Kunšic, I decided to return to the wonderful people and mountains of Baltistan. Matevž and I were joined by...
Ulamertorssuaq, Quadrophania. Our team (Paolo Cavagnetto, Manlio Motto and Vecenzo Ravaschietto from Italy, and me, Michel Piola, from Switzerland) took a train from Geneva to Luxembourg, a flight from there to Rejkiavik, Iceland, a boat to Massan...
PAUL THOMAS DOHERTY1919-2000The “Old Fish Cop” left this world from his home in Gorham, New Hampshire, on June 18, after a long struggle with cancer. He was born on June 19, 1919, one of a family of four New Hampshire boys, all of whom followed di...
FALL ON ROCK – POOR COMMUNICATIONTexas, Enchanted Rock State Natural AreaOn Saturday, April 16, several groups of climbers were climbing at or in close vicinity of the Echo Canyon and Triple Cracks area. These included a group of six climbers from...
Ascent: The Mountaineering Experience in Word and Image. Edited by Allen Steck and Steve Roper. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1989. 205 pages, illustrations. $19.95.In the inaugural issue of Ascent, Royal Robbins characterized the periodical a...
The Mountaineers. Climbing techniques and climbing equipment have changed considerably over the past few years. The Mountaineers’ Climbing Course has also changed to keep pace with the new techniques and equipment. Changes include new methods of i...
Climbing the Fish’s Tail, by Wilfred Noyce, London, Melbourne and Toronto, William Heinemann Ltd., 1958, 150 pages, 24 plates, 2 sketch maps.A casual glance at the frontispiece suffices to attract the climber to an afternoon with this short, well-...
Mt. Hoffman, Southeast Face Central. This route, the Southeast Face Central (5.8-5.9, three and a half pitches) in the Wishon Reservoir Area of the Sierra National Forest, starts to the right of the obvious 200-foot tower/buttress on the southeast...