The Mummer, Paine Group. Phillip Stuart Dawson and I made the first ascent of the Mummer on December 7, 1976 by a route on the southwest face above the Mummer Cuerno Segundo (or Cuerno Norte) col. From a snow cave at the base of the rock, we fixed...
Mount Formidable, Southwest Ridge. This route had been eyed by numerous climbing parties over the past several years, but never tackled because of the indirect and brush-cluttered approach route. From road’s end on the Cascade River South Fork, an...
Toqllaraju, West Face, Huciscarán, East Face, San Juan, South Ridge and Other Peaks. During May, Abigail Fisher, Brad White, Robert Blatherwick and the Peruvian Hugo Colonia made ascents of Vallunaraju and Chopicalqui by the normal routes and a fi...
Regal Mountain, Peak 12,454', Parka Peak, Rime Peak. On May 9, Paul Claus of Ultima Thule Outfitters flew Dawn Groth, Ben Still, Kathy Still, Wayne Todd, Cory Hinds, Elena Hinds and me to 9,000 feet on the upper Nabesna Glacier below Regal Mountai...
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, New Routes. In January a group of six climbed in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Our leader, George Montopoli, had been in the area three previous times and knew the mechanics. His friendship with the people of San ...
Taulliraju, Southwest Face, 1980. A strong Italian expedition in August 1980 climbed a new route on the left buttress of the southwest face of Taulliraju (5830 meters, 19,128 feet). The climbing was of great difficulty. They fixed rope on the firs...
Mount Everest, Summer Attempts. While the monsoon weather was dumping large amounts of snow on the mountain, three summer attempts were made from Tibet: one by a Swiss expedition and two by small American teams. None were successful. American Davi...
Geographical note: While the well-known peaks in Denali National Park are often called “the Alaska Range,” these peaks form just one part of the immense Alaska Range, which contains many significant subranges, including the Hayes and Delta ranges,...
EXPOSURE, BAD WEATHER, INEXPERIENCEColorado, Longs PeakIn December 1981, James Duffy (24) froze to death during a blizzard on Longs Peak. His companion, Michael O’Donnell (25), descended the mountain safely earlier. (Source: The New York Times, De...
Mulkila V Attempt. In late July we left the small village of Darcha to attempt Mulkila V (20,000 feet). After a three-day approach up the Milang valley, on August 1 Base Camp was established at 13,800 feet at the foot of the Milang Glacier. Camp I...
Traverse of the Himalaya. Bachendri Pal (the first Indian woman to climb Everest and a member of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation) led the Indian Women’s First Trans-Himalayan Journey, which made a successful traverse of the entire Himalayan c...
King-on-a-Throne, Monument Valley. A perpendicular, forked-summit tower, standing about 400 feet above the desert floor, had long intrigued me. A roadside marker points to it, saying: “King-on-a-Throne.” Springtime winds blasted us off the tower a...
SLIP ON SNOW, INEXPERIENCECalifornia, Mount JohnsonAt 0700 on July 10, 1983, a group of ten climbers left a camp site five kilometers from South Lake to climb Mount Johnson.At 0730 crampons were put on prior to starting up a hard snow slope. The g...
Central Chile. A German expedition of the Alpine Arbeitsgemeinschaft made the first ascent of Cerro Punta Hoff (16,520 feet) in the Alto de Yeso region on the Argentine frontier early in 1962. The Germans, Percy Stulz and Fritz Uhlig, and the Chil...
Changabang. Andrew Rothfield, Peter Allen, Max Berry, Paul Anderson, Malcolm Noble, John Dunlop, Patrick Miller, Timothy Hughes and I were on Changabang during the post-monsoon period. We spent eight days from Lata, with 20 porters and 70 goats, t...
Fitz Roy, Czechoslovakian Route. In February, 2000, Alan Mullin (Scotland) and I began the Czechoslovakian Route on the west face of Fitz Roy from the Polish Camp, a bivy site situated just above the Torre Glacier in its lateral moraine. This site...
Two Pinnacles, Brown Cliffs Region. On July 4 we climbed two pinnacles we believe to be first ascents. Bob Smith, Ben Franklin, Chris Haig and I climbed the snow gullies to the ridge containing Bonney’s Peak 234 to 236 above the Brown Cliff lakes....
FALL ON ICE—ICE TOOLS PULLED OUT, UNROPED Quebec, Mont du Gros BrasOn February 22, J.S. (39) and M.L.(38) had finished the Gros Bras route at Weir and were packing up their gear when they decided to have a look at the rock climbs further along the...
Changabang Attempt. Jim Logan and I tried to make a post-monsoon climb of the Japanese route on the southwest ridge and face of Changabang, but turned back at 19,000 feet.Dakers Gowans
Lone Pine Peak, Bastile Buttress. To appreciate the size of Bastile Buttress, or even the immensity of Lone Pine Peak, one must personally come to grips with the terrain. The vast relief from the desert piedmont of the Owens Valley to the heights ...