ANCHOR FAILURE WHILE LOWERING OFFAlberta, Rocky Mountains, Cascade MountainDuring a climb of Mother’s Day (5.6) in April, 1990, the leader placed a Friend and used it to lower back down. This anchor pulled out and he fell about three meters to a l...
Traverse of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; Pico Simmons. Tom Simpson and I entered the range from above Ciénaga Magdalena (San Pedro de la Sierra), went into the paramo by Cuchilla Cimarona, and continued along the western spine of the Viscungu...
Makalu Post-Monsoon Attempts. Four expeditions attempted unsuccessfully to climb Makalu (8463 meters, 27,766 feet). Six Australians and a New Zealander led by Ian Collins tried to ascend the west buttress and reached 6800 meters on October 1. They...
The Eiger: Vertical Arena. Edited by Daniel Anker (Mountaineers Books, $32.95). Anker has collected 17 climbers’ views in this profusely illustrated history.
Everest Attempt. Our Civilian-Military Expedition was composed of Captains Alfonso Juez, Francisco Gam, Franco Pelayo, Cesar Alfaro, Pedro Expósito, Sergeants Pedro Aceredillo, Francisco Pérez, Juan Orta, Domingo Hernández, Eduardo Fernández, Avel...
Mount Huntington, West Face. In April Denny Hogan, Vic Walsh, and I climbed an ice gully to the left of the 1965 Harvard route on the west face of Huntington. We placed our “High” Camp in the protection of a small cliff at around 10,000 feet, fixe...
Domeland, North Portion of White Dome. In October Mark Meng and I climbed this route. Bubbly, chicken-head rock provided surprising climbing for three pitches that turned out easier than anticipated.Fred Beckey
Bhrigupanth Ascent. We arrived in Gangotri on September 9. After last-minute arrangements for portering we entered the Kedar Ganga, establishing Base Camp on September 12 in Kedar Tal (4750 meters). During the first five days we established ABC at...
North Face of A Peak, Cabinet Range. The Libby Quadrangle Map of the USGS shows the elevation of A Peak to be 8634 feet. This is the second point in the range, the highest being Snowshoe Peak, about a mile to the southeast. The map also shows the ...
The Watchtower, Northeast Arête, Tokopah Valley. Hidden in a small dead-end valley, this huge granite prow has escaped the notice of most California climbers. It rises in a spire-like blade about 1000 feet high and only 75 feet wide. Greg Henzie a...
Huascarádn Norte, East Face, Chacraraju, South Face, and Other Peaks. In June and July with the Peruvians Lucho Felipe and Américo Tardoyo I climbed Huandoy Oeste by a new route from the Cook Glacier, Artesonraju from the Quebrada Santa Cruz, Pisc...
Waddington Range, Various Activity. The wettest spring on record drifted into a pretty scruffy summer, but four noteworthy new routes, including Dave Hesleden and Simon Richardson’s; (see below) and one significant “completion” got done in breaks ...
Huandoy Norte and Cayesh. Geoff Creighton’s and my first objective was Huandoy Norte by a new route* that ascends the steep, broad apron of rock and ice below the west peak and then traverses west to the col between the north and west peaks. From ...
The Himalayas arc becoming more popular. We read of at least four expeditions now under way for climbing there next summer. Herr Paul Bauer, who led the Bavarian party of 1929, will again lead the same group, with the exception of Dr. Ernst Beigel...
Bollinger Peak, Southwest Face. Fred Beckey, Steve Marts and I made a new route on the southwest face of Bollinger Peak on July 19. We started up an inside corner, formed by some black, flaky rock just left of the long, steep, slabby gully on the ...
Super Nova Area, High Line. On March 20, 2000, in the Super Nova Area near the Rostrum, Ammon McNeely, and Cedar Wright established High Line (VI 5.10R A4). The route is located between Crack the Whip and Dime Bag. The climbers report “This route ...
Twaharpies Peaks, Wrangell Mountains. We eight Poles flew from McCarthy to the Glacier Creek landing on the Chitistone River. We had an airdrop on the upper part of the Twaharpies Glacier at 6000 feet, where we set up Base Camp. Our main climbs we...
FALL ON ROCK, CLIMBING UNROPEDNew York, ShawangunksA young man (17) died after a 200-foot fall from the final 15-foot ledge of Strictly From Nowhere (5.7). He was scrambling unroped at the time. (Source:, Brad Snyder)
Annapurna, Attempt and Tragedy. On December 2, Anatoli Boukreev and I, accompanied by the alpinist and videographer Dimitri Sobolev, flew by helicopter from the last lodge to a base camp at 4095 meters. A long glacier separated us from the beginni...
Torrecita Tito Carrasco, First Ascent, and Cerro Pollone, West Pillar, A Fine Piece. In November, 1999, I went back to Patagonia with Jim Donini with no fixed objectives but hopeful of finding some good unclimbed terrain above the Marconi Glacier....