Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Sejong, North-northwest Couloir and North Ridge China, Sichuan, Chola Shan Range

Sejong (5,816m), seen from the northwest. (1) The 2023 route of ascent. (2) The descent route. During a reconnaissance of the northwest end of the Chola Shan Range, south of the town of Zhuqing, Fu Yongpeng noticed the unclimbed peak of Sejon...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Xia Zhongming


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Loinbo Kangri, South Face; Phola Kyung, Southeast Face China, Tibet, Transhimalaya, Gangdise Shan

Heading for the summit of Loinbo Kangri after a new route on the south face.   Liu Junfu and Zhou Song climbed two new routes in the Loinbo Kangri massif, about 400km west of Shigatse, during a 15-day trip to Tibet in September. The massif’s ...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Xia Zhongming


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Ama Drime I and Ama Drime East, Probable First Ascents China, Tibet, HImalaya, Nyonno Ri Range

In mid-August, Li Bo, Zhong Wanghong, and I made first ascents of both Ama Drime I (6,669m, 28°5’9.69”N, 87°36’25.89”E) and Ama Drime East (6,580m, 28°4'56.13"N, 87°37'15.22"E). These peaks are situated on the border between Tingri County and Ding...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Hou Zhao


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Turgen, North Face Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, Ile-Alatau

In mid-June, Maxim Popov and I climbed a new route in the center of the north face of Turgen (4,410m, 43.108036°N, 77.595769°E) at the far eastern end of the Ile-Alatau, around 20km east of the range’s highest peak, Talgar (4,973m). We spent two d...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Kirill Belotserkovskiy


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Molodaya Gvardiya and Muryn-Tau, New Routes Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, Ile-Alatau

In August, I guided Austrian friends Geri Mairhofer and Traudl We on a 50km journey through the central Ile-Alatau range, south of Almaty. After traveling up Ozyornoye Gorge, we walked to the Kyzylsay hut and stayed the night. The next day, August...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Kirill Belotserkovskiy


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Lappviktinden, Lappblad Norway, Nordland

In August, Juho Knuuttila (Finland) rope-soloed a new route up a shallow buttress on the northeast side of Lappviktinden (1,338m), at the south end of Skjomenfjord, south of Narvik. The line likely shares the first two pitches of Café Solo (5+ Nor...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author The Editors


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Mt. Asgard, Loki's Mischief Canada, Nunavut, Baffin Island, Auyuittuq National Park

On June 23, as Waldo Etherington, Leo Houlding, and I flew into Pangnirtung (Pangniqtuuq), pure excitement surged as we gazed upon the magnificent valley we would be exploring for the next month and a half, contrasted by trepidation as we observed...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Wilson Cutbirth


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Slesse Massif, Mt. Parkes, Russian Roulette Canada, British Columbia, North Cascades

In early June, Will Kovacic and Jeremy Roulette climbed a route up the east side of Mt. Parkes (ca 2,100m), a summit on the long Crossover Ridge that runs north from Slesse Mountain. The two had been aiming to climb the North Rib of Slesse, but sn...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author The Editors


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Serra Peaks, East-West Traverse, and Various New Routes Canada, British Columbia, Coast Mountains, Waddington Range

As the moon rose from behind a jagged ridgeline, the world exploded beyond the fading beam of my headlamp. I struggled to comprehend the scale of the mountains in front of me. From down on the Tiedemann Glacier, the monolith of Mt. Waddington rose...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Ethan Berman


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North Mountain, The Front Side, The Texas Longroute Texas, Hueco Tanks State Park

“What about traversing the front side of North Mountain?” Nate Vince asked me on the porch of the Hueco Mountain Hut. With a history of world-class bouldering, Hueco Tanks does not attract many roped climbers, let alone multi-pitch trad climbers. ...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Ross Andrea


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Camp Bird Road, Dark Side Wall, Pride Is the Devil Colorado, San Juan Mountains, Ouray Area

Across Canyon Creek from Camp Bird Road, above Ouray, is a forbidding wall, up to 425m high, that locals affectionately call the Dark Side. It never sees the light. Legends such as Steve House, Hayden Kennedy, Jeff Lowe, and Charlie Fowler all lef...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Charlie Faust


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Chiefs Head, Northeast Face, Spirit Animal Colorado, Rocky Mountains, Rocky Mountain National Park

Given that I’d never stepped foot into Glacier Gorge, you might say my plan to rope-solo a new line up the 1,500’ northeast face of Chiefs Head (13,577’) was ambitious. Maybe, but my buddy Greg Davis, who’d established some classics on that alpine...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Nathan Brown


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Mt. Alice, East Face, The Mad Hatter Colorado, Rocky Mountains, Rocky Mountain National Park

“It’ll be, like, 5.10 for you guys! You’ll be able to pull it off in a weekend trip, and, man, it’ll be great climbing. Totally worthwhile!” These were the words of encouragement from Estes Park legend Harry Kent when I first approached him about...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Rob Scrivner


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Devils Leap, The Fall of Satan Wyoming, Bighorn Basin

In early May, Zach Lentsch and I set our sights on a massive and unclimbed sandstone cliff near the town of Shell, just west of the Bighorn Mountains. Standing roughly 700' tall, Devils Leap is certainly the largest sandstone cliff in Wyoming, and...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Justin Willis


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Mt. Owen, North Ridge, Directissima Wyoming, Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park

Perhaps the most striking long line in the Tetons is the 1,000m north ridge of Mt. Owen (12,928’), leading into the north ridge of the Grand Teton. The only routes that compare would be climbs on the south buttress of Mt. Moran continuing to its s...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Michael Abbey


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Silver Run Peak, Quantum Direct Montana, Beartooth Mountains

In early November, Blake Berghoff, Aidan Whitelaw, and I attempted to repeat the route Quantum Entanglement (2,100’, WI5 M4, Hoiness-Kisner-Willis, 2020) on Silver Run Peak’s (12,542’) northwest aspect. We found less ice than reported on the first...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Adrien Costa


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Bear's Face, Ménage Trout Montana, Beartooth Mountains

In early August, Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell, Austin Schmitz, and I set off for a two-week base camp–style trip up East Rosebud Canyon to complete a line on Bear’s Face that Jackson, Matt, and Justin Willis had started in 2020. The road to East ...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Chantel Astorga


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Bear's Face, Dancing Bears Montana, Beartooth Mountains

While approaching the classic California Ice route in East Rosebud Canyon in late November, I noticed ice pouring down the upper left shoulder of the mythical Bear’s Face. In an area known for either very compact or very loose rock, and a scarcity...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Adrien Costa


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Bearhat Mountain, Northwest Face, The Anderson-Carey Montana, Lewis Range, Glacier National Park

In late November 2017, Brent Anderson and I made our first trip into Avalanche Basin in Glacier National Park to climb the ice routes formed by runoff below the Sperry Glacier. We left completely enamored by the beauty and abundance of ice in the ...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Dallin Carey


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Aiguille Extra, East Buttress Free, with Variation Start California, Sierra Nevada, Eastern Sierra, Whitney Massif

To those who look upon it from the east, Aiguille Extra (14,048’), a peak in the Whitney Massif, cries out to be climbed. At the base of the needle is an excellent bivy, cradled in an isolated drainage between Wotans Throne (ca 12,730’) and Pinnac...

| Keywords
| Published 2023 | Author Cam Smith