Standing at the base of the Dawn Wall on December 27, 2014, I attempt to break the nervous tension. “It’s the low-pressure push,” I say with a grin. I know it’s bullshit. Once we start, we’re going to the top. “One pitch at a time,” Tommy responds...
Cycal-Yang Fan and Ye Yun climbed a new route on the granite formation called Qiezi (“Eggplant”) Feng in July. After rappelling the line to clean it and place bolted anchors on all 18 pitches, they climbed the first seven pitches (up to 5.10b and ...
A group of nine young British alpinists—Emma Crone, Joel Evans, James Matthews, Cora Moffat, Dave Searle, Sam Simpson, Libby Southgate, Simon Tracey, and Emily Ward (leader)—intended to operate from the Navlikin Glacier, at the southern end of whi...
On August 2 our four-strong expedition left Europe and arrived in Bishkek in the early hours. The first day was used to get accustomed to the time difference of four hours and to acquire dried fruits, nuts, and other delicacies in what proofed to ...
In 2013 and 2014, the International School of Mountaineering (ISM) made its fifth and sixth visits to the delightful At Bashi Range, this time exploring the area around Peak 4,788.9m in the center of the range, reached via the long Kashkaratash Va...
In August, Chris Fitzgerald and I traveled to the Chukotka region in far northeastern Russia to climb granite towers near the small town of Bilibino. To our knowledge, no routes had ever been climbed on these walls, which are north of the Arctic...
In February 2011, I came across a panoramic photo of a mountain wall, visible in the distance, that immediately captivated me. Then followed weeks of searching for options for getting there, multiple calls and meetings, and finally we were rea...
A Polish expedition comprising Wojciech Anzel, Jakub Galka, Katarzyna Kowalska, Piotr Picheta, and Radoslaw Robak spent July 27–September 2 in Kyrgyzstan, with the aim of climbing Peak Kosmos (5,940m). From their drop-off point below the Kotur Gla...
Instructors of the Extreme Rider Climbing School of Korea made plans to climb Korona Peak’s Fifth Tower in July. Since the purpose was in part to make new lecture material with the help of the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), the expedition divide...
Joep Bovens, Jacos van Zelst, and I visited Kyrgyzstan in July and August of 2013. This was the second Dutch expedition to the Oibala region, where the people are very hospitable and welcoming. (The first was in 2011; see AAJ 2012 report.) After d...
Our group of six Czech and Slovak climbers visited the Kosh Moynok valey of the Kichi Alai mountains (a.k.a. Kichik Alai) in September. Approaching from the Kichi Alai valley, we reached base camp at ca 3,400m in two days. From here we climbed thr...
The Tsagan-Shibetu range is located in the western part of Tuva, the small Russian republic bordering Mongolia, west of Lake Baikal. The climate of Tuva is equivalent to the far north of Sibera, with treeline at 1,900–2,000m.Mountaineers started d...
In April and May, following two previous visits to this area (AAJ 2009 and 2015), I returned with regular partners Geoff Bonney and Sandy Gregson, plus new recruits Roger Gott, Richard Toon (all U.K.), and Ingrid Baber, a German living in Scotland...
On August 31 a team of young climbers from Singapore University of Technology and Design, led by veteran mountaineer and consultant Edwin Siew, reached an unnamed summit (6,010m on the Leomann map) in the Karcha Valley. According to the Indian Mou...
A six-member Indian expedition led by Rajan Rikame climbed two new peaks just west of the Manali-Leh Highway at Kilingsarai (ca 260km drive from Manali), north of the Baralacha La. Peak 5,980m (32.87°N, 77.39°E) was climbed on July 31 by Rohan Rao...
In September, Zaheer Durrani, Stefan Jachmich, Susan Jensen, Gus Morton, Alison Stockwell, and I attempted unclimbed Liushen Tag (6,595m, 35°59'38.07"N, 81°35'38.73"E), south of the town of Keriya (Yutian) in Hotan Prefecture. The northern s...
On October 31, João Garcia (Portugal) and Angel Salamanca (Spain) made the best attempt to date to reach the virgin summit of Tawoche Northwest (6,335m), a marked top on the unclimbed northwest ridge of Tawoche (6,495m). This summit had previously...
After passing initiation tests in Benasque during a cold weekend in February 2012, the new Spanish team for alpinism (Equipo Español de Alpinismo) began its training and improvement program in the Pyrenees and Alps. For two years, led by Mikel Zab...
The name of the peak climbed by Tim-Macartney Snapes team in 2010 is not Pabuk Kang, as stated in AAJ 2011, but Nangamari I, labeled as Peak 6,547m on the HMG-Finn map. Pabuk Kang (6,244m) lies on the frontier ridge approximately two kilometers to...
In the pre-monsoon season Adam Bielecki (Poland), Artem Braun and Dimtry Sinev (both Russia), Alex Txikon (Spain), and former Kazakh but now Russian citizen Denis Urubko had planned a new direct route up the northwest face of Kangchenjunga (8,586m...