Sam: The Tonquin Valley in Jasper National Park is a true gem of the Rockies. Simply called “The Valley” by Jasper locals, the Tonquin’s towering quartzite peaks and hanging glaciers rise above blue and green lakes, making up the Continental Divid...
Sometimes, very rarely, even with all of the mysteries intact, things go according to plan. The story of the Saddlehorn is one of good old-fashioned fun and friendship. There is no epic tale to tell here. We had no brushes with death, no dicey bea...
The cliff above the 2022 expedition’s Camp 6 on Nutarmiuk island, showing Black is the New Orange (left) and Super Slab. Photo by Olly Sanders Catrin Thomas and I planned a four-week trip, flying to Upernavik then traveling around various is...
The morning sun catches the upper east faces of Tininnertuups IV (right) and V. Photo by Thomas März From June 29–July 27, four members of the German Alpine Club (DAV) Expedition Group—Korbinian Grünauer, Thomas März, and me, supervised by C...
Sasha Doyle engaged in the corner offwidth on the northeast face of Tininnertuup IV. On the left, across the broken depression, are the slabby walls of Tininnertuup III. Photo by Ed Luke The Irish coastline at Ballycastle drifted away to ste...
Looking northeast in 2015 from a base camp near the head of the Skillebugt Inlet. (1) Start of the 2015 Batoux-Oddo route. (2) Skillebugt Wall (2022). It is likely the rest of the rock visible in this picture is unclimbed. Photo by Philippe Bato...
After a year of preparation, we set sail on June 20 from La Rochelle, France, on the 15m yacht Northabout. We were a team of eight women. Four were sailors: captain Marta Guemes (Spain) and crew Caroline Dehais and Alix Jaekkel (both from France) ...
Hazel Findlay on the northeast ridge of Ingmikortilaq with the Nordvestfjord below. Photo by Alex Honnold On a trip to East Greenland that was filmed for a TV show to be released by National Geographic in 2023, Hazel Findlay (U.K.) and I, alo...
In late July and early August, Gilles Denis and I climbed a new route, Imaqa (550m, 7a+ A2), during the Nanok Expedition, our six-month trip that comprised an atypical triathlon: a partial ice cap traverse on skis while collecting scientific dat...
From June 4–29, Bill Copeland and Chris Kussmaul joined me to explore the Ghidims Valley, north of Shimshal. We trekked over Boesum Pass and on the 12th arrived at Laili Camp (4,450m) at the junction of the north and south Ghidims rivers. On the ...
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been working on a route which, in my honest opinion, has the potential to become known as one of the five best 5.11s in the High Sierra. Against the Grain (1,800’, 5.11c) on the southeast face of Charlotte Dome ...
The following article, previously unpublished, provides historical context for attempts on Ingolfsfjeld and a detailed account of the first ascent of the southwest face in 1975. See also the summary article published in AAJ 2023 by senior editor...
“There we go,’’ I said flatly as my body slammed forward, ski goggles brushing the handlebars of my 1999 Yamaha Phazer. I had acquired my snow machine for a bargain price, with the caveat that it had an “intermittent electrical issue, but not that...
Our team of Alex Hale, Chris Lewis, Alex Metcalfe, and Sarah Wysling traveled from Dushanbe to Bachor and reached Zaroshkul Lake on August 11, after three days of walking. (Tom Davis-Merry, who organized the expedition, unfortunately was not able ...
This summary article appears in AAJ 2023. Click here for a more complete history of attempts on Ingolfsfjeld and in-depth account of the southwest face by Steve Chadwick, one of the expedition members, along with photos from the 1970s climbs and...
The winter of 2021-2022 was generous, allowing me to rack up a ton of training days in preparation for a top-secret ski alpinism project in remote Alaska. But our air transport fell through on plans A, B, and C, leaving me to ride locally around m...
In late 2022, a team of climbers from Beijing Xiangpan Outdoor Sports volunteered to translate the 2022 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing, in order to make the book available to Chinese climbers. The American Alpine Club (AAC) author...
In this report, I bring you a cautionary tale about an attractive nuisance: the corrugated north face of Holliway Mountain (ca 8,000'). Holliway is less than 10 miles north of Washington Pass and the popular Liberty Bell group; it sees infrequent ...
Climbing is littered with stories of mentorship; it is tradition for the current generation to pass knowledge and inspiration down to the next. I learned to climb without a mentor, but since I moved to Ouray, Colorado, in 2018, no friend has had a...
Yes, that’s right: You are seeing a climb in Missouri in the AAJ for the first time ever—and perhaps the last. The Show Me State has had a long yet quiet history, focused primarily on the loose but enjoyable limestone cliffs that border major ri...