Although the Bubbs Creek valley, with Charlotte Dome and Bubbs Creek Wall, is arguably the premier climbing destination in the Kings Canyon area, nearby Woods Creek is certainly a close runner-up, with miles of impressive granite walls and domes, ...
After hiking many oversized haul bags up to the base of the wall and after four separate weekend trips between August 20 and September 18, Cory Rogans and I finished a steep new route in a ground-up effort on the intimidating Suicide Wall on the s...
I first heard whispers about an unclimbed backcountry granite wall near McCall, Idaho, in 2019. The sheer 275m northeast face of Storm Dome (8,758’) is located in a hanging valley perched above Loon Creek, a strenuous eight-mile hike from the Twen...
English historian Bettany Hughes states, “The stories of women have been written out of history, rather than written in.” In the case of Minneapolis-born Dr. Cora Johnstone Best (1884–1930), her displacement from alpine history began soon after he...
Giovanni Battista “Tita” Piaz (1879–1948) is one of the most fascinating climbers of the early 20th century, and it is surprising there is so little literature in English on his extraordinary climbing career. Piaz explored new realms of speed clim...
For three years my dream had been to explore the Momhil Valley, and in mid-May I was finally able to reach it in the company of Austrians Philipp Brugger and Lukas Waldner. Our original objective had been Dut Sar (6,858m), but the weather was gene...
Beautiful view of Ushba from the northwest, with the North Peak on the left and South Peak on the right. Photo by Archil Badriashvili. USHBA RISES near the west end of the South Caucasus Mountains, about 30 kilometers from Mt. Elbrus and enti...
On April 23, Toshiyuki Yamada and I stood together on the summit of Kangchung Nup (6,043m) after the first ascent of the northwest face. The feeling was the same as when I climbed in the Japanese Alps for my first time: The surrounding mountains w...
In 1981, members of the Kindai University Alpine Club made the first ascent of Dansam West (6,450m). Our team was 14 undergraduates plus a doctor and senior observer. In that era, a captain from the Pakistan Army also had to join us. Forty years ...
THE 4TH OF MAY, 6 o’clock in the morning. The halo of my headlamp guides me through the mixed pine and mélèzes forest on the slopes of Le Pouzenc in the south of France. I’m feeling fine, the air is cold, and I’m thinking about my project for ...
Seen during the descent from Pankar Himal in 2018 is the route followed on the first ascent of Saula, which reaches the col between this peak and Saula South to the right. Photo by Tatsuro Sugimoto In 2018, I was a member of the Japanese Hima...
Looking up the east ridge of Jethi Bahurani in 1978. Supplied by Hiroshi Hagiwara An expedition from Shinshu University in Japan, with five climbing members led by Kazuhiko Yamada, established base camp on April 4, 1978, east of Jethi Bahura...
In August 2019, Alan Goldbetter (Finland/USA) and I attempted Starikatchan (H7 on the Sakamoto sketch maps, 5,904m, 33°30'45.81"N, 76°43'29.58"E), an unclimbed peak above the Shimling Tokpo. From Tungri, a village at 3,500m in the main Zanskar (Do...
ON THE 14TH of June, I made the first ski descent of the Seattle Ramp variation to the West Rib of Denali, followed by the first female solo ascent of the Cassin Ridge, completing a longtime dream and a culmination of all the things I love about m...
What can I say about the Goliath traverse? I spent countless hours thinking about it, losing sleep, preparing myself mentally and cardiovascularly, learning about electrolytes, wondering how often I would be able to find water, how much weight I c...
Huntington Ravine on Mt. Washington, with its numerous icy gullies, is a renowned winter playground. The classic ice climb of Pinnacle Gully (WI3), in particular, makes for a fantastic alpine outing. Over the years, winter climbers have also explo...
On March 31, I soloed a 2,200’ new route on the north face of A Peak (8,634’), above Granite Lake. The Bull River Prowler climbs at AI4 M4 with snow to 70°. The route begins 400’ west of Canmore Wedding Party (2,500’, AI5 M7, Coldiron-Roskelley, ...
With only two prior visits, the Rassa Glacier remains relatively unexplored. The first expedition to this remote area was led by Divyesh Muni in 2014 (see report and map in AAJ 2015), and this inspired my own expedition two years later (AAJ 2017)....
Rocky Talkie and the AAC partnered in early 2022 to solicit nominations for the Rocky Talkie Search and Rescue Awards. These awards recognize stand-out rescues from the previous year; $25,000 in grant funding is split among the winning teams. (Roc...
On October 20, two climbers nearing the top of Epinephrine, the long 5.9 classic in Black Velvet Canyon, fell while simul-climbing. Three pieces of protection between the two pulled out during the fall, and the two tumbled toward the ground far be...