The gambler’s fallacy is the mistaken belief that a certain outcome is more or less likely to occur, given a previous series of outcomes. For example, if you flip a coin and get four tails in a row, the gambler’s fallacy would suggest a greater ch...
In July I traveled to Pakistan with Eivind Hugaas (Norway) and Nelson Neirinck (Belgium) to attempt the first ascent of Dansam (a.k.a. K13, 6,666m). The day before jumping onto a plane, we learned that a French team had climbed our planned line o...
The Arrigetch Peaks at sunset, taken from the top of the Aquarius Wall. From left to right: the Citadel, East Maiden, West Maiden, the Camel, and Parabola. Photo by Cameron Jardell In July, Mathias Gruber, Maya Humeau, Luke Shacter, and I ven...
In the spring of 2021, my wife, Ines Papert, and I stayed in Alaska for three months, as the beginning of a larger journey down the entire length of the Pan-American Highway. At the beginning of April we headed into the Revelations, where we got...
Avalanche Spire from the northwest, showing the line climbed and skied by Aaron Diamond, Ty Guarino and Zack Little in April 2021. Photo by Aaron Diamond On April 10, Paul Roderick dropped Ty Guarino, Zack Little, and me on an unnamed glacier...
One of my favorite parts of "going to school" in the Alaska Range are the annual lessons in adaptation. Both of my expeditions in June shared several elements: week-long weather delays, landing on backup glaciers, and healthy (or some may argue ...
Zach Lovell on the summit ridge of Ptarmigan Spire, with the Citadel in the background. Photo by Mark Westman On June 6, Zach Lovell, Tad McCrea, and I flew to the Cul-de-Sac Glacier in the Kichatna Mountains. Six days later, we established a...
On May 3, Adam Fabrikant, Beau Fredlund, Clark Henarie, and I made a ski descent of the southwest face of Mt. Hayes (13,832’). We began our trip on May 1, flying out of Talkeetna with Paul Roderick. While initially skeptical of our plans, Paul ...
Petros Tolias, Ioannis Soultoukis, and I (Greece) arrived in Leh on June 28, hoping to ascend unclimbed Nya Kangri (6,480m, 34°37’38.48”N, 77°45’23.08”E) via its northwestern slopes and south-southwest ridge. Tolias and I had previously attempted ...
The Hungarian National Alpine Team hoped to make first ascents from the Nangma and Hushe valleys. Viktor Agoston, Bence Kerekes, Marton Nagy, and Laszlo Szasz, on their first trip to the Karakoram, arrived in Pakistan on June 25 and reached K6 bas...
On December 5, 2021, winds were light in Tuckerman Ravine and temperatures seasonably cold, with poor visibility near the top of the ravine. During the five days prior, one to three inches of new snow was recorded on Mt. Washington’s summit each d...
On March 19, 2022, two backcountry skiers planned a trip to an area locally known as the Dome in the North Fork of Fish Creek, about eight miles east of the town of Steamboat Springs. Skier 1 arrived at the Dry Lake trailhead around 8:30 a.m. Whil...
On March 10, 2022, two backcountry riders set out for an outing near Mt. Peck (12,208 feet), about 1.5 miles southeast of Monarch Pass. Rider 1 traveled on skis and Rider 2 on a snowboard. They brought their dog along for the tour. The plan was to...
On March 12, 2022, a party of six, with two guides, ascended from Grizzly Gulch in Little Cottonwood Canyon toward East Bowl Pass overlooking Silver Fork, which flows north into Big Cottonwood Canyon. While traveling, the group separated into Grou...
A party of eight had been staying at the Plummer Canyon Yurt for several days. On March 17, 2022, five of the members skied a couple of low-angle runs and some trees on nearby Mt. Wow (10,262 feet), with no signs of instability except for one coll...
On the morning of Saturday, December 11, the first major winter storm of the season was impacting the Cascades. Until this point, thin snow cover had limited back- country recreation opportunities. A group of six ski tourers decided to travel in t...
On July 10, a party of two was climbing Generosity (13 pitches, 5.9), a long, mixed-protection route near Canmore. On pitch seven, the leader pulled off a loose rock, which caused him to fall 30 to 40 feet. A piece of gear pulled out early in the ...
On October 2, a climber soloing the Rundle Traverse from Canmore to Banff requested a rescue after attempting to retreat near the end of the route. The Rundle Traverse is a long, exposed technical ridge consisting of 11 distinct peaks. The ridge h...
On August 4, two climbers spent most of the day approaching and climbing the first part of the Flying Buttress route (D+, 5.8) on Deltaform Mountain. This route sees very few ascents in a regular year and, as with most of the routes in the Valley ...
On August 15, a party of three left their bivouac site to ascend the west ridge of Hungabee Mountain (D, 5.6). After reaching the summit, they began their descent. While in the upper third of the route, a climber rappelled, disconnected from the r...