On June 12, a woman (57) died after falling 40 feet while climbing indoors. She appeared to have either become disconnected from an auto-belay or failed to clip into it. A police investigation found no fault in the equipment. ANALYSIS Though fat...
On the morning of September 19, Craig Faulhaber (41) fell to the ground while top-rope-soloing Burning Down the Haus (5.13d). This 45-foot, slightly overhanging sport route is located on Haus Rock near Keystone, Colorado. Faulhaber, a climber with...
On May 22, a climber fell approximately 40 feet to the ground while being lowered from The Eighth Day (160 feet, 5.13a). This classic pitch is located on the Project Wall and has chains mid-route for a double-lower or rappels. While the climber wa...
On April 20, my partner Scott and I, Alec Orenstein (37), attempted a ski descent of the northeast face (the “Coors Couloir”) of 14,017-foot Wilson Peak near Telluride. We began our approach via Silver Pick Basin at around 4 a.m. Changing over to ...
On January 29, veteran climbers Tom Bohanon (65) and Wayne McIlwraith (74) experienced a rappelling accident while descending from Chockstone Chimney (WI3) in the Camp Bird Road area. Injuries were thankfully minor. Bohanon and McIlwraith climbed...
On February 1, Michael Levy (31) suffered a broken fibula after taking a leader fall on the second pitch of Bridalveil Falls (3 pitches, WI5+) near Telluride. He and climbing partner Tom Bohanon (65) effected a self-rescue to the nearby access roa...
From a base in the village of Na (4,183m), Elvira Mayol, Pep Roig, Tomeu Rubí, and I acclimatized by exploring the surrounding area and climbing a few low hills, and then attempted Ramdung (5,930m). Tomeu and I reached the summit, Elvira and Pep a...
On the afternoon of March 6, Joseph Chen (33) fell from near the top of American Express (5.9). The climb is described on Mountain Project as a top-rope. However, the 15-foot granite slab is often climbed as a boulder problem. Chen was unroped. C...
On a spring day in Joshua Tree, a climber returned to practice roped soloing after many years away from the sport. He started up Granny Goose (5.7), a 50-foot traditional route in a well-traveled area. After passing the initial flake on the route,...
In March, Lucy Kim (23) fell from Classic Thin Crack (V2) in Joshua Tree, severely damaging her left ankle. With her hands at the top, Kim chose to jump off in order to retry the problem. Below were six crash pads and two spotters. She fell in an ...
On Saturday, March 6, Tylea Brown (39) and her husband, Casey Cruz (32), accompanied by their two young daughters, were enjoying climbing in the Southern California high desert. After completing several single-pitch routes, Brown was belaying Cruz...
My wife (Kelly Perkins, 59) and I (Craig Perkins, 60) have rock climbed for 20 years. After a long hiatus, I took time to refresh my skills, including anchor building, knots, and gear placement. Our climb, Miss Pacman (5.9, sport), was fun and ini...
On May 31, Vik Waghray (24) fell to his death while traversing from Temple Crag to Mt. Gayley. He and Michael Layton (45) were attempting the long and arduous Temple- Gayley-Sill-Thunderbolt traverse. The pair had summited Temple Crag and were on...
On August 13, BJ Cook and I responded to an accident while climbing on the Southeast Buttress of Cathedral Peak, a five-pitch, 5.6 traditional climb in Tuolumne Meadows. BJ and I are experienced climbers and have many moderate multi-pitch trad cli...
Nathan Hadley on pitch two of Rubbernecker (600’, IV 5.14-). Photo by Jeremiah Watt Shortly after moving to Washington in 2015, I was scouring the guidebooks for aid lines to free. In 2016, I found Midnight Ride (600’, 5.9 A4) in Fred Beck...
On June 16, Matthew “Mash” Alexander (50) was struck by rockfall in the face and head as he slept. He and his climbing partner, Sean McGinness (48), were bivying in hammocks midway up El Cap, near the Nose route. The team had spent seven nights o...
On April 11, Josh Ourada (31) fell while free soloing Nutcracker (5 pitches, 5.8) on the Manure Pile Buttress. Ourada has been climbing for over ten years and was no stranger to free soloing. He had climbed Nutcracker before, both with and without...
On April 13, Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) responded to a roped soloist who had fallen and injured himself while climbing the second pitch of After Six (5 pitches, 5.7) on Manure Pile Buttress. It was reported that the rope-soloist had come t...
In the evening of October 17, two climbers, Kate (28) and Nick (26), started up the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome (23 pitches, 5.9 C2) after completing the Nose on El Capitan (31 pitches, 5.9 C2) earlier in the same day. Nick and Kate were b...
On March 4, two climbers, “Jeff” and “Erin,” climbed Munginella (3 pitches, 5.6) to the base of Selaginella (4 pitches, 5.8) in the Five Open Books area near Yosemite Falls. The pair were both experienced, and these routes were within their abilit...