Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Pik Berneline, Pik Trener, and Other Ascents Kyrgyzstan, Tien Shan, Djangart Range

In August, a team of six climbers—Niels Brack, Miel Cox, Annelore Orije, Loïc Puylaert, Cedric De Smet, and me, Christian Suys—spent four weeks in the beautiful Djangart Range. After three days of driving from Bishkek, we made it to some barracks...

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| Published 2023 | Author Christian Suys


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Pik Petra, Ak Ayuu, Pik Barsik, and Other Ascents Kyrgyzstan, Tien Shan, Djangart Range

Luka Kramarič, Florjan Lajmiš, Špela Ozimek, Krištof Rener, Nejc Štebe, and Mojca Zajc, all Slovenians, arrived in Bishkek on September 3, 2022. We chose the Djangart region because it seemed like a good location to dip our toes into expediti...

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| Published 2022 | Author Nejc Štebe


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Pico do Itabira, Ao Ao Brazil, Espírito Santo, Serra do Caparaó

Photos by 100 Limite Filmes / Murilo Vargas Conceiving of and realizing big climbing projects, at least for me, requires an obsessive mindset. I’ve spent many late nights in the last decade diving down internet rabbit holes in search of the w...

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| Published 2023 | Author Gareth Leah


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Pedra Riscada, Northeast Face, Rabiosa Brazil, Minas Gerais

I first encountered Pedra Riscada in 2021 during a trip with friends to repeat some lines there. What blew me away as much as the soaring granite walls was that there was no established route up the heart of the steep and beautiful northeast face....

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| Published 2023 | Author Jonathan Crison


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Reddomain (6,112m), Correction China, Sichuan, Daxue Shan

In AA] 2011 we reported the second ascent of Reddomain (6,112m) by a different (northern) approach to the west ridge from that used in 1999 by the Japanese first ascensionists. In fact this was the third ascent, the second taking place on October ...

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| Published 2006 | Author Lindsay Griffin


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
La Espada, Arma de Doble Filo Chile, Southern Patagonia, Torres del Paine

At the end of February 2024, after a season of bad conditions and weather, a spell of high pressure appeared in the forecast for Southern Patagonia. I prepared to make my third foray into the Bader Valley of the season, hoping to finish a line I h...

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| Published 2024 | Author Sebastian Pelletti


Feature Article AAJ
La Travesía Doble M: A Solo Traverse of the Four Torres del Paine Chile, Southern Patagonia, Torres del Paine

The complete traverse of the Torres del Paine went from southwest to northeast over (A) Torre Sur, (B) Torre Central, (C) Torre Norte, and (D) Peineta. The line and bivouacs are marked. Photo by Francisco Bedeschi. On February 22, 2024, Seán...

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| Published 2024 | Author Rolando Garibotti


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Central Tower of Paine, Riders on the Storm, First Free Ascent Chile, Southern Patagonia, Torres del Paine

In 1991, Germans Kurt Albert, Bernd Arnold, Norbert Bätz, Peter Dittrich, and Wolfgang Güllich made the first ascent of Riders on the Storm (1,300m, 7c A3). The 38-pitch rock line, which tracks up the center of the east face of Torre Central, wa...

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| Published 2024 | Author Owen Clarke


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Tasiilaq Fjord, Peanut Wall; Qianarteq Island, Peak 620m Greenland, East Greenland, Schweizerland

Our “fair means” expedition lasted from July 6 to August 10 and began in Tasiilaq, where Anne Flechsig, Timon Kaufman, Ramona Volken, and I (all Swiss) loaded 250kg of gear and food into four kayaks and spent the next two and a half days paddling ...

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| Published 2023 | Author Lydiane Vikol


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Grinnell Glacier Area, New Routes Canada, Nunavut, Baffin Island

Base camp for the 2023 expedition: The formation climbed by Faffin in Baffin is on the right, and Angijuqqaaq is in back. Photo: Ky Hart Collection. One hundred and fifty kilometers southeast of Iqaluit is the broad ice cap of the Grinnell Gl...

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| Published 2023 | Author Ky Hart


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Chaltén Season Summary Argentina, Southern Patagonia, Chaltén Massif

The 2023–2024 season in the Chaltén Massif was statistically “average” for weather, meaning there were few windows and conditions were challenging. For a change, and thankfully, there were no fatalities in the massif. There were only two serious ...

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| Published 2024 | Author Rolando Garibotti


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Cordillera Emperador Guillermo, New Routes Chile, Northern Patagonia, Aysén Region

The Cordillera Emperador Guillermo is located north of Coyhaique and a few kilometers west of the town of Villa Ortega. Despite the proximity to town, the range emanates a great deal of mystery and solitude. Spanning about five kilometers from sou...

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| Published 2023 | Author Marco Poblete


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Shkhara, Traverse Via Beknu Khergiani and Rolleston-Longstaff Routes Georgia, Caucasus Mountains

(A) Shkhara’s main summit (5,203m) from the south. The six-day traverse began with the Beknu-Khergiani Route (1), continued along the ridge to the west summit (B), and descended the Rolleston-Longstaff Route (2), passing over the south summit (C...

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| Published 2023 | Author Archil Badriashvili


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Cerro Evelio, First Known Ascent, South Face and Southwest Ridge Chile, Central Andes

In 2020, while attempting to summit Cerro Aparejo, a friend and I noticed an attractive summit visible from the road through the Aparejo Valley in Chile’s Cajon de Maipo, two hours from Santiago. We analyzed possible routes on the peak’s south fac...

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| Published 2023 | Author Agustín Ferrer


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Ushba North Peak, Ski Descent from Foresummit Georgia, Caucasus Mountains

In May, Tiphaine Dupérier and Nouria Newman (both from France) made a nearly complete ski descent of the North Peak of Ushba via the north ridge and northwest face. Ushba’s North Peak (4,690m) was first skied in 2017 by Miroslav Pet’o (Slovakia),...

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| Published 2023 | Author Dougald MacDonald


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Tetnuldi, South Face Georgia, Caucasus Mountains

On August 29, Temo Qurdiani and I drove in a 4WD vehicle from Mestia to the remote village of Adishi. (This road still does not appear on Google Maps.) Our idea was to climb the iconic Tetnuldi (4,858m) by an impressive and “forgotten” face. Adis...

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| Published 2023 | Author Archil Badriashvili


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Chambe, Northwest Face, Kuche Kuche Malawi, Mulanje Massif

Taki Miyamoto on pitch five of Kuche Kuche, a 45-meter 5.10d. Photo by Mark Richey. Across the African plateau, rising smoke from slash-and-burn agriculture gave an orange haze to the setting Malawian sun. One by one, electric lights illumina...

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| Published 2023 | Author Mark Richey


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Adad Medni, South Pillar Morocco, Anti-Atlas

On December 4, Dominique Lalot and Raphael Thomé (France) completed the upper South Pillar of Adad Medni in the western Anti-Atlas. This line, which begins partway up the 1,000m south face and is accessed by a traverse from the east, had been att...

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| Published 2023 | Author The Editors


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Fenda da Tundavala and Serra da Leba, New Routes Angola, Huíla Plateau

Nathan Cahill working on the route Dez Mangas (5.11c) at Serra da Leba, Angola. Photo by Diogo Rebelo. In the sunbaked land of Angola, the Huíla Plateau rises majestically above the Namib, a coastal desert in southwest Africa. The plateau pr...

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| Published 2024 | Author Nathan Cahill


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Debsa Valley, Exploration; Ratiruni Tibba, Northeast Ridge India, Himachal Pradesh, Spiti

Looking northwest toward Ratiruni Tibba (5,570m, left) and unclimbed Peak 5,655m. Ratiruni Tibba was climbed by its right skyline ridge. Photo by Gerry Galligan. In July, Hugh Reynolds and I (Ireland) visited the Debsa Valley in Spiti. Our ai...

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| Published 2023 | Author Gerry Galligan