Jordan’s desert is famous for its sandstone formations, and the history of climbing in Wadi Rum is long—some of the sport’s legends have been active here. Local Bedouin climbed the rocks to find natural water reservoirs long before climbers and to...
Tsewang Namgyal leading the first pitch of Whiskey Shadow (WI4+/5) in 2021. The ice had been considerably thicker during the first ascent in 2020. Photo by Vishal Rautela In December 2019, I asked Indian climber Karn Kowshik if I could join h...
The Harsil Horns from the north. The west peak (right) was climbed in 2020 from the col to the west of the mountain (not visible). Harsil village (ca 2,400m) lies on the main road from Uttarkashi to Gangotri, about 30km before reaching the la...
Looking north-northeast across the Rakcham Plateau. (1) Approximate lines of Latin Brother, (2) Rehab Line, and (3) Miquellink, each with about 600m of climbing and all climbed in 2019. Photo by Gebhard Bendler Markus Kärle, Roman Mayerl, Chr...
On the west ridge of Charquini (5,392m), about 800m away from the summit and maybe 100m lower, stand a few towers and needles. Most of these have been climbed by their easy west flank, but several have impressive northeast faces, and are connected...
Plantaris Pillar on Noseeum Mountain. Photo by Alik Berg There is a renaissance in new route activity in the Canadian Rockies these days, with a wide cast of characters establishing routes in all of the climbing genres. Mixed multi-pitch crag...
“Hey Q! Time to do this!” These were the muffled words that woke me from Alik’s splayed-out sleeping bag. I looked over through bleary eyes. He was propped up against the wheel of his Pontiac Vibe, stove roaring and coffee in hand. It was October ...
The Trans-Canada Highway passes directly underneath Mt. Macdonald (2,883m), just east of Rogers Pass, and my neck is always cranked from looking up as I drive past, hitting the rumble strips as my truck and mind swerve off the beaten path. I can...
August 3, 2020: The world is in shambles. The global pandemic is riding rampant, borders are closed, countries are in lockdown. I am an American expat temporarily residing in Canada. Amid a seemingly endless stream of doom-scrolling, I read an art...
In August 2019, Tony McLane and I ventured out to one of Canada’s greatest roadside attractions: The Little Face of Mt. Macdonald. The goal was to climb an entirely free route through the meat of this north-facing wall right above the Trans-Canada...
Dawn on the northwest ridge of Pik Ketiley (4,710 meters). Photo by Derek Billings Few of us had heard of Kyrgyzstan, let alone considered it as a climbing destination. Tommy Caldwell had made it famous, right? Or was that Kazakhstan? Wait, n...
The left half of the north face of Pik Free Korea in the Ala Archa National Park. There are more than 25 routes and variations on this face; only the routes mentioned in the text are marked. (1) Studenin. (2) Barin. (3) Kustovsky. (4) Semiletkin...
Andy Vine descending the southwest glacier (Deception Route) on Ak Chukur. At distant left is Bel Uluu Mont Blanc (5,402m), while in the center is Pik 5,284m. Photo by Stuart Hurworth The Trans-Alai mountains delineate part of the border betw...
During a spell of excellent climbing conditions in December, four new winter routes were climbed on Sutton Peak (1,874m). Ryan Van Horne and I completed routes on three separate days throughout the month, the first of which was Blackbird Raggin...
On February 9, Matteo Agnoloni, Tom Schindfessel, and Antony Wood completed the first known winter ascent of the north face of Goat Mountain via Sugar Mummy (600m, AI4 R). Goat Mountain (1,401m) lies within the North Shore Mountains, just north of...
Pik Mechta from the south. The ridge falling towards the camera, separating the southwest face (left) from the unclimbed east face (right) is the Boyko-Tkachenko route. Photo by Evgenia Leontyeva In 2019 a small team organized by Evgeny Glaz...
The north face of Pik Communism (C) as seen in winter from Pik Korzhenevskaya. (D) Pik Dushanbe. (1) Bezzubkin Route (1971). (2) Barca (2020). The 2020 climbers’ line above the plateau was up the face left of Route 5 (Borodkin) to Pik Dushanbe...
I had planned a solo expedition to Greenland in 2020, but due to the pandemic and a ban on entry, I had to find an alternative. Northern Norway immediately sprang to mind. I had first seen the famous pyramid of Stetind (1,391m, 68°9'55.00"N, 16°3...
The east side of Luza (5,710m) showing (left) 2020 route up the southeast face/ridge to the summit and (right) attempted route up the middle of the northeast face. Photo by Pemba Sharwa Sherpa Project Luza Winter was a joint expedition of...
Krister Jonsson on the first ascent of Cascade de Quarantine. Photo by Anna Backlund Mostly free to climb around the country throughout the pandemic, my wife, Anna Backlund, and I did two new routes in northern Scandinavia. On February 22, w...