In September, Nikolay Totmianin (sometimes spelled Totmjanin or Totmyanin), a climber and guide from Russia, and I explored the Bel Uluu Glacier in the western part of the Trans Alai. We had previously visited the eastern section of the same range...
From July 24–30, 2018, Evgeny Murin and Ilya Penyaev (both from Russia) made the first ascent of the south pillar of Kyzyl Asker (5,842m). The route follows the obvious ridge line to the left of the 2016 Lindic-Papert ice couloir, Lost in China, p...
IN RECENT TIMES I have realized that what really makes me happy is visiting new regions, particularly if they are little explored. My latest adventure was perhaps more intense than usual, but the mountain didn’t let me down, the ascent giving me g...
Elkhorn Mountain (2,194m)—located in the Elk River Mountain Range of Strathcona Provincial Park—is the second-highest peak on Vancouver Island and has a reputation for being loose and chossy. This is especially true of the northwest and west asp...
Not long after passing through the village of Lobuche, and at an altitude of 4,900m, a left turn brings you into the valley of the Khangri Nup Glacier. This is rarely traveled and there is good potential for climbing peaks and virgin walls. H...
High-altitude illness (HAI) occurs when climbers are exposed to the lower baro-metric pressure associated with elevation gain, resulting in insufficient oxygen available for absorption by the tissues of the body. When a climber is unable to effect...
Looking south up the Jiptik Valley before and after a major snowfall. The highest summit (at the back) is Pik Schurosky (5,490m). To its right is Muz Tok (5,066m), the expedition's goal before the snow put an end to attem...
From early August until the end of September 2017, a Japanese expedition led by Tetsuji Otsue visited West Nepal. Their original aim was Aichyn (6,055m, first climbed by another Japanese expedition in 2015), but after seeing that the peaks were dr...
In May and June 2018, I made a 1,000km solo bicycle ride from Khorog, Tajikistan, to Osh, Kyrgyzstan, following the Gund River, traversing the Pamir Highlands via Murghab and Karakol Lake, and finally crossing the border to reach Osh. I saw huge p...
In December my two best friends and I were in the multi-pitch sport climbing paradise that is El Potrero Chico. It was our fourth visit to this crazy place, and we had our eyes on a 15-pitch climb called Devotion (5.11), which is notorious for bei...
I WAS ICE CLIMBING with two partners in the Orient Bay corridor near Nipigon over a long weekend in March. My accident occurred on the second “pitch” on what appears to be an unnamed mixed dihedral to the right of the Right Stuff in the Amy R area...
Two Southern Alberta Alpine Club of Canada members climbed the snow gully route on Sofa Mountain’s east face on March 13. They arrived at the summit at 3:47 p.m. and rested there, taking advantage of the warm, stable weather before descending.At 4...
On Sunday, August 12, a 27-year-old male climber was attempting a scrambling route on Mt. Smuts (2,938 meters). He did not check in that evening, and on August 13 his lifeless body was discovered by Kananaskis Emergency Services at the base of a 3...
A party of two attempted Coire Dubh Intégral (500m, 5.7 WI3) on Goat Mountain on November 16. This is a multi-pitch ice route that leads to an upper face climbed mostly on rock and snow. The pair had left early in the day but took longer than expe...
ON JULY 29, a party of two experienced climbers was climbing Chockstone Corner on Yamnuska’s big limestone face. It is a nine-pitch climb (5.8) requiring traditional protection. The leader had started up pitch seven, about 60 meters below the top ...
On August 30, a party of two was climbing Heart Line, a very long, moderate (5.9 A0) rock route in the Bow Valley. As the second climber (male, 30s) was finishing pitch four, a large boulder rolled down the climb and struck the climber in the shin...
ON MONDAY, March 12, an experienced party had decided to climb the route Ice Nine on Mt. Wilson. This is a 90-meter, WI6 route that had been seeing frequent ascents and was described as being in “WI5” shape. The weather was clear, with cold overni...
On Christmas day, a male climber, 26, fell a significant distance while soloing frozen Cascade Falls and died as a result of his injuries. Cascade Falls is a very popular ice route (300m, WI3) near the town of Banff.ANALYSISThe dangers of unroped ...
On June 13, a tree fell from above the Outhouse Wall at the Back of the Lake area and struck three climbers who were at the base. One climber (male, age 26) was flown to a hospital by air ambulance and later died from his injuries. A second climbe...
Four climbers were involved in an avalanche incident below the Kitty Hawk ice climb (3 pitches, WI5) on the east side of Elliot Peak. An avalanche swept down the route just after one of the climbers had rappelled off Unicorn, a short M7 mixed rout...