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Libecki, Haag Reach an Unclimbed 'Pointy True Summit' on Baffin
New Dog, Old Tricks (VI 5.11 C3+, 3,000') on the Lurking Tower, Baffin Island. Of the first ascent, established by Mike Libecki and Jonas Haag over two weeks in May, Libecki wrote to Alpinist, "There...
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Grabbing High-Hanging Fruit on the Stikine Icecap
Devils Thumb group with West and East Witches Tit on the left. Frieh and Roskelley, making the fifth ascent of West Witches Tit, followed the far lefthand ridge just out of view to establish No Rest...
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Down the Rabbit Hole on Mt. Huntington's Idiot Peak
Down the Rabbit Hole (VI WI5+ M6 80 degrees, 5,000'), Idiot Peak, Mt. Huntington, Alaska. Scott Adamson, Aaron Child and Andy Knight established a new route on this subpeak, which Will Mayo and Chris...
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7 in 7: An El Cap Marathon with Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold and David Allfrey at the top of the Triple Direct (VI 5.9 A2), their seventh ascent of El Capitan in as many days. "I'm short fixing [in the photo], hence the huge loop of slack," says...
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Inverting Gravity on Venzuela's Acopan Tepui
The north face of Acopan Tepui from the village of Yunek, showing Gravity Inversion (orange) and other existing routes. [Photo] Blake McCord Acopan Tepui, Gran Sabana, Venezuela As the sun's first...
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Kiwis Author Three Alaska FAs in 'Knot of Granite Peaks'
The south side of Peak 8290 as seen from a high bowl overlooking the Johns Hopkins Glacier. Paul Knott and Kieran Parsons climbed to the summit via the southeast ridgeline on the right, reaching the...
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Hans Florine First to Solo El Cap's Triple Direct in A Day
Hans Florine on his eleventh pitch up Triple Direct, El Capitan, during his sub-18-hour rope-solo ascent earlier this month. "I think [speed climbing is] a super objective way to measure how you're...
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McKinnon Repeats Historic Southern Alps Face the Hard Way
East Face, Pope's Nose, Southern Alps, New Zealand. Guy McKinnon became the second to climb the face in winter, and the first to do so solo and without helicopter assistance. "The East Face is a...
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Trio of Basques Dodge (Most) Rock Fall on Payu Peak
Payu Peak (aka Paiju Peak), Karakoram, Pakistan. Payu "is one of the guardians to the entrance of the Baltoro," writes Nicholas Clinch in his book A Walk in the Sky. [Photo] courtesy WOPeak Expedition...
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Boltless 5.10 Added to North Howser Tower
The west face of the North Howser Tower, showing Dodging Deanna (5.10, 10 pitches) in blue. [Photo] courtesy Chris Atkinson/Alpinist 14 Howser Towers, Bugaboos, Canadian Rockies "Despite ninety years...
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Russians Top Unclimbed 1900m Face in Nepal
Thamserku (6623m), eastern Himalaya, showing Shy Girl (6B, 70 degrees). Russians Alexander Gukov and Alex Lonchinsky authored the line in eight days, climbing in alpine style. [Photo] courtesy Anna...
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5 Clients, 1 Guide Die in Fall on Mont Blanc's Aiguille d'Argentiere
Aiguille d'Argentiere (at left), Mont Blanc massif. This week, a party of six climbers fell 250m down the Glacier du Milieu, located between the two longest ridges on Argentiere. Five of the bodies...
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Storied Canadian Rockies Wall Finally Climbed
Mt. Stephen (3199m), above the Kicking Horse Valley, Canadian Rockies. The Great Wall of China, in the foreground, remained unclimbed until Chris Brazeau and Jonny Simms put up The Accomplice (VI...
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Climbing Closures Proposed to Preserve Monks' Lifestyle at Meteora
The pinnacles of Meteora, Greece, home to several Eastern Orthodox monasteries. More than 100 of the formations also house bolted and unbolted climbing routes. [Photo] Wikimedia Commons Meteora,...
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Trio Finds 'Hearts of Giants' on Dent du Geant New Route
Dent du Geant (right) on the Mont Blanc massif showing Coeurs de Geants (ED). The pinnacle's name means "giant tooth." [Photo] Lindsay Griffin On June 29, Dent du Geant (4013m), a crooked protrusion...
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Italians Get Their Ya-Yas in Kyrgyzstan's Ak-Su
Matteo De Zaiacomo on the first pitch of Perestroika Crack (VI 5.12b), on the Russian Tower, Ak-Su valley, Kyrgyzstan. This June and July, De Zaiacomo and Luca Schiera made a half-dozen repeats and...
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Honnold Free Solos Squamish's University Wall
Honnold during a filmed interview with Cedar Wright in 2011. Last week, Honnold free soloed the University Wall, topping out on Squamish's Chief via The Roman Chimneys, in two hours car-to-car....
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Solo Triple Linkup on Slesse in Alpine Ninja-Cat Style
Slesse Mountain, Coast Mountains, British Columbia. In August Marc-Andre Leclerc climbed solo and linked three of the mountain's routes in just over 12 hours. Leclerc linked the Navigator Wall (red),...
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Climbers Tap Free Climbing Motherlode in Wind River Range
Wharton encounters "amazing corner climbing with knobs and edges" on Pitch 3 of Hook, Line and Sinker, an all-free variation he and Whit Magro climbed this August on Mt. Hooker, in the Wind River...
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Canadians Free Baffin Island Big Walls
Crosby Johnston and Tony Richardson retrieve their "leaky tin can of a boat" from the base of Beluga Spire, Sam Ford Fjord, Baffin Island. The two climbers, along with Paul McSorley and Joshua...
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