On May 1, 1963 (at least in a small way), when Jim Whittaker of Seattle and Nawang Gombu of Darjeeling, India, became the seventh and eighth people to stand on Everest’s summit. Three weeks later, Lute Jerstad and Barry Bishop followed them, also summiting via the Southeast Ridge. Three hours after that, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld traversed Everest’s summit, having made the first ascent of the West Ridge.
Flashback: It’s the summer of 1998, and you’re 500 feet up the Sun Ribbon Arête on Temple Crag, one of the High Sierra’s finest alpine rock peaks. The scattered morning clouds have quickly turned into ominous thunderheads, coming your way. With nothing ahead but even more exposed climbing for 1,500 feet to the summit, you belay up your partner, have a short discussion, equalize a nut and a sling around a horn, and begin to rap. Two hundred feet lower you pull your rope, leaving the anchor in place—thus committing a federal crime.
We surveyed readers and more than a dozen climbing historians and writers in North America and Europe to collect 25 stories of stamina, ingenuity, and human will, some well-known, others not. Our hope is to remind readers to take care and prevent accidents--to"do nothing in haste, look well to each step," as Whymper famously said after the Matterhorn tragedy.
Avalanche danger will always be a hazard for those seeking to climb some of the world's most sought-after peaks. Here's a look at some facts about the deadly snow slides.
Call them what you will--"sloppy," "desperate," "intimidating," "amazing"--but dynamic moves are essential to our repertoire.
You know those shiny gadgets, techy techniques, and bizzled training facilities we use to hone our sport climbing? Well, guess what: they weren't invented in a vacuum.
Inside the world's busiest alpine-rescue service - Francis Claudon, of the Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne (PGHM) in Chamonix, France, was on second call that July evening. With one team already out on a rescue, he was kitted up and ready for the next mission, boots on and rucksack packed.
Yosemite Search and Rescue is one of the most well-oiled SAR machines in the world.
One of the most iconic crags in the country, the Third Flatiron rises majestically just to the west of Boulder, Colorado.
Knots: they attach us to ropes, connect slings to trees, substitute for dropped gear, secure tents, create belay anchors. Even a sport climber whose shoes close with Velcro knows a few knots. But here are a few things you might not know.
Granite. Climbers love it, even as it tears their flesh, steals their gear, and makes them feel oh-so-small. You know how granite feels under your hands and feet, how it smells, and the way it turns to gold in the last light of day, but here are a few things you probably didn't know.
Share
