Climbing
ArchivePrayer flags , worn by the wind, strung between trees just outside of Patagonia, Arizona (© Jay Graham / drr.net) Over the coming months, ϳԹ will be posting interviews with adventurers, environmentalists, filmmakers, and others conducted by Mountainfilm. Many of the icons appearing at this…
On February 12, the full session of the International Olympic Committeeformally recognized the International Federation of Sport Climbing, meaningclimbing now can compete with other sports for entry to the OlympicGames, states…
Finland is usually associated with Nordic sports like ski jumping and cross country skiing. Now Anne-Mari Hyryläinen wants to make history by being the first Finnish woman to summit Everest. An accomplished marathoner, she saw Mount Everest for the first timewhile bicycling from Lhasa to…
Last week we looked at the north side of Everest for 2010, now let's have a quick look at the south for 2010 through the eyes of IMG's Eric Simonson. As many know, IMG is one of the largest operators on Everest and the other highest peaks…
This ode to cutting loose could make you quit your job.
Overlooked mountain ranges, river beer, running album, gear of all time, and 47 other big ideas, accidental winners, and awesome things about the world outside we've come to love over the past 33 years. Introducing our first annual Editors' Choice Awards...
Daniel Woods has just completed an ascent of what he calls “The Game” in Boulder Canyon, a V16 climb, which The North Face said could be the most difficult boulder problem in the world. Others…
Wild weather makes the next couple of months the hardest time of the year to plan an adventure. To help you out, we've worked up game plans for all kinds of conditions. Your job? Just check the doppler—then go.
It is about a month before teams from all around the world packtheir duffel bags for the flights to Kathmandu. Thus far the southlooks like business as usual with about 16 teams already announced. Toput this in perspective, in 2007, when we saw a record number ofEverest…
Climbing.com has released the 2010 recipients of the Mugs Stump and Polartec grants. Six small teams have been awarded a total of $25,000 for clean, lightweight first ascents in 2010. For a complete list of past recipients and details on how to apply for the grant,…
Ellen Miller is a quiet climber. Many people have not heard of her athletic and mountaineering achievements. For example, she is the only woman to summit Everest from both sides within the span of one year. I first met Ellen in 2002, on an expedition in which she summited…
Kick Kennedy The dynastic brothers are gone, but up comes the next generation. Kick, 21, a senior at Stanford, has quietly built a résumé fighting for water conservation. In 2006, she joined an Imax crew filming Grand Canyon ϳԹ: River at Risk and became…
Eight skiers and climbers were killed by an avalanche in Iran's Alborz Mountains on a road between popular ski areas Shamshak and Dizzine, reported Iranian and international news agencies today. Rescuers saved another 49 victims, including three foreigners. Iran might not immediately conjure images of steep, snowy mountain ranges, but…
Merced River Waterfalls photo by David Liu The National Parks Service is crafting a new Merced River Plan that could restrict climbing and camping near the river. The plan isn't finalized yet and the park service extended the public comment period to the end of…
Once again, an Everest expedition is trying to solve the who done itmystery of Everest: did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine summit Mt.Everest in 1924? You see Sandy Irvine, who went missing on Everest'sNorth side in 1924, had a camera. A plan is emerging for a new search for the…
In 1999, at the age of forty-three, Lori Schneider awoke with numbness in over 50 percent of her body. Two months later, her entire body was numb. She had Multiple Sclerosis – MS. MS is a disease that attacks the central nervous system, and often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed…
Portraits from photographer Michael Lavine of the next generation water conservationist.
In the climbing world there are a few people who uniquely stand out:Messner, Viesturs, Moro, House, and many more – you know the names. Andthen there are those climbers who have forgotten more climbs than mostpeople have attempted. They may not have been the most difficult orgarnered the fame…
photo: Pavel Novak Historian Tom Holzel may have figured out a way to determine once and for all if George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were the first to summit Everest in 1924,…
Wish you could be climbing in Patagonia right now? This as close as you'll get from your office desk. Colin Haley wore a helmet cam while ascending Aguja Guillaumet. The audio is a little choppy from the wind, but the video is well worth it. (Hat tips:…
TAWOCHE 2k10 dispatches #4 from renan ozturk on Vimeo. Renan Ozturk and Cory Richards completed the first ascent of Tawoche's central south buttress, reports…
The human spirit is an amazing creature. Somehow, climbing big mountains brings it out. Cindy Abbott is no exception. With a broken leg on Aconcagua, she hobbled down from the high camps to be helicopter out, had surgery and was climbing again seven weeks later. Now she is going…
Utah-native Johnny Collinson, all of 17 years old, just became the youngest individual to reach the Seven Summits. Backpacker's Daily Dirt blog has the story and reports that Collinson reached Vinson Mastiff, in Antarctica, earlier today. Collinson made it just in…
Courtesy of Flickr The Mayo Clinic has set up an Argentine expedition to study the ultra runner Diane Van Deren. Roughly 20 years ago, Van…
You are upside down, wedged in a deep crevasse at 19,000 feet in the Khumbu icefall. Your teammate is on top of you. You think another is nearby. Everyone knew the serac would give way, they just didn’t know when. Walter Laserer found out, up close and personal.
In honor of Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and Wade Johnson, who died in an avalanche in China last spring, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Mountain…
We hear a lot about the famous people on Everest so I like to focus on the not so famous; however you might define that. In her hometown of St. John’s Newfoundland, TA Loeffler is quite famous; even a legend. If you have ever read her Blogs,…
Fitz Cahall wants to push web TV forward with adventure stories. The voice behind the popular outdoor podcasts, The Dirtbag Diaries, has crafted a 22-episode web video series in HD called The Season…
Winter weekends are short and dark—which means you need to be fast and smart. Beat the blues with one of these surprisingly affordable escapes.
Outdoor Research has just released their 2010 ice climbing events calendar, which puts them at five climbing festivals in January and February where they will host clinics, demos, and seminars. So, while OR is getting feedback from you about…
By Mary Catherine O'Connor Late last month, The New York Times' Kate Galbraith reported on a rising employment trend: jobs maintaining wind turbines. When the blades on turbines get stuck or damaged, they need to be quickly fixed, and what better experience could…
Dave Hahn has always stood out to me the consummate mountain guide.While some will certainly argue this point, I have witnessed Dave inaction a few times. Once in the Khumbu Icefall, Dave was guiding ahuge client. When I say huge, I mean 6' 3″ 250+lbs – not fat justlarge, huge.
Advances on the web changed the we heard about adventures, breaking news, and victories. Tweets and posts and friends and low budget videos changed…
In light of our November feature on fear (“FLAT” by Jennifer Kahn) about Scott Macartney's near-death crash during a ski race, it's time we take a look at some other heart-stopping “yard sales.” From snowboarding into boulders to an entire peloton running directly…
If you want to see what it was like before ladders, sat phones and Gortex take the hour to watch this 1953 film. In spite of the Alford Hitchcock music, I highly recommend it as an excellent account of climbing Everest This incredible documentary of the 1953 summit brings…
Occasionally I meet people on climbs that leave a lasting impression. Brad Jackson and Sandy Hoby cross that requirement and more. I met them on Everest in 2008. They were on a different team but also climbing from the Nepal side. As is the case on Everest, you get to…
Climbers of all skills know of the Eiger. This 13,025' peak in the Swiss Alps has been a topic of legend and tales for centuries. Climbing the north face has been lusted and sought out by climbers and was featured in the Clint Eastwood classic, the Eiger Sanction. It…
To start any article on climbing deaths, it must be said that everydeath is devastating to family and friends and should never be takenlightly. I have helped bury climbing partners on high peaks and neverwish that experience on anyone. Sadly, mountaineering often receives mainstream media attention onlywhen someone dies and…
The search for two missing climbers on Mt. Hood has been suspended, says Climbing Magazine. The search began last Saturday when Katie Nolan, Luke Gullberg, and Anthony Vietti did not return from the volcano. Rescuers found Gullberg's body, but have yet to locate Nolan or Vietti.
What are some good, cheap, tropical eco-trips for a winter break? The Editors Santa Fe, New Mexico
Canadian climber Guy Lacelle died Thursday morning when an avalanche swept him over a cliff in Hyalite Canyon, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Lacelle was taking part in an ice-climbing competition when a team above him triggered the small avalanche. Lacelle,…
After a series of setbacks, including frozen water pipes, the Teton Ice Park will open this Saturday, December 19, at Grand Targhee Resort. The park, which was inspired by the Ouray Ice Park in…
Aircraft continue searching for the remaining two climbers on Mt. Hood Monday after finding their partner's body on Saturday. Multiple news agencies reported on one dead and two climbersmissing on Mt. Hood as of Saturday, December 12. They left theTimberline Wy'east Day Lodge at 1:00 a.m. Friday morning for a…
Three climbers left Timberline Lodge on Friday at 1 am to climb Oregon's Mt. Hood. They did not return the same afternoon. Authorities were notified and began setting up a search and rescue effort. Yesterday authorities said…
Can Hollywood teach you valuable lessons about climbing? See for yourself by watching clips from Vertical Limit, above, starring Chris O'Donnell, complete with helpful tips on what to do and what not to do when you're dangling thousands of feet from the ground.
How much does it cost to climb Mt. Everest? This is one of the most common Google searches that lead people to my site. And the most often asked question during my presentations. My usual answer is “A car.” But everyone who has read Jon Krakaurer's Into Thin…
Last night, mountaineer and philanthropist Greg Mortenson received a standing ovation after a talk in Santa Fe sponsored by Garcia Street Books. We attended and filmed the event (coming soon to outsideonline.com), and left inspired. Perhaps…
The climbing season on the highest mountain outside the Himalayashas just begun and the first death has already occurred. Americanclimber, Michael Nimitsil died during his descent. The 39-year-old climber had attempted the summit twice and on histhird attempt was returning when he is reported to have become lost in a…
Climbers Martin Ploug and Kristoffer Szilas were the first to summit Ren Zhong Fen, a mountain in Sichuan province, China. Climbing Magazine has the story and photos from the climb. The 5,800 meter mountain was unknown to climbers until Japanese explorer Tamotsu Nakamura made them aware of…
People give when they know it will buy something tangible. We asked directors at five organizations to tell us what donations from $50 to $50K would accomplish.
We lost another great climber in November, Lino Lacedelli at age 83. He and Achille Compagnoni were the first two men to summit K2 on July 31,1954 – a year after the first Everest summit. He died in his hometown of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Their summit brought great pride…
One never to give up, the former record holder for the oldest Everest summit, Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, is now targeting another summit at age 80 – in 2013. This according to a report today from AFP. He wants to climb the north this time after previously…
Recently while designing new business cards, I considered my title. With my early retirement after 30 years in high tech, I needed a new title and “retired” just didn’t fit. I considered many choices but couldn’t settle on just one. Thus these three made it…
Yangshuo Climbing Festival Day 3: Steady Drizzle. The morning's scheduled outdoor climbing workshopswere moved to the Yangshuo Kungfu Training Centre. I biked over around 9:30 a.m. to watch Alex Honnold give a lesson on “knee-bar-ing” — using one's knees,rather than feet or hands, to stabilize…
Fire and rain bracketed my second day at the 2009 Yangshuo Climbing Festival. The former began in the common room of my rustic hotel, a 4-kilometer bike ride from downtown. Someone had stored a pile of scrap two-by-fours too close to the wood stove. When I looked up…
Veteran climber Tomaz Humar was found dead today after being stranded for days on Langtang Lirung in the Himalayas, according to the AP. Earlier today, the flight operations manager for Swiss Air Zermatt confirmed Humar's body was retrieved…
Ni Hao, ϳԹ Readers, Mike Ives here — a freelance writer based in Hanoi, Vietnam. For the next few days, I'll be filing dispatches from the second-annual Yangshuo Climbing Festival in Yangshuo, China. If my aching fingers will cooperate. A little background info on Yangshuo: This touristy town in Guangxi Province…
Mountaineer Fabrizio Zangrilli recently stopped by ϳԹ's office in Santa Fe to talk about his experience guiding 10 clients up K2 this past fall. Few alpinists have a resume to match.
What do you bring up the northwest face of Yosemite's Half Dome in early October? Answer: not much. It’s a 1.5-mile approach gaining 3000-feet in elevation with multiple class 4-5 scrambles, followed by a 2000-foot wall of sheer granite. My climbing partner cut his toothbrush in half to shed weight.
Welcome to the ϳԹ Lab, our new blog dedicated to the intersections of science, sports, education and nature. The connections will sometimes be loose, but that should make it fun. Please comment and ask questions. This week at NASA's Dryden Research Center in…
By Stephen Regenold As recently as five years ago, Army-Surplus wool pants were a stalwart piece in my winter outerwear getup. I’d pair the coarse, jungle-green trousers, which were purchased for $20 to $30 at secondhand shops, with a Gore-Tex shell jacket for ice climbing…
By Mary Catherine O'Connor This Saturday, October 24th, will be action-packed.Normally, this would not be news for ϳԹ readers, for whom most weekendsare packed with biking, skiing, boating, etc. But this year, it's news. October24th is the much-anticipated international day of action, designed to…
Rock and Ice reports that the 9th annual Red River Gorge Rocktoberfest fundraiser was a huge success, raising $23,000 to pay off the mortgage on a 750-acre plot of land preserved for rock climbers. This plot of land in…
This past weekend, a group of six people attempted to push a disabled man who was in a wheelchair up to the summit of Snowdon, in Wales, but left him behind when they found the terrain too rough, reports UKClimbing.com. On their way down,…
On Thursday October 8th, French climber Alain Robert scaled Paris's 499-foot Tour Ariana with nothing more than two chalk bags, some climbing shoes, and the clothes on his back, according to Rock and Ice Magazine. Luckily, someone at the scene got video of…
Tommy Caldwell and Jeremy Collins have won the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell in Arkansas, ClimbingNarc.com reports. This grueling comp pits paired off climbers against the clock, with the goal of finishing as many clean climbs as possible during 24 hours. There are…
This is the start of the third day since we came off the mountain. I’m finally starting to feel semi-normal. The first two days, I had trouble getting out of bed. I hadn’t really slept in two weeks, and getting out of the shower–well, I finally exited when…
On September 30th Chris Waddell became the first paraplegic to summit Mount Killimanjaro. Videos of Waddell and the One Revolution Team will be made available on the One Revolution blog. Waddell is the most decorated paralympic skier in history. Read more about Waddell's…
Alarming new science shows that thin air can wreck brain cells—at lower altitudes than you'd think. Here's how to protect yourself.
Alex Puccio has won the first event in the Spot Series Bouldering Competitions, Rock and Ice reports. Adam Markert won the men's comp for this event, called “The Gun Show.” The series is held at The Spot, a…
Charlie Houston, who was part of the first ascent team at 25,643-foot Nanda Devi in 1936, has died, Climbing reports. He was 96. Houston was a pioneer in altitude research. He wrote influential works on the process of acclimatization for climbers and the health…
I'm writing from 18,000 feet on what promises to be a pretty chilly evening. Left at 6 A.M. with a variety of expectations. Consensus had us staying at Hans-Meyer, and that looked optimistic after our first adventure on the winch. The first quarter mile took about…
You can enter to win a chance to climb Mt. Rainier with Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker on a five-day expedition. First Ascent is sponsoring the contest and will outfit the winner with gear. See details here, and check out Viesturs's ϳԹ…
Ouch. Long day: 10.5 hours. Technical from start to finish, and unrelenting. I did a series of about 1,000 three-to-four-second sprints at 12,000 feet and 3,300 vertical. I didn't use the winch. We're saving it for the upper mountain. The Harken winch is a great mechanism. We're still…
I would like to conquer Yosemite's Halfdome in September. How can I train for altitude climbing if I live near sea level? Paul Chesterfield, Michigan
Healthy. That's the word we kept coming back to. And we don't mean a fit or skinny population; we're talking about a city's cultural vibrancy, economic well-being, and overall quality of life. Presenting our picks for the 10 best cities in America, from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Plus: Our 10 favorite small towns.
Climbing K2 is the next biggest thing. We refuse to whine about it.