Denali Gear List: 5 Items that Made Life Better—Plus 5 Things I Learned
A first-timer shares her experience and the gear that got her through.
What it takes to climb a 21,000 ft. Himalayan peak
A first ascent attempt on India’s Chiling II, and the gear required.
Immaculate Vertical Jungle Mayhem
Nat. Geo. Adventurer Mike Libecki battles rain and jungle chaos to pioneer this first ascent on the Marquesas Islands, north of Tahiti.
Revelations: Revealing the Angel
Story By Graham Zimmerman Southwest of Denali, deep in the nederlands of the Alaska Range rises a valley of giant granite walls. They are known as the Revelations and have a reputation for beautiful hard climbing and terrible weather. In June of 2013 Scott Bennett and myself visited these mountains in search of new rock routes on beautiful peaks. We arrived in Talkeetna just as a legendary high pressure spell was coming to a sharp close. The clouds were closed in and we spent five days waiting in town until we were able to fly into the range. Luckily for us, many successful teams were flying out after sending the west buttress of Denali and we had a constant stream of friends both old and new arriving in town. It…
First Winter Ascent of Broad Peak
On March 5, Polish climbers Artur Malek, Adam Bielecki, Maciej Berbeka and Tomasz Kowalski reached the summit of Broad Peak (8047m) laying claim to the first winter ascent of the mountain. Tragically, two teammates did not return. Tomasz Kowalski and Maciej Berbeka separated from their teammates, on the decent and spent the night at or near the high saddle at 7,900 meters. Bielecki and Malek returned to Camp IV, staying the night before continuing their final descent. Bielecki reached Base Camp at 9:30 p.m. on March 6, followed by Malek. What happened to Kowalski and Berbeka? In a statement on polishwinterhimalaism.pl, reports that Kowalski was having trouble breathing and felt fatigued. He later fell and broke one of his crampons and was having a problem fixing it. Expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki called off the rescue effort on March 8th: Considering all…
Fred Beckey honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at 2013 Winter Outdoor Retailer
Fred Beckey is one of the foremost pioneers of the Northwest climbing scene. He is an explorer and adventurer who made the North Cascades his playground. Here is a must see video about the man his climbing companions know simply as “Beckey.” Fred recently won the Adidas Lifetime Achievement Award at the Winter Outdoor Retailer show. Take a look: