Table of Contents

profile

Changabang

The siren's song of Changabang has called to climbers for over 100 years. First ascensionist Doug Scott recounts the Shining Mountain's history. With essays by Andy Cave, Pavel Chabline, Ugo Manera, Naoki Toda, and John Porter.

climbing notes

EL CAPITAN

MT. TIEDEMANN

ILLAMPU

MT. DICKEY

ALASKA

STIKINE ICECAP

ARWA SPIRE

CIMA GRANDE DI LAVAREDO

TRIGLAV

SIULA GRANDE

BUGABOO SPIRE

NALUMASORTOQ

WASHINGTON COLUMN

PADMANABH

MERMOZ

GREAT SAIL PEAK

SOUTH HOWSER MINARET

MONT BLANC MASSIF

DOLOMITES

EL NARANJO DE BULNES

VALAIS ALPS

BEAR'S TOOTH

SLOVENIAN ALPS

MT. THOR, WEST FACE

KICHATNA SPIRES

THE FLAME

editors note

Editor's Note

letters

Letters

One we like.

faces

Andrej Stremfelj

Andrej Stremfelj has pioneered some of the finest new routes on the Himalaya's highest peaks. Now in his thirtieth year of climbing, he is introducing a new generation of Slovenians to climbing in the Greater Range.

climbing life

The Climbing Life

Misadventures in the vertical realm.

inmemoriam

In Memoriam: Mike Bearzi, 1959-2002

Mike Bearzi, progenitor of the M-system, pursued the alpine ideal his entire life. A tribute by Bruce Miller, Bearzi's climbing partner on Ngozumpa Kang II.

off belay

Off Belay

Twenty years of downtime yields perspective on many things. John Bragg offers his on the changing nature of climbing partners.

features content

Seeking the Balance

Somewhere between climbing and climbing photography lies that most elusive of states. A photographic portfolio captures one climber's quest for equilibrium.

The Correct Use of Cutler

Monument Basin is a singular as the people who climb there. A celebration of desert climbing and the characters who embrace it.

Hammer and Tongs

The Grandes Jorasses, the Matterhorn and the Eiger offer up the three definitive north faces of the Alps. A solo winter trilogy had never been achieved by fair means. One of France's finest alpinists gave it hell—and paid a premium in return.

The Inside Line

Britain's tax man has racked up one of the more phenomenal success stories of modern climbing. Good style, a stiff upper lip, and WI6, all on a new route above 20,000 feet in China's hottest alpine area.

Down to the Wire

The icon of Alaskan climbing struggled back from viral meningitis only to be struck down by the rare and deadly Guillane-Barre Syndrome. His first trip back to the big mountains was going well— until a briefcase-size stone bore down.