Weekly Feature Archives

The Lost Times—Los Tiempos Perdidos

Posted January 7, 2019

In this Full Value story from Alpinist 64, Quentin Lindfield Roberts confronts the long journey home and the occasionally even-greater dangers of daily life after his climbing partner nearly dies in an accident on Cerro Torre.

Raggedy Man

Posted December 28, 2018

After recovering from a severe illness in the wake of the Gulf War, veteran Scott Coldiron returns to his long-abandoned climbing dreams—exploring new ice in remote parts of Montana's Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. In this On Belay story from Alpinist 64, Coldiron traces the formative experiences of his hard-knock childhood, his discovery of what the mountains offered, and how he found his way back to the peaks that first stirred his imagination.

Q&A with Alpinist Assistant Research Editor Anders Ax

Posted December 20, 2018

Every story in Alpinist is thoroughly fact-checked. "Fact checking" has become a more common term in today's digital headlines, as accusations of "fake news" and "alternative facts" abound in our society. In this feature, Alpinist Associate Editor Paula Wright interviews Alpinist Research Editor Anders Ax about the strategy and nuance of exhaustive fact-checking and how he handles the most difficult questions that may not have definitive answers.

Local Hero: Stacy Bare

Posted December 17, 2018

In this Local Hero profile from Alpinist 64, Teresa Baker writes about Iraq War veteran Stacy Bare and how climbing introduced him to new perspectives, helped him recover and inspired him to seek out ways that nature could help others cope with trauma. "Being able to get outside is a gift," he says.

To Father from Daughter

Posted December 2, 2018

In this Climbing Life story from Alpinist 64, Alexandra Lev delves into the past of her father who was already a highly accomplished mountaineer by the time she was born. She writes, "I'd meet climbers and skiers who would say to me with excitement, 'Your dad is Peter Lev?' They called him a legend. To me, he was just my dad. I was aware that he'd gone on some expeditions in the Himalaya and that he'd skied extensively in Canada, but I knew none of the details." Now a grown woman, Alexandra Lev rediscovers her roots with new eyes and appreciation.

Latok I: Impossible Is Not Forever

Posted November 29, 2018

In this story that first appeared in Alpinist 64, Alexander Gukov shares his experience of surviving alone for a week at 6200 meters on Latok I (7145m) after his partner Sergey Glazunov fell to his death on the descent with most of their equipment. Gukov was ultimately rescued by a dramatic helicopter operation flown by Pakistani pilots Major Qazi Muhammad Mazhar-ud-Din, Major Abid Rafique, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Anjum Rafique and Major Fakhar-e-Abbas. Prior to the accident, Gukov and Glazunov reached a historic high point on the legendary North Ridge, which has thwarted the previous four decades of attempts.

Ride the Wind; Wind River Range, Wyoming

Posted October 10, 2018

In this On Belay story from Alpinist 63, Szu-ting Yi recounts an attempt she made with her husband Dave Anderson to traverse 100-plus miles of the Wind River Range while climbing all 43 of its peaks that rise along the Continental Divide (and that are named in 2015 USGS maps). What started as a whimsical project for Yi soon transformed into a deeper search for independence as a woman and a climber.

"As Above, So Below" uses fiction to explore the realities of risk and relationships

Posted October 5, 2018

About four years ago, Chris Kalman found himself struggling with heavy emotions while living with his girlfriend and her father who was dying of cancer. Kalman started writing what became a 103-page novella titled "As Above, So Below." The fictional story weighs on matters of death, grief, risk and family relationships.

The Giri-Giri Boys

Posted September 29, 2018

Ten years ago, in May 2008, an unassuming group of five Japanese climbers who jokingly dubbed themselves the Giri-Giri Boys caught the world's attention for their bold and visionary enchainments in the Alaska Range. This story by Katsutaka Yokoyama about that expedition originally appeared in Alpinist 26 (Spring 2009), simply titled "The Giri-Giri Boys."

Silences at Dawn

Posted September 25, 2018

In this Sharp End essay from Alpinist 63, Editor-in-Chief Katie Ives contemplates the varying meanings of awe as she delves into mountain darkness and solitude in search of peace.