Weekly Feature Archives

Poetry Feature: Chip Brown

Posted February 22, 2017

In an Alpinist exclusive poetry feature, award-winning outdoor writer Chip Brown imagines the landscape of the Yukon within the sounds of the city, and in an interview he reflects on the connection between climbing and poetry.

1976-2016: Jannu Remembrances

Posted February 22, 2017

The great Japanese mountaineer Naoe Sakashita looks back on the first complete ascent of the north face of Jannu / Kumbhakarna to the summit of the 7710-meter Himalayan peak, and on his friendship with teammate Nobu-yuki Ogawa.

1975: New Zealand Expedition Jannu North Face

Posted February 21, 2017

In 1975 New Zealand climber Graeme Dingle joined an expedition to the legendary Wall of Shadows on Jannu / Kumbhakarna, a 7710-meter peak in Nepal. High on the mountain, he looked up at an immense ice formation that seemed about to collapse. "You can't tell me those cliffs are safe," he said. "This is as far as I'm going."

Alpinist 57 Mountain Profile Essays | Jannu

Posted February 20, 2017

Read all four essays by Graeme Dingle, Naoe Sakashita, Sergey Kofanov and Dawa Sherpa from our Mountain Profile of Jannu / Kumbhakarna in Alpinist 57—Spring 2017.

Roland Pauligk (1938-2017): The man who changed climbing with his brass micronuts

Posted February 18, 2017

Ross Taylor grew up as a family friend of Roland Pauligk, the man who created the brass "RP" micronuts that revolutionized rock climbing in the 1970s and are still essential gear at many cliffs today. Taylor recounts an influential life well lived since Pauligk died of cancer January 22.

An Interview with David Roberts

Posted February 14, 2017

Now facing Stage IV throat cancer, David Roberts reflects on his climbing and writing careers in this interview with Michael Wejchert. Roberts is one of the most prolific American climbing authors and has a climbing resume to match his list of titles.

On the Nose with Hans Florine and Jayme Moye

Posted February 3, 2017

On the Nose chronicles Hans Florine's "lifelong obsession" with the most iconic route on El Capitan. Herein, we interview Florine and co-author Jayme Moye about their new book documenting Florine's pursuit of the Nose speed record.

Our Eiger Drama

Posted January 30, 2017

In a letter to the editor, longtime Alpinist reader Tad Welch examines our looming environmental crisis from the perspective of a roped team braving the odds on the Eiger Nordwand. He writes, "As we enter what may be one of the darkest times of our country's history, I feel an obligation to subject my most basic values to the utmost scrutiny.... I must never put my rope mates in harm's way because I expect the mountain to become benign—when history proves otherwise—simply because I think it will. Off the hill, I am roped to more than a close friend or two. A rope of seemingly infinite length connects me to strangers of all ethnicities, languages, and beliefs—and to generations yet unborn."

The Glass Mountain: A Fable

Posted January 27, 2017

During the nineteenth century, Jim Bridger was well known for tall tales about the ranges of the American West. Herein, the modern climbing writer Jeff Long retells Bridger's attempt on "Glass Mountain," examining the aspirations and consequences of frontier mythology.

Jeff Long: The Story Behind "The Glass Mountain"

Posted January 27, 2017

An interview with climber and New York Times best-selling author Jeff Long on his story "The Glass Mountain," published in Alpinist 54.