Weekly Feature Archives

Poetry Feature: "Belay"

Posted May 20, 2016

As an ecologist and a writer, I spend a lot of time contemplating how those two vocations speak to each other. Fundamentally, my research explores what it is to translate a landscape and how language shapes our perception of the ecosystems on which we depend.

A History of Imaginary Mountains—Thoreau's Dream: Beyond the Maps

Posted May 18, 2016

Behind the histories of exploration lie less-visible tales of rumored summits that prove to be nonexistent, and of physical mountains whose shapes and heights transform according to different legends.

Friends and Family Honor Dave Bridges (1970-1999)

Posted May 17, 2016

On October 5, 1999, while Dave Bridges and Alex Lowe were investigating a potential ski descent on the southwest face of Shishapangma, an avalanche buried them. This spring, their remains were found on the mountain.

A Quartet for Silent Lands: A Photo Essay

Posted May 13, 2016

We asked Lise Billon and Jerome Sullivan, two of the four authors of "A Quartet for Silent Lands" in Alpinist 53 (the other two authors are Diego Simari and Antoine Moineville) to share additional photos from their story for us to post online.

Local Hero: Fay Pullen

Posted May 12, 2016

At seventy-three, Cascades climber Fay Pullen bushwhacks through dense thickets and climbs isolated peaks—generally alone. Cindy Beavon pays a visit to one of Washington's most prolific soloists.

Andrew McLean Remembers Alex Lowe, David Bridges and the 1999 Shishapangma Avalanche

Posted May 6, 2016

Andrew McLean shares his reflections on the 1999 expedition, the avalanche that killed Alex Lowe and David Bridges and the void left by their passing.

Memorial Services to be Held for Eric Klimt

Posted April 3, 2016

Eric Klimt, a climber, teacher and videographer from Baltimore, Maryland, passed away in a climbing accident in Zion National Park on March 9. His family remembers him as an adventurer who projected routes around the globe. To remember Eric and his adventures, the Klimt family will hold two services.

Mountain Profile: Zion National Park, A Photo Essay

Posted March 30, 2016

In 1904 the artist Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh wrote of the landscape that became Zion National Park: "Never before has such a naked mountain of rock entered into our minds!... There is almost nothing to compare to it. Niagara has the beauty of energy; the Grand Canyon, of immensity; the Yellowstone, of singularity; the Yosemite, of altitude; the ocean, of power; this great temple, of eternity."

Namesake: Tricks are for Kids

Posted March 28, 2016

During the mid-1980s, Steve Hong was finishing his medical studies at the University of Utah, but he wasn't yet done with his youthful antics. On weekends, he and his partners explored Indian Creek's arid landscape of silent towers, crimson walls and grazing cattle. There, they found fissures that would eventually rank as iconic desert climbs. One was a 160-foot crack leading skyward up a smooth panel of maroon and orange varnish

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa's Solo Ascent of Khang Tagri (Mt. Chobutse)

Posted March 16, 2016

ONLY A FEW CLIMBERS have seen Mt. Chobutse, the 6686-meter mountain above my village in the Rolwaling Valley of Nepal. In Tibetan scripture, the original name of the peak is Khang Tagri. Although the north and south ridges rise in gradual arcs, the west face looks as sharp as an upturned axe.