Weekly Feature Archives

The Threshold Effect

Posted July 11, 2011

Alfred Mummery wrote in his 19th century classic book, My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus, "It has frequently been noticed that all mountains appear doomed to pass through the three stages: An inaccessible peak - The most difficult ascent in the Alps - An easy day for a lady." While the misogynistic temper of this famous quote is obsolete, its more general point seems to ring true.

Alexander Odintsov on Latok III

Posted June 30, 2011

Steve House New Hampshire Video

Posted June 10, 2011

Video: Grabbing The Dragon By The Horns

Posted June 8, 2011

In the last days of April, David Kaszlikowski and Eliza Kubarska hacked their way through the Malaysian jungle to reach the twin granitic towers that dominate the island Tioman—Dragon's Horns.

The Original 'Mountain' Bikers

Posted May 24, 2011

The brothers climbed the face. At 4478 meters they stood, triumphant and utterly spent. And yet, there was probably some quiet, persistent voice whispering an unpleasant reminder in the back of their minds: Nice job. Now get down there and ride back home.

AAC Five-Year Plan: The Long-Awaited Remodel

Posted May 19, 2011

A look at "the most significant changes to AAC programs in its 109-year history."

Talented Alpinist Joe Puryear Dies at Age 37

Posted April 27, 2011

Mark Westman reflects on the life of Joe Puryear, who died last October after falling through a cornice on Labuche Kang, Tibet.

The Asgard Project: A Q&A with Alastair Lee

Posted April 8, 2011

Hauling 30-plus pounds of equipment up the 1000m face of Mt. Asgard, Filmmaker Alastair Lee foregoes light-and-fast style in order to produce a film that is visually outstanding and leaves the audience with sweat-drenched palms and a hankering to seek out epic of their own.

Speed Series Part IV: Hans Florine

Posted March 30, 2011

Recently, we at Alpinist picked the brains of the speediest climbers to learn more about speed climbing and how it fits into our grade-crazy community. "I think we may have [speed climbed] before we called it that... We were in college, and we wanted to get in as much climbing as we could before classes on Monday."

Piolet d'Or Nominees

Posted March 24, 2011

Since the Piolet d'Or's rebirth, multiple awards have become standard, and it seems likely that on April 15 there could be several given out. Each of the teams exhibited good style in a committing environment. The Piolet d'Or's festivities will run from the weekend April 9-10 through April 16 with evening events open to the public. In an age when guided ascents and commercial fiascos on Everest seem to dominate the mainstream media's view of climbing, honoring the alpinists mentioned above could be a chance to show off the climbing community's values to the general public.