Weekly Feature Archives

Soloing the Diamond: A Photo Essay

Posted January 9, 2008

"It may sound strange, but it was as though a period of my life was ending this spring. At first I was grieving for the past and very lost, but eventually I had to learn how to let go, and I entered a new life."

Inspirations, Part I: Vince Anderson

Posted January 2, 2008

We asked fellow alpinists to reflect on literature that most inspires their climbing. Vince Anderson and Mark Twight share the darkness in this first installment.

Little Mother Up the Morderberg

Posted December 26, 2007

"I don't find the solemn joy in fussing you do. The old-style mountaineers went up with alpenstocks and ladders and light hearts. That's my idea of mountaineering."

Interview: Mike Robertson on His Eiffel Tower Protest Solo

Posted December 19, 2007

There are a multitude of reasons we climb—more often than not they are expressed in pithy, sound-bite phrases like Mallory's "Because it's there." Within, Mike Robertson offers a reason more satisfying.

Destination: Croatia

Posted December 12, 2007

When contemplating a climbing trip from a US mountain town, several important factors come to mind: blue—even turquoise—water, cultural experiences and a European location where the dollar isn't drowned by the Euro.

Bozeman Ice Festival: Accounts from the Players

Posted December 5, 2007

The Montana ice climbing community is prolific in both climbing and writing. This week, Bozeman Ice Festival participants and organizers share their tales.

Obsession and Ingenuity, Part III: Farming Ice in Farm Country

Posted November 28, 2007

"Hey Jim, how would you feel about icing those things up and letting us climb on them?"

Exfoliation Evolution

Posted November 21, 2007

Rarely does the ephemeral feel of ice climbing extend into the realm of granite slab climbing. But when it does, an evolution can happen.

Early Season Canadian Rockies Route Explosion by Swiss Team

Posted November 14, 2007

Ueli Steck shares stories and photographs from his October tour of the Canadian Rockies, where he established committing new lines with Simon Anthamatten.

Ice and Access in the Hyalite Canyon

Posted November 7, 2007

Joe Josephson, Montana's most vocal ice proponent and author of Winter Dance, speaks about the precarious access to Hyalite Canyon: "Often in life, you don't realize how good you have it until it's gone—or at least under the threat of being taken away."