Climbing
ArchiveI was climbing my local favorite, Colorado's Longs Peak earlier this year and noticed a new sign beside the trail. This was near the Diamond, famous for world class big wall climbs from Casual Route, 5.10a to Ariana at 5.12a and more. To be clear I was doing the passive…
Photo of the Himalayas courtesy of ilkerender on Flickr. Joe Puryear fell to his death on Tuesday while climbing Labuche Kang, a 24,170-foot mountain in the Himalayas, the Seattle Times reports. The 37-year old fell 1,500 feet when a cornice…
It's huge. It's nasty. And it's a beast to get up. But guess what: The summit is worth all the hard work it takes to get there.
Chris Sharma has won the Masters Series I Psicobloc, a unique new deep water solo climbing competition held in the Spanish city of Bilbao this weekend, reports Prana. Over 4,000 spectators lined the banks of the Bilbao Estuary to watch Sharma, 29, and over a…
Update: According to Jeeban Ghimire, director of Sherpa Shangri-La Treks, which organized the expedition, the search has been called off. After a six hour aerial survey, the search team deemed it unlikely he would have survived given the rough icy terrain where the avalanche occurred. Various reports say that Nima…
This year, Reel Rock moved away from its usual feature-oriented format to focus on short films. Co-creators Sender Films and Big UP Productions spent months documenting some of the most talked-about sends and stunts of the past few…
Photo Courtesy of Flickr Nearly half of all climbers attempting to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010 had altitude sickness, a study from Edinburgh University shows. The university's scientists camped out at 15,500 feet and tested 200 climbers on their bids for the…
Photo by Didrik Johnck Michael Brown, Erik Weihenmayer, and the Soldiers to the Summit team sent notice that they bagged Lobuche yesterday. It is…
Climbing Himalayan mountains in the Fall can be risky at best. Each day is shorter, it is progressively colder and winter looms. So every summit, especially Everest, is highly valued by the climbers. This year, Fall 2010, we saw two summit successes of very different types. First up is the…
Matt Wilder working Iron Monkey (via ClimbingNarc) Just a few weeks after his surprise second-place finish at the Nor'easter bouldering competition, Brian Kim has made a rare ascent of Eldorado Canyon's hardest trad climb, Iron Monkey (5.14 R),…
It's a good thing my mom isn't here watching me climb. This is definitely not the safest thing I have ever done.— Eric Larsen, Day 44, Camp 4 Explorer Eric Larsen moved with his team up to…
At 34, Ueli Steck is one of the fastest and most versatile climbers around today. Practically unknown to most Americans, the Swiss alpinist has set speed records on some of the Alps' toughest walls, including the Eiger's infamous north face, and has summited both Gasherbrum II and Makalu.
By Stephen Regenold For virtually any outdoors adventure, the right gear can give you an edge. But in few product categories does this ring as true as it does with lighting. For activities at night, an ill-performing headlamp, flashlight, or other source of…
We are most of the way through the Fall 2010 climbing season in the Himalaya. So far, not so good with one exception. Arguably Cho Oyu at 26907′ is the most climbed Himalayan mountain in the Fall. It is the 6th highest mountain and climbed from Tibet. Poor weather…
Climber Daniel Woods has made the second ascent of Jaws II at Rumney, the hardest sport climb in the eastern US, Climbing Narc reports. Originally established by Dave Graham as Jaws (5.14d), Jaws II climbs up a steeply overhanging schist wall in the White Mountains…
In between covering rounds of the UBC Pro Tour at the Nor'easter last weekend, I managed to sneak out and have a look at some of the gear on display in the sponsor village. The exhibitors at the Nor'easter had loads of new equipment to show…
If you have ever climbed in the Himalaya, you probably were as shocked by this headline as I was to receive the news. Lama Geshe suffered a stroke around September 20, 2010. He was flown to Kathmandu, paralyzed and in poor condition. He has since undergone an initial surgery…
Any article about death on a mountain is difficult to write. I am concerned about getting the facts wrong, perhaps offending family and friends. However, it serves a purpose of exploring the reason for incident and reminding everyone that mountains can be deadly. The best source year after year is…
After spending the morning checking out the Nor'easter sponsor village, slacklining, and trying my hand at artificial ice climbing (more on that later), I got the chance to sit down with climber Daniel Woods. Woods, who crushed all six…
Ethan Pringle and Alex Johnson took first place at the Nor'easter, the final Unified Bouldering Championships event of the season, competing for a crowded audience in Lincoln, New Hampshire. The men's division turned unexpectedly competitive after front-runner Daniel Woods failed to top the first problem, dropping the…
The Nor'easter bouldering competition kicked off today with qualifiers at Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. After an incredible series of snafus including lost rental car keys, a lost phone, and a broken camera, I made it to the comp just in time to…
On September 12, Stephen Wampler set out to become the first person with Cerebral Palsy to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan. Joining him were two experts…
The Road to the Nor'easter with Sonnie Trotter & Russ Clune from NE2C…
Outside Magazine offers free photo galleries. See the best in outdoor photography, featuring top pictures of climber Alex Puccio.
After the grueling two-week Mount Hood search in 2006, Oregon lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to require cell phones for climbers. Replay: after a brutal 2009 search on the same peak, above, Washington introduced a similar bill, according to an extensive story in Northwest…
For Alex Honnold, 2010 was the summer of speed. The 24-year-old climber, who's famous for his hard free-solo ascents, switched gears this summer, blazing up big walls in Yosemite and Squamish and making the first one-day ascent of the 28-pitch sport route…
The Ronnie Dickson Project: Amputee Climbing from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo. Louder Than 11 recently released this featurette they made about Ronnie Dickson, an amputee climber, Evolv…
As a Boston-area climber, I really appreciate urban crags, those spunky little cliffs and boulderfields tucked in between housing developments and industrial parks. They may not always be the prettiest or the biggest, but for those of us who don’t have a Hueco in our backyard and can’t take off…
Climber Michelle Smith fell and shattered her right leg while climbing the Grand Teton's Valhalla Traverse on August 26, Ungrounded reports. The 29-year old's climbing partner, Stephen Koch, caught her harrowing helicopter rescue on camera. We don't know what's more nerve wracking: the Traverse…
Urban climber Daniel Goodwin was arrested today after climbing to the top levels of a 58-story building in San Francisco. After scaling the Millenium Tower using suction cups, the 54-year-old Goodwin put up an American flag. On his…
Montana-based mountaineer Conrad Anker is no stranger to big mountain challenges. At 44, he's made first ascents in Antarctica and the Himalayas; in May 1999, he discovered the frozen body of British climber George Mallory at 27,000 feet on Everest's North Face. But the question remains: Did Mallory and partner…
Poor Eric Hansen. After heading all the way over to Nepal to take a stab at the Way of the Sherpa, he found out that all those wiry, diminutive porters are actually pretty big badasses, and your average dude probably shouldn't attempt to do their thankless job. But it seems…
You were told that Everest base camp is an insult to the true spirit of mountaineering. But why weren't you told about the excellent bars, the butter people, and that friendly playboy bunny from Poland? Kevin Fedarko spent a month at the world's most exclusive party town for his July…
John Harlin talks to Anthony Cerretani about his quest to climb the mountain that claimed his father's life and his book about the journey: The Eiger Obsession. Read an excerpt from The Eiger Obsession.
In October 2006, Jackson, Wyoming's Kit DesLauriers became the first woman to ski from the top of Everest—and the first person to carve the Seven Summits. In an Outside exclusive, superguide Dave Hahn went along for the seminal schussing. In this podcast, Hahn talks to Anthony Cerretani about the record-breaking…
Two hikers on a day trip in Canada's Columbia Ice Fields found the body of an American climber who went missing in 1989, MSNBC reports. The body, found in a melting…
It is that time of year for climbing to resume on the Himalayan 8000m peaks. Fall brings attention to the 'other' 8000m mountains near Everest: Makalu, Manaslu, Pumori and Ama Dablam in Nepal and Cho Oyu and Shishapangma in Tibet. And of course, Everest. Fall climbing in Nepal and…
It seems like dramatic, last-minute sends are coming into vogue forrock climbers. First came Paul Robinson's last-day success last weekin Rocklands. Now, Norwegian climber Magnus Midtbø has managed thefirst repeat of the ultra-hard…
Above, Payne climbs Castaway. Click here to watch a video of Angie Payne's Automator climb. Last week, Angie Payne pushed women’s bouldering to a new level when she made the first female ascent of The Automator (V13) in Rocky Mountain National…
After almost two months of work, climber Paul Robinson has managed to make the second ascent of Monkey Wedding (V15), an until-now unrepeated problem established by Swiss boulderer Fred Nicole in South Africa's Rocklands. According to 27Crags.com, Robinson called Monkey Wedding…
While the rest of America's top boulderers were battling it out at this month's Unified Bouldering Championships in Salt Lake City, Paul Robinson was out in the sand. Robinson, who this March put up the US' second proposed V16, has…
Courtesy of Flickr It is the mountaineering mystery: what happened to George Mallory and Andrew Irvine when they disappeared attempting to summit Mount Everest? A group of scientists from the University of Toronto claim that the pair were lost in a “perfect storm”…
Enzo Oddo, 15, has repeated ChrisSharma's legendary sport route Realization at Ceuse, France, Kairn.com reports. Oddo, of Nice, workedon the route for months, falling several times on the last moves. InJuly, several holds broke near the start of the route, increasing thedifficulty of the climb. First…
We talk with the adventurer about his memoirs, the climbers he admires, and why he believes harder is better.
On July 31, George Dunn, director of International Mountain Guides, became the first person to summit Mt. Rainier 500 times. He's since bumped that number up one, having just completed his 501st Rainier summit. He began…
Courtesy of Wikimedia Three amputees from three different wars recently bagged the summit of Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa, NPR reports. Between the three men, there was only one human leg; the rest were prosthetic. “The message we're trying…
Courtesy of Flickr Brandon Baker has no memory of being struck by lightning last Wednesday, the Star Tribune reports. The 31-year old hiker of Princeton, Minn. was on the summit of 14,259 foot Long's Peak just northwest of Boulder,…
Eric Larsen is not your average Polar explorer. Yes he has already made difficult and successful trips to both poles, yet he is not satisfied. Next up is what he calls the 3rd Pole, Mt. Everest. What is a lifetime goal for some, is a year-long one for Eric.
By Stephen Regenold It is a foreign concept to most climbers in America. But in Europe, a mountaineering discipline called via ferrata — Italian for “iron way” — is an immensely popular way to get off the ground. Developed during World War I as…
By Stephen Regenold Marketing departments rarely dip into metaphysics when promoting a product. But with its new Tree Hugger 32, an eco-minded backpack design, The North Face touts “good karma” as an attribute alongside pack capacity and compression straps. Karmic repercussions or…
Courtesy of RonAlmog on Flickr. Last Wednesday 17 climbers were caught in a lightning storm above 13,000 feet on the Grand Teton, the Jackson Hole Daily reports. All of the climbers were injured in…
1) How’d you get your start?I got a journalism degree from UC-Boulder in 96 and thenmoved to Italy. Before leaving, I called Climbing Magazine and asked if theyneeded any news from Europe.
I am planning to climb Kilimanjaro in December this year. What will be the best sleeping bag and boots tor this trip? –Florin Guelph, Ontario
What did you do on your summer vacation? Well 12 year old Matt Moniz is trying the extraordinary. He and his father, Mike are tagging the highest points in all U.S. 50 States in 50 days. They just completed number 49, Granite Peak in Montana. Next up they leaving for…
Late June 2010, I teamed up with my regular 14er partners, Patrick and Robert to complete some unfinished business. The 14er combination of Castle, 14265', and Conundrum, 14060', stand outside of Aspen at the end of a long mining dirt road. I had completed both in 2009, (see the…
After the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong is scheduled to compete again in this year's Leadville 100, according to Denver's 9news.com. Past champions Dave Wiens and Lance Armstrong will…
A preliminary report has Alex Honnold breaking at least one speed record after solo climbing the Regular Northwest Face on Half Dome and The Nose, according to alpinist.com. For more on the story, check out Honnold Flies Up The…
Outside in Aspen: Catching Up With Melissa Arnot from Outside Magazine on Vimeo. Climber Melissa Arnot recently became the first American woman to summit Everest three times. (She's bagged Mount Rainier 73 times.) We caught up with her at…
Climbers on the lower slopes of Hvannadalshnúkur (Photo by Stephen Regenold) By Stephen Regenold From the summit ridge on Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, the world dropped away to a blanket of clouds. It was late May, and I’d come from far below,…
I already own the Mountain Hardware Woman's Sub Zero SL Hooded Jacket and understand that this is not warm enough for Denali. Can I pair this with a lighter 800 fill down sweater to get the warmth that I need? Or must I buy another pricey parka? And on the boot front, my feet get cold. I would like a boot that will get me up Denali, toes intact, but that I can also wear on other climbs in the Lower 48 (and maybe someday in the Himalaya). Is this asking too much? I had a pair of Spantiks but their size made me feel clumsy...—AbiSan Francisco, CA
There are 54 'official' Colorado 14ers mountains rising above 14,000 feet and at least 300' from an adjacent saddle. An estimated 500,000 people climb on 53 of the 14ers each year without fees or permits, today. One, Culbera, is on private property and the owners charge $100 per climber.
Last year, 20-year-old climber Daniel Woods finished a disappointing second at the Teva Mountain Games' IFSC Bouldering World Cup. But after a four-month climbing tour in Europe and then solving the first V16 bouldering problem on U.S. soil, the Boulder, Colorado–based prodigy is the favorite at this June's World Cup, in Vail, which no American male has ever wo
With the controversial summit from the Tibet side by 13 year oldJordan Romero, China seems to feel enough is enough. Starting thisfall, 2010, climbers must be between 18 and 60 to be issued a permit. This was announced by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) who manages mountaineering in…
Team Jordan started uploading videos of their Everest trip. Thus far, they have a tour of base camp (above) and a short video…
Pemba Dorje Sherpa, a Nepalese Sherpa who holds the record for the fastest ascent ofEverest (eight hours and ten minutesin 2004) is hoping to take a local child to the summit after 13-year-old American Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb the mountain last…
What happens when a rock climber, gripped by the natural high of his sport, gets hooked on powerful prescription tranquilizers that help him beat back the fear and anxiety? Very nasty things. MATT SAMET bares all about a long, life-threatening addiction journey that took him from the top of the mountain to a mental and physical free fall that nearly cost him hi
A climber who went missing Saturday on Mount Rainier is now presumed dead, according to the Seattle Times. On Saturday, 11 climbers were overtaken by an avalanche, and all were pulled out by fellow climbers but one. The climber is believed to be a 27-year-old man from Olympia,…
By recent standards, Everest 2010 was a safe and successful year.There were nearly 500 summits with 4 reported deaths, all on the north,and several injuries and rescues. The total Everest summits broke thetotal 5,000 (includes multiple summits by Sherpas and guides so perhaps 2500 individual summits) level since the…
ext_script = "//i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/world/2010/06/01/coren.intv.teen.everest.cnn"Embedded video from CNN Video Jordan Romero, back from his successful summit of Everest at age 13, is in NYC and hitting up practically every show on television. Above, you'll find his CNN International appearance. According to…
Jamie Clarke, Scott Simper, and the five climbing Sherpas–Kami Tsering, Arita, Ang Namgal, Pemba Dorje, and Sonam–of Expedition Hanesbrands, reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 17, the early side of…
Award-winning director Michael Brown—of Serac Adventure Films and the Outside Adventure Film School—keeps sending advice down from the top of the world. If you’re an aspiring adventure filmmaker, you should pay attention. The latest installment, embedded above, offers…
The weekend saw perhaps 300 summits on both sides of Everest. The weather was mixed throughout, with blizzard conditions at times. The climbers had to work hard for their summits. There have been three deaths this season: two on the north side and one on nearby Lhotse. Taking most…
May 22nd, 2010 will be a day recorded in history: the youngestperson to summit Everest and the person with the most summits inhistory on the same same day yet from different sides. Apa Sherpa at age 47 made his 20th summit with the Eco Everest teamand on the other…
This is the phlog you've all been waiting for–Jordan reached the summit of Mount Everest yesterday around 10 a.m. local time, according to the team's live map. Team Jordan has now returned to…
Team Jordan is on the move right now (1:24 p.m. EST). They are nearing Camp 3, according to their live GPS map. The team is taking advantage of the weather window this weekend, and…
A huge wave of climbers on both sides of Everest have moved to theirrespective Advanced Base Camps and are on their summit bids starting Friday night, Nepal time.They are not only dealing with the extreme altitude of Everest but also an impending cyclone that could bring heavy snows and…
Dr. Peter Hackett is back. After a ten-year absence from the Khumbu Valley, a place he’s either lived or visited consistently between 1974 and 2000, Hackett returned to Nepal this spring to work at Everest ER. In his ten-year absence, the Telluride-based doc who…
Team Jordan advanced to Camp 2 last night. According to Jordan's blog , the hike took them about nine hours to complete. Camp 2 is as high as Jordan has ever been –…
Everest's north face (photo by Carsten.nebel, used under CC 3.0) Team Jordan left advanced base camp around 3 p.m. China time (3 a.m. EST) for Camp 1 and the North Col. The team's…