Climbing
ArchiveI'm writing from 18,000 feet on what promises to be a pretty chilly evening. Left at 6 A.M. with a variety of expectations. Consensus had us staying at Hans-Meyer, and that looked optimistic after our first adventure on the winch. The first quarter mile took about…
You can enter to win a chance to climb Mt. Rainier with Ed Viesturs and Peter Whittaker on a five-day expedition. First Ascent is sponsoring the contest and will outfit the winner with gear. See details here, and check out Viesturs's Outside…
Ouch. Long day: 10.5 hours. Technical from start to finish, and unrelenting. I did a series of about 1,000 three-to-four-second sprints at 12,000 feet and 3,300 vertical. I didn't use the winch. We're saving it for the upper mountain. The Harken winch is a great mechanism. We're still…
I would like to conquer Yosemite's Halfdome in September. How can I train for altitude climbing if I live near sea level? Paul Chesterfield, Michigan
Healthy. That's the word we kept coming back to. And we don't mean a fit or skinny population; we're talking about a city's cultural vibrancy, economic well-being, and overall quality of life. Presenting our picks for the 10 best cities in America, from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Plus: Our 10 favorite small towns.
Climbing K2 is the next biggest thing. We refuse to whine about it.
I'm heading to Kilimanjaro. What's the best waterproof jacket to take along? Jen Toronto, Ontario
I'm looking for a down jacket I can use for trekking and mountaineering. I would like a jacket that's super warm, packable, and has a nice, feminine, non-Michelin Man fit. Joan San Diego, California
What are some clothing brands that make insect repellent clothing? Stewart Memphis, Tennessee
Can you recommend a comfortable women's hiking boot that is lightweight and good for warm weather backpacking? Sascha Mesa, Arizona
My family is going white-water rafting in Oregon this summer. Can you recommend a waterproof digital camera?
Since being jettisoned from Patagonia's empire twenty years ago, Salt Lake City—based Black Diamond Equipment has prided itself on breaking all the rules. They eschew advertising, take enormous risks, and employ a team of superfit athletes who do their only "market research" skiing and climbing in the Wasatch backcountry. And it's working.
You stand on a 300-foot cliff and think, “Mommy!” Ted Davenport stands there and thinks, “Sick air!” The difference, neuroscientists are finding, may lie in the very anatomy of our minds.
India's Shark's Fin is a 6,500-foot rock route that's twice as long and just as steep as anything on El Capitan, and once left me defeated. When I took it on for the second time, at 45, a blizzard promptly pinned our team to the wall like insects. Which made me wonder: was the mountain telling me something?
No mountain? No problem. As our man discovered, racing up a skyscraper provides a challenge as daunting as many high peaks.
Before she on-sighted the 2,000-foot Northwest Face of Half Dome, in October, the 28-year-old sylph from Kentucky was already hailed as one of the world’s best sport climbers winning both the X Games and the World Cup earlier this decade. On-sighting free-climbing on her first try, without…
Tommy Caldwell needed a challenge, so he decided to hoist his clanking gear rack and free-climb one of Yosemite's hardest routes—a punishing 5.14 called Magic Mushroom—in 24 hours or less. Matt Samet was there from start to finish to watch the planning, training, and performance of a superhuman athlete at the top of his game.
In early August, after 11 climbers died on the world’s second-highest peak, people wanted to know: Has the Everest circus migrated to K2? MICHAEL KODAS pieced together the events from eight of the survivors and has a straight answer: Sort of.
This month's 560–page Fallen Giants, by professors Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver, is the most exhaustive narrative history of Himalayan climbing to date. It's also the subject of this month's quiz. Pencils out—begin!
To set up your own anchor for a climbing top rope (or slackline, or car stuck in a ditch), all you need is a 20-foot piece of webbing, a carabiner, and a tree.
I looking for a warm belay jacket for ice climbing and have considered the Patagonia DAS or the Wild Things Belay Jacket. Would the Polarguard 3D (in the DAS) be more durable over time and keep its loft more so than the Primaloft (in the Wild Things jacket)? Rich Athens, Georgia
Are there climbing pants out there that are rugged and stretchy, and that actually make wearing the harness more comfortable? I’d appreciate any suggestions to make a long day of climbing more enjoyable. Tony Montreal, Quebec
How do I prepare for a climb of Mount Rainier and/or Denali? I have about eight months before my climbing window and I live at sea level.
Steph Davis knows the downside of being one of the world’s best women climbers: like living out of a car for seven years and having your mom suggest (frequently) that you’re out of your mind. The upside? Yosemite. The Andes. And a life in which every day is a thrilling vertical grab.
How to see your stomping grounds as a concrete jungle.
So, you have to ask, when it comes to the great outdoors, is anything OK anymore?
His life’s grand pursuit has killed his closest companions. His bride-to-be is his best friend’s widow. His exploding fame owes as much to happenstance (stumbling upon Mallory’s body on Everest) and luck (escaping an avalanche in Tibet) as it does to his great skill as a mountaineer. An intimate look at the serendipitous, tumultuous, and nearly unbearable success of Conrad Anker.
There's nobody more qualified to drag you to the top of the world than Babu Chiri Sherpa. And he'll gladly do it. But when he's through, he's got some business of his own to attend to. Namely, obliterating every last climbing record on Everest, shattering the myth of his people as high-altitude baggage handlers, and taking the Sherpa brand global.
Alex Honnold talks with Sender Films about the history of Yosemite's climbing culture and gives his take on what free soloing is all about. …
An ice-climbing trip to Scotland—land of rain, sleet, and mad outdoorsmen—brings new respect for the sport's big-hearted pioneers
Warning: Research at your own risk. Welcome to the new frontier, where scientists use extreme adventure skills in the wild pursuit of knowledge.
The treacherous history of the Matterhorn can be read in books and snowy graveyards, but to write it you've got to survive it
A crash course in old-growth tree climbing (it's tree hugging's rambunctious younger sibling). Wanna come out and have some deep fun?
To save the day when the crevasse hits the fan; to be chased by AK-47-wielding bandits; to be the one guy who's gotta say, "Time to turn around, everybody"—this is what it means to be a professional guide. (Still interested?)
As a young climber, David Roberts believed in the greatness of risk. Then death came suddenly, too easily. And it came again and again.