Alpinist Magazine Issue 67 – Autumn 2019

Featuring a Mountain Profile of Mt. Kennedy, Mt. Hubbard and Mt. Alverstone by
David Stevenson. Forming part of the boundary between Alaska and the Yukon,
the St. Elias Range can seem both “remote” and nearly “empty,” as Stevenson
writes. But these expanses of mountains, ice, rock and snows are layered with
stories of human journeys, from the landscape tales of Indigenous Tlingit
people to the adventures of generations of famous climbers—including a first
ascent by the senator Robert F. Kennedy, a few years before his assassination.
Anna Chiburis, Andrea Rankin, Jack Tackle and Barry Blanchard also share
moments from the vast history of this intense and haunting place.

Mountain Profile: Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy
At first glance, author David Stevenson writes, parts of the St. Elias Range
of Alaska can seem both «remote» and nearly «empty.» But these expanses of
mountains, ice, rock and snows are layered with stories of human journeys,
from the landscape tales of Indigenous Tlingit people to the adventures of
generations of famous climbers—including a first ascent by the senator Robert
F. Kennedy, a few years before his assassination. And in the modern era, like
many glaciated regions, the range has become one symbol of a growing climate
crisis. For this Mountain Profile, Stevenson focuses on stories surrounding
the region inside the 1968 Hubbard-Alverstone-Kennedy map directed by the
great explorer Bradford Washburn. Anna Chiburis, Andrea Rankin, Jack Tackle
and Barry Blanchard share moments from the vast history of this intense and
haunting place.

The Shadow’s Edge
After recovering from a severe childhood illness, Claire Giordano grew up to
become a mountaineer and an artist, using her climbs and her paints to explore
the fragility of both wild landscapes and human life. With this collection of
mountain watercolors, she searches for hope in an era of melting ice,
endangered glaciers and climate crises. «We walk the line between shadow and
light,» she writes, «and we slowly move forward.»

The Rhythm of the Mountains
On March 21, 2019, Jim Reynolds became the first person to free solo both up
and down Fitz Roy, a 3405-meter spire in Patagonia. In this story, Reynolds
recounts the inner experience of the journey—an effort to move according to
the cadence of a wild peak and to return home safely to his beloved community,
family and friends.

Sharp End
A short history of un-discoveries.

Letters
Our readers write.

On Belay
Longtime Alpinist correspondent Pete Takeda returns to Québec to climb ice in
Gaspésie, part of Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral homeland of Mi’kmaw people. Along
the edges between coastlines, mountains, cliffs and sea, he experiences
landscapes where the legends of the past and the uncertainties of the future
remain in constant flux.

Tool User
Andy Selters recounts the origins and the legacy of alpinist Todd Bibler’s
legendary creation, the I-Tent.

Climbing Life
The intrepid Bosley Sidwell interviews one of Alex Honnold’s most famous free-
soloing peers: a skyscraper-climbing raccoon. Maria Anderson pens a fiction
story about a mother and daughter rope team. Ed Roberson ponders the Age of
the Climber. Brendan Leonard creates an epic listicle. And Ana Beatriz Cholo
explains why sometimes mountains are better left unclimbed.

Full Value
Ever since he was a boy, Chip Chace had dreamed of soloing Sivanitirutinguak
(Mt. Asgard). Chris Weidner recounts key moments of the late Colorado
climber’s life and examines what happens when the outcome of a lifelong quest
proves to be entirely different than expected.

Wired
In 1913 Walter Harper, an Irish-Athabascan climber, became the first person to
stand on the summit of Denali, soon joined by teammates Harry Karstens, Robert
Tatum and Archdeacon Hudson Stuck. Herein, Harper’s grand-niece, Jan Harper-
Haines, shares a few family histories of his short, but remarkable life.

Off Belay
Mailee Hung presents Mala, a mixed material installation by Suchitra Mattai,
in which the artist explores «what people choose to bring and what they take
away from natural environments.»