Alpinist 86 – Summer 2024

A Tiny Portion of Infinite Time

Christophe Ogier writes about how a special partnership with Sullivan and Victor Saucde enabled them to complete the first ascent of Pumari Chhish East (ca. 6850m) in Pakis’an, in June 2022. Their climb was recognized with a Piolet d’Or in 2023, a moment that marked a point of change in their lives. In this story, Ogier reflects on the experiences and relationships that have come to matter more to him than any climb.

Donini Climbs into Television

Geoff Powter presents an unpublished chapter from his new biography about the fabled American alpinist Jim Donini. While living in Yosemite Valley in 1975, Donini seized the opportunity to star in a beer commercial with his friends. In 1977, he received another opportunity to work in showbiz, this time to film a climb in the Venezuelan jungle for ABC’s The American Sportsman series. Rubber snakes, fake conflicts and real starvation ensued.

One Leg to Climb On

After losing her right leg in an accident as a teenager, Sarah Doherty went on to become the first amputee to stand atop Denali in 1985. Instead of using a prosthetic leg, she relied on crutches that she helped design. With her husband Kerith Perreur-Lloyd, she eventually founded the company SideStix, which continues today after her death in 2023. Herein, Holly Yu Tung Chen shares memories of Doherty from friends, family and Doherty’s own journals.

Lines of Obsession

Alex Buisse had no inkling of the project that would lead to his award-winning book Mont Blanc Lines when he took a chance with his cash reserves and chartered a tiny airplane to take landscape photos in 2020. He captured angles of the Grandes Jorasses and les Droites that he had never seen before, and he began to draw the lines of routes he knew, still unaware of what was to come. An obsession was born. This photo essay gives a glimpse into his work.