Alpinist 36

Crag Profile: Hyalite Canyon
In the early 1970s, a college professor and a band of scruffy youths stumbled
upon one of the largest collections of icefalls in North America. But the
dense trees, deep snowdrifts and complex landscape of Montana’s Hyalite Canyon
would reveal its secrets slowly—and only to those willing to wander. Joe
Josephson narrates forty-one years of ongoing quests, while Pat Callis, Doug
McCarty, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Jack Tackle and Whit Magro recount the joys of
getting lost in the woods. Joe Josephson

Still on the Easel
Climbing artist John Svenson has devoted nearly half a century to exploring
mixed media and wild landscapes, from watercolor to molten glass, and from
stormy ridges to spidery rainforests. His conclusions? Everyone should draw,
and an adventurous life can represent our most aesthetic creation. Herein,
some visual results. John Svenson

The Thin White Line
For British alpinist Ian Parnell, the white cliffs of Dover, England, were a
familiar emblem of home and cultural identity. But as he began to delve into
the first-ascent history of these crumbling headlands, he grew less and less
sure of what those ideas meant. Faced with the contrasting legacy of a late
Victorian occultist and a modern taxman—and the hazards of both their
routes—he struggled for balance between the darker side of climbing and the
light. Ian Parnell

In Search of Lost Summits
Growing up in a tenement on the outskirts of Madrid, Javier Selva took refuge
in old books about faraway lands. After seeing historic photos and paintings
of Alaska in a private library, he spent the next decades of his life pursuing
a mountain that seemed at once the symbol of a mythic past and the gateway to
his own transcendence. Javier Selva

Off Belay
From the solo first ascent of the southwest pillar of the Petit Dru (3733m) to
the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV (7925m), Walter Bonatti (1930-2011)
transformed every realm of alpine climbing. He will remain one of our
community’s most enduring heroes. The Editors

On Belay: Finding Solace
Chris Van Leuven realizes that climbing gives us a home in the most precarious
places. Matt Samet elucidates the true meaning of nonsensical route names.
Chris Van Leuven

Tool User: Hemp Rope
Our associate editor discovers a nostalgia for hemp ropes. Keese Lane

The Climbing Life
Michael Ybarra sketches the art of a climber. Sam Piper confronts the
outcomes. Derek Franz finds a doorway to the other side.