Alpinist 35

Summer 2011 Issue 35

Out of Darkness
In the spring of 2009, Jonny Copp, Micah Dash and Wade Johnson died below the
8,530-foot east face of Mt. Edgar (21,713′) in the Minya Konka Range of
Sichuan, China. A year and a half later, Kyle Dempster and Bruce Normand
followed their path through mist and avalanches to finish a dangerous route
they believe no one should climb again. Kyle Dempster

Forest and Fog
Today, Sonnie Trotter is known for hard trad ascents of routes like Cobra
Crack (5.14). Twelve years ago, he was a twenty-year-old sport climber
overawed by the shadowed granite and eerie wildness of the North Walls of
Squamish, British Columbia—the portal to his first real adventures. Sonnie
Trotter

Numbers
Two alpine hard-heroes confront a last great problem, battle the requisite
inner demons and test the brotherhood of the rope against the mountain of
numbers. Graphic art by Michael Hjelm. Michael Hjelm

Less and Less Alone – Alex Honnold
Free soloing is often called the purest form of climbing: an intense, solitary
encounter between the climber and the rock. What happens when one of its most
talented practitioners finds himself surrounded by mass-media attention? Alex
Lowther