Alpinist 88 – Winter 2024/25

Mountain Profile: Tahoma/Mt. Rainier
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have traveled to what has been known as Takhoma, Tahoma, t?q?ub?? and many other names, drawn to the resources available among the mountain?s verdant valleys and slopes. It wasn?t until 1792 that Captain George Vancouver saw the peak from a distance and gave it a new name: Mt. Rainier. Soon after, the mountain began captivating a different kind of visitor, the recreational climber. Herein, David Gladish considers the history of the influential mountain and how it has shaped those drawn to it. Meanwhile, Holly Yu Tung Chen, Chris Weidner and Cal? Smith share stories of their own.

BIBIRI
In 2008, two of the famous Giri-Giri Boys disappeared near the top of the Cassin Ridge after enchaining the Kahiltna Peaks. This past May, three members of a new generation of Japanese alpinists set out to follow in their footsteps. But their gear was stolen along the way. Toranosuke Nagayama tells the story.

The Edge of Entropy
Tom Livingstone and Ales ?esen set out to answer a question: What would it be like to climb a technically difficult route at nearly 8000 meters? Livingstone describes the delightful suffering they enjoyed on the west ridge of Gasherbrum III (7958m).

Cover:
Ed Boulton hunkers down in a storm while climbing Mt. Rainier’s Willis Wall with Jim Wickwire, 1971. It was a harrowing experience. “I never climbed with Ed again, but I remember what he did to get me off Mt. Rainier,” Wickwire wrote in Addicted to Danger. “Ed Boulton saved my life.” Jim Wickwire