Alpinist Magazine Issue 69 – Spring 2020

Col Eccles on the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps. [Photo] Jonathan Griffith
Features Mountain Profile: Mont Blanc As late as the early eighteenth century,
some maps of the Chamonix area still contained large blank spaces…

**Mountain Profile: Mont Blanc**
As late as the early eighteenth century, some maps of the Chamonix area still
contained large blank spaces where the high peaks stood. Within a few decades,
however, Mont Blanc would become the focal point for the dreams of
philosophers, poets and mountaineers alike. By 1776 Geneva travel writer Marc-
Théodore Bourrit had declared of the peak: “The image of upheaval and chaos,
ideas of eternity and nothingness, of revolutions and order, appear all
together at once; the imagination remains silent.” John Hessler and Paula
Wright recount scenes from the history of the highest mountain in Western
Europe, from the controversies surrounding the first ascent in 1786 to the
proliferation of famous routes to the impacts of today’s climate crisis. David
Smart, Claude Gardien and Ben Tibbetts contribute glimpses of individual
quests on a mountain that has come to symbolize a universe of wonder and a
world in peril.

Secrets on the Maps
In his mid-eighties, Japanese mountaineer and photographer Tamotsu Nakamura
remains one of the most prolific and indefatigable modern explorers. Herein, a
collection of images from one of his recent journeys into the ranges of Tibet,
where he encountered a landscape of still-untouched summits—but also of
melting glaciers, cultural loss and rapid change.

Link Sar
In the summer of 2019, Graham Zimmerman, Steve Swenson, Mark Richey and Chris
Wright left for the Kaberi Glacier in the Karakoram Range of Pakistan to climb
Link Sar—a long-dreamed-of 7041-meter peak. For Zimmerman, the expedition was
a chance to learn from some of the most experienced Karakoram mountaineers, as
well as to challenge some of his own youthful assumptions about alpinism, risk
and life.

Departments

Sharp End
Amid recent Himalayan news about inaccurate summit claims, our editor-in-chief
asks: What is the measure of a mountain?

Letters
A reader recalls a favorite climb with a favorite Alpinist writer.

On Belay
In August 2019, nearly two years after Hayden Kennedy’s death, Jesse Huey and
Maury Birdwell set out to complete one of their friend’s dreams: a direct
finish to a route that Kennedy and Whit Magro had established on Mt. Hooker in
the Wind River Range.

Namesake
The origins of a Bogus Mountain.

Tool User
Many have come to rely on handheld GPS systems for navigation in the
backcountry or for proof of summit claims. Damien Gildea examines impacts of
this increasingly widespread technological aid.

The Climbing Life
Astra Lincoln charts an inner map of the Winds. Tami Knight pays homage to Ed
Spat and the bygone glory of the Ahwahnee Brunch. Steve Jervis presents a
climbing quiz, with the help of some (possibly imaginary) friends. Katherine
Indermaur takes the pulse of sandstone. Anaheed Saatchi interviews a few of
the many women who are transforming modern climbing culture.

Full Value
Joe Purtell confronts fear, grief and beauty in the Cirque of the
Unclimbables.

Wired
As the news about today’s climate crises grows increasingly grim, Manasseh
Franklin explores how climbing writers might be able to help inspire positive
action.

Local Hero
Paul Koubek shares scenes from the life of climbing guide and award-winning
YOSAR team member Jo Whitford.

Off Belay
Katharine Erwin presents the mysterious Wolf of EEOR.