Alpinist Magazine Issue 76 – Winter 2021-22

Features

Mountain Profile: Cima Grande di Lavaredo

Rising abruptly from the center of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Dolomites, the 2999-meter Cima Grande became a focus of both rockclimbing innovation and political struggle. Italian climbing writer Dino Buzzati once wondered about the pale yellow walls, «Are they real, or is it a dream that is merely rotten and impassable?» Herein, David Smart chronicles some of the explorations and conflicts of its storied walls, including the famous Piton Controversy, the alpine battles of World War I, the race for the first ascent of its great north face, the eras of the direttissimas and the rise of modern hard free climbing. Karin Steinbach, Alessandro Gogna, Claude Gardien and Alexander Huber add tales of sharp inflection points over the decades.

Manifestation

After more than two decades of photographing climbers› struggles up cliffs, Rhea Kang becomes fascinated by documenting the stories of the pine trees that manage to survive in those seemingly inhospitable realms.

A Night under the Peruvian Stars

In July 2021, Anna Pfaff, Andrés Marin and Alex Torres set off for what they thought would be a one-day climb of a new route on the south face of Concha de Caracol, a 5640-meter peak in Peru’s Cordillera Vilcanota. What ensues is an open bivy at 5500 meters—a long, cold night during which Pfaff contemplates the choices that define individuals in the mountains and in the rest of life.

 

Departments

Sharp End

After years of writing a book about Harvey Manning’s imaginary mountains, our editor-in-chief ventures up one of the real peaks he actually climbed.

Letters

Patagonian alpinist Rolando Garibotti seeks out new forms of narratives beyond the dominant mountaineering lore of the past.

On Belay

Derek Franz, Alpinist digital editor, travels to Yosemite to climb through layers of historical and personal past.

Tool User

Sarah Pickman unpacks the first aid kit.

The Climbing Life

In the wake of melting glaciers, Astra Lincoln explores a geography of absence. Mailee Hung dreams of rising waters. And Brandon Blackburn pens his own guide to suffering.

Full Value

As the close calls of Spencer Gray’s climbing life replay in his mind, he wonders, «What tempered instinct leads the same person to wear a mask, to welcome a vaccine, to use crosswalks… and yet also to go tempt fate and statistics so regularly?»

Wired

When a climber dies in the mountains, another story begins: the complicated and heartbreaking process of body recovery. Meaghen Brown speaks with some of the people involved in the aftermath of a tragedy.

Local Hero

Grace Anderson celebrates the many gifts of Shea Freedom, a climber, a musician and an advocate for foster youth.

Off Belay

Natalie Berry contemplates the juxtaposition of the Tokyo Olympic Games and the distant silhouette of Mt. Fuji.