Alpinist

Kelsey Gray - A World of Routes

When Kelsey Gray tells people he grew up in Houston, they immediately think he's talking about the city in Texas. But he's actually referring to Houston, Alaska. Though h

Alita Contreras - Woman Warrior

In the film Guerreras, Alita Contreras is shown preparing for a long, traversing rock route on a cliff in Colombia. Her dog by her side, Contreras mimes the moves, headph

Peter Mortimer & Nick Rosen - The Dark Wizard

Climbing documentarians Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen are known for films such as "The Alpinist" and "Valley Uprising." Now the directors are out with a four-part documen

Will Moss - One Step Further

New York City might seem like an unlikely place for a climber of Will Moss's caliber to hail from. And yet, he managed to find his way from the climbing gym, to boulders

Sonnie Trotter - Commitment to Climbing

When Sonnie Trotter was a teenager, he discovered a portal into another world. Entering the local climbing gym he found challenge, adventure and passion. By sixteen, he w

Mary Catherine Eden: The Importance of Being Bored

While growing up in Kentucky, Mary Eden was often bored. But it was that boredom, she recalls, that helped her find meaningful interests as she explored her world. It led

Dawn Hollis: Flipping the Script on Mountain Relationships

Dawn Hollis has been obsessed with mountains since she was a small child growing up in Suffolk, which she describes as being "a really flat part of the UK." Her first gli

Kai Lightner: The Last Six Years

Kai Lightner is no stranger to the spotlight—or to this magazine. He's been climbing since he was six, when he joined the climbing team at a gym in North Carolina. Four y

Babsi Zangerl on Learning, Growing and Flashing El Cap

Last year, Babsi Zangerl did something no one has ever done before—she flashed a route on El Capitan. Thousands of feet of hard climbing with no falls. Her partner, Jacop

Rick Accomazzo: Tobin, The Stonemasters, and Me

Rick Accomazzo came of age in the climbing world as part of the Stonemasters—a name adopted by a group of friends largely climbing in Yosemite, Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks

Other Everests: Hidden Histories & Contemporary Challenges

The events of one the most famous Everest stories took place a century ago, when George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappeared during the 1924 British Mount Everest expedit

Climbing Isn't Everything: Beth Rodden

Beth Rodden established herself as one of the best rock climbers in the world at the height of her career. Through much of that time, Rodden was quietly struggling with h

Graham Zimmerman's Balancing Act

For all of his expeditions and cutting-edge climbs around the world, Graham Zimmerman's story is one of balancing adventure and exploration with social responsibility and

The Many Facets of Len Necefer

Dr. Len Necefer didn't grow up skiing steep slopes or topping out on summits like he does today. Instead, his connection to the outdoors began with golf—a fact he shares

Climbing and Journalism with Lauren DeLaunay Miller

Lauren Delaunay Miller is an award-winning author, journalist and audio producer based in Bishop, California. Her first book, Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the

Training for the New Anything with Steve House

Steve House began venturing into the high mountains as a teenager, and has since built a career on climbing, guiding and coaching. By the time he published his book Beyon

Unpacking Packing with Sarah Pickman

Sarah Pickman is an encyclopedia of expedition history, in particular the gear early explorers relied on. She recently earned a PhD in history from Yale University. She's

Writing and Routes with David Smart

David Smart's life and work seem to intersect with climbing at every turn. He's a lifelong climber, revered route developer and the editorial director at Gripped Publishi

Racing Fear with Justin Bowen

Justin Bowen's first time scaling walls and new routes was in a climbing gym during a friend's birthday party. It wasn't until high school, driven by persistent memories

Aiming for the Bushes with Alan Rousseau

For Alan Rousseau, the allure of mountaineering is in the unknown. When he looks up at a mountain and contemplates whether it can be climbed, he sees a mystery to be solv