“A new method for quantifying grandeur is reshuffling the pecking order of the planet’s most impressive peaks. Turns out Everest has steep competition.”
mountaineering
Posted inEditor's Pick
Can this Sherpa Change Mountain Climbing Forever?
“Last year, at age 18, Nima Rinji Sherpa became the youngest climber to summit the world’s 14 tallest peaks. His next challenge is even trickier.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Crushing Wave of Snow
Thirty-five years ago this July, an avalanche killed forty-three climbers on a mountain called Lenin Peak. I witnessed the disaster and have lived with the memories ever since.”
Posted inNonfiction
The Edge of Emptiness
Lena Rowat skied 1,600 grueling miles across the Coast Range to quiet her demons. But she didn’t begin to silence them until tragedy struck.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Death On The Savage Mountain: What Really Happened On K2, And Why 100 Climbers Stepped Over A Dying Man On Their Way To The Summit
“They would find him upside down that night, dangling at 27,000 feet, hanging above an abyss, his face buried in the snow.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Himalayan Tragedy That Forever Changed Mountaineering
“In 1976, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, the daughter of legendary alpinist Willi Unsoeld, died while climbing the massive Indian peak for which she was named.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Controversial King of Hardcore Climbing
“Nims Purja has become the first celebrity mountaineer of the social media age—and the most controversial figure in the global climbing community.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Disaster at 18,200 Feet
The U.S. has seen an increase in National Parks visitors in recent years, as well as an outdoor climbing boom. At Denali National Park, that also means a surge in less experienced climbers: “more summit chasers, fewer wilderness seekers.” In this story for Insider, Kelsey Vlamis recounts the experience of four climbers attempting to summit […]
Posted inHighlight, Quote Posts, Quotes, Sports
Finding Answers about Life and Love in the Mountain Death Zone
“There’s no reflective surfaces when you’re climbing. You’re just who you are.”
Posted inHighlight, Quote Posts, Quotes, Science & Nature
The Traffic Jam on Mount Everest that Cost 11 Lives
“The crowd seemed incredible—like a bag of Skittles had been scattered down the slope.”