Alpinist
Episodes
Will Moss - One Step Further
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 climbi...
Sonnie Trotter - Commitment to Climbing
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Sonnie Trotter was a teenager, he discovered a portal into another world. Entering the local climbing gym he found challenge, adventure and passi...
Mary Catherine Eden: The Importance of Being Bored
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 explor...
Dawn Hollis: Flipping the Script on Mountain Relationships
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Kai Lightner: The Last Six Years
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Babsi Zangerl on Learning, Growing and Flashing El Cap
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 fal...
Rick Accomazzo: Tobin, The Stonemasters, and Me
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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, Tahq...
Other Everests: Hidden Histories & Contemporary Challenges
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 M...
Climbing Isn't Everything: Beth Rodden
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 quie...
Graham Zimmerman's Balancing Act
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For all of his expeditions and cutting-edge climbs around the world, Graham Zimmerman's story is one of balancing adventure and exploration with socia...
The Many Facets of Len Necefer
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 go...
Climbing and Journalism with Lauren DeLaunay Miller
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lauren Delaunay Miller is an award-winning author, journalist and audio producer based in Bishop, California. Her first book, Valley of Giants: Storie...
Training for the New Anything with Steve House
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 publ...
Unpacking Packing with Sarah Pickman
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Pickman is an encyclopedia of expedition history, in particular the gear early explorers relied on. She recently earned a PhD in history from Ya...
Writing and Routes with David Smart
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Racing Fear with Justin Bowen
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Aiming for the Bushes with Alan Rousseau
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Climbing for Change: Caroline Gleich
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Caroline Gleich lives on the ridgeline between adventure and activism. Her trips around the globe often transcend summit goals as she merges mountain ...
Talking Schist with Andrea Charest
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For Andrea Charest, climbing is entwined with community. She and her husband Steve own Petra Cliffs, a climbing gym and mountaineering school in Burli...
Connected to Place: Sarah Audsley
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Poet Sarah Audsley has an elevated point of view, even when her feet are on the ground. While the Vermont-based writer and climber believes she was in...
Beyond Success and Failure: Young Hoon Oh
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Korean rock and ice climber Young Hoon Oh is a student of the mountains and the culture borne from them. While pursuing a PhD in anthropology, he spen...
The Art of Playing: Babsi Vigl
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Babsi Vigl's pursuits in the mountains transcend summit aspirations and self-indulgence. The Austrian alpinist, guide and writer embarked on her f...
Heart of the Sierra: Doug Robinson
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Doug Robinson speaks of a life spent climbing in the Sierra Range, his stories emanate joy rather than ego. He points to experiences and relation...
Creativity and Climbing: Nikki Smith
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With a geologist father, Nikki Smith's love for rock and the outdoors came naturally. Born in Portland, Oregon, Smith moved with her family to Utah at...
Of Peaks and Parenting: Majka Burhardt
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Majka Burhardt went climbing for the first time while attending a sleepaway camp for kids in Minnesota. Since then, she's built a career ascending ice...
Braving New Worlds: Steph Davis
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Steph Davis has been a professional climber since 1991. But simply calling the Moab, Utah local a climber seems inadequate. From three years old, Davi...
Honoring Mountains and Mentors: Clint Helander
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Clint Helander's narrative is driven by stories of persistence. Persistence in the face of nearly insurmountable odds, in far-flung places like Alaska...
Dreaming of Imaginary Peaks: Katie Ives
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For those who've contributed to or read Alpinist over the last 18 years, Katie Ives needs little introduction. Ives started at the magazine in 2004. A...
A Life of Adventure and Positive Impact: Timmy O'Neill
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Timmy O'Neill's climbing career spans more than 30 years. He's traveled the world, gaining climbing accolades and wisdom about life, and once spent 60...
The Self Motivator: Chantel Astorga
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In June 2020, Chantel Astorga soloed Denali's Cassin Ridge in less than 15 hours, setting a women's record and making the first known ski descent of t...
Balancing Risk and Reward: Mike Gardner
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Gardner was 16 years old when his father, a respected climbing guide, died while free soloing on the Grand Teton in 2008. Mike has suffered the l...
From Pebbles to the Himalaya: Pete Takeda
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pete Takeda is a world-renowned alpinist who started climbing on boulders as a kid in Idaho. He has pursued every climbing discipline over the last se...
The Novelty Seeker: Madaleine Sorkin
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Besides free climbing big walls, Madaleine Sorkin devotes herself to social activism, and has been a leader in starting the Climbing Grief Fund throug...
Not in Ohio Anymore: Anna Pfaff
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Pfaff grew up in rural Ohio, running through cornfields, playing softball and showing animals at the county fair, "but I always felt like there w...
Alpinist Aloud: "To Look the Bear in the Eye"
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Derek Franz narrates "To Look the Bear in the Eye: The Life of Yasushi Yamanoi," a story by Sartaj Ghuman that was first published in...
Alpinist Aloud: "Less Rich Without You"
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Chris Kalman narrates "Less Rich Without You," a story by Nick Bullock that was first published in Alpinist 68 (Winter 2019-20). The...
Alpinist Aloud: "Melting Giants"
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For 141 years since its first ascent, mountaineers from around the world traveled to climb la Meije in the Massif des Écrins of France. Meanwhile, th...
Fire and Ice: Scott Coldiron
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Coldiron grew up in a low-income family with his single mother and two siblings near the remote peaks of Montana's Cabinet Range. He wrote in A...
A Visit with Mark Twight
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Mark Twight began his self-described "descent into the black depths of extreme alpinism" in 1984. "This obsession," as he wrote in the essay, "Kiss o...
Alpinist Aloud: "Life Compass" by Brette Harrington
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this feature story from Alpinist 64 (Winter 2018-19), Brette Harrington writes about her life partner, Marc-André Leclerc, who died in the Mendenh...
"All that Glitters": Margo Talbot
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011 alpinist and speaker Margo Talbot published her memoir, "All that Glitters: A Climber's Journey through Addiction and Depression." In her book...
Alpinist Aloud: "The Raven at the Door" by David Stevenson
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this Full Value story from Alpinist 60 (Winter 2017-18), David Stevenson gets caught in a storm returning from a hut trip in Alaska and suffers a h...
Alpinist Aloud: "The Force of the Soul," by James Edward Mills
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this inaugural episode of Alpinist Aloud—a podcast project in which stories from our print magazine are read out loud—James Edward Mills reads ...
The Lifestyler: Chris Weidner
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Weidner began climbing as a teenager in the Pacific Northwest and is no stranger to being pinned on the summit of Mt. Rainier in a storm. The 45...
Climber, Transcending: Kai Lightner
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Kai Lightner learned to climb before he could walk. One day, when he was six years old, a passing stranger...
Rethinking Mountaineering Histories: Amrita Dhar
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"We need to acknowledge mountaineering as a profoundly social pursuit…. I strongly resist the idea that there is a kind of objective kind of excelle...
From the Gunks to Desert Towers: Jeff Achey
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz interviews Jeff Achey, a prolific first ascensionist and author who lives in Western Colorado, wh...
Perspective: Robbi Mecus
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"Perspective is a curious lens," climber and forest ranger Robbi Mecus says. "If I never turn my gaze to the side, my interpretation of the world beco...
Inner Ranges: Geoff Powter
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"Mountains have always been the sharpest mirrors for me: they've simplified, purified and clarified my life, and have reliably shown me the better sid...
An Enormously Familiar Voice: Chris Kalous
04 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Climber, father and house painter Chris Kalous launched the climbing podcast The Enormocast in 2011. In this episode, Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Fr...
The Calling: Barry Blanchard
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1969, at the age of nine, Barry Blanchard sat on a Greyhound bus as a young woman read to him from the pages of the mountaineering classic, The Wh...
To Abandon: Claire Carter
01 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
"How often do we, as climbers, reach out for abandonment?" Claire Carter asks. "Leave the ground to find a swinging freedom; bitter-cold, bittersweet....
Strange Music: Doug McCarty
24 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In 1972, barely out of high school, Doug McCarty and Brian Leo completed the first winter ascent of the North Face of 12,799-foot Granite Peak—only ...
Open Heart: Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From the time he led his dad up the Diamond of Longs Peak at age fifteen, Derek Franz has long been "obsessed with all things climbing." After graduat...
The Vertical Humor of Tami Knight
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Since she first offered to waltz around on stilts in a purple leotard at the 2002 Summer Outdoor Retailer, brandishing Issue 0 of Alpinist, author and...
Fire in the South Platte
23 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In June 2002, a wildfire erupted about 100 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado. What became known as the Hayman Fire burned for over a month, resultin...
Climbing Doesn't Change You: Kathy Karlo
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"We all have emotions that eventually bring us to self-awareness, if we let them. Beneath every curmudgeonly old soul is the ability to share a passio...
A Few Seconds: Whitney Clark
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"Mountains strip us layer by layer until our core is exposed, raw and vulnerable." Whitney Clark is a professional climber who has established several...
Sisnaajini: Stories from White Shell Mountain
12 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Gabriel Ellison-Scowcroft shares a story about a winter attempt of Sisnaajini (Blanca Peak) with Len Necefer, the founder of Natives ...
Threshold Shift: Nick Bullock
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2003 Nick Bullock quit his steady job as an instructor in the Prison Service to climb and write full-time. His 2016 ascent of Nyainqentanglha South...
The Adventure Gap: James Edward Mills
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"If someone is raised to spend time in the outdoors it will be something that they do without question; they won't wonder whether or not it's somethin...
Available Light: Jimmy Chin
08 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After he graduated from college in 1996, Jimmy Chin hit the road, planning to climb and ski for a year before heading to grad school. Twenty-two years...
Art of Freedom: Bernadette McDonald and Voytek Kurtyka
22 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps no other writer has explored Cold War and post-Soviet era mountaineering more than Bernadette McDonald has. In this episode, Bernadette McDona...
Stillness and Storms: Mayan Smith-Gobat
15 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2002, Mayan Smith-Gobat was in a ski accident and broke her jaw and both feet. Within a few weeks, she turned her focus to climbing and began train...
In the Bear's Lodge: Voices from Devils Tower
18 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Many climbers observe the voluntary climbing ban at Bear Lodge (Devils Tower) in Wyoming during the month of June as their way to show respect for loc...
The Climbers: Jim Herrington and Fred Beckey
06 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1990s, after more than a decade of climbing in the Sierra Nevada, Jim Herrington embarked on a journey to photograph some of the most formidabl...
Mountaineering and Climate Change
31 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
At altitude, many mountain communities are already experiencing the severe consequences of climate change. Climbers have reported witnessing the effec...
Death and Climbing, Part 2
04 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Author and mountaineer David Roberts reads his essay "Death and Climbing," which first appeared in the winter 2016 issue of Alpinist.
Death and Climbing: David Roberts
05 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
By 1965, at age 22, David Roberts had witnessed three fatal accidents in the mountains. Over 50 years since, Roberts has explored in writing what make...
Beyond: Conrad Anker
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In November 2016, while attempting the unclimbed Lunag Ri (6907m) with David Lama, Conrad Anker suffered a heart attack and had to descend from the cl...
Mountain Lit - Tommy Caldwell and Bree Loewen
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Why does story telling seem so essential to the climbing life? In this episode, we interview two climbers—Tommy Caldwell, whose recent book The Pus...