March 2009 - 273

FEATURES

GALLERY
Phalanx of Will, monster dyno whipper, Hebrides trad gnar, Sedona’s steepest, and two bloodcurdling highballs — yeah, we’ve got it.

PLANET X
The science (and the why) of high-end headpointing, as revealed during a gripper first-ascent mission on the domes of Vedauwoo, Wyoming.
Introduction and Photos by John Dickey
Captions by Eric DeCaria and Matt Segal

NOBODY’S FOOL
On April 1, 2008, Alex Honnold free-soloed the 1,000-foot 5.12+ Moonlight Buttress, in Zion, a beyond-the-pale ascent many still struggle to comprehend. What makes this hyper-talented but complex young climber tick, and where will he take the sport next?
By Chris Weidner

GET SHORTY!
A shout out to America’s five finest sport routes in miniature, celebrating the oft-overlooked (but long-relevant) ropedbouldering genre.
By Matt Samet

DEPARTMENTS

CONTRIBUTORS
Brian Solano, Kristin Marine, Andrea Sutherland, and Matt Segal

EDITORIAL
Stay sharp: gravity doesn’t sleep.

LETTERS

BASECAMP
JUST OUT
HOT FLASHES
OFF THE WALL
PLAYERS
TEN THINGS
WHIPPED
SPORTING LIFE
SUSTAINED

CLASSIC CLIMBS
Traitor Horn (5.8; four pitches), Tahquitz Rock, California — alpine dreaming in the San Jacinto Mountains

TECH TIP
Trad: the Soft-Man Link-Up — enchaining Half Dome and El Cap all-free in a day . . . for mortals

REVIEWS
Books — Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite and Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again; film — Rumbling Bald

PERSPECTIVE
Christian Griffith: climber, craftsman, artist, business owner; Boulder, Colorado