Culture

Check out Jes Layton's author page.

Many “firsts” have always been worth something, though, and many still are, particularly cases like Sabourin’s. That’s because there are two types of firsts that matter.

A core climber speaks out about what it's like to break barriers beyond climbing hard in the climbing community.

Check out Matt Samet's author page.

Project climbing is difficult, painful and at times has no reward in sight. Maybe the secret to success and happiness is lowering your goals by only climbing the easy stuff.

Dani Arnold, the fastest alpinist still alive, and his high-stakes quest to smash speed-soloing records.

Covid stranded climbers in Southern Turkey. When the borders reopened, they didn't want to leave.

Learning to how to get back on the sharp end.

Are you inspired by Alex Honnold? So is his mom, who is the oldest woman to scale El Capitan. Here she shares her thoughts on how essential a little inspiration can be.

The secret to bigger sends isn’t what you think. (Hot baths and CBD? Yes, please.)

Check out Tessa Lyons's author page.

First he was looking at motorcycle-crash type injuries. Then it got worse. A detour on the famous route Serpentine, Suicide Wall.

The boulder, right in San Diego, was like no other and became a testpiece hang where visitors were welcome to be punished.

In the early 1990s in Patagonia you were on your own. You lived by the weather, chasing brief clear windows hoping you could get up, and down, before storm slammed the door shut ... or spelled disaster.

Check out Matt Samet's author page.

The route they said, was easy, but then they said it was impossible, deadly even in these conditions. So which was it?

Behind the rebel cottage brand’s satirical exterior, you’ll find struggle, parody, and decades of American climbing history.

Of the “Six Great North Faces of the Alps,” the Piz Badile is the least known, yet the tragedy that unfolded during its first ascent, with four dead, ranks as one of climbing's bleakest epics.

Decades before John Bachar died in a solo fall, he took John Long on a ropeless "Half Dome": They'd climb 2,000 feet at Joshua Tree—without a rope.

So far this year we’ve seen an insurrection, an inauguration and an impeachment. A climber’s report from America’s last, and most reluctant, state.

Wherein the author finds some good bouldering, is cursed by the gods and experiences an epiphany in Africa’s legendary Mountains of the Moon.

Physician Brian Irwin reports on the dangerous situation that continues to brew at Everest Base Camp in Nepal. “This is a major scandal and a scam,” Everest guide and operator Lukas Furtenbach said.

Check out Matt Samet's author page.

Check out Ilana Newman's author page.

Check out Matt Samet's author page.

This interview was published a little less than a year before Dean Potter's death on May 16, 2015.

Danny Gilbert was an avid basketball player. When he sprained his ankle, he couldn’t play anymore and needed a new outlet. Climbing delivered.

John Long, an original Stonemaster, rolled into Yosemite in the early 1970s. He's learned a lot since then.

Check out Mary Mathis's author page.

The trick to getting your ideal summer cragging body? Redefine your ideal.

Check out Rex Dangerman's author page.

When Hawaii sent out a ballistic missile alert the author re-evaluated everything including climbing. This feature was included in "Best American Sports Writing," 2019.

Don't be afraid to try something new. Alex's mom climbed El Cap at age 66.

The author has a moment of remorse when he makes up a story with a big pay off.

Check out John Burgman's author page.

He left us with nothing and everything.

It ain’t the new Sleepwalker footage… but it’s even better.

Check out Michael Levy's author page.

A TBI, a climb, and an altered state

Check out Andrew Bisharat's author page.

How the USA Ice Climbing Team found purpose in the frozen damp of a Russian winter.

The words we attach to climbs have power—and every once in a while, are unworthy.

The Eiger, Matterhorn, Grandes Jorasses, Petite Dru, Piz Badille and the Cima Grande.

David Roberts, One of Climbing's Most Prolific Adventurers and Authors, Contemplates Risk Through the Lens of a Life of Climbing and a Cancer Diagnosis

In this essay, Klaas Willems reflects on the struggles of living with cystic fibrosis during a pandemic, and discusses his decision to travel to climb despite the risks.

Is timidity keeping you from one of life’s most rewarding experiences?

Check out Bennett Slavsky's author page.

Get to know the 17-year-old phenom, who exploded onto the national stage when he won the Pan-American Championship in 2020.

Rock climbers have long scoffed at the 14er-bagging goal as fodder for ‘hikers’ and old men who fancy themselves mountaineers after a summer tick of Whitney. They’re wrong, and here’s why.

Has it changed climbing for better or worse? Who gets to make that judgement and why does it matter?

A competitive ice climber wins her first big competition—and finds that the secret to success is still a whole lot of failure.

"Reasons to be Fearful" is an essay from Victor Saunders' new memoir "Structured Chaos: The Unusual Life of a Climber," available now from Vertebrate Books.

When the first international competition came to these shores, it was a big unknown, with many opposed. It could have been a bust. One guy saved it.

In 2010, Mike Libecki set out for Afghanistan alone to tackle a series of remote first ascents. It would lead him to the closest call he's ever had in his life.

5 Ways to Cut Down on Noise Pollution at the Crags

Johnson joins a pantheon of heavy laborers—just ask Tommy Caldwell or Chris Sharma

Alex Johnson first tried The Swarm at age 21 in 2011. In March of 2021, 10 years later, she came back, ready. We first published this essay on April 3, the day she turned 32, having given herself a birthday present. 

Check out Hannah O’Reilly's author page.

Your uncle Paul, who does some high-paying job for a mid-level government contractor, has just returned from his expedition to summit Everest, the ultimate goal for any climber. And he's got a lot to say about it.

Hobbs Kessler wants to be the first person to run a sub 4-minute mile and climb 5.15 and V15. And he just might do it.

Check out Anna LaSusa's author page.

Will climbers push their limits beyond normal in the Himalayas if they know that helicopter long-line rescue is available? Ed Viesturs considers.

Check out Jonathan Vickers's author page.

Check out Jonathan Vickers's author page.

Check out Jonathan Vickers's author page.

Check out Jonathan Vickers's author page.

Paul Robinson details his 17-year journey to send 1,000 8a-or-harder boulder problems.

Make climbing great again

V16 boulderer, 5.15b route climber, former East Coast prodigy. FAs of ~700 boulders V11 and up, including a dozen V15s. Age 39, lives in Spain, Switzerland, and Colorado.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out Kevin Corrigan's author page.

The climbing community has an eating-disorder problem—but will there ever be a solution?

An elite solider and elite climber, Nims led the first winter ascent of K2 without supplemental oxygen.

Maestri is best known for controversy surrounding climbs on Cerro Torre in Patagonia---his debunked claim of the first ascent of the peak in 1959, and his subsequent Compressor Route on it in 1970---but his other achievements in and around Europe make him a standout figure in world climbing.

Check out Dakota Walz's author page.

Forging a partnership on The Young and the Rackless in sub-par conditions.

Check out Ula Chrobak's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Molly Mitchell shares her journey to climb China Doll (5.14 R) while navigating generalized anxiety disorder.